Chapter 173 Whose Child Is It?
Given Arabella's desperate eagerness for divorce, only if this child was Gabriel's would she react with such resistance and revulsion.
The fact that she could be so certain the child in her womb was his meant she truly hadn't been unfaithful during this time—she hadn't been involved with Manuel.
Gabriel stood stunned for several seconds, unable to believe it.
By the time he saw Arabella had nearly walked out of the hospital, he finally snapped back to reality and hurried to catch up.
"It's too cold outside. Let me drive you home." After catching up to Arabella, his attitude suddenly changed completely. Afraid she might resist violently, he didn't immediately grab her, only gently making the suggestion.
Arabella saw right through his change, glancing back with a cold look. "What, now you don't suspect me of betraying you anymore?"
Gabriel, too proud to back down, stubbornly replied, "Whether you did anything wrong, you know in your heart. I'm just thinking of our marital bond, and considering you were injured by my mistake, I'm showing basic decency."
"Thanks, but no need."
Arabella walked straight out of the hospital.
Seeing that gentle persuasion wasn't working, Gabriel had no choice but to use force again.
He stepped forward and grabbed her, then before she could turn around to protest, swept her up in his arms.
"Ah—Gabriel! You bastard!"
Arabella was terrified and immediately began hitting him frantically. In the chaos, the edge of her down jacket's collar poked her face, causing such sharp pain that she gasped and froze completely still.
Gabriel carried her toward the parking area. Seeing her angry shouting cut off abruptly as her entire face stiffened with pain, his heart ached in response. He said quietly, "The doctor said your nose can't take any more trauma. If you don't want your nose bridge to heal crooked and ruin your face, behave yourself and come home with me."
Arabella was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face. Only now did she remember she hadn't gone back to ask the doctor for pain medication.
But thinking about the small embryo now growing in her womb, her emotions became indescribably complex. She felt she couldn't take medication carelessly—even if it hurt, she had to endure it.
Getting into the car, the cold wind was shut out and it suddenly became warm.
Arabella was finally able to calm down and organize her thoughts.
Using the light that came on when the car doors opened and closed, she stared at the lab report in her hands again. This time, her attention focused on the HCG value.
The HCG was just barely over a thousand.
Based on her last cycle, if she was pregnant again, she should be about thirty-something days along now.
The HCG level for this stage should be far above 1000.
But now it was below the reference range, which was clearly abnormal.
Gabriel got into the driver's seat and glanced back at her. Seeing her suddenly quiet, staring intently at the lab report with a grave and confused expression, he couldn't help asking, "What's wrong? Still looking at it? Planning to call Manuel with the news?"
Arabella took a deep breath, folded the paper, and ignored him.
Gabriel, thinking he might have wrongly accused her, felt somewhat guilty. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
But having already spoken, he couldn't take them back. Given today's confrontation, apologizing was impossible, so he awkwardly collected himself and focused on driving.
Arabella sat quietly. When she noticed the car wasn't heading toward her apartment, she said flatly, "I want to go back to my own place."
Gabriel glanced back at her. "It's so late, and it's not on the way. Too much trouble to drive back and forth."
Then, afraid she might insist, he dangled the children as bait, "Besides, it's been over a week since you've seen the kids. Don't you miss them?"
"I can find another time to visit them," she said, unmoved.
Gabriel laughed in frustration. "What are you afraid of? You're pregnant now—surely you're not worried I'll do something to you?"
So much had happened tonight that Arabella's mind was in chaos, and she honestly hadn't thought of that.
The moment she thought about returning to Parkside Estate, her first instinct was that this guy would act like a rogue again, shamelessly holding her, hugging her, kissing her, and probably trying to do even worse things.
How could she forget—you can't do that kind of thing when pregnant!
Then thinking of the children she hadn't seen in over a week, her cold, hard heart immediately softened, and she fell silent.
Silence meant consent, and Gabriel relaxed, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
By the time they returned to Parkside Estate, it was very late.
Mary saw the master's car enter the courtyard and immediately opened the door to greet them.
But she was surprised to see the master get out of the car, walk around to the passenger side, and carry out the mistress they hadn't seen in so long!
Mary was overjoyed and, despite being lightly dressed, hurried forward, "Madam has come home! How wonderful!"
Arabella hadn't wanted him to carry her at all—it wasn't like she didn't have legs—but Gabriel was domineering and forceful, giving her no chance to refuse. He insisted on carrying her out of the car like a princess.
Seeing Mary's beaming face, Arabella felt extremely embarrassed, feeling she had no face to show anyone.
Once they entered the living room, Mary immediately noticed they both had injuries on their faces and was shocked, "What happened? Did you have an accident on the road? How did you both get hurt?"
Both their wounds, apart from being cleaned and disinfected, were exposed—the swelling and bruising were obvious and couldn't be hidden.
Gabriel gently placed the woman in his arms on the sofa before answering Mary's question, "Just a minor wounds, nothing to worry about."
Mary looked at Arabella, seeing her remain silent with obviously red, swollen eyes from crying. She wanted to show concern but didn't know where to start.
Gabriel glanced at his watch—it was ten o'clock at night.
He hadn't eaten dinner yet.
"Is there anything for a late-night snack in the kitchen?" he asked Mary.
Mary nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I can make something fresh very quickly too." With that, she hurried into the kitchen.
Gabriel looked at the woman on the sofa who was protesting with silent sulking, and sighed quietly in his heart. "Would you like to go upstairs to freshen up? In the walk-in closet, all your clothes are still there. Have a little snack later, and if you have milk tonight, feed the children a bit. Isabella has been crying frequently at night these past few days for some reason. She only sleeps peacefully when we bring her to the master bedroom and wrap her in your clothes."
Any mother would be unable to bear hearing such words.
Especially that last sentence—saying her daughter could only sleep peacefully when wrapped in her clothes—made Arabella's eyes sting with pain and her nose burn as tears threatened to well up.
She instinctively wanted to sniffle, but the slightest effort brought piercing pain, so she had to suppress it again.
Gabriel knew she was suffering inside. His expression darkened, and his attitude became much gentler, "Go up and wash up. I'll call you when the snack is ready."
She didn't speak, but her longing for the children was stronger than ever, so she silently got up and went upstairs.
Whether she washed or not was secondary—she wanted to go to the room to see the children first.
Gabriel stood in the living room, staring at the woman's retreating figure as she climbed the stairs, his eyes also showing complex, indiscernible emotions.
His phone rang in his pocket, interrupting his thoughts.
He looked away and took out his phone, seeing it was Dominic calling.
"Hello..."
"Gabriel, you're really regressing as you get older! At your age, brawling with people on the street—have you lost all sense of dignity?"
Dominic's opening words left Gabriel completely bewildered!
In an instant, he understood what had happened.
"Video or photos—it's spread?" he asked with a frown, his voice tense.