Chapter 203 He's Now Mad with Jealousy
Gabriel looked up, feeling a sudden, intense discomfort in his chest. It was like a lump of air was stuck there, both suffocating and painful.
He'd heard of people losing sleep and appetite over love before, and he always thought they were overreacting. But now, experiencing it himself, he realized just how tormenting and painful it was.
Closing his eyes, Gabriel's mind filled with images of Jessica; her smiling face, her cute expressions, her fierce look when angry, and her adorable demeanor when drunk. Every scene was of her.
"Jessica, how can you not care?" he muttered, feeling more suffocated with each passing thought.
Unbidden, the memory of them confessing their feelings to each other surfaced. Jessica had only said she liked him.
But how could just liking be enough? She still had a man she had loved for ten years in her heart. Who exactly was that man?
Gabriel felt like he was going crazy wanting to know. He wished he could take a knife and personally erase the mark that man left on her heart, cutting it away piece by piece. Even if he had to use his own flesh and blood to fill the void, he wouldn't even flinch.
"Jessica," Gabriel murmured her name, feeling an intense pain in his chest.
He still remembered the day they got divorced, when they went to No.1 High School together. She sat on the playground, softly recounting her past infatuation and admiration, with a smile full of deep, unbreakable affection and joy.
Those heart-fluttering moments, those first awakenings of love, those youthful shyness; they were so real, so beautiful. But they had nothing to do with him. They were all for another man.
It was only at this moment that Gabriel realized how jealous he was. Insanely jealous. She said that even if that man didn't remember her, just seeing him from afar would make her very content and happy.
She said she worked hard to get into the same college as him. She said she didn't ask for much, that even quietly loving him, secretly admiring him, was enough.
They had so many stories between them. But between him and Jessica, thinking carefully, it seemed there wasn't even one thing that left a deep impression on her.
So, Gabriel, just how much of a failure are you?
That night, Gabriel could barely sleep until the wee hours of the morning
On the other hand, Jessica also didn't sleep well. Ever since she hung up the phone with Gabriel, her heart had been in suspense.
Not feeling upset, not caring about him were totally false. She cared, she cared too much. But countless times, she didn't have the courage to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She actually wanted to ask, "Gabriel, why was there a woman's voice in your room so late?"
Or, she wanted to be more direct, "Who was the woman in your room?"
But when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back down. She admitted, she was timid. She had loved Gabriel for so many years, almost like a lone boat in the vast ocean, loving him lonely, desolately, and without expectation. She had never been confident. And she was very afraid.
So when faced with such a situation, she couldn't, like other women, righteously point at his nose and ask, "Gabriel, you have a girlfriend, why are you still wanting other women? Do you even care about me?"
She couldn't throw a tantrum or have a big fight. All she could do was silently hug herself, curl up in a corner, and gently lick her wounds. Then calm down and slowly heal herself bit by bit.
Isn't it pitiful? She thought so too.
Ever since her mother passed away, there was no one to hold her, stroke her head when she was upset, and say, "Jessica, don't be afraid, Mom is here, Mom will always be with you."
"Mom," Jessica curled up on the bed, hugging herself tightly, softly murmuring, and holding herself even tighter. "Mom, how wonderful it would be if you could be with me! Mom, tell Jessica, what should I do?"
Two hundred thousand dollars, she definitely couldn't get it. But how could she just watch her mother's reputation be ruined?
That night, Jessica had a dream. In the dream, Giselle came down from heaven, wearing a white dress, walking barefoot to her side. She gently caressed her, stroked her, and softly hummed the lullaby she loved most as a child.
Giselle also comforted her, "Jessica, my dear, Mom will bless you from heaven. Don't be sad, don't be afraid, be brave in the face of love. Even if you fail, it's okay, you can always start over."
With her mother's lullaby, Jessica slept deeply. Although she only slept for a few hours, she felt quite refreshed. After washing up, Jessica took out her phone, silently cheering herself on.
She gave herself a pep talk, 'Jessica, don't be afraid, you can do it, Mom is right, be brave. You are his girlfriend now, you don't need to back down. Don't worry, you can rightfully ask him who that woman was last night. Come on, you can do it.'
Facing the mirror, Jessica silently cheered herself on. After making all the mental preparations, Jessica was about to dial the phone when suddenly, the doorbell rang loudly. The sound was incessant, annoyingly loud.
Jessica had to put down her phone and go open the door. When she saw Carter's face, she instinctively tried to close the door. But it was too late.
Just as Jessica was halfway through closing the door, Carter's hand was already on it, forcefully pushing his way in.
Jessica demanded, "Carter, this is my home, what are you doing? Get out right now."
But Jessica's shouting had no effect on Carter. He continued to push his way in. How could Jessica's strength compare to Carter's?
After two minutes of struggling, she couldn't hold on any longer. In the end, Carter forced his way into her room.
She repeated, "Get out, get out right now." Jessica glared at him, her eyes burning with anger.
Carter, however, acted as if he didn't hear her, continuing to do as he pleased. He reminded, "Jessica, I told you, you must give me two hundred thousand dollars today."
Jessica insisted, "No, Carter, I don't have the money."
Carter demanded, "I don't care, you must give me the money."
"Carter, I don't have the money, what else do you want to to do?" Jessica broke down, suddenly screaming.
Carter just gave her a cold glance, his eyes chillingly cold: He said, "What kind of madness are you trying to pull with me? Whether you're mine or not, I won't fall for your tricks. Give me the money, now."
