Chapter 195 Mr. Sterling Froze All Night
Just the thought of Gabriel sleeping in the next room, sharing the same roof, knowing he might sneak in at any moment—maybe even slip into her bed while she slept—made it impossible for Arabella to fall asleep.
After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she finally threw off the covers, got up, and locked her bedroom door with a decisive click.
She didn't care where he slept, whether he had blankets, or if he'd freeze to death.
Let that lunatic fend for himself!
In the guest room, separated from hers by just a single wall, Gabriel pushed open the door to find nothing but a bare mattress. His handsome brow furrowed immediately.
If it were summer, he could endure a night like this without complaint.
But this was the dead of winter.
Turning back, he returned to the master bedroom, he tried the door handle and found it locked.
"Arabella... throw me a blanket," he knocked on the door, his voice almost pleading.
Arabella had already turned off the lights and slipped back into bed. Hearing him, she replied coldly, "I don't have any. If you're cold, go home."
"I don't have a car."
"That's your problem."
Couldn't he call a taxi? Or have the family driver pick him up?
Gabriel stood there, frustrated, weighing his options—leave in humiliation, or call someone to bring him bedding.
After some internal struggle, neither of the options appealed to him.
It was just one night—surely the heating wouldn't let him freeze to death? His wool coat could serve as a makeshift blanket.
Mind made up, he returned to the guest room, cranked up the heat to warm the space first, then went to shower.
After a hot shower, the room had warmed somewhat.
But the wool coat wasn't long enough to cover his full height, leaving his feet exposed to the cold.
Swallowing his pride, he knocked on the master bedroom door again. "At least give me one blanket. I'm your children's father, after all—are you really this heartless?"
Arabella was indeed heartless.
But she could tell this man had no intention of leaving, and if she didn't satisfy his demand, she wouldn't get any sleep either.
There actually was a blanket in the closet. With an irritated huff, she threw off the covers, marched to the closet, and grabbed a spare blanket. She yanked the door open and shoved it into his arms.
"Don't knock again, or I'll call the police and report a break-in!" Before he could respond, she slammed the door shut.
Gabriel held the blanket, facing the cold, hard door, and sighed helplessly before returning to the guest room.
That night, though separated by only a wall, neither of them slept well.
Gabriel was too cold to sleep.
While Arabella was too annoyed to sleep.
When her phone alarm went off in the morning, Arabella patted her tired, heavy head and groggily got up.
Opening her door, she looked up to find a handsome face suddenly zooming toward hers. She gasped in shock, instinctively leaning back, but still couldn't escape his sneak attack.
Gabriel succeeded in stealing a kiss, his handsome face breaking into a smile as he greeted her, "Morning."
Arabella covered her mouth, scrubbing at it furiously, and cursed without ceremony, "Why haven't you left yet?"
"I just woke up when I heard you turning your door handle." Gabriel remained good-tempered, explaining gently, his well-shaped brow arching slightly. "Perfect timing, don't you think?"
Arabella sneered coldly. "I don't know about timing, but you're absolutely disgusting. Your behavior is completely beneath your status—aren't you embarrassed?"
Every word was a provocation, but fortunately Gabriel had long since grown used to her hostility toward him. He pressed his lips together, swallowing his irritation, and didn't stoop to her level.
Seeing him turn toward the guest bathroom to wash up, Arabella followed, extending her hand, "Give me the keys!"
Gabriel looked back at her and played dumb, "Don't have any."
"Really? Then I'm moving out today, back to sleeping at the studio."
Left with no choice, he reluctantly pulled out the door keys and handed them over.
“Just one set?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I only got the keys yesterday . Didn’t have time to make copies.”
Arabella chose to believe him for now and walked away.
After finishing his morning routine, he emerged to see Arabella busy in the kitchen and continued shamelessly, "I had some drinks last night and my stomach feels off. Could you make some oatmeal?"
Arabella's mind was galloping with a thousand curse words—for a moment, she seriously considered knocking him unconscious with the spatula.
How could he be so shameless? It was more maddening than being haunted!
Turning around, she looked at him, her face completely expressionless in the morning light, "Gabriel, if you think me moving out means you can just show up and flirt whenever you want, you're dead wrong."
Her tone was extremely serious and cold. Without waiting for his response, she continued, "Starting today, if you use any method to enter uninvited again, or pester me relentlessly, I'll leave Luminara and never come back."
The gentle expression on Gabriel's face vanished instantly.
The atmosphere between them turned deathly silent.
Looking at his stern face, Arabella felt her heart racing with nervousness.
But if she didn’t draw a hard line now, if she didn't thoroughly offend him, there would be many more of these ambiguous encounters in the future.
After a moment of silence, Arabella swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet his gaze, "I've said my piece. Are you leaving or not?"
Gabriel's lips curved into a cold, clear smile.
Seeing his smile, Arabella suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis—and indeed, before his smile had even faded, his tall frame didn't turn to leave. Instead, he strode toward her with his long legs.
Alarm bells rang in her head as she backed away frantically, her voice panicked, "Gabriel! What... what are you doing! Ah... let go! What are you doing!"
In two strides, he closed the distance and grabbed her, pulling her firmly into his arms.
Arabella kept retreating, but couldn't stop his domineering, forceful advance until he had her backed against the sink.
"Gabriel, I swear I'll grab a knife!" Cornered with nowhere to go, she impulsively issued a dangerous warning.
Gabriel looked down at her with that same cold, intimidating smile, "Ruining your future over scum like me—wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
Arabella trembled with rage, unable to speak.
When someone becomes completely shameless, they became impossible to deal with.
She finally understood that viciously accurate saying.
"I've never understood what terrible crime I committed to make you hate me this much. I'm a respected figure—in all of Luminara, who doesn't show me respect? But somehow it's you who treats me like dirt. Don't you understand male psychology? The more difficult and feisty you are, the more I want to completely break you! I want to make you submit beneath me, never daring to defy me again."
Arabella felt her blood pressure spike, "You're a pervert! A psycho! I've never met a man so graceless, petty, shameless, and vile! Just because you have power and money? Who says having power and money automatically makes you admirable? I despise corporate sharks like you! Just looking at you makes me sick—mmph!"