Chapter 137 House Arrest
The events of last night replayed in Gabriel's mind. Arabella, stubborn and proud as she was, had actually set aside her dignity and pride just to please him, just to get him to sign those divorce papers.
No matter how humiliating his demands, how twisted his desires, she had gritted her teeth and endured it all, complying without question.
He should have felt satisfied, should have felt that intoxicating rush of conquest.
But in reality, the more he took, the more furious he became. The more frustrated.
She wanted that divorce so badly! So desperate to cut all ties with him!
Even when he'd lowered himself, apologized, reflected—none of it could win her back!
Never in his life had he experienced such crushing defeat, and from a woman whose status and position were far beneath his own.
Gabriel found himself smiling bitterly. The smile faded into rage as he sat up, grabbed those papers, and without hesitation tore them clean in half before feeding them into the shredder.
Divorce? In her dreams!
If it came down to it, he'd simply keep her locked up.
As long as she was here, she could hate him, rage at him—it didn't matter.
Lock her up long enough, and she'd eventually submit.
Gabriel's thinking was simple and brutal, but he underestimated both Arabella's intelligence and her resourcefulness.
Confined to the house for half a day, Arabella hadn't been idle.
After soothing Isabella, she'd returned to the study to continue writing on her laptop.
Even trapped as she was, work couldn't stop.
Ella had secured two more brand partnerships—companies they'd worked with before, reliable quality, but the promotional content needed fresh writing. She couldn't just recycle old material and fool her readers.
Ella now trusted Arabella completely to handle these assignments.
After finishing the copy and sending it off, she messaged Ella about it.
Ella replied via Facebook, mentioning she'd ordered a refrigerator last night that would be delivered today, asking her to remember to receive it.
Arabella frowned, messaging back that she was under house arrest and couldn't get to the apartment.
Soon, Ella was calling.
"House arrest? What do you mean? You're locked up?"
Arabella sighed heavily, frustration evident in her voice: "Yes, I packed everything last night, prepared the divorce papers, tried to discuss it reasonably with him, but he completely ignored me. I thought I could at least move out first and handle the divorce gradually, but he's got this place guarded like Fort Knox. I couldn't escape if I sprouted wings."
She truly couldn't escape.
She'd tried the front gate—blocked. Surely the side entrance would work? Nope, guards there too.
Even the mansion's grounds had security patrolling casually, preventing any window escape attempts.
She really hadn't expected Gabriel to go to such elaborate lengths to keep her here. She was honored, in the most twisted way possible!
Ella was quiet for a moment. "It seems... he genuinely doesn't want this divorce."
"But I'm absolutely determined to get one!"
"Don't panic, take it slow. Worst case, you can file in court—though that would mean all-out war, and with two children involved, that should be a last resort." Ella's advice was heartfelt.
Arabella had already considered this, which was why she couldn't bring herself to take that final step. She was terrified that crossing Gabriel would mean never seeing her children again.
"I know. I'll stay calm."
After hanging up, Arabella debated whether to ask Manuel for help.
Among people who could actually assist her—people Gabriel couldn't easily destroy—only Manuel came to mind.
But asking for his help would mean owing him an enormous favor.
How could she ever repay that?
Frustrated, depressed, infuriated!
She held her head in her hands, wracking her brain, when suddenly—she thought of someone!
Emily!
How could she have forgotten—she could ask Emily for help!
Her former rival could now be considered an ally of sorts.
Getting Emily involved would complicate things, but given the current situation, the more complex and chaotic things became, the better it would be for her!
With this realization, Arabella immediately grabbed her phone and found Emily's number in her contacts!
She'd never initiated contact with Emily before, but over the past two years, Emily had reached out to her plenty of times—mostly to "educate" her on how to be a proper wife to Gabriel, how to take care of him.
As the phone rang, her heart fluttered with nervousness.
Emily had just miscarried—she wasn't sure how well the woman had recovered, or if she'd have the energy to get involved in all this.
She even found herself considering how to embellish the story, to make Emily's lovesick brain even more irrational.
The phone rang for a while before someone picked up, Emily's disbelieving voice coming through: "Arabella?"
"It's me." Arabella responded openly, politely adding, "Hello, Mrs. Kingsley."
"Are you calling to humiliate me? Or to kick me while I'm down? Knowing about my miscarriage, you must be thrilled!" Emily immediately bristled like a threatened porcupine at that "Mrs. Kingsley," her words turning nasty.
Arabella had expected the misunderstanding. Without taking offense, she explained calmly: "I'm not here to gloat. I'm sincerely asking for your help—"
Before Emily could object, she quickly added, "It's about Gabriel!"
Emily had been ready with a cutting response, but hearing Gabriel's name, she swallowed her sarcasm and asked instead: "What kind of help?"
"I want to divorce Gabriel, but he's refusing. Not only refusing, but he's had me locked up. I've been sick of this place for ages and don't want to stay another moment. I figured he's so stubborn, he won't listen to anyone—except you. Your words carry weight with him, so you're my only option."
Arabella had to admire her own talent for fabrication.
Maybe this was another one of the "skills" Ella valued in her?
Sure enough, Emily hesitated after hearing this. "You... you're certain about divorcing Gabriel?"
"Yes."
"Then why won't he divorce you?"
"Maybe because the children are so young and he doesn't want them to grow up without a mother. Maybe because of Grandfather's will, how he insisted Gabriel treat me well—you know how much Gabriel respected his grandfather. Or maybe he's worried about how a divorce would affect his reputation."
Arabella continued her shameless lies with a straight face.
Truth was, she didn't understand Gabriel's real reasons for refusing divorce either. These were genuinely her own speculations.
"Actually... Gabriel has always loved you. He only slept with me that night you got married because he was so heartbroken, he drank too much and mistook me for you. And these past two years, he's called out your name in his sleep so many times... His love for you goes beyond anything you could imagine. I heard you're getting divorced too, which works out perfectly—you could be together openly, without any constraints."
Arabella's words struck precisely at Emily's exhausted heartstrings, instantly clouding the woman's recently gained clarity and rationality with renewed delusion.
"Gabriel... I knew it. Gabriel still loves me in his heart... He just had to push me away because of circumstances... He was afraid of making Dominic angry, afraid of public opinion... afraid of disappointing Grandfather's spirit... Gabriel, he's had it so hard... spending years with a woman he doesn't love, he must be suffering so much inside..." Emily's thoughts scattered as she murmured to herself, overwhelmed with sympathy for Gabriel.
Listening to this, Arabella felt goosebumps rising all over her skin.