Chapter 210 Riding Alexander's Coattail
Karl wasn't exactly the reasonable type. He immediately punched the nurse, and the hallway erupted into chaos. The police hadn't arrived yet, and finally, Faye emerged from the procedure room.
The moment Karl saw her, he collapsed to his knees, sobbing dramatically as he grabbed onto her legs. "Faye, I was wrong. I know I messed up. I'll treat you right from now on, I swear. Please don't abort the baby, okay? It's bad for your health. Don't punish yourself for my mistakes—it breaks my heart!"
He suddenly raised his hand and started slapping himself across the face. "I'm scum! I'm garbage! Faye, just kill me! Even if I die, I need you to see how much I really love you!"
His performance startled everyone present.
Gillian leaned over to whisper to Arabella. "This asshole—think he's got some kind of theatrical personality disorder?" He'd been so arrogant moments ago, and now he was weeping with remorse? Was any of it even real?
What made things worse was that Faye's eyes were actually reddening.
Arabella hesitated, then finally threw caution to the wind. She walked over, pulled Faye aside, and looked directly at Karl. "You're only begging for forgiveness because you don't want to lose a son. You've kept Faye as your backup plan, your safety net. If things don't work out with your sugar mama, Faye's still your best option. You've only ever calculated how to use her." Her voice hardened. "Even now, you're dragging her down without caring that you're pushing her into hell."
Karl's eyes went bloodshot with fury. He'd finally gotten Faye to soften—had been so close to dragging her back—and now this woman was ruining everything.
He threatened viciously, "Mind your own damn business and get lost! Don't make me beat you!"
This was Arabella's first time facing a situation like this. She wasn't brave—looking at Karl's menacing expression, her palms were sweating. But seeing Faye standing there so helpless, she gathered her courage.
"If you really love Faye that much, then return all the money you took from her. Write an IOU with a repayment date. And if you want to discuss marriage again, the bride price can't be skipped."
She knew that when Faye and Karl had previously discussed marriage, they'd agreed to no bride price—Faye's parents had even offered to pay for the wedding. Someone like Karl would never willingly spit back out money he'd already swallowed.
Sure enough, at Arabella's words, Karl's eyes flickered. He blustered, "My business with Faye is none of your concern. Why don't you shut up and piss off!"
Beside them, Faye was already in tears. Whatever tiny shred of hope she'd still held for Karl vanished completely after those last words. She understood Arabella's intentions and was grateful that someone was still trying to pull her back from the edge.
Arabella was right—her life was long. Five years of being together day and night? Compared to the rest of her life, it was nothing. She could still walk away now. But if she actually married him, had his child, her entire life would truly be over.
The person she'd fallen in love with initially wasn't like this. The partner she wanted wasn't like this either.
She bit her lip, choking back tears. "Karl, just go. The abortion is my decision alone. I won't ask you for nutrition fees either. Whether I keep this baby or not is none of your business."
Karl's eyes blazed with rage. "Faye! Why are you doing this to me? It's all this bitch's fault for putting ideas in your head! I'll kill this bitch!"
As he spoke, his hand swung toward Arabella's face. Gasps echoed around them.
Arabella was terrified, but in that split second, she couldn't react in time—couldn't even dodge. Just then, a stern voice rang out from down the corridor. "Freeze! Police! Anyone causing a disturbance, get down on the ground with your hands on your head!"
Karl froze. He didn't have the guts to assault someone in front of the police, so he reluctantly lowered his hand. The police quickly ran over and restrained him.
"Who called this in? What's going on here?"
Arabella stepped forward. "I did." She explained everything Karl had done.
The officer's expression turned disgusted as he listened. When Karl tried to struggle, the cop applied more pressure, making him yelp in pain. After getting statements from the surrounding witnesses, the police took Karl away.
Arabella finally let out a breath. Faye looked at her gratefully. "Arabella, thank you." She turned to Gillian. "Gill, thank you too."
Her voice was quiet. "I'm going in now."
She was still determined to go through with the abortion. This time, no one interrupted. Before long, Faye was wheeled out on a gurney, her face deathly pale but her eyes filled with relief.
Arabella and Gillian rushed forward. "How are you?"
Faye shook her head and smiled faintly. "I'm okay."
The procedure was minor. After resting in the recovery room for a while, the nurse said she could leave. Faye was still in pain, stumbling as Arabella and Gillian supported her on either side.
When they reached the hospital entrance, she looked back, tears glistening in her eyes. "I used to dream about this baby being born. And now I've ended its life with my own hands. I'm not a qualified mother."
