Chapter 417 Not the Same Sleep
Some folks, when they're chilling at home in their comfy clothes, look all laid-back and down-to-earth, not so high and mighty anymore.
But the moment they step into the office, those fancy suits, shirts, and pants turn into some kind of invisible armor for dudes.
Gabriel was born to rock that look.
Gabriel had already made his way over, and Jessica hadn't even noticed him coming. She was too busy thinking about the crazy fan comments she just saw on Instagram.
By the time she snapped out of it, Gabriel was right in front of her.
She was still lounging on the sofa, looking up to meet Gabriel's eyes.
Seeing Jessica still spaced out, Gabriel gave her a nudge, "Your coffee's getting cold."
Jessica shook herself out of it and tried to play it cool, "I didn't get a chance to drink it."
Wayne had brought her some top-notch Blue Mountain coffee, and the rich aroma was filling her nose. She'd totally forgotten about it while scrolling through her phone.
"Didn't you say you were busy this afternoon?"
"I was supposed to do a magazine cover shoot, but with everything going on, it's probably not a good idea to be out in public."
Even going to the set tonight, she figured she'd have to keep it super low-key, switch cars, or the media would definitely catch on.
Gabriel nodded, impressed with her caution, "Alright, if your team’s short-staffed, the company's security can send some pros to watch your back. They’ve got their own rides and will be there when you need them and vanish when you don’t, no hassle for you or your crew."
Jessica quickly declined, "No need for now, it's just the media being a pain. I can dodge them. Your company's security guys are like military-grade; it'd be overkill to have them follow me."
Gabriel stood there, not trying to keep any distance or strike a pose, but still radiating that natural coolness.
Seeing her still sitting there in a daze, he chuckled, reached out, and ruffled her hair like he used to do with Danielle, "Overkill? You're treating yourself like an outsider. When will you get that you're Mrs. Harriman?"
"Realization is tough. Who would've thought that after one night, I'd wake up married?" Jessica grumbled, covering her head with her hand, "I'm not Danielle, don't pat me like that!"
"One night? That sounds pretty vague. Shouldn't you add some details?"
Gabriel looked at her, "Like how you were so drunk you wouldn't let go of the marriage certificate with one hand and clung to me with the other, hanging on me like a koala. I even gave up my right to share the bed last night, letting you have it all to yourself. Even when you woke up this morning, you were alone in bed."
Jessica asked, "What's the difference?"
"Of course, there