Chapter 155 Being Cuckolded
"What? Don't you want it to happen this quickly?"
"No, no, of course not... I definitely want this resolved as soon as possible, but—"
Arabella's hesitation puzzled Manuel, prompting him to speak directly. "What other concerns do you have? Just tell me, and the lawyer and I will figure out how to handle them."
Arabella sat up slightly. "I don't have any concerns, it's just that Gabriel is on a business trip, and I don't know when he'll be back. He might be deliberately avoiding this whole thing."
Manuel smiled faintly, as if he'd anticipated this. "Don't worry, the court summons has already been served. If he refuses to appear, the court can issue a default judgment, which would actually make things simpler."
After all, if Gabriel did show up in court, he would certainly do everything possible to obstruct the divorce proceedings, and his lawyers weren't pushovers either.
If he truly defaulted, it would actually eliminate those obstacles, which would undoubtedly be highly advantageous for Arabella's side.
"If they can issue a default judgment, that would be perfect!" Hearing this option, Arabella was overjoyed, even secretly hoping he would deliberately stay away.
Every time they met, it ended in unpleasant confrontations. She now wanted nothing more than to avoid seeing him and simply get the divorce finalized cleanly!
"But what if he does show up in court but absolutely refuses to accept the court's ruling? Can they force a divorce judgment? Or would it just drag on indefinitely?" This was another concern of hers.
She worried that if they couldn't get divorced after one or two attempts, the lawyers would no longer be willing to represent her, leaving her back at square one.
The problems Arabella was thinking of, Manuel had considered as well. "Actually, when we had dinner with Ms. Martinez last time, I was planning to discuss this with you, but you got that phone call and rushed off to see the children, so there wasn't time."
Arabella looked at him with curiosity and anticipation. "You have a way to make him agree to the court's ruling?"
"Recently, I met Chase Sterling at a business dinner—he's Gabriel's cousin, in politics, and now a very promising young leader in the state government. It happens to be election season right now, so the Sterling family is under a lot of scrutiny. If any scandal broke at this time, it would be extremely detrimental to the big picture... So I think, if it really comes to that, perhaps we could ask Chase to step in and talk to Gabriel. Surely he can't let personal emotions and marital disputes affect Chase's political career or the Sterling family's future."
Arabella was startled, not expecting Manuel to have connected with Chase.
"I don't know much about Chase—I've seen him a few times at family gatherings, and I only know he's an extremely upright and commanding person..."
"Exactly, so... Gabriel might not listen to his parents' opinions, but he might show some respect for this powerful and influential cousin." After all, if Chase's political career flourished, it would only benefit Gabriel's business empire.
Arabella nodded without saying much, though she felt somewhat uneasy.
Regarding the divorce, she actually wanted to keep things as low-profile as possible, but Gabriel wouldn't agree to an amicable divorce and insisted on taking it to court.
When that happened, the entire Sterling family would know, and she couldn't imagine what they'd say about it.
But on second thought, the Sterling family had looked down on her from the beginning and probably secretly hoped for their divorce anyway. Her worrying about this was really unnecessary.
————
This bout with the flu was the most severe illness Arabella had ever experienced in her life.
For an entire week, she felt dazed and disoriented.
Every day felt like being in purgatory.
Both Sophia and Ella said they wanted to visit her, but she firmly refused them both.
However, Manuel ignored her attitude entirely. When he had time, he'd come over to cook her a meal; when he was busy, he'd have food delivered to her door. He took care of her with meticulous attention.
And all of these scenes were monitored by Gabriel, who was on his business trip abroad.
A week later, Gabriel finally returned to the country.
Samuel came to pick him up at the airport.
Seeing his boss wearing a dark expression from the moment he got in the car, radiating an aura that warned others to stay away, Samuel looked puzzledly at Ralph.
But Ralph just smiled bitterly with a helpless expression.
God knew how he'd gotten through this past week—Gabriel had been like a powder keg every day, getting angry at the slightest thing.
He also knew it was related to Arabella.
But their marriage was already a dead end that no one could salvage, so even knowing the cause couldn't solve the problem.
Samuel had originally planned to report some matters, but seeing Gabriel's expression, he didn't dare speak up and just drove silently.
Unexpectedly, when they reached downtown, Gabriel, who had been silent the entire ride, suddenly spoke, "Pull over."
Samuel was startled and glanced in the rearview mirror to confirm he'd heard correctly, then immediately pulled over.
Before he could ask why, the man in the back seat had already pushed open the door and yanked open the driver's side door, "You two take a cab back. I have something to do."
Samuel immediately understood his boss's intention and scrambled out of the car.
The Maybach sped away, leaving the two men standing on the roadside looking at each other in bewilderment.
Samuel frowned with a grave expression. "Something big is about to happen."
Ralph looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Mr. Sterling is definitely going to find Mrs. Sterling, and Mr. Wright happens to be with her right now..." He had wanted to report this earlier but hadn't dared given Gabriel's dark mood.
Ralph sighed upon hearing this, "Ah... Mr. Sterling's love life is truly fraught with obstacles..."
————
Arabella was very busy today.
She'd been bedridden with illness for a week, but Ella hadn't been idle.
Ella had officially resigned and was racing against time to start their business. In just one week, she'd completed all the relevant procedures and ordered office supplies.
She'd just been considerate of Arabella's health condition and hadn't had anything delivered, not wanting to disturb her recovery.
Today the weather was nice, with warm sunshine, and Arabella woke up feeling much lighter, so she arranged to meet Ella to start setting up their workspace.
As the investor, Manuel had also been called over by Ella.
Actually, such a small investment project didn't require Manuel to be this hands-on, but his willingness to follow every detail made his intentions obvious to everyone.
When Manuel arrived at the apartment, Arabella was just about to go out.
"Where are you going?" Manuel asked curiously.
"To the supermarket across the street to buy some things," Arabella said, changing her shoes and instructing, "Wait here for a bit—Ella will be here soon."
Manuel thought she was probably still weak after being sick for a week, so without hesitation he said, "I'll come with you. The weather's nice anyway, we can consider it a walk."
Before Arabella could refuse, he'd already turned to walk out.
Left with no choice, they went together.
They spent half an hour in the supermarket, buying meat, vegetables, fruit, and household items that filled a large shopping bag.
Fortunately Manuel was with her, or she would have had a hard time carrying it all back in her post-illness weakness.
While crossing the street, the two chatted and laughed, completely unaware that among the stopped traffic, there was a familiar luxury car.
Gabriel stared darkly at the man and woman walking arm-in-arm past his car, his mind filled with Samuel's recent reports, Mrs. Sterling was still recovering from her illness, and Mr. Wright came to take care of her almost every day.
A cold smile played at the corners of his thin lips—he didn't know what he was smiling about. Perhaps it was the thought that he, with his status as heir to a wealthy dynasty that countless people dreamed of, would one day be cuckolded by his own wife and then discarded like trash!
Rage burned in his chest, consuming all the fatigue and exhaustion from his journey home.
It wasn't until the light turned green and cars behind him honked impatiently that he snapped back to reality.
The Maybach made a U-turn at the next intersection and headed toward the apartment building.
He turned to see their silhouettes disappearing through the building's entrance, his hands gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.