Chapter 8 That's Nonsense! Gabriel Isn't That Kind of Person!

Having only recently given birth, her body still unsettled by shifting hormones, the possibility of another pregnancy felt almost absurd.

Arabella gave a soft, humorless snort, her expression edged with mockery. “Who knows? Anything’s possible.”

Seeing him fall silent in apparent shock, Arabella felt inexplicably satisfied and became even more sarcastic, "Don't worry. Even if I do get pregnant again, we're still getting divorced. I wouldn’t dream of trapping you with a child."

Gabriel pressed his lips together, as though language itself had momentarily abandoned him.

Arabella reached for her robe, slipping it on with swift, decisive movements before heading toward the door.

Gabriel watched her retreating figure, lost in thought, before suddenly calling out, “Are you sure you want separate bedrooms?”

She didn’t turn around.

Gabriel gave a short, disdainful laugh. “If the staff finds out we’re sleeping separately, word might get back to Grandfather.”

Arabella opened the door. As she stepped out, she tossed over her shoulder, “Then you’d better figure out how to keep them quiet. If you can’t handle something so minor, that would be truly disappointing.”

Gabriel’s face turned ashen, once again left without a response.

When she reached the guest room and lay down, Arabella let out a long breath. It felt as though years of pent-up grievances had finally been released, leaving her lighter from head to toe.

They were getting divorced anyway.

What was there left to fear?

She might as well tear off the mask completely and stop caring what anyone thought.

Originally, she had intended to bring up the credit card charges from earlier that day. But he had been so infuriating that she’d nearly lost her temper—nearly struck him in sheer frustration.

A few hundred dollars was nothing to him. Pocket change. She couldn’t be bothered to explain herself.

As drowsiness crept over her, she let out a small yawn and quickly drifted into sleep.

But in the master bedroom just one wall away, Gabriel—thoroughly chastened by her sharp words—lay alone across the vast king-size bed, wide awake.

He stared up at the darkened ceiling.

Arabella’s voice echoed in his mind, again and again, until it began to sound less like accusation and more like truth.

Had he really wronged her?

He turned onto his side and forced his eyes shut, determined to stop thinking about it.

But the harder he tried to suppress the thoughts, the more insistent they became—circling, dissecting, refusing to quiet.

He told himself he couldn’t be blamed for doubting Arabella’s character.

During their two years of marriage, whenever she ran into William, Gabriel inevitably found himself on the receiving end of the older man’s lectures.

William would scold him for being ungrateful. For ignoring carefully laid plans. For failing to recognize a good woman standing right in front of him. He would warn him—almost solemnly—that one day he would regret his indifference.

William even knew about their eventual plans to divorce

If she hadn’t been stirring up trouble behind his back, how would William have known about their private affairs? How else would Gabriel find himself being reprimanded every few days?

The only explanation was obvious.

She must have been manipulating things behind the scenes—leveraging William’s authority to pressure him into investing more effort into their marriage.

Arabella wanted to turn their arrangement into something real. She wanted to secure her position as his wife permanently.

After all, the Sterling name carried influence beyond measure, and its wealth was the kind most people would not dare dream of attaining in several lifetimes.

Especially someone with her background.

A childhood steeped in poverty. A fractured past. No powerful family to rely on.

Someone like that—once given a single opportunity to alter her fate—would cling to it relentlessly.

The more Gabriel rehearsed this reasoning in his mind, the calmer he became.

Yes.

That was it.

That was exactly the kind of person she was.

With William’s health deteriorating, the entire Sterling family had been living in a state of quiet tension. Visitors streamed through the estate in endless succession, eager to offer company, concern, or simply to be seen.

Gabriel had always been reserved, never particularly close to his parents.

But with his grandparents, it was different.

His grandmother had passed away early, before he had the chance to repay her affection with the devotion she deserved. That regret had never left him.

It lingered like a faint, persistent ache.

And so, with William, he was especially attentive—careful, dutiful, unwilling to leave anything undone.

This was also why, two years ago, when William had been diagnosed with cancer and expressed his wish to see Gabriel settled—and to ensure his old comrade’s granddaughter found a proper home— Gabriel had agreed to marry Arabella.

