Chapter 89 Two Men and a Woman Under One Roof
Manuel accompanied Arabella to answer the door.
Sure enough, when the main room door opened, bright lights illuminated the darkness outside. Two or three figures stood beyond the broken wooden gate, and several cars were parked nearby with their headlights blazing, pointing directly at Manuel's Porsche.
Seeing someone finally answer, the elderly man who'd been banging on the door sighed in relief, "Finally! Someone's awake! Are you Arabella? Someone's here looking for you!"
Arabella's heart pounded anxiously, her mind still foggy with confusion.
Though she didn't yet know who was looking for her, deep down she already knew the answer.
Only Gabriel would come banging on doors in the dead of a cold, rainy night!
Shock rippled through her as she walked toward the entrance, her mind racing to formulate some kind of response strategy.
That man had driven four or five hours through the rain to reach this place in the middle of the night - she could only imagine how furious he must be!
She didn't dare think about what would happen next!
Reaching the doorway, she didn't recognize the elderly man knocking, and he seemed equally uncertain about her identity, asking once more for confirmation, "You are Arabella, right? Robert's granddaughter?"
"Yes," Arabella nodded repeatedly, shivering from the cold.
Getting confirmation, the man turned and walked toward the luxury vehicle.
Then the driver's door opened, and a tall, imposing figure emerged from the shadows.
Though Arabella had expected this, seeing Gabriel still made her entire body tense, instinctively shifting into a defensive stance.
"Thank you, just a small token of appreciation - please don't mention it," Gabriel said, walking around the front of the car toward the three locals, apparently handing them several envelopes.
Hearing this, Arabella suddenly understood - this guy had never been here before and couldn't find her specific location, so he'd troubled the local officials to guide him here in the middle of the night.
The official exchanged pleasantries, accepted the envelopes, got in his car and drove away.
Gabriel turned his attention to her, his cold gaze settling on Arabella before sweeping over the man standing beside her, then his thin lips curved into an amused, sardonic smile.
Arabella's shivering intensified.
The bitter wind cut like ice, but nothing compared to Gabriel's frigid stare.
That meaningful smile at the corner of his mouth sent cold sweat down her spine.
In the eerie, prolonged silence, Gabriel spoke first, "Well? Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Arabella's entire body went rigid. Hearing his voice was like being struck by lightning. Her lips trembled before she managed to ask weakly, "How did you... why did you drive all this way in the middle of the night..."
"What do you think?" Gabriel unhurriedly turned the question back to her, taking two steps closer in his long overcoat, that smile returning to his lips. "When my wife runs off with another man, shouldn't I come after her?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Arabella raised her voice, acutely aware of Manuel standing right beside her. Such words could easily be misunderstood. She immediately explained, "I told you I was coming back to visit. I planned to return today, but the weather made it impossible to drive—"
"Was it really the weather that made it impossible to leave, or did certain people not want to leave?" Gabriel cut her off with deliberate slowness.
"I..." Arabella looked up at him, frowning deeply. All the explanations she'd rehearsed in her mind evaporated.
Manuel understood everything the moment Gabriel appeared.
Earlier, when they'd returned from dinner, he'd asked Arabella if she'd explained things to her family.
Now it was clear that Gabriel either didn't believe her or had disapproved of this trip from the beginning - otherwise, he wouldn't have driven five hours through the rain to track her down.
This misunderstanding would be difficult to clear up.
Still, he had nothing to hide.
Seeing how cold it was and how Gabriel showed no consideration for his own wife's comfort, Manuel felt rather critical and spoke up, "It's too cold out here. Whatever needs to be discussed can be said inside - you don't want anyone catching pneumonia."
Gabriel shifted his gaze to Manuel, his eyes instantly filled with hostility.
He'd already been furious about the two of them traveling together.
He never imagined they'd actually be staying together overnight!
Under these circumstances, no husband would naively assume nothing was going on between them!
Gabriel was livid, but he had to maintain his composure in front of his rival, so he responded politely, "Mr. Wright certainly shows great concern for my wife - even keeping her company through the night?"
Arabella's head snapped up in explanation, "That's not it! Manuel's family house has collapsed from years of neglect. With the rain tonight and him being unfamiliar with these roads, he had no choice but to stay here..."
"That's a reasonable explanation," Gabriel nodded.
"It's the truth! Don't assume everyone thinks like you do!" Arabella said anxiously, her voice rising.
Manuel watched Gabriel's nearly jealous reaction with growing confusion.
Logically, two people with no emotional foundation shouldn't care about such things - this was just wounded pride and possessiveness at work, the attitude that she was his woman, and even if he didn't treasure her, no one else could touch her.
This train of thought made Manuel feel even more indignant on Arabella's behalf, convinced she was trapped in this marriage without dignity, suffering in silence.
After Arabella's raised voice, Gabriel fell silent, but his expression grew even more ominous, his emotions unreadable.
The scene froze, with only the icy wind carrying raindrops cutting through the air.
She felt mortified, thinking how humiliating this was in front of Manuel, and stood there at a complete loss.
Another gust of cold wind made her shiver again. Coming back to herself, she gestured woodenly, "It's the middle of the night - let's go inside to talk."
With that, she turned around.
Gabriel took a slow breath and followed her, seemingly naturally grasping her hand while murmuring, "I thought you might tell me to leave."
"..." Arabella didn't respond, rolling her eyes internally.
Since he was already here, what was the point of telling him to leave? Did she have that kind of nerve?
But when his palm suddenly enveloped hers, warmth quickly spread from her frozen fingertips, making her heart warm as well, and she couldn't help wanting to absorb more of that heat.
Gabriel, the moment he grasped her hand, frowned deeply!
This wasn't a human hand - it was like a block of ice, just pulled from freezing water.
He unconsciously squeezed tighter, silently gritting his teeth and suppressing his angry flames. On such a cold night, instead of staying in her warm home, she'd run off with this damned man to suffer - she was completely insane!
After the short walk, the three of them entered the house, making the space feel cramped and the atmosphere even more awkward.
Manuel knew he was in the way. After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat, "Well... maybe I should leave, so I won't disturb you two."
Arabella looked up at him, "Now? In the middle of the night? Where would you go?"
"I'll find a hotel in town for the night, then return to Luminara tomorrow," Manuel explained gently, glancing at Gabriel. "You can go back with Mr. Sterling tomorrow, so I won't need to worry about you."
Gabriel snorted coldly, making no attempt to hide his disdain.
This guy really was a wolf in sheep's clothing - even in front of her husband, he dared say such things.
Absolutely shameless.
Arabella looked torn.
It was too late - if something happened to him on the road, she'd feel guilty forever.
Gabriel glanced at his wife and easily read her thoughts, then turned to speak politely, "Mr. Wright, please don't trouble yourself. The road to town is treacherous, and if something happened to you along the way, Arabella would feel guilty for the rest of her life."