Chapter 277 Really Threw the Earrings Away
"Gabriel, don't be so damn willful," Jessica snapped.
"I'll be as willful as I want to be.. If you don't want 'em, no point in keeping 'em." He reached for the earrings on Jessica's ears.
Maybe he was too pissed or just in a rush, but he yanked on Jessica's earlobe while trying to take the earrings off.
"Ouch, that freaking hurts!" Jessica winced, her face twisted in pain.
Gabriel froze and quickly apologized, "Sorry, sorry. Hold still, let me see."
"Hurry up, it really hurts," Jessica said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Gabriel felt a wave of guilt wash over him.
He scooped Jessica up and carried her to the sofa, then dashed off to find the first aid kit.
With a flashlight, he carefully checked out her earlobe.
What he saw made his heart sink; her delicate earlobe was now swollen, red, and bleeding. Clearly, he had messed up big time.
"I'll disinfect it first, then take out the earrings, and put some ointment on it," Gabriel said, trying to stay calm.
Jessica nodded weakly. "Okay."
When he applied the disinfectant, the torn wound stung like hell.
"If it hurts, just scream, or you can grab my arm. Don't hold back," Gabriel suggested.
"Okay," Jessica muttered.
After disinfecting, Gabriel carefully removed the earrings from both ears and applied some ointment.
The cool sensation of the ointment immediately soothed her hot, swollen earlobe, easing her pain.
Gabriel looked at the earrings in his hand, then silently placed them in a box and stubbornly handed it to Jessica. "Even if you can't wear 'em now, they're still a gift. If you don't like 'em, toss 'em."
"I've already said, I can't accept them," Jessica insisted.
They locked eyes, both filled with determination.
Two seconds, five seconds, ten seconds... Just when Jessica thought Gabriel would take back the earrings and change his mind, he suddenly chucked them out the window.
Jessica's heart skipped a beat in shock.
"Gabriel, are you freaking nuts?" she yelled.
After shouting, she tried to calm herself down.
She remembered TV shows often had scenes like this. Usually, the guy was just pretending to scare the girl and didn't actually throw the item away.
So, Jessica held onto a bit of hope. "You didn't really throw them, did you? Where are they? Show me."
"I threw 'em," he replied bluntly.
Jessica didn't believe him. She checked the box, but it was empty. She searched around him, checking his pockets, but found nothing.
Gabriel said, "I already told you, I threw 'em away."
"Gabriel, you're really crazy. How could you just throw them away? You worked hard for that money, how can you waste it like this?" Jessica was genuinely pissed and didn't expect him to be so stubborn.
Without thinking, she pushed the door open and ran out.
Gabriel bolted after her. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm gonna find them. Can't let you just waste money like that," Jessica shot back.
The night wind was fierce, whipping against Jessica's frail frame.
After a few steps, Gabriel draped a thick down jacket over her.
He zipped it up and pulled the hood over her head.
The long down jacket reached her ankles, wrapping her up snugly.
He also wrapped a scarf around her neck and grabbed her hand as they walked.
"What are you doing?" Jessica asked, puzzled.
"Looking for the earrings. Didn't you say you wanted to find them?"
"Just looking for earrings, do you have to make such a big deal out of it?"
"I want to," he said, raising an eyebrow.
They reached the spot right below the window.
But as they got closer, Jessica frowned. The ground was covered in grass and trees. Finding a pair of tiny earrings in there would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Jessica turned on her flashlight and started combing through the grass.
After a while, she looked up and saw Gabriel just standing there, not even trying to search.
"Get in here and help. We'll find them faster together," Jessica said.
Gabriel shrugged, "If you don't want them, finding them is pointless to me. I'll just toss them again."
Jessica fell silent, then continued searching.
But after ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour, she had scoured the entire area multiple times and found nothing.
'Who forces someone to accept a gift? Who searches for earrings in the middle of the night?'
Maybe it was the cold, the wind still bit at her ears even with a hat on, making them cold and painful.
Not finding the earrings, Jessica felt like she was about to lose it.
Unable to hold back, she punched Gabriel. "This is all your fault. People are cozy in their beds, while I'm out here looking for earrings. Gabriel, you're such a jerk. Who gives gifts like this?"
After venting, Jessica felt a bit better, but she didn't want to see him at all. She turned her back to him.
Gabriel reached out and hugged her from behind, his deep voice in her ear, "I gave them to you, but you didn't want them. They were sad and didn't want to be found, afraid of being tossed again."
"That was before. I didn't say I'd throw them away if I found them now."
"So, if we find them, you'll keep them?"
Jessica nodded slightly. "You could say that."
"Jessica, remember what you said. I'll help you find them."
"Okay."
They turned on their phone flashlights and started searching again.
After about five or six minutes, Gabriel suddenly moved some grass aside and exclaimed, "Jessica, come here. I think I found them!"
"Really?" Jessica ran over, excitement in her voice.
Seeing the familiar earrings shining brightly, Jessica was moved to tears. "Great, we finally found them."
She crouched down, carefully picked up the earrings, and gently placed them in Gabriel's hand like they were precious treasures.
