Chapter 134 Breakup 1
Soon after, Allan personally came to find Arabella, making every effort to convince her to stay and asking if she'd been mistreated in any way.
She said nothing about the real reasons, simply explaining that her children were sick and needed care, so she'd decided to return to focusing on her family.
When she returned to the department one last time, two senior male colleagues were in a heated argument about who should be promoted to department manager, each digging up dirt on the other.
Arabella wasn't in the mood to pay attention to office politics. She simply packed up her few belongings from her cubicle and left gracefully while her coworkers watched in surprise and confusion.
Walking out of the company building, she looked up at the weak winter sun and felt both heavy-hearted and strangely liberated.
It was a contradictory feeling.
But that's life—fighting tooth and nail, giving everything you have, sometimes feeling like you're about to fall off a cliff, but sometimes finding unexpected hope when all seems lost.
This brief job had brought her plenty of trouble and even affected her precious babies, but it had also brought her opportunities and friendship.
She was grateful for every chapter of life's journey, whether good or bad.
Ella sent her a text suggesting she go straight to the apartment to get settled. She'd bring over a laptop after work so Arabella could seamlessly transition into her new job.
Seeing this arrangement, Arabella didn't even have time to feel sad—she was immediately fired up with determination.
After getting the apartment simply organized, she sat down to catch her breath and admire her little nest when her phone rang. It was Sophia.
"Arabella, are you busy..." Sophia's voice sounded unhappy when she answered.
Arabella immediately tensed up with concern. "Sophia, what's wrong?"
Sophia sighed heavily and grumbled, "I had a fight with Zachary. That jerk—I asked him for a few thousand dollars and he said he didn't have it, then gave me a whole lecture."
Arabella was completely confused and quickly asked for details.
Sophia was worried about interrupting her work, saying she'd explain when Arabella got off work. That's when Arabella mentioned she'd quit.
"Quit? Weren't you planning to get divorced and move out? Now you don't even have a job—how are you going to support yourself?"
Arabella said, "It's a long story. If you're free, I'll send you an address and you can come over."
After hanging up, she texted Sophia the apartment address.
An hour later, Sophia arrived with her daughter.
"This place is really nice—convenient neighborhood, good transportation. Your friend is so reliable, she's like your guardian angel!" Sophia said after looking around the apartment approvingly.
Arabella looked at her friend's daughter and said apologetically, "I just got here and haven't bought anything yet, so I don't have any snacks to offer you."
Sophia waved her off. "Don't worry about it, she's not hungry."
When Arabella asked about their fight, Sophia finally explained, "My brother is getting married and wants to buy a house. He asked to borrow ten thousand dollars—he actually has the money, but it's tied up in investments that haven't matured yet, so he just needs to borrow it temporarily until after New Year's. I mentioned it to Zachary thinking it wouldn't be a big deal and he'd definitely agree. But he immediately said no, claiming we're also planning to buy a house and if my brother doesn't pay it back, it'll affect our plans."
Arabella was puzzled. "But didn't your brother say he'd pay it back after New Year's?"
"Exactly! But Zachary thinks my brother is lying and doesn't actually have the money. He said I'm too soft-hearted and this money would be gone for good."
"That shows a serious lack of trust between you two."
"Maybe. There's another issue too—I think Zachary has become really arrogant since his career started taking off. His whole attitude toward me at home has changed, like he thinks he's doing me such a huge favor by supporting the family!" Sophia became even more frustrated as she talked.
Looking at her friend's bare face, then thinking of the glamorous woman she used to be, Arabella sighed helplessly. "I warned you to think twice—being a stay-at-home wife isn't easy."
"I know, but what choice did I have... Living with his mother made us both miserable."
Indeed, Arabella understood that many marital problems truly had no perfect solutions—it just came down to who could endure more, who could sacrifice more.
After discussing several negative topics, Arabella also explained why she'd quit. Sophia nodded understandingly. "You were right to quit. Being ostracized by coworkers makes work pointless."
"Exactly, so I quit and feel relieved. Fortunately my friend is letting me help manage her social media accounts, so I won't be idle."
"Like... being her assistant?"
"Something like that. We haven't had a chance to discuss details yet."
"That's great! Social media is really hot right now. If you do it well, it could be much better than a regular job, and the schedule is more flexible—even after your divorce, you could sneak over during the day to see your children."
Arabella hadn't thought of that possibility, but Sophia's suggestion made her eyes light up.
Her fear was that after the divorce, Gabriel wouldn't let her see the children whenever she wanted.
Once the apartment was settled, Arabella headed home early.
The children had basically recovered, with eating, drinking, and everything else back to normal.
She fed the twins and waited for them to play by themselves, then went upstairs to pack her belongings.
She really didn't have much to pack—one suitcase and one travel bag contained all her possessions.
Just as she finished packing, Mary came upstairs to call her and was startled to see the luggage. "Ma'am... what, what are you doing?"
Arabella smiled gently and said, "I'm moving out. I'll have to trouble Mary to look after the children more in the future. But I'll come back to see them whenever I can, and I'll still pump milk and bring it when I visit."
The twins had already adapted to mixed feeding. Aside from Isabella being occasionally picky, Henry would eat pretty much anything.
She wasn't worried about that.
The reason she planned to continue pumping was probably because subconsciously she still couldn't let go of her children.
Breast milk was her only remaining connection to her babies, and her way of making up for being selfish.
Mary's face fell into deep wrinkles after hearing this. "Ma'am... this, why is this necessary—married couples always fight and make up. You two... especially since Mr. Sterling has changed quite a bit, why don't you give him another chance?"
Arabella's expression remained gentle. She neither argued nor agreed, having already made up her mind.
————
When Gabriel returned that evening, Arabella had already put the children to sleep.
For once, she voluntarily stayed in the master bedroom and didn't deliberately create any barriers between them.
Her packed suitcase and travel bag sat against the wall in the master bedroom, visible the moment he walked in.
Gabriel stood tall in the doorway, his long, cold fingers unbuttoning his shirt while his eyes stared with icy menace at the luggage.
Arabella got up from the bed and picked up the divorce papers from the nightstand, then walked toward him.
"Gabriel, I've already signed the divorce agreement. Please sign it too, and let's part on good terms." Her face wore a gentle smile, her beautiful eyes looking steadily at him, her tone calm and peaceful.
Gabriel had heard from Mary downstairs the moment he entered—that his wife was leaving.
All the way upstairs, anger had been churning inside him, though his expression remained calm and indifferent.
Even now, seeing the suitcase with his own eyes and having her hand him the divorce papers, he didn't explode. He just pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Where did you get this divorce agreement printed? It won't hit the gossip headlines tomorrow saying I got dumped by my wife, will it?"