Chapter 678 Cherish
Ashley wasn't a fan of Gummidge. Back in the day, her dad wanted Aragorn to marry someone more suitable, but Aragorn wasn't having it. He was dead set on marrying his classmate, who turned out to be Gummidge.
Aragorn, the guy who always put money first, shocked everyone by turning down a business marriage. Neither Ashley nor her dad saw that coming.
Eventually, they figured out Aragorn had his reasons.
Gummidge was a pushover, totally devoted to Aragorn, and took care of him like no one else. She was super easy to control.
And yeah, Aragorn controlled her entire life. In her eyes, it was all about Aragorn, no one else.
Gummidge never said no to Aragorn, ever.
She even tried to get Nicholas under Aragorn's control.
Whether Aragorn liked it or not, Ashley laid it all out for him.
"If you had let Nicholas and Caroline be together earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess now."
"Aragorn, you're a big part of why we're in this mess."
Aragorn's eyes widened, ready to argue, but he couldn't find the words.
"Poor Nicholas, his parents never understood him. His dad even wanted to kill his lover. It's a wonder he's not depressed after all that."
Aragorn took a deep breath and finally said, "I'm not trying to break them up anymore."
Ashley cut him off, "But it's too late."
Aragorn closed his eyes, Gummidge wiped her tears, and Ashley sighed.
She thought her family had issues, but she didn't expect Aragorn's family to be such a mess too.
Nicholas kept an eye on the messages Josie sent him every day, tracking Caroline and Josie's whereabouts.
Seeing Caroline having fun, he had to suppress his longing and not go after her.
For Gabriel, ever since Emma mentioned that a bunch of guys were asking for Sophia's contact info, his sense of crisis kicked in.
He buried himself in work every day, but he was always distracted.
Gabriel thought, 'Sophia still hasn't forgiven me. If some great guy goes after her, would she be swayed? Would she leave me?'
The more Gabriel thought about it, the more uneasy he got. He couldn't take it anymore and called Alex, who was back at work.
"Find out where Sophia and the kids are traveling now."
Alex nodded, "Yes, sir!"
Every night, Gabriel came home to an empty house. He was so busy he'd forget to eat lunch, and by the time he got home, his stomach would remind him he hadn't had dinner.
He'd walk into the kitchen and find the fridge empty. The cupboards only had pasta, which he couldn't cook.
In the end, Gabriel would just sit on the couch.
The silence was almost scary, and even his breathing seemed loud.
He closed his eyes, and all he could see was Sophia. Her smile, her thoughtful look, her worried face—everything.
His life was completely wrapped up in Sophia.
Every day without her was torture.
The empty house was suffocating.
Gabriel's heart felt hollow.
After a long time, Gabriel suddenly opened his eyes and headed to the study.
In the end, Gabriel had to bury himself in work to numb that empty feeling.
He texted Sophia every day but never got a reply.
Ruth was living it up at The Blackwood Manor, catching up with old friends over meals every day, looking like she'd turned back the clock ten years.
Daniel was all about taking down the Watson Group. To his surprise, Nicholas really did back off. He didn't try to stop him and even helped out behind the scenes.
Daniel scoffed to himself, 'Don't think for a second that this means I'm okay with you being with Caroline.'
Ten days later, the Watson Group was on the brink. Everyone was saying it was done for. A once-legendary company was now just an empty shell, ready to collapse.
Aragorn watched the news every day. Seeing the Watson Group in such bad shape, he couldn't even get angry anymore.
In those ten days, he'd thought about a lot of things, like he'd figured out a bunch but still felt stuck and helpless.
His body wouldn't let him do anything, and he could only watch as the company he cared about most fell apart.
Caroline and Sophia went wild for half a month before coming back.
They and the four kids were all tanned. As soon as they got out of the airport, they saw Gabriel.
He stood there, tall and drawing the eyes of passersby. From the moment Sophia appeared, his gaze was locked on her.
"Daddy!" Emma ran over.
Gabriel, who had been looking all serious, had his cold expression melt away at Emma's voice. He smiled, squatted down, and opened his arms, waiting for Emma to jump into his embrace.
Emma rushed over and snuggled into Gabriel's arms.
"Daddy, I missed you so much."
Gabriel gritted his teeth. "If you missed me, why didn't you tell me where you were?"
He had asked Alex to investigate but found nothing. Later, Emma told him that Ethan had deliberately wiped their itinerary clean, so he couldn't find out their travel plans.
Emma laughed.
Josie, seeing Emma had Gabriel to pick her up, looked around expectantly.
Caroline whispered, "Did you tell Gabriel about the itinerary?"
Sophia shook her head. She thought the kids wouldn't go behind her back and tell Gabriel about the itinerary. Gabriel probably found out their return schedule on his own.
After all, it was easy for Gabriel to find out since they had records of their flight tickets.
Caroline gave Sophia a knowing look. "Seems like Gabriel still cares about you."
She suddenly thought of Nicholas. She wondered how he was doing after she'd been away for half a month.
'Would he miss me?' she couldn't help but think.
Sophia didn't respond to Caroline but quietly walked over.
Gabriel stood up holding Emma, his eyes shining as he looked at Sophia.
"Did you have fun?" he asked.
Sophia nodded.
Gabriel continued, "I came to take you and the kids home."
Sophia felt Gabriel's voice tremble a bit when he said this, like he was carrying some heavy emotion.
It was like he'd been through something and now cherished the moment even more.
They had decided to take a trip on a whim, not planning to stay long at first. They just wanted to go with Caroline to relax.
But Ruth insisted they stay longer and come back only when they were tired of having fun.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
