Chapter 17 Siding with the Outsider Against Your Own Mother
But Arabella turned a deaf ear and walked straight out of the lobby.
Once in the car, Mary looked toward Arabella and said uneasily, "Ms. Wentworth, you shouldn't have confronted Mrs. Joanna Sterling head-on like that. If she goes to Mr. Sterling and stirs up more trouble, you two..."
"I deliberately wanted her to stir up trouble," Arabella said with a bland expression, completely unbothered.
It would be best if she provoked Gabriel into divorcing her immediately in a fit of rage.
She couldn't stand this marriage for even one more day.
Mary's face froze for a moment before she quickly understood—it seemed Arabella was truly determined to get divorced.
As an outsider, she couldn't interfere in family matters, so she could only sigh helplessly.
The car had just started when the driver suddenly noticed something and reported, "Mrs. Joanna Sterling's car is following us."
Really? Arabella frowned, surprised.
She'd thought Joanna would angrily order Gabriel to discipline her.
She hadn't expected Joanna to take matters into her own hands.
Whatever. Let her follow. The worst outcome would be divorce, which was exactly what she wanted anyway.
Sure enough, Joanna followed Arabella all the way back to Parkside Estate.
On the road, she even called Gabriel to complain.
"You need to stop being so obsessed with work all the time—you're just like your father was when he was young!"
Faced with his mother's sudden outburst, Gabriel was somewhat confused. "What's wrong? Did Dad make you angry again?"
"He wouldn't dare!" Joanna had a fiery temper and had always dominated her husband.
After calming down slightly, she recounted everything that had happened at the hospital to Gabriel.
"Who does she think she is? With her background, she should consider herself lucky to marry anyone, let alone marry into the Sterling family! She clearly has a warped sense of her own worth. How dare she challenge me!"
Gabriel listened quietly to Joanna's complaints. Thinking about how his relationship with Arabella had reached rock bottom these past few days, he naturally understood the intent behind her provocation.
It was most likely deliberate.
"Mom, don't antagonize her. She's breastfeeding—if she's emotionally upset, it'll affect her hormones." Since he was in the wrong, Gabriel tried to calm his mother first.
Little did he know this comment would anger Joanna even more.
"What, so now everyone has to cater to her? I'm getting older and have a bad heart—getting angry could literally kill me! Why doesn't she know how to respect her elders?" The more Joanna spoke, the angrier she became, and the more she wanted to teach that ungrateful woman a harsh lesson.
When Gabriel remained silent after she finished, she was too angry to say more, "You'll see how I teach her some manners!"
With that threat, Joanna angrily hung up.
Gabriel rubbed both temples with one hand, looking at the pile of paperwork on his desk. Joanna's final words echoed in his ears, and suddenly he couldn't sit still. He stood up and grabbed his suit jacket.
Just as he pulled open his office door, Evelyn approached. "Mr. Sterling, where are you going? You have a meeting at 10,30."
Gabriel commanded without looking back, "Have Ryan chair it. He's back from his adventure trip—time for him to get back to work."
Before he'd even finished speaking, he'd disappeared into the elevator.
Just thinking about having two incompatible women at home gave him a headache.
He'd never imagined that his life would involve playing mediator and having to deal with conflicts between his wife and his mother.
When Arabella returned home and had just settled the two children, she heard the butler greeting Joanna.
She didn't want to deal with it and went straight upstairs to hide.
But soon after, the kitchen finished preparing lunch, and a servant came upstairs to call her.
She was about to say she wasn't hungry and wouldn't eat yet when she suddenly heard a car in the courtyard.
Had Joanna called for backup?
Standing up and walking to the window to look down at the courtyard, she saw it was actually Gabriel who had returned.
Her brow furrowed lightly as her mood became complicated.
Since that night, they'd resumed their cold war.
Gabriel left early and returned late. If she deliberately arranged her schedule, she could almost completely avoid seeing him.
But now it was the middle of the day, a servant was still standing awkwardly in her doorway, and steady footsteps approached unhurriedly from behind.
Gabriel walked closer and waved the servant away, signaling her to leave first.
Once only the two of them remained in the room, Gabriel stepped inside and reminded her in a low voice, "Time for lunch. Everyone's waiting for you."
Arabella sat at her laptop computer. These past few days, she'd been designing resumes—she needed several different versions for different job applications.
Hearing Gabriel's voice, she didn't turn around, asking calmly, "Did your mother call you back to teach me a lesson?"
Gabriel's expression remained neutral. Far from being angry at her words, he actually walked over to stand beside her, his gaze falling on her busy computer screen.
Knowing she'd been looking for work lately, he'd never asked about it, but today he felt somewhat unable to resist.
However, thinking about Joanna being downstairs, if the two of them started fighting and Joanna fanned the flames, their relationship would only get worse.
So this topic wasn't appropriate to discuss right now.
"My mom has a strong personality. Don't take it personally. Since she's here for a rare visit, let's have a meal together—consider it for the sake of her being the children's grandmother."
Arabella was a bit surprised.
She'd deliberately provoked Joanna this morning, hoping to anger her enough to convince her son to divorce.
How did Gabriel seem completely unbothered?
The confusion in her heart showed on her face as she finally turned to look at the man, her beautiful features displaying puzzlement, "You're not going to side with your mother and scold me?"
His stern face suddenly broke into a smile, his eyes revealing a barely perceptible hint of indulgence, "What, are you hoping to be scolded?"
She didn't have masochistic tendencies—she just found it strange.
"Come on, let's go eat." Seeing she was speechless, Gabriel bent down slightly and gently took her hand.
Arabella was pulled out of the room by him, then awkwardly broke free of his grip.
Gabriel glanced back and moved closer, saying in a low voice, "In front of my mother, we need to put on a show."
"No need."
"Of course there is. If she sees we have a good relationship, she'll be even angrier—wouldn't that help you get revenge?" His expression was gentle, and even his tone conveyed goodwill, looking every bit the perfect husband.
Arabella's steps faltered as her entire expression froze, her almond-shaped eyes looking at him in disbelief.
What did he mean?
Not only was he not taking his own mother's side, but he was actually helping her against his own mother?
How was this possible!
Gabriel hadn't seen much of her these past few days. Seeing her adorably dumbfounded expression now made his heart inexplicably itch, and he couldn't help reaching out to pinch her cheek, "Let's go."
Arabella was completely stunned.
By the time she realized what he had done to her, his hand had already moved away and was once again gripping her wrist.
Gabriel pinching her cheek was the kind of affectionate, teasing gesture male leads made toward female leads in romantic dramas.
Had he lost his mind? Was his brain completely addled?
Downstairs in the dining room, Joanna had been waiting at the table for some time, and with each passing moment, her dissatisfaction and anger grew heavier.
She truly couldn't understand!
What gave Arabella the right to be so arrogant! Making people beg and plead just for her to eat a meal!
Joanna's mind raced frantically, thinking about how to teach her a lesson and make her learn some respect!
But when she turned around, she caught sight of Gabriel holding her hand, leading her step by step down the stairs.