No matter how demanding work became, he carved out time each day to visit the hospital. He checked on William’s condition, kept him company, and even coaxed him to eat when his appetite failed.

What should have been an act of filial devotion, however, did not look so innocent in the eyes of the other Sterling family members.

Carrying a thermos filled with nutritious soup, Arabella approached the hospital room. Just as she reached for the door handle , a hushed conversation drifted from around the corner of the corridor.

Gabriel’s name surfaced in the whispers.

"William is just playing favorites. Never mind the granddaughters—they'll marry out anyway, so providing generous wedding gifts is enough. But there are three grandsons! Instead of trying to be fair, he specifically chose the youngest, Gabriel, to take over the company. What gives him that right?"

“Exactly! Your Chase went into politics and already has a smooth career path ahead. Fine, he’s not interested in business. But my Ryan is only two years older than Gabriel. Why shouldn’t it be his turn?”

“Who told your Ryan not to curry favor with William?” another voice scoffed. “Look at Gabriel—cold and quiet most of the time, barely speaks a word,yet he knows exactly how to perform in front of William. I heard yesterday William refused to eat, and Gabriel fed him spoonful by spoonful. After going that far, who wouldn’t call him devoted?”

“My Ryan is devoted too!”

“Then how many times has Ryan visited since William was hospitalized? Look at Gabriel—he comes every single day.”

There was a brief pause before the whispering resumed, sharper than before.

"And another thing! When William wanted to pick one of his unmarried grandsons to marry Arabella, didn't Ryan disappear on a business trip abroad for months? Look how smart Gabriel was—he read William's intentions perfectly and was even willing to give up Emily, whom he'd loved for years, to marry some nobody like Arabella from humble origins. No wonder Arabella is the favored one now. When someone can be that ruthless with himself, what can't he accomplish?"

Arabella hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but since the conversation revolved entirely around her and her husband, she found herself unable to walk away.

Those two voices belonged to Gabriel's relatives, both women with sons and daughters of their own.

Chase was the Sterling family's eldest son and grandson.

By rights, he should indeed inherit Sterling Group and become the new CEO.

But Chase had no interest in running a business. After graduating with his master's degree, he'd entered government service and now held a position in the state government with unlimited potential for advancement.

Ryan should have had more claim to the company inheritance than Gabriel, but Ryan had an unrestrained personality and loved freedom. He held the title of Vice President at the company, handling some less important business, but whenever he had free time, he'd go traveling around the world.

Arabella had heard people chatting at family gatherings about how Ryan was passionate about skiing, diving, watching animal migrations on the plains, exploring glaciers, conquering the world's highest peaks, and had even once sailed solo across the ocean in a single-handed yacht for over a month. In short, he had extremely rich and exciting life experiences!

Rather than William favoring Gabriel, it was more accurate to say Gabriel had been forced into this position by circumstances, single-handedly shouldering everything so that Chase and Ryan could follow their hearts and choose the lives they wanted.

But the elders showed no gratitude whatsoever, instead painting him in such an unflattering light, convinced he had ulterior motives.

The more Arabella listened, the angrier she became.

Though she and Gabriel weren't a normal married couple, her innate sense of justice made her want to defend Gabriel.

However, just as she was about to step out, Ryan's mother spoke again, "I heard William wants to revise his will. Gabriel's constant displays of devotion these past few days must be related to that."

Chase's mother gasped in shock, "What do you mean? Are you saying he wants to claim even more of the inheritance? That's incredibly ambitious! Having him inherit the company isn't enough?"

"Oh, come on, who would complain about having too much money? Besides, Gabriel now has a son and a daughter—two children. By headcount alone, he can demand more! Who told your Chase to have only one child, and Ryan! Every time I bring up marriage, he disappears on me. It's infuriating!"

Chase's mother had a revelation, "Now that you put it that way, it's true! Gabriel looks so honest on the surface, but inside his heart..."

"You're talking nonsense! Gabriel isn't that kind of person!" Arabella couldn't stand listening any longer and suddenly emerged from around the corner, loudly refuting them.