Chapter 34 The Baby Is Gabriel's
Though Arabella said this, deep down she still harbored doubts.
Maybe Gabriel hadn't told her the whole story yesterday.
He certainly hadn't expected that they would be photographed by paparazzi.
Hearing this, Sophia felt somewhat relieved. "That's good... I was really worried about you."
"It's fine. I'm tired, so I'm going back to sleep."
"Okay, we'll chat when you're free."
After hanging up, Arabella couldn't possibly fall back asleep.
She opened the link again and stared at those photos. She had to admit, Gabriel was genuinely good to Emily.
She, his legitimate wife, had never enjoyed such attentive, devoted care.
He had given all his love to Emily.
Honestly, she couldn't understand why Emily didn't like Gabriel, instead wholeheartedly loving Dominic, who didn't seem to care much about her.
Maybe it was true that people always wanted what they couldn't have.
Today was Tuesday, and Gabriel had gone to work early in the morning. She wondered if he had seen this tabloid gossip.
Arabella wanted to give him a heads-up, but then worried it might make her seem paranoid or distrustful, though she did have some doubts in her heart.
After a brief hesitation, she abandoned the idea and got up to take care of the children.
————
Sterling Group Headquarters.
Gabriel had just finished his morning meeting when Evelyn approached with a tablet, showing him the news.
After just one glance, Gabriel's expression darkened dramatically. "Which media outlet is spreading this nonsense?"
Evelyn grumbled internally while reporting, "I immediately had the PR department handle it. The original article has been deleted, but the story has already spread. It'll take some time to completely quell the rumors."
Gabriel was seething with anger. Before he could give orders, his personal phone rang.
Seeing that it was Dominic calling made his headache worse.
"Hello, Dominic..."
"Gabriel, have you seen that tabloid story?" Dominic's tone wasn't pleasant either.
Although he wasn't the male lead in the gossip, his wife was the female lead, which had earned him many strange looks today.
Gabriel's voice was heavy. "Yes, we're already handling it."
He had originally thought that having a clear conscience would be enough protection, but in this digital age, rumors could be devastating. He felt genuinely worried.
So he proactively explained to his friend, "Dominic, I'm sorry. If I'd known this would happen, I would have had someone else take her to the hospital yesterday."
Dominic's attitude was indifferent, "Forget it, you meant well. I'm fine on my end, just make sure to explain things at home."
"At home" obviously referred to Arabella.
After ending the call, Gabriel returned to his office.
His gaze fell on his phone again, looking at all that ridiculous commentary, and thinking of Arabella at home made him even more worried.
After a few seconds of hesitation, he stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, frowning as he dialed Arabella's number.
At the villa, Arabella was holding Isabella while strolling in the back garden.
The two babies were growing day by day, their daytime sleep schedules gradually becoming fixed. When they were awake, they wouldn't stay content lying in their strollers, always babbling and fussing, wanting to be held and carried around.
When Mary brought her the phone, she was smiling, "Ma'am, it's Mr. Sterling."
Hearing this, Arabella's carefully maintained composure faltered slightly.
Mary took the baby and carried her inside while Arabella held the phone, hesitating for several seconds before slowly answering, "Hello..."
"You're up?" The man's clear, low voice began with small talk.
"Yes, it's almost noon."
So it was a pointless question.
"You wake up several times at night, so you should sleep more during the day."
Arabella was even more surprised.
This kind of caring concern had never happened in the past two years.
"It's fine, I slept well." She responded quietly, clearly sensing his difficulty in broaching the subject, so she took the initiative, "Are you calling... about that tabloid story online?"
"You saw it?" Gabriel was startled, not expecting her to bring it up first.
"Yes, I saw it first thing this morning." She didn't mention that Sophia had sent it to her, and Gabriel didn't know that her good friend had moved to settle in Luminara.
"About that... I told you everything when I came home yesterday. Those photos online are just misleading angles, actually..."
"You don't need to explain. I understand everything. I think you should have a proper talk with Dominic instead. After all, you're both prominent figures, and if this gets blown out of proportion, it would be quite embarrassing."
Gabriel was stunned.
The tempered glass of the floor-to-ceiling window vaguely reflected his handsome features, showing complete surprise and contemplation.
She didn't care at all?
He had thought that their relationship had finally improved somewhat, and she had temporarily dropped the topic of divorce. He worried that this incident would make her bring up divorce again. Who knew she would be completely unconcerned?
After a pause, he collected his thoughts. "Dominic and I grew up together. We don't need to explain these things to each other."
"That's good then."
Arabella's feelings were complicated. For a moment, she didn't know what else to say to him, so she found an excuse, "Isabella is crying. I need to go check on her. I'll hang up now."
Without waiting for the man's response, she decisively ended the call.
Gabriel lowered his phone, his brow furrowing even deeper.
Evelyn came in to deliver documents, and he turned to ask, "If a wife doesn't care at all that her husband is involved in gossip with another woman, what does that mean?"
Evelyn had just set down the documents when this unexpected question left her stunned. She looked up at her boss and quickly understood.
"Either she doesn't love him at all, or she's pretending to be magnanimous. What else could it be..." Evelyn's tone was unsympathetic, clearly feeling sorry for that wife.
Gabriel's mood became even more depressed.
He didn't know whether Arabella loved him or not.
But considering all the terrible things he had done before, she probably couldn't love him even if she wanted to.
Evelyn internally disapproved of Arabella's behavior, but she could see that he had come to his senses, so she offered some well-meaning advice, "Mr. Sterling, if you really want to win back your wife and maintain this family properly, then show genuine sincerity. Women are all soft-hearted, and besides, you have two children. Your wife will be even more soft-hearted for the children's sake."
Gabriel was thoughtful, sitting silently at his desk.
After Evelyn finished briefing him on work matters, she turned and left.
Everyone thought that with PR handling the situation, it would be suppressed quickly.
But they underestimated the power of the social media era, where everyone could be a reporter.
Just before quitting time, new information appeared online.
It claimed that Sterling Group's Executive President, Gabriel, had taken Emily to the hospital because Emily was pregnant, and the child was very likely Gabriel's.
Once this news broke, it was like a stone thrown into still water, rapidly fermenting online.
After all, this kind of elite family scandal was far more interesting than ordinary people's drama!
One woman with two men, and the two men were childhood friends—no, all three of them were childhood friends, and they were all married. This chaotic, explosive situation shot straight to the trending topics.
Gabriel was about to leave work early, thinking of spending more time with Arabella at home, when he learned of this news. His expression turned cold, his eyes flashing with icy fury, "Have we identified the original poster?"
Evelyn's expression was serious. "Still investigating. The immediate priority is to get it off the trending list."
"Have the PR department head come to my office."
Evelyn took the order and immediately called the PR department.