Chapter 369 Gabriel Placed His Hand on Her Belly.
Before Jessica could even refuse, she was carried inside.
When she came back earlier, she was soaked from the rain, but Gabriel didn't seem to notice. He put her on the bed, saw the light sweat on her cheeks, and went to grab a towel from the bathroom.
While Gabriel wiped her face, Jessica lay there, wincing in pain, but still reached for the towel. "I can do it myself."
"Hands off," Gabriel said firmly.
Jessica paused. She was in too much pain to pretend to be strong. Lying there, she finally felt a bit more comfortable. She let go of the towel and stopped moving, letting Gabriel wipe the rain off her face, neck, and most of her body.
"Where does it hurt?" Gabriel's voice cut through her haze of pain.
Jessica instinctively placed her hand on her stomach, then pressed down on her lower abdomen, her face pale. "Here."
Gabriel placed his hand on her stomach. Even through her clothes, the warmth of his palm was comforting.
Jessica's eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and she turned her face away, looking in another direction. She endured the cramping pain in her abdomen, clutching the bedsheet beneath her without saying another word or looking at him.
The doctor arrived quickly and did a series of exams on Jessica. He confirmed it wasn't a disease but intestinal spasms from eating something bad or too much cold food. The spasms wouldn't last long, but without proper rest, they could come back worse.
Jessica's condition was clearly from eating street food that might have been unsanitary or hard to digest.
The doctor prescribed some meds and advised her to rest flat, apply heat to her abdomen, and gently massage the area.
After taking the painkillers, Jessica lay in Gabriel's room, almost falling asleep. Just before drifting off, she could still hear Gabriel talking to the doctor. Even though they were discussing simple precautions, his voice made her feel at ease, allowing her to fall asleep quickly despite the pain and exhaustion.
After the doctor left, Jessica felt a sudden warmth on her abdomen as she slept. Whether it was the painkillers or something else, the pain seemed to ease significantly. It felt as if a gentle pressure was being applied to her stomach, making her relax and finally smooth out the frown that had been on her face all day. Her tense sleeping posture also relaxed.
Jessica slept comfortably, and when she woke up, it was still raining outside, though not as heavily. It was already dark, and she didn't know what time it was.
She blinked at the ceiling light, trying to wake herself up. Sitting up, she saw she was still in Gabriel's room. Turning around, she saw Gabriel standing by the window, talking on the phone.
Gabriel was just listening to the call, occasionally responding in a low voice with a few short sentences in English. He was likely listening to a report from a company branch manager.
She got up quietly, carefully tidied the bed she had messed up, and picked up her coat, bag, and phone, ready to leave quietly.
Just as she reached the door, Gabriel's voice came from that direction. "Take your medicine before you go."
Jessica paused and turned around, seeing Gabriel still facing the window, not looking back. But his words were clearly meant for her.
She hesitated. The stomach cramps from yesterday and today were a nightmare, and she didn't want to experience that pain again. So she walked back to the bed, found the box of medicine, and put it in her bag. As she turned to leave, she paused slightly and looked back at Gabriel by the window.
Knowing he was on the phone, she didn't disturb him. Whether he heard her or not, she softly said, "Thank you," and quickly left his room without lingering.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Kimberly walking from the direction of the elevator. Kimberly hadn't noticed Jessica yet, but Jessica saw her first.
Jessica glanced at Kimberly and then walked away as if she didn't recognize her, not caring what Kimberly would think about seeing her come out of Gabriel's room. She walked to a door a few feet away, opened it, and went inside without looking back.
Kimberly's steps froze when she saw Jessica coming out of Gabriel's room. 'Jessica again?' she thought.
She hadn't been able to reach Gabriel all day. After last night's incident with the spare room key, he must have figured it out what was going on. She wanted to invite him to dinner but didn't know what excuse to use.
Finally, she decided to visit him during dinner time, only to see Jessica coming out of his room.
And Jessica's hair was a mess, like she had just woken up.
'Haven't they broken up over a year ago? Almost two years now. What is this?' Kimberly pondered,
Jessica went back to her room and took her medicine. She had already rested in the afternoon, but it was now past seven in the evening, and it was still raining outside. She changed into soft, comfortable clothes and lay back on the bed, holding her phone in one hand and massaging her abdomen with the other, which had already eased significantly.
As she massaged, she felt her pressure was inconsistent, sometimes light, sometimes painful. It was nothing like the comfortable feeling she had when she fell asleep in Gabriel's room with her abdomen being gently pressed.
She clicked her tongue and stopped massaging, lowering her head to reply to messages on WhatsApp.
The film's representative mentioned in the group chat that they hadn't been idle during their stay in San Francisco due to the heavy rain. They had taken the opportunity to contact local film sponsors and planned to discuss promotional cooperation for the upcoming release over dinner at the Golden Orchid Hotel's VIP lounge downtown tomorrow night.
In Country M, whether discussing business or other matters, dinner and drinks were always the most effective and commonly used methods. Especially in the entertainment industry, where executives and managers liked to discuss things over dinner. A few drinks in, and they would start calling each other brothers, making promises to support each other in the industry.
After replying to the messages, Jessica took a bath. Probably due to the abdominal massage and medication, she hadn't experienced severe cramps for several hours.
When she came out of the bathroom, she found her phone ringing non-stop.
