Chapter 87 Serious Advice About Divorce
"Of course it matters! Life is decades long - spending it with someone you don't love is being irresponsible to yourself!" Manuel immediately countered her viewpoint, his tone no longer gentle and warm.
"Besides... I heard Gabriel has a woman he actually loves, and they even have a child together. How can you tolerate this kind of marriage?" Manuel grew increasingly agitated as he spoke.
Arabella was startled and turned to look at him. "How... how do you know about this?"
Manuel scoffed dismissively. "Wasn't your situation all over the news recently?"
Arabella fell silent, her face flushing with embarrassment.
Yes... the recent scandal had been widely publicized. Anyone could easily find out with a little inquiry.
Everyone acted respectful to Gabriel's face, giving him due courtesy, but who knew what they said behind closed doors. They were probably laughing at their public displays of affection, calling it all an act.
Seeing her silence again, Manuel became convinced she was suffering in silence in this marriage, which made him even more agitated.
"Arabella, you're still young. You can't be trapped in this toxic marriage. He's clearly taking advantage of the fact that you have no way out, not taking you seriously at all. Now that you have children together, he's calculated that you can't abandon them, so he'll respect you even less."
Manuel became more excited as he spoke. If he weren't driving, he might have wanted to shake some sense into her.
Arabella's mind was in chaos. She wanted to say she was also planning to divorce, but the words stuck in her throat. She felt she couldn't tell Manuel this - if he decided to stand up for her and go head-to-head with Gabriel, it would definitely drag him down too.
Suppressing the turmoil in her thoughts, she managed a faint smile and said gently, "Manuel, actually he treats me pretty well. You don't need to worry about me."
"Arabella—"
"Manuel, please focus on driving. We're about to exit the highway - don't miss the turnoff." Arabella didn't want to hear more of his persuasion and quickly changed the subject.
Manuel realized he'd been too intense and apologized, falling silent.
The atmosphere in the car became awkward, so Arabella simply leaned her head back and pretended to sleep.
She'd been exhausted these past few days, and closing her eyes, she actually fell asleep within moments.
She didn't know how much time had passed when the car's violent jolting woke her. She immediately sat up straight.
"What's wrong!"
"Did I wake you? This stretch of road is pretty rough." Manuel glanced back at her and explained gently.
He hadn't expected the road to be this bad - he would have brought an SUV if he'd known.
"I haven't been back in over a year either. I didn't know this section had gotten so deteriorated." Arabella looked at the road ahead, which was indeed full of potholes large and small.
Moreover, it had rained recently in Whispering Pines, leaving the potholes filled with water and everything muddy.
"It's fine, we're almost there."
After another twenty minutes, the Panamera finally turned onto Whispering Pines' main road, passed through the market square filled with vendors' stalls, and stopped outside a yard overgrown with weeds.
"I remember correctly, right? This is your family's place." Manuel parked and looked out the window.
Arabella nodded. "Yes, my home! Do you want to park here or go to your place?"
Manuel's old house was about 60 feet further ahead, but after so many years uninhabited, the old house had probably collapsed.
"My place must be completely ruined by now. Let's just park here."
They got out of the car and looked at the simple, quiet house before them, filled with emotion.
"After Grandpa passed away, William Sterling arranged for people to come renovate this place. He said since I'd gone away to school and the house would be empty for years, it would collapse quickly if not maintained." Arabella explained as she pushed open the small wooden gate to the courtyard.
Even with the renovation, several years without inhabitants had left it considerably run-down.
In the yard, weeds sprouted from cracks in the paved bricks, growing enthusiastically.
However, with autumn now deep, the weeds had long since yellowed and withered, lying in a messy carpet across the ground.
Arabella crossed the courtyard and fumbled in her bag for a key, but the lock had rusted and wouldn't open despite several attempts.
"Let me try." Manuel stepped forward and took the key from her.
Still no luck.
Manuel returned to the car and retrieved a toolbox from the trunk, finding a wrench inside.
With swift efficiency, he pried off the rusted lock completely.
"We'll buy a new one later."
"Okay." Arabella pushed open the main room door, and a musty smell hit them immediately.
They moved through several rooms, opening windows to air them out and doing basic cleanup so they'd at least have somewhere to sit.
Time was short, so after resting for just a few minutes, they headed out again.
Arabella bought several bunches of fresh flowers at the town market, and they walked toward the cemetery on the outskirts of town.
Passing Manuel's old house, they saw that several rooms had indeed collapsed.
Manuel stopped and took a few photos with his phone, sighing. "I'll send these to my parents. They've been saying they want to come back and visit these past few years, but it's so far they think it's too much trouble."
Arabella picked up the conversation. "So they're not planning to return to the country permanently?"
"I don't know. Maybe once I get my domestic business established, they'll come back too."
They chatted as they walked, arriving at the town's only church. The cemetery was on the other side of the church grounds.
Arabella and Manuel greeted the pastor - most of the town's departed residents were laid to rest here.
Arabella sat before her family's graves, telling them about her current life - how she'd become a mother, blessed with both son and daughter, how the children were healthy and smart, how her husband treated her well. She spoke of how good her life was.
Soon, a fine rain began to fall from the sky.
"Arabella, it's starting to rain. We should go." Manuel had been standing a few steps away taking in the scenery, and feeling the rain, came forward to remind her.
"Okay." She stood up, looking at the three side-by-side headstones before her, her eyes reddening with reluctance to leave.
Arabella truly missed her family. That feeling was just like the current weather - gloomy, damp, and heavy.
They walked quickly, but before they could reach home, the rain began falling harder.
Fortunately, they weren't far away, so they ran the rest of the way through the rain.
Standing under the porch eaves, watching the increasingly heavy rain, Arabella grew worried. "Manuel, will we still be able to get back?"
Manuel looked at the car shrouded in the curtain of rain and frowned slightly. "Let's wait a bit. The weather should improve soon."
Arabella could only nod and went inside to tidy the house, since they were just sitting around anyway.
When she finished and came back out, Manuel was nowhere to be seen.
She took the opportunity to duck into the bedroom and relieve the uncomfortable pressure in her chest.
Just as she finished taking care of herself, footsteps sounded in the courtyard. Looking out, she saw Manuel returning with an umbrella, carrying a large bag.
"I just went out for a look around. There's a small grocery store on the street - I bought some things. You barely ate anything at the rest stop for lunch, so you must be hungry now." Manuel came inside and set down his shopping bag.
Arabella was indeed hungry.
The bag contained fruit, bread, crackers, and bottled water - enough to satisfy their hunger.
She was eating when suddenly a cry of surprise came from outside the courtyard.