Chapter 133 Try Touching Her!
Once Isabella had settled into a deep sleep, Arabella quietly got up to use the guest bathroom for her evening routine.
Gabriel emerged from his shower to find the bed empty, and his expression instantly darkened!
He was about to storm out and drag her back when the bedroom door gently opened, revealing the woman entering with her long hair flowing around her shoulders as she combed through it with her fingers.
Their eyes met, and Arabella didn't miss the obvious anger on his face. She immediately understood. "I went to take a shower. Is that not allowed either?"
Gabriel forced himself to swallow the rage burning in his chest, a flush of embarrassment crossing his handsome features.
In the tense silence, Arabella walked past him to the far side of the king-size bed and pulled back the covers.
"It's late. Let's get some sleep," she said flatly, slipping under the soft comforter.
Gabriel remained frozen in place. By the time he'd composed himself and turned around, she was already lying down with her eyes closed.
Looking at her cold, seemingly indifferent demeanor, he felt his blood pressure spike.
His daughter's tiny, soft body lay in the center of the bed—clearly Arabella's deliberate attempt to use Isabella as a barrier between them.
Gabriel stared at this arrangement for a long moment, his mind going blank with frustration.
The day had been exhausting from start to finish, and despite his physical exhaustion, he brooded for several more minutes before finally climbing into bed himself.
Arabella felt the mattress shift slightly but didn't open her eyes, continuing to feign sleep.
There was no way he'd dare move Isabella from the middle of the bed.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard soft rustling sounds gradually moving closer. When she sensed something amiss, she snapped her eyes open to see Gabriel kneeling beside their daughter, carefully sliding his hands underneath the sleeping baby.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Arabella's eyes went wide with alarm.
Only someone who'd actually cared for babies understood how incredibly difficult it was to get them to sleep!
If someone accidentally—or intentionally—woke a baby you'd finally managed to settle, the frustration was enough to drive you to murder!
But Gabriel wasn't deterred.
He continued lifting their daughter's soft little body, explaining quietly, "The pediatrician said babies shouldn't sleep with adults. They end up breathing recycled air, which can affect brain development."
Arabella was speechless.
Damn it, she couldn't actually argue with that!
Because it was technically true!
She watched helplessly as he lifted Isabella, preparing to transfer her to the bassinet beside the bed. In her mind, she prayed for Isabella to resist—to wake up crying right now, right now—
But the expected wailing never came...
Gabriel held his breath, moving with painstaking care as he placed their daughter down, silently begging her not to wake up, not to cry—then slowly straightened up.
Isabella wrinkled her brow and stretched slightly, making Gabriel's heart leap into his throat.
Arabella watched the scene unfold, ready to jump up and comfort the baby while simultaneously preparing to unleash a furious tirade!
But surprisingly, the little girl who normally slept so lightly that the slightest disturbance would wake her crying, somehow remained peacefully asleep despite her father's less-than-gentle handling.
"See? She loves her own little bed," Gabriel said with relief, turning back to look at his wife.
Arabella shot him a withering glare, completely unwilling to engage, and turned to face away from him.
Gabriel didn't seem to mind. After leaving a small nightlight on, he climbed back into bed.
With no barrier between them now, he found himself hesitating...
Afraid of being pushed away if he moved closer, even more afraid they'd end up fighting in the middle of the night, he wavered between restraint and longing.
Finally, after about ten minutes of internal struggle, he estimated that the woman beside him had fallen asleep. Unable to resist any longer, he quietly turned over and slowly moved toward her, slipping an arm around her waist and drawing her into his embrace.
Arabella wasn't asleep at all—she'd just been ignoring him to avoid endless arguments.
But when she felt the man's large hand gradually moving toward her chest, she finally couldn't keep up the pretense. In the dark silence of the night, she spoke suddenly, "Gabriel, in your eyes... am I just the equivalent of a blow-up doll?"
Gabriel's hand, which had been about to slip inside her nightgown, froze completely.
The air became deathly quiet.
After a moment, he withdrew his hand, even taking care to smooth down her nightgown properly, then settled for simply holding her waist.
"You don't need to say such harsh things just to provoke me. Sexual desire is human nature."
Arabella smiled coldly to herself, too tired to argue.
She'd never thought he was this twisted before. How was it that ever since their conflicts had escalated and she'd directly asked for divorce, he seemed even more unwilling to let her go?
The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated in their mutual silence, until the woman's breathing became steady as she drifted off to sleep.
But the man behind her lay awake, his bright eyes staring into the darkness, alone with his insomnia.
————
Arabella went to the office early the next morning.
The moment she stepped into the department, she could feel something was off.
She glanced toward the manager's office and confirmed her suspicion—Zane wasn't there. It looked like he'd actually resigned.
In the break room, there was now a small refrigerator that hadn't been there before.
Arabella stopped short when she went to get water and saw it.
Ella followed her into the break room and, understanding immediately, moved closer to whisper, "It was here when I arrived this morning. The company must have gotten it specifically for storing your breast milk—and look, they installed security cameras in here too, pointing right at the fridge."
Arabella looked up where Ella was pointing and indeed saw a camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling.
While many people would have been thrilled and proud of such special treatment, Arabella just felt uncomfortable all over, like she was being roasted over an open fire.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Ella understood her feelings and asked with a sigh, "What are you planning to do?"
Arabella knew what she meant. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I was planning to stay since I need the money, but now it feels like I can't remain at this company."
Her colleagues were probably already keeping their distance because they knew her true identity.
Now with upper management giving her this kind of special treatment, making her stand out so much, she couldn't adapt to it.
"I'm going to HR to resign in a bit."
Ella comforted her, "You're talented—you won't have trouble finding work. And worst case, if you can't find something right away, you can help me with my social media content. The pay won't be worse than a regular job."
Hearing this, Arabella's gloomy mood instantly brightened.
Since they were alone in the break room, she lowered her voice, "I'd feel so bad about that... You're already renting me the apartment at such a low rate, and now you'd solve my work situation too. I..."
"What's to feel bad about?" Ella interrupted. "I recognize your talent—this is what you call mutual benefit."
Putting it that way made Arabella feel much better about the arrangement.
Walking out of the break room, the colleagues' whispered conversations immediately stopped.
Arabella couldn't be bothered to worry about what everyone was saying behind her back. She headed straight to HR to submit her resignation.