Chapter 154 A Good Man Who Can Cook
Sophia sounded puzzled over the phone. "Your voice still sounds terrible. Why didn't you stay in the hospital for treatment?"
"It wasn't necessary..." Arabella brushed it off casually. "It's just a cold."
Hospitalization...
She simply couldn't afford that right now.
Sophia probably understood her financial constraints and didn't press the issue, changing the subject instead. "Is Mr. Sterling still there? I didn't expect Zachary to get involved last night. I gave him another talking-to this morning—anyway, are you two... okay? Did we cause any trouble for you?"
Arabella smiled bitterly. "It's fine. Your husband meant well, I don't blame him... Listen, Sophia, I'm getting ready to head home, and my phone's about to die. Let's talk later."
"Of course." Sophia agreed, then suddenly remembered something. "Actually, let me come to your apartment. You need someone to take care of you in this condition."
"No, please don't come. I'm worried about giving this to you, and then you'd pass it to Lily—that would be awful."
The mention of contagion immediately alarmed Sophia.
Everyone knew this winter's flu season had been particularly brutal, with childhood pneumonia outbreaks making headlines too.
If adults were suffering this much, children would have it far worse.
Sophia had to consider her daughter's safety and reluctantly settled for repeatedly reminding Arabella to take care of herself—to eat properly and not just tough it out.
After hanging up, Arabella grabbed her medication and dragged her ailing body out of the hospital.
She didn't have the energy to walk to the subway station, so she called a ride right from the hospital entrance.
Once her car pulled away, a Mercedes slowly started up from across the street.
Ralph looked confused. "Mr. Sterling, if you're worried about Mrs. Sterling, why not have someone drive her home?"
Gabriel, who hadn't slept much all night and whose eyes were clearly bloodshot, leaned back against his seat with his eyes closed, saying flatly, "Just drive."
Ralph immediately fell silent and headed toward the airport.
Gabriel did have a legitimate business trip today—a conference that would keep him away for a week.
As for the divorce proceedings, he couldn't be bothered. Let her make whatever moves she wanted.
————
When Arabella returned home, Ella was just arriving at the building.
"How are you coming from outside? Where did you go so early?" Ella had known she wasn't feeling well yesterday, so after dropping her daughter off at school this morning, she'd come straight to the apartment to check on her. She hadn't expected to find Arabella returning from somewhere.
Arabella replied in her broken, raspy voice, "Went to the hospital..."
She briefly explained what had happened the night before.
"Don't come up—this flu is really bad. I don't want to give it to you and have you pass it to your daughter." Arabella kept a distance of several steps while talking, terrified of infecting Ella.
Ella frowned. "Are you sure you can manage on your own?"
"Yes, I'll be fine! You should go back!"
Arabella waved her away and headed upstairs.
Watching her condition, Ella remained worried. After thinking it over, she called Manuel.
Back in her apartment, Arabella showered and changed clothes, wanting to wash away any hospital germs before getting into bed.
She'd barely finished getting ready when the doorbell rang.
Opening the door to find Manuel, she was startled. "Manuel, what are you doing here?"
Manuel smiled warmly. "Ella called me. She said you were sick but wouldn't let her take care of you because you were afraid of infecting her."
He walked in, unwinding his scarf as he explained with a smile, "I'm a bachelor with a pretty good immune system—I'm not worried about catching anything. I wanted to see what you might need."
Arabella was about to politely decline when Manuel cut her off, "Ms. Martinez has resigned and is waiting to start the business with you. If you don't get better quickly, the delays could be costly."
His words immediately sparked her professional drive.
He was right! She couldn't afford to be defeatist or act rashly. Being this sick and still trying to tough it out was pointless.
Seeing her expression soften and her obvious surrender, Manuel smiled again. "Go rest upstairs. I'll tidy up down here and can make lunch. What sounds good to you?"
Arabella looked somewhat surprised, her voice hoarse as she asked, "You can... cook?"
Manuel chuckled. "How hard can cooking be? I can't eat out every single day. I know my way around basic home cooking."
Arabella was secretly impressed.
Wealthy, charming, good-looking, and he could cook—men like that were rare.
She really hoped Manuel and Ella might end up together.
Feeling truly awful, Arabella stopped being polite. After drinking some hot water, she went upstairs to rest.
Manuel tidied the apartment, then checked the refrigerator. Finding it nearly empty, he ordered some light, nutritious ingredients for delivery.
Soon the delivery arrived, and he rolled up his sleeves to start preparing lunch.
Initially, Arabella felt uncomfortable and couldn't sleep well, but the rhythmic sound of his chopping was oddly hypnotic, gradually lulling her into deep sleep.
Whether from the medication or exhaustion, she slept for three solid hours—a deep, almost comatose sleep.
Manuel had called from downstairs several times with no response, finally having to go upstairs and gently shake her awake.
"How are you feeling? I kept calling and couldn't wake you—I was worried you'd passed out." Seeing her open her eyes, Manuel asked with concern.
Realizing how close they were, Arabella immediately sat up uncomfortably, forcing a smile. "I'm okay... probably just haven't been sleeping enough lately..."
"Good. Come eat, then you can sleep some more."
Manuel tactfully stood up and headed downstairs, maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Arabella took a moment to clear her foggy thoughts, and once her head felt somewhat clearer, she immediately checked her chest.
Whether from her poor appetite and reduced eating over the past few days, she could clearly feel her milk supply had decreased.
After sleeping three hours, she hadn't even felt engorged.
That was probably for the best, though—with Manuel here, it would have been inconvenient anyway.
Manuel had finished cooking lunch long ago and kept it warm on the stove.
The apartment filled with the aroma of food, though Arabella's severe congestion prevented her from smelling it.
When she sat down, Manuel had already served the meal and placed it in front of her.
"Thank you..." she expressed her hoarse gratitude.
Manuel served himself as well, sitting down and saying, "Thank me for what? If you keep being so formal, it feels too distant. When you were little, whenever you had problems, you were pretty direct about asking me for help."
Arabella looked embarrassed. "I didn't know any better then."
Manuel gave her a meaningful look, sensing she still maintained some wariness toward him, and said nothing more.
Halfway through the meal, Manuel suddenly remembered business. "Oh, about your divorce case with Mr. Sterling—I spoke with the lawyer again yesterday. Normally, these kinds of high-profile divorce cases could drag on for a year or more, but you can't afford to wait that long. So the lawyer is going to work some angles to get the judge to fast-track the hearing. You need to get better quickly—we're aiming for court next week."
Arabella looked up, somewhat surprised. "Next week? That fast?"