Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Christina finally figured it out.

It must be her shy reactions that Gabriel enjoyed, which was why he kept teasing her on purpose.

Where was that steady, composed guy from before?

Was it because he was her fiancé now?

Gabriel kept pushing his luck. "Christina, you said you liked me. Can I give you a hug?"

Christina rolled her eyes. His hands were already around her waist before he even asked - wasn't that a bit pointless?

"I said I liked you, not that I liked you hugging me," she said stubbornly.

"Well, I like hugging you."

"Gabriel, you've changed."

"As long as my love for you hasn't changed."

Christina crossed her arms. "Gabriel, you smooth talker. Let go of me right now. I need to go pick up Juniper."

Worried that Christina would get angry, Gabriel released her. "I'll come with you."

"No need. Go do your own thing."

"But I want to be with you."

"We have plenty of time together. I don't want you forcing time into your schedule to be with me and then showing up with dark circles under your eyes. I'd feel bad."

"I have dark circles!"

Gabriel suddenly stepped back and rushed to the mirror.

"Christina, I do have some things to take care of. I'll head out now. Have fun with Juniper, and call me anytime you need me!"

Gabriel ran off.

Christina had noticed even such faint dark circles — as soon as he left The White Manor, he called Brian.

"Find the best beauticians in Aurora City. Tell them to be careful and don't let Christina see them."

Even after hanging up, Brian wondered if he had heard Gabriel correctly.

Gabriel was worried about Christina thinking less of him.

Brian clicked his tongue in amazement. Only Christina could make someone like Gabriel anxious about his appearance.

Christina was leaving just as the team of beauticians arrived.

"Delphine!" Christina was delighted and rolled down her window to greet her.

But when Delphine saw her, she turned to look ahead, her mouth opening and closing as if saying something, and then her car suddenly sped up and zoomed away.

Christina was confused.

The next second, a message from Delphine came: "Sorry, Christina, I have an emergency. No time to catch up. Let's find a good time to talk properly next time."

Christina agreed, of course, but she didn't believe Delphine's excuse about having an emergency. Delphine had clearly told her driver to speed up after seeing her - she was avoiding her.

Why?

Christina didn't understand, but she didn't dwell on it either.

It was normal for friends to have secrets.

If Delphine didn't want her to know, she'd pretend she hadn't noticed.

After confirming Christina had left the neighborhood, Delphine told her driver, who had been circling around, to turn back to The Stone Manor.

Gabriel watched everything from the second floor.

When he saw Delphine, his urgent concern about his skin condition was suddenly pushed aside.

"Delphine, I remember you and Christina are pretty close."

Delphine blinked, unsure whether to say they were close or not.

What were this engaged couple up to?

"Don't be nervous. I just hope you won't mention that I called you when you catch up with her."

"Of course." Delphine gave her most professional smile. "We always take our clients' requests seriously."

Gabriel finally relaxed. He lay back on the sofa. "Go ahead."

"Mr. Stone, you haven't told us what service you need."

"See my dark circles? I need them gone."

Delphine's mouth twitched.

Gabriel's dark circles were very faint - clearly not chronic. To make them disappear, sleeping well for two hours might do more than the time spent on beauty treatments.

Of course, she couldn't pass up money.

Delphine wasn't stupid enough to say this out loud, and started working with her team.

"Mr. Stone, besides the dark circles, I've also arranged a complete skincare routine for you."

"You're very good. Come give me treatments once a month - no, once a week from now on. Coordinate the schedule with Brian."

Delphine was speechless.

She suddenly thought of Christina.

They say women dress up for the ones they like, but men are the same.

Was Gabriel afraid of Christina thinking less of him?

Delphine knew but didn't say.

She worked even harder.

She would make Christina unable to take her eyes off Gabriel!

Meanwhile, Christina picked up Juniper.

Coming with her were Juno and Freya.

The three hit it off immediately, talking so much that Christina's two ears couldn't keep up.

The four went to their usual private club.

But they ran into Chloe at the entrance.

"Christina, you're coming here too? I heard they recently got some handsome masseurs. Want me to arrange one for you?"

Christina frowned. "No thanks, I'm fine."

"Since we've run into each other, you have to let me arrange it. I'll get one for each of you three as well."

Then Chloe looked at Juniper. "Christina, who's this? I don't think I've seen her in Aurora City."

"My friend, Juniper."

"Juniper? From the Glenn family in Harborview City?" After her surprise came understanding. "So you're from the Glenn family. You're lucky to have latched onto Christina. I heard the White family signed a big contract with your Glenn family yesterday. You should definitely treat Christina even better."

No one likes being looked down on, and Chloe was doing it on purpose.

Even the way she looked at Juniper carried contempt.

Christina stepped forward. "Chloe, please respect my friend."

"Christina!"

Chloe looked at Christina. "I'm Gabriel's cousin."

"Oh, so you're Gabriel - Mr. Stone's cousin. Hello. Thanks for the offer, but we'll pass on the handsome guys. We just want to sit together and chat without anyone else around."

Chloe frowned. "Were you about to call Gabriel by his first name? If it weren't for Christina, you wouldn't even know Gabriel. What gives you the right to call him by his name?"

Juniper had corrected herself, but Chloe kept pressing. Christina didn't hold back. "Chloe, aren't names meant to be used? What's your problem? Gabriel doesn't mind. And I should remind you - if it weren't for your evil-minded biological parents, you wouldn't have had access to Gabriel either."

"What does that mean?" Juniper's curiosity was piqued.

She'd originally wanted to avoid conflict between Christina and Chloe, which might affect Christina's future marriage into the Stone family.

But now it sounded like there was more to the story.

And Christina clearly didn't care about any of this and was willing to stand up for her.

So she could stand tall too.

"My business is none of your concern!" Chloe snapped at Juniper.

But Juniper really didn't care about her attitude anymore.

"I'll tell you later," Christina said, answering her phone.

It was Gabriel calling.

"Juniper's there? Welcome. You all hang out - I'd just make you uncomfortable. Let's have dinner together tonight. How about The Copper Kettle? Didn't you mention in Harborview City that you wanted to try it?"

Christina winked at Juniper.

"Gabriel! You never talk this much with me!"