Chapter 28 A Massive Inheritance
Gabriel immediately turned and headed toward the bathroom to shower and change clothes.
Arabella opened the manila envelope and found documents inside. When she pulled them out and looked, her mouth dropped open slightly in shock, her eyes frozen in disbelief.
Property deeds, along with stock and fund transfer agreements.
She instinctively glanced back toward the bathroom, wanting to say something, then realized he wouldn't be able to hear her from in there.
Why had Grandpa William left her so much wealth?
She wasn't his granddaughter. How could she possibly accept these?
If others found out, they'd think the worst—that she'd only been after William's fortune all along.
The woman sat restlessly, then stood and began pacing back and forth near the bathroom.
After a while, Gabriel finished showering and emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Hearing the sound, Arabella immediately looked up nervously.
As soon as Gabriel came out and met her gaze, his stern features showed a moment of discomfort, one hand instinctively touching the towel at his waist, as if checking that it was secure.
"Um..." Arabella began, but as her gaze fell on him, she was instantly distracted by his perfectly sculpted physique—the classic V-shaped torso that was undeniably attractive.
Her face went blank, her gaze lingering on him as her words abruptly cut off.
Gabriel felt awkward, too.
However, noticing what Arabella was holding, he reacted quickly and proactively asked, "Are you confused about these property transfers?"
"What? Oh... yes, yes, exactly!" Arabella snapped back to reality, quickly averting her gaze and looking down at the documents in her hands, stammering, "I... I can't accept these. Here, take them back!"
Face flushed, she hurried forward and shoved them into Gabriel's arms.
Gabriel hadn't even reached out to take them when she spun around and walked away, causing the papers to flutter to the floor.
Arabella was mortified. She'd barely turned away before turning back, quickly crouching down to gather them up.
Gabriel gripped his towel at the waist, not bending down to help, only saying, "Grandpa left these for you. You should keep them."
"No, no, no, really, I can't. I can't accept these." Arabella collected the papers and held them out to him again.
But Gabriel didn't take them.
She grew anxious, "Please take them! This property is too... too much! I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I had these."
While others envied sudden wealth, she felt only terror!
This unearned windfall made her deeply uneasy.
Gabriel still didn't take them, only watched her intently from close range.
Seeing that her distress and anxiety weren't an act, he felt quite surprised.
It seemed he'd truly misjudged her all these years.
Not materialistic, unmoved by money and wealth—should he call her naive? Or say she was simply pure-hearted and honest?
"You're thinking about divorcing me, leaving here. If you're penniless with nowhere to go, how will you support yourself?" Gabriel asked very calmly.
Arabella's heart clenched. Hearing "divorce," her chest trembled violently.
What did he mean?
Had he agreed to the divorce?
So this was her divorce settlement?
"I... I'm able-bodied, and I'm not completely stupid. I can support myself. These past few days, I've been preparing to look for work." She kept her head down, her cheeks shifting from earlier burning heat to a painful, needle-like ache.
Mentioning job hunting suddenly reminded Gabriel of a topic he'd been suppressing for days, "You've never actually worked since graduating college. Do you know what kind of salary and benefits those job listings offer?"
She looked up, her beautiful, large eyes full of confusion.
What did he mean? Was there something wrong with those jobs?
"I'm not trying to look down on you, but with no work experience, those low wages wouldn't even cover rent on a place to live."
Arabella was stunned for a moment, her face showing some embarrassment, but she said stubbornly, "Someone has to do those jobs. If others can manage, so can I."
She had no other strengths, but enduring hardship was something she excelled at.
After all, she'd experienced every kind of difficult life since childhood.
Seeing her naivety, Gabriel couldn't help but smile faintly, "The people taking those jobs either live locally—food and housing provided by family—or they don't have much education and have no choice but to cram into shared apartments in low-income housing."
Arabella pressed her lips together, unable to respond.
She wasn't afraid of hardship, but now, with children, as a mother, she hoped for something more respectable. She was afraid that when the kids grew up and understood more, they'd look down on their mother.
But after a moment's thought, she still shook her head, "No matter what you say, I can't accept these."
Seeing the man wouldn't take them, she turned and placed them on the dresser.
Gabriel watched her stubborn behavior, grinding his teeth in frustration.
Why couldn't he make her understand?
This bit of property meant nothing to the Sterling family.
He understood Grandpa's reasoning—wanting to give her some security, so that even if they did divorce later, she wouldn't end up homeless.
Gabriel was equally frustrated and gave up trying to persuade her.
Arabella also sensed the tense atmosphere and knew it was awkward to stay. She mumbled, "I'll go check on the babies," and left the bedroom.
Before bedtime, Arabella had originally planned to bring one of the babies back to the master bedroom, thinking that having a child as a buffer would make things less awkward between her and Gabriel.
But Mary blocked her path, "Mr. Sterling has been working so hard lately. You two just made up—sleep peacefully tonight. Leave the children with us."
Arabella was speechless, blushing as she said, "But if I don't nurse them, I'll get..."
"Don't worry, if the little ones cry at night, I'll bring them over."
Mary's intention was obvious—she wanted to create opportunities for intimate moments before bed. Having children nearby, even sleeping, would still create inhibitions and prevent them from being fully comfortable.
Arabella understood Mary's meaning and blushed crimson.
Mary smiled even more suggestively, gently pushing her away from the nursery and back toward the master bedroom.
She hesitated at the door for a long while, praying that Gabriel inside was already asleep, before quietly turning the handle.
However, when she pushed the door open, she saw Gabriel standing by the window on a phone call.
He'd changed from the towel around his waist to silk pajama pants, the flowing fabric making his legs look even longer. His upper body was still bare, his broad shoulders and back clearly showing beautiful muscle definition. Just his silhouette alone radiated an alluring masculine presence.
She pretended not to notice and quietly entered, quietly walking toward the bed.
Gabriel glanced back at her once, his gaze dark and heavy, deeper than the night outside, then said into the phone, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Tell Emily not to overthink things either. You two need to focus on nurturing your own marriage."
Arabella, who had just lain down, felt her already taut heartstrings tighten further.
Emily?
She could guess that the person on the other end was Emily's husband, Dominic.
It seemed the three of them had indeed had some kind of incident during the day, which explained Emily's emotional phone call to her that evening.
Gabriel finished his call, casually set down his phone, turned, and walked toward the bed.
Lifting the covers and sitting on the bed, he asked seemingly casually, "Emily called you today?"