Chapter 10 Devastating News
Though they walked in an intimate embrace, neither spoke a word, and the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward.
Gabriel maintained a calm exterior, but internally, his emotions were stirring.
When he'd arrived, Arabella had still been standing around the corner.
Just as he was wondering what she was doing there, he caught fragments of Helen and Lydia's conversation, then watched her charge forward to take on both women single-handedly, defending his reputation.
It had caught him completely off guard.
In their daily interactions, Arabella never had a kind word for him, and these past few days, she'd been so upset with him that they'd even moved to separate bedrooms.
They weren't sleeping together, and when he left for work in the mornings, she was still asleep, so they'd barely seen each other for days.
Yet despite their strained relationship, when she'd overheard people slandering and defaming him, she'd rushed out without hesitation.
Helen and Lydia were family elders, yet she'd dared to challenge them directly, arguing her case with conviction—it had truly surprised him.
It seemed her gentle, docile demeanor was merely protective camouflage. The real her, beneath that pleasing facade, was far more captivating than the surface image.
As they approached the hospital room in continued silence, Gabriel finally couldn't resist breaking the tension, "Do you realize that if I hadn't shown up when I did, you might have gotten slapped?"
"What?" The sudden comment startled Arabella, and she whirled around to look at him.
Seeing his calm eyes and gentle expression, their bodies still pressed close together; she could even smell the fresh scent of his cologne—the psychological walls she'd just built up crumbled slightly, and her cheeks flushed pink.
"I... I would have been fine. They're family elders—it's not like I could fight back. As long as they didn't knock over my soup container, I'd have managed."
Soup? Gabriel glanced at the thermal container in her hands, finding her response both amusing and endearing.
Her thought process really was unique.
Suddenly wanting to engage her in more conversation, Gabriel smiled and asked, "How did you know they were slandering me? To be honest, Grandfather does favor me somewhat, which is why they're resentful."
"Grandfather's favoritism is his choice—it's not your fault. Chase is in politics with a bright future ahead, and Ryan's interests span the whole world except the company. The situation is obvious—you were forced into this position out of necessity. Yet they insist on claiming you schemed your way there. Anyone would find that hard to swallow."
Arabella lowered her voice, muttering her complaints.
As Gabriel listened, he found himself at a loss for how to categorize her.
He'd always thought she wasn't particularly sharp, but it turned out she'd been quietly observing many things with crystal clarity.
She had a certain quality of wisdom disguised as simplicity.
He found himself inexplicably smiling, wanting to compliment her, but the impulse immediately struck him as odd.
Given their relationship, it would be better for both of them to maintain proper boundaries and not overstep.
Pushing open the hospital room door, Gabriel looked toward the bed, "Grandfather, we're here."
William was awake, with a nurse massaging his legs.
Seeing the couple arrive together, William's face lit up with joy, and he asked with a smile, "How did you two end up coming together? Did you take the day off work?"
Gabriel approached, removing his suit jacket and setting it aside, then rolling up his sleeves to take over from the nurse, continuing to massage William's legs as he explained, "I went to work today. Arabella mentioned she'd made soup at home and was bringing you some for lunch, so I asked about the timing and joined her."
Arabella was speechless.
His skill at lying was truly impressive!
While internally rolling her eyes, she maintained a smile on her face.
"Grandfather, this soup turned out really well. You should drink it while it's hot."
"Good, I'll drink it right away..." William started to sit up, and Gabriel immediately moved to support him, grabbing pillows to prop behind his back.
"Let me handle the soup." He reached out to take the soup container from Arabella's hands, settling beside the hospital bed.
He performed all these actions with practiced ease, not at all like he was putting on an act.
As Arabella handed him the soup bowl, she reflected that whatever his other faults might be, at least he had the virtue of filial devotion.
William asked, "Have you two had lunch yet?"
"Yes."
"No..."
Arabella and Gabriel answered simultaneously, but with opposite responses.
William raised an eyebrow, looking at Gabriel, "You haven't eaten yet?"
"Just came from the office—haven't had a chance," Gabriel replied, continuing to help him with the soup.
William immediately waved his hand dismissively, "Well then, don't hover around here. Go get some food. Arabella, you go with him. After lunch, let him drive you home before he goes back to work."
Clearly, William wasn't going to miss any opportunity to create alone time for them.
"There's no rush—we'll wait until you finish your soup..." Gabriel said.
"No, no, go on. I have doctors, nurses, and caregivers here—any one of them is more useful than you hovering around. What can you possibly do here? You should spend your free time with Arabella and the children instead. Don't miss out on watching them grow up."
He kept insisting they leave, and Gabriel had no choice but to look at Arabella, "Well... shall we go then?"
Arabella nodded, "Grandfather, finish your soup and get some rest. If you want anything specific to eat, have the caregiver call me. I'll bring it tomorrow."
"Alright, don't worry about me."
The two turned to leave.
Once the hospital room door closed, William, who'd seemed in good spirits moments before, suddenly contorted in pain, unable to swallow the soup in his mouth.
The caregiver, recognizing his reaction, immediately understood and quickly set down the soup bowl, grabbing the waste basket.
William doubled over, violently spitting up a mouthful of bright red blood.
The caregiver panicked and moved to call the doctor, but William grabbed her arm.
"Don't... don't alert the medical staff... wait until they... get far away." William managed to force out these words before collapsing weakly against the headboard, breathing with difficulty.
In the elevator, Gabriel stared at the descending floor numbers and suddenly remarked out of nowhere, "Grandfather must be in terrible pain right now."
Arabella was confused by this non sequitur and turned to look at him with raised eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
Gabriel's expression darkened, shadows gathering between his brows, his tone heavy and somber, "Grandfather rushed us out not because I hadn't eaten, but because he couldn't hold on any longer. He didn't want us to see him being tortured by the pain, so he had to urge us to leave quickly."
So Gabriel had already seen through his grandfather's intentions and was respecting his wishes.
Since his grandfather didn't want them to know, he would pretend ignorance.
"What?" Arabella was stunned, taking a moment to process before asking, "Are you saying Grandfather's condition is very serious? But just a few days ago, didn't they say his condition had stabilized, and he'd be discharged to go home in a few more days?"
"Cancer isn't so easily stabilized. Once it recurs, the condition becomes uncontrollable. The doctors say the cancer cells have already metastasized. William has been strong his whole life—he refuses to lose his dignity in front of others, so no matter how much pain he's in, he endures it."
Arabella stood frozen, as if doused with cold water, momentarily unable to respond.
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. She watched Gabriel step out first, then snapped back to reality and hurried to follow.
"So how much time does Grandfather really have left? Is there truly no way to save him?"