Chapter 410 Gabriel Pressed Down Her Flailing Hands
Gabriel leaned back, "Ever thought about tracking down the kid's dad?"
It felt like a full-on interrogation.
Jessica, sipping her drink and propping her chin up, smirked, "Haven't I already? We're hitched, everyone knows."
Before she could finish, she caught Gabriel's eyes, cold as ice, and bit her tongue.
Gabriel had just called her out for lying, so no point in keeping up the act.
She shrugged, "I got no clue who the kid's dad is. Never even met him properly. Bet you won't buy that, seeing as I've lied so much..."
"I believe you."
Jessica froze, words stuck. Since he believed her, she let it go.
She just wanted to say she really didn't know who Danielle's dad was. But how the kid came to be, that was a nightmare she'd never relive.
Gabriel backed off, not pushing further. He called the owner and ordered some soup, so she wouldn't wreck her stomach drinking on an empty one.
Jessica had only downed two or three cans, but the beer here was strong enough to knock out a horse.
She never could hold her liquor, and while she wasn't wasted, her head was getting fuzzy.
She sat there, staring at her plate, not moving.
Until another can of beer landed in front of her.
Jessica eyed the beer, then looked up at Gabriel.
"If you got more questions, just ask. I'm done drinking." Jessica turned away, sensing something in Gabriel's calm that she couldn't quite pin down. He seemed chill, but like a predator waiting to pounce.
"If you find the kid's dad, what's the plan?"
Jessica hiccuped, glanced at the beer, and couldn't resist a sip. She drank slowly, squinting and mulling over a question she hadn't thought about in seven years.
Two minutes later, she put down the empty can, hiccuped again, and said, "What plan? I don't even know what he looks like."
Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"And I don't even know how old he is." Jessica squinted at him, "Maybe he's not even alive. Dude didn't seem too healthy, had a fever, couldn't even take on a woman in bad shape."
Gabriel stayed stone-faced.
"Plus, he might not even be around anymore. Even if he is, what if he's married? That'd be a mess."
Gabriel kept his poker face.
Jessica nodded, "Yeah, so dead or alive, doesn't matter. I'm not looking for him."
With that, she slapped the table and waved at Gabriel, "Another can."
She was almost drunk.
Gabriel wasn't that heartless. He ignored her waving, and just as the owner brought in the soup, he served some in a small bowl and placed it in front of her, "Eat this."
Jessica stared at the bowl in front of her, all confused, "I want beer, not this. You trying to get me drunk or what?"
"Finish this, then you get your beer."
"Oh." Jessica bought it, grabbed a spoon, and started eating.
The soup was actually pretty good. After finishing a small bowl, she licked her lips and looked up, "Where's the beer?"
Gabriel pointed to the big bowl of soup, "I said finish all of this."
Jessica was shocked, "You trying to stuff me to death?!"
November in Xyleria, the night wind was biting cold.
Jessica stumbled out of the barbecue joint, swaying but refusing any help.
At the roadside, she looked at the passing cars, hiccuping and laughing, "Look at that car, haha, double vision. What kind of new car decoration is this, with two shadows, so realistic."
She almost fell backward, but Gabriel's arm caught her, steadying her.
She kept looking at the cars, laughing, and tried to step into the road to hail a cab, "I need to go home. I'll call a cab."
Gabriel pulled her back, not letting her run into the street. Jessica, shivering from the cold wind, was now trembling as he pulled her into his embrace. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her, looking down at her smiling face, and sighed, patting her head, "Cold?"
Jessica shook her head, barely able to stand, but still conscious enough to step back, not wanting to lean into his arms.
As soon as she stepped back, he pulled her back again, her nose bumping into his chest as she raised her hands to push him away.
"Stay still, don't struggle!" Gabriel pressed down her flailing hands, turned to block the cold wind, and hailed a cab.
Jessica seemed to hear him say to go to Central Avenue. She immediately struggled in his arms, "Not Central Avenue, don't go there."
But before she could finish protesting, she was already in the cab. The driver glanced back in confusion, and Gabriel calmly put Jessica's cherished hat on her head, pulling the brim down to cover her easily recognizable face.
"Not Central Avenue," she mumbled, leaning against Gabriel's shoulder in the back seat, frowning and muttering, "I don't want to go."
Gabriel looked down at her through the side of her hat, "Why?"
Jessica hummed with her eyes closed, then suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly, tilting her head. She pinched her own face, trying to wake herself up, but it was useless. She said softly, "I'm afraid of making mistakes. I'm afraid of passing by that sixty-eight-story building. I'm afraid if I look back, I won't be able to pull myself out emotionally."
Sixty-eight stories.
The only sixty-eight-story building on Central Avenue was the Harriman Group.
The cab sped past the Harriman Group office building without stopping.
It stopped on a quieter section of Central Avenue. Jessica got out, stumbling, and Gabriel helped her as she looked around, noticing a building with lights on and some red letters at the entrance, City Hall.
"Where are we?"
Gabriel took off her hat, "Do you have your ID with you?"
