Chapter 412 Gabriel is a Person with Strong Execution Power
Jessica stared at him for what felt like forever, trying to wrap her head around the marriage certificate in Gabriel's hand.
But seriously, how could this be real?
How did they end up hitched out of nowhere?
She snatched the certificate, flipped it open, and her jaw dropped. She was so stunned she couldn't get a word out for ages. Finally, she managed to stammer, "This... this..."
"Hangover got you tongue-tied?" Gabriel shot her a warm, almost teasing look.
Jessica's heart pounded like crazy. After the initial shock wore off, she checked the seal on the certificate again and muttered, "No way, this has to be fake. It was super late last night, the city hall would've been closed."
Gabriel's voice was smooth and real as ever: "Pulling a few strings to get someone to work overtime isn't exactly hard for me."
She tossed the marriage certificate back on the table. "Gabriel, are you messing with me?!"
Gabriel had already sat down across from her, slicing up some jam toast and putting it on her plate, his face totally calm. "I asked if you wanted to marry me, and you said yes."
"When did I say that? Even if I did, I was drunk!"
"Really?" Gabriel calmly served her a bowl of soup. "But I remember someone clutching that marriage certificate all the way back, kissing and hugging it, not letting me touch it."
Jessica couldn't believe it. She picked up the certificate again and inspected it closely. Sure enough, it had creases from her own hands. Not super obvious, but enough to confirm she had practically manhandled it last night.
How could this be?!
Jessica held the certificate up, the shock almost knocking her out. Her mind was a total mess, she couldn't think straight.
Gabriel, always the efficient guy, wasn't the impulsive type.
How did they end up married just like that?
Plus, she vaguely remembered Nicholas saying that even though Gabriel rarely went back to the Harriman family estate, all the family documents were kept there. So Gabriel's papers shouldn't be something he'd just have on him.
But yesterday, he had no problem taking her to get the marriage certificate, which meant he had already gotten his documents before showing up on set.
Jessica still looked stunned, clutching the certificate. She glanced at it, then closed her eyes to calm down. After a moment, she slowly put the certificate back on the table, trying to accept the reality, and looked up at Gabriel.
"Why?" she asked.
"Eat first."
"I can't eat."
She had gone from being a single mom to a married woman overnight. How could she possibly eat right now?
This life twist was way too sudden; she wasn't ready for it at all.
The shock was bigger than her hunger.
"Eat something, at least. You did drink last night." Gabriel's voice was low and gentle, even cutting her fried egg for her.
Jessica eyed the breakfast spread and the warm milk already poured. After a couple of seconds of hesitation, she picked up the glass, took a sip, and then started nibbling on the toast and fried egg.
She had planned to just take a few bites, but Gabriel, despite not cooking often, had whipped up such a tasty breakfast that she couldn't stop herself.
Just like old times.
She ended up almost finishing her plate.
Even though she was chewing a bit aggressively and slurping the milk—mostly because she was upset and breathing faster than usual—she finally slammed the glass down on the table and declared, "I think I might still be drunk and dreaming!"
She glanced at the marriage certificate on the table, quickly looked away, and then hurriedly fixed her hair, grabbed her bag, and made a beeline for the door. "I'm heading to the studio to clear my head. Bye!"
Gabriel got up and moved towards her. "I'll drive you."
"No need! I'll go by myself! I'm just not sober yet. I'll wake up soon, just give me a bit!" Jessica raised her hand to refuse, quickly put on her shoes, opened the door, and rushed out without looking back, as if afraid that looking back would make everything real.
Gabriel watched her act like she was in a dream and couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't push it. After Jessica, still looking dazed, got into the elevator, he picked up his phone and called Wayne, who was nearby, asking him to take Jessica to the studio to make sure she didn't zone out and get into any trouble while waiting for a ride.
As Gabriel expected, Jessica was totally out of it. After getting out of the car at the studio, she even forgot to thank Wayne and walked into Star Tower with a blank expression.
Inside the studio, Lynn and Zoey were having a meeting in Mackenzie's office.
"Why are people digging up Jessica and her kid's stuff again? Has her husband ever shown up? It's got nothing to do with them. They're just rehashing old scandals, over and over, never-ending!" Zoey said, tossing her phone on the table. The screen, which had been showing an Instagram page, instantly went dark.
"Jessica's gotten too many enviable gigs in the past couple of years. She doesn't really have any new scandals, so they're just recycling old dirt to get attention, hoping to make her lose some deals," Lynn said, looking at the made-up content on Instagram. "But with all this noise, the media's now more curious about Danielle. There'll be more paparazzi near the kindergarten, especially digging into Jessica's personal life."
"The main issue now is whether Jessica is really married, how the kid came about, and if her previous statements hold any water. The speculation about the kid's origin is the big thing. After all, Jessica claims to be married, but in two years, no one's ever seen the kid's dad."
The office door suddenly swung open, and the person they were talking about walked in, looking like she was sleepwalking.
Not only did she look like she was sleepwalking, but Jessica didn't say a word after entering. She just grabbed a cup from the coffee table and took a big gulp of cold tea.