Arabella said softly, "But if you'd kept it, you would've given it an even worse fate. The baby would understand."
Faye nodded through her tears. "Let's go."
Arabella thought that would be the end of it. She didn't expect Rachel to show up at the office the very next day, standing outside the marketing department and shouting, "Which one of you is Faye? Get your ass out here!"
She wore a brand new Chanel suit and carried a Hermès Birkin bag, flanked by two bodyguards. She clearly wasn't someone to mess with. Her outburst drew quite a crowd from around the office.
Faye had just had her abortion and was still weak. She'd already seen Rachel in the video, so she stood up and walked out of the office. "Hello, I'm Faye."
Worried that Rachel might hurt Faye, Arabella and Gillian followed her out.
Rachel was about to unleash on Faye when she spotted Arabella, something seeming to click. "Oh, so you work at this company too. I'd forgotten."
Arabella looked at her, frowning. "Rachel, Faye's the victim here. You shouldn't be coming after her."
Rachel crossed her arms, scoffing. "Arabella, just because Alexander's got your back doesn't mean you can stick your nose in my business. I'm here to deal with this homewrecker today, so you better stay out of my way."
"Why do you need to 'deal with' Faye?" Arabella couldn't understand. "Wasn't Karl the one playing both sides? He's been with Faye for years. When he met you, he wanted a sugar mama. Now Faye's cut ties with him completely. If you want him, you can have him. Why come after Faye?"
Rachel let out a cold laugh. "I don't want Karl. He's just a man. If I wanted one, I could crook my finger and have them lining up to serve me." Her expression twisted. "But Karl coming after me when he already had a girlfriend? That makes me sick. Of course I'm not letting Karl off the hook—but I'm dealing with this Faye woman too."
Faye actually laughed. "I thought you were here to punish me over Karl. Hearing that you don't want him is actually a relief. At least he won't be ruining another girl's life."
Rachel's eyes turned hostile. "What are you saying? You think talking like that will make me go easy on you? You two are an embarrassment to me. I came here today to teach you a lesson. If I don't vent this anger, I won't be able to move on."
She looked at her bodyguards. "Hold her."
The bodyguards immediately stepped forward, each grabbing one of Faye's arms. Arabella hadn't expected Rachel to actually follow through in broad daylight. Her eyes widened. "Rachel, let her go!"
Rachel stared hard at Arabella, who'd stepped in front of Faye. "Move!"
Arabella obviously wasn't going to move. Faye was weak, and Rachel had come ready for a fight. If Rachel actually got her hands on Faye, she might end up in the hospital. Arabella couldn't just stand by and let that happen.
She pressed her lips together, then for the first time pulled out the Alexander card. "I'm carrying Alexander's baby. If you want to piss him off, go ahead and try. But you'd better be prepared for the FitzRoy family to retaliate against the Watsons."
Rachel's expression shifted, her face flushing with anger. "Are you threatening me?"
Arabella didn't answer. She was threatening her, because aside from threats, she had no other options. She couldn't match Rachel's muscle, and most of her colleagues were just here for the show—nobody was stepping up to help.
Fortunately, Rachel wasn't completely reckless. The moment Alexander's name came up, she'd already backed down halfway. She bit out, "Arabella, you're something else."
Then she turned to Faye, her gaze venomous. "Bitch, you're lucky today." She snapped at her bodyguards, "Let's go!"
She pushed through the crowd of onlookers and left.
Faye's face was pale. "Arabella, thank you. You helped me again."
Arabella quickly steadied her. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
Faye shook her head quickly. "I'm fine. Not hurt."
Some of the nosier colleagues tried to come over and fish for gossip, but Gillian deftly shooed them all away.
Back in the office, Gillian asked Arabella curiously, "Arabella, does your husband have some serious pull?" Rachel was Anthony's sister, after all. To scare her off with just a name? That took real power.
Arabella smiled. "He does okay." She didn't really know how to explain it.
Gillian's imagination clearly ran wild, her expression brightening considerably. "Okay, I'm kind of shipping this relationship now."
Near the end of the workday, Arabella got a call from Alexander. His voice was low. "Want to grab dinner with my friends tonight?"
Arabella remembered Frank's girlfriend's invitation from before and understood. "Sure."
"I'll come pick you up then."
When it was time to clock out, Alexander appeared downstairs as promised. Once she got in the car, there was the usual sandwich and milk waiting.
"Eat something first. Tide you over."
Arabella took them. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Alexander's tone turned teasing. "The baby's half mine too, you know."
Arabella didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "One for each of us—I remember. You don't need to keep reminding me."
Alexander's lips curved up, but he didn't comment.