Chapter 162 The Man's Lips Fell Accurately
The sound of clinking glasses continued in the private room, and even though someone wanted to come over to offer a toast, they saw Gabriel leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting, and no one dared to disturb him for a while.
Uncontrolled images flashed through Gabriel's mind.
Sometimes, it was the long-forgotten awards under the cabinet, the neglected trophies, Jessica's unvoiced past, and hidden emotional thorns beneath her calm exterior.
Sometimes, it was Danielle clinging to his leg, begging him to be her father. He asked Jessica where Danielle's father was, and Jessica, expressionless, said Danielle's father was dead.
Sometimes it was Jessica who blushed and felt embarrassed when he occasionally teased her, clearly lacking any romantic experience but capable of raising Danielle and educating the child to be cute, obedient, and polite.
Sometimes it was Jessica explaining to Mackenzie, "I have no extra thoughts about him, he has no interest in me, we are clean and nothing has happened!"
At that moment, Gabriel remembered Jessica running out because of a nightmare, trembling as she searched for medicine.
She had an unspoken past and experiences, strong and fierce, yet with unknown vulnerabilities, lovely and tender, patient and intelligent, adept at pretending to be harmless but revealing her prickly nature only when truly approached.
She was not foolish but good at playing dumb.
"Mr. Harriman, do you have a headache? Shall I massage it for you?"
A graceful PR lady noticed that Gabriel had been silent for a while on the other side of the sofa, took the opportunity to grab a glass of wine, walked over, placed the glass on the table, and reached out to massage his temples.
Gabriel remained calm, still with his eyes closed and unmoving, whether he heard or not, asleep or awake.
Before the PR lady's hand could touch him, Wayne promptly reached out to stop her, giving her a warning look. "Don't you know the rules?"
The PR lady hesitated for a moment, smiled, didn't dare to approach further, and turned away.
It was well-known in Xyleria’s celebrity business circle, and Gabriel kept his distance from women. Even though there were occasions for socializing where partners might invite some minor celebrities or PR ladies, no one could get close to him.
Never try to intrude into Gabriel's personal space at any time; that's the rule.
The driver drove, Wayne sat in the front passenger seat, and seeing Gabriel frowning in the rearview mirror, clearly exhausted from several days in a row, and having had quite a bit to drink tonight, even with a good tolerance for alcohol, it was still difficult to rest properly in the car.
"Mr. Harriman, the Southern District is very close to the Charm Villa. Are we going back to Charm Villa or..."
Gabriel rarely spoke, "Blue Bay Apartments."
Wayne didn't quite understand. They were so close to Charm Villa, and Mr. Harriman had been drinking and was tired. It would be better to return to Charm Villa early to rest, especially since there were no early meetings or projects to handle at the company the next day.
Wayne didn't dare to ask more, nor did he have the courage to make decisions on his own. He signaled the driver to head towards the destination and glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing Gabriel still leaning quietly in the back seat with his eyes closed.
Half an hour later, the car entered the underground parking lot of Blue Bay Apartments.
Seeing Gabriel rub his temples, Wayne asked, "Mr. Harriman, shall I help you upstairs?"
"No need, I'm not drunk."
Gabriel's voice was calm as he got out of the car.
He had indeed drunk quite a bit that night, feeling a bit of a headache towards the end of the evening, but he remained calm and composed, making it impossible for others to discern his state.
Wayne stayed in the car silently, thinking to himself, 'You may not be drunk, but with that impending storm-like aura, it feels like something bad is about to happen.
Jessica, living on the thirty-first floor, was unaware of what was happening outside. Tormented by the questions in her mind, she couldn't sleep, so she took a short nap and woke up suddenly, realizing it was already midnight.
Danielle was sleeping soundly. Jessica got up quietly, tucked Danielle in again, got out of bed, and decided to go to the kitchen to heat up a glass of milk for herself.
Insomnia was tormenting her, and perhaps a glass of milk before sleep might help her rest more peacefully.
The living room light was off, with only a dim light on in the bedroom.
Jessica walked towards the kitchen, turned on the light, took a carton of milk from the fridge, and started to heat it up.
After heating the milk, which was still a bit hot to drink immediately, she poured it into a glass and glanced at the trash can in the kitchen. When Caroline came to cook in the evening, Danielle sneaked in and drank two cups of yogurt but left them unfinished, which Caroline later threw away.
The faint smell of fermented yogurt coming from the trash can wasn't pleasant.
Since she couldn't sleep, Jessica put on a coat, picked up the trash bag, and decided to go downstairs to throw it away.
At this late hour, both elevators were quiet. Going up and down to dispose of the trash would only take about five minutes.
After throwing away the trash and feeling the chill of the autumn night, Jessica shivered as she returned to the elevator, pressed the button for the thirty-first floor, and as she stepped out of the elevator, the automatic lights outside had just turned on. Suddenly, her arm was pulled heavily, causing her to stagger forward a few steps. Before she could see clearly, a pair of hands came around from behind.
In that moment of being embraced, Jessica's brain couldn't react fast enough.
As she tried to call for help and instinctively turned her head to see who had managed to breach the tight security of Blue Bay Apartments on the thirty-first floor, she was suddenly silenced by Gabriel's lips falling accurately on hers.
Even though she hadn't seen his face yet, the familiar breath between his breaths made Jessica's brain explode as if hit by a thunderbolt!
Gabriel?
His breath carried a strong scent of alcohol.
Jessica tried to struggle but was held firmly by his arms behind her back.
With his another hand gripping her chin, every breath and kiss carried a dominating force, leaving Jessica completely stunned.
Was Gabriel drunk or drugged?
In the midst of this invasive kiss, Jessica desperately sought a moment to breathe—
"Gabriel..."
"Let go... of me..."
"Harriman...!"
She struggled to kick him.
Gabriel simply pressed her against the wall next to the elevator door, completely overpowering her and leaving her no room to move or resist.
