Chapter 364 Gabriel Was Already Approaching at this Moment.
In the hotel lobby, Kimberly anxiously waited as the manager returned without the room key.
"Miss Harriman, I'm sorry. Mr. Harriman isn't answering his phone, and the woman who entered the wrong room isn't either. We rang the doorbell, but the door was quickly shut again. Mr. Harriman is in that room and has no intention of opening the door. There's nothing more we can do."
"He doesn't want to open the door?? What does that mean? He didn't even kick out a strange woman who entered his room?" Kimberly was in disbelief.
The hotel manager thought the woman inside looked familiar, probably an actress from the film crew that arrived earlier. If Gabriel decided to keep her, it wouldn't be surprising.
A man and a woman alone in a room—if the room's owner didn't kick her out, they couldn't just barge in and drag her out.
The manager smiled politely, "Since Mr. Harriman doesn't want to open the door, we can't force our way in. This will likely be addressed tomorrow morning, and we need to inform our superiors. Meanwhile, can we arrange another room for you? Also, Miss Harriman, you are Mr. Harriman's sister, right?"
Kimberly's face tightened, making it hard to explain.
Inside, she was panicking. 'Who was the strange woman in Gabriel's room? Why didn't he kick her out?
'The opportunity Imogen had created for me to get close to Gabriel is now wasted. Even if I got the room key back and entered Gabriel's room, nothing would likely happen,' Kimberly thought.
She clenched her hands tightly, her nails digging into her palms.
Gabriel, who was frugal with words, explained the misunderstanding and the likely reasons for the spare room key in just a few words.
He had quickly dressed, looking dignified and composed as if the chaos hadn't affected him at all, appearing even colder.
Jessica glanced at the room key in her hand again. "So you're saying Mrs. Harriman knew you were on a business trip to Stellaria City and used her connection with the hotel manager to send Kimberly over?"
Hearing Jessica's "Kimberly" and the obvious detachment in their brief exchange, Gabriel calmly buttoned the last button on his shirt, his gaze falling indifferently on her face. "You could put it that way."
Jessica had thought Kimberly had already returned to Country Y.
After all, she had been an exchange student there for a year, hadn't she?
It had been two years now.
However, she was back in the country, and coincidentally, in Stellaria City.
Jessica had wondered how such a top international hotel in Stellaria City could make such a mistake and arrange such a coincidence.
It turned out the hotel manager knew Imogen and had been asked to arrange this mistake.
If Jessica hadn't had her flight canceled due to the storm and hadn't accidentally taken the wrong room key, what would have happened in this room tonight?
She glanced at Gabriel, who was now fully dressed. The Gabriel who had been shirtless and intimidating was now back to his dignified and aloof self.
Seeing Gabriel's clear and cold eyes, Jessica suddenly felt that even if Kimberly had managed to get into his room, it would have only created an opportunity for them to talk alone.
But it seemed like nothing would have happened.
Not that she knew Gabriel well, but even after nearly two years apart, he was still terrifyingly cold and clear-headed.
"Kimberly..." Jessica wanted to ask if Kimberly had come to Stellaria City to be an exchange student again but hesitated. Why did it matter to her?
This pause made Gabriel's gaze focus on her, and his expression wasn't particularly pleasant.
Jessica's mouth twitched. "I'm not blaming you."
Under Gabriel's emotionless gaze, Jessica suddenly felt that sitting in his room, listening to him explain the misunderstanding, and chatting with him was unnecessary. This wasn't what she should be doing now.
Although she didn't understand why Gabriel, who clearly disliked her, had the patience to explain tonight's situation to her.
She stood up from the sofa, about to speak when her phone rang. She turned and walked towards the door, opening a voice message from the film crew. They had received a call from the hotel, saying she had entered the wrong room and needed to get a new room key.
She hadn't heard the WhatsApp notification earlier because of the thunder.
After listening to the message, Jessica opened another one from Kevin. She habitually played the voice message.
Kevin said, "I heard your flight in Stellaria City was canceled. The weather forecast says it will rain for two to three days. You probably can't come back for a while. How are you doing? Did you get to the hotel? You should take this time to rest. You haven't had a good night's sleep in a week, right?"
Jessica had just reached the door when she heard this message. Thinking she might have to stay in Stellaria City for a few days, she was about to reply but remembered whose room she was in and stayed silent, putting her phone away to leave.
Gabriel's voice suddenly sounded behind her. "Aren't you publicly claiming to be married? Why are you so close with a male colleague?"
The indifferent and cold tone, mixed with undisguised sarcasm, pierced Jessica's heart like a cold arrow.
She turned around immediately and said sharply, "It's just a colleague relationship. We're all friends on set. It's normal to show concern. I know the boundaries and don't need you to remind me, Mr. Harriman."
Gabriel finally looked at her, his voice as calm as ever. "Don't forget what you once said, that you wanted to give your daughter a complete family and a normal life. I thought that included the right values, like how a woman who publicly claims to be married should maintain appropriate boundaries and interactions with colleagues."
Jessica suddenly realized she was standing there, listening to Gabriel lecture her. Not wanting to create more friction, she suppressed her frustration and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Harriman. But I'm very clear-headed and know what I'm doing."
With that, she turned to leave, but holding the spare room key. She went back to place it on the table by the sofa.
Unexpectedly, Gabriel had already walked over, looking down at her as she put down the key, his gaze indifferent and unreadable.
Jessica didn't want to engage with him. She turned to leave, but as she took a step, she suddenly felt Gabriel lightly tug her collar back!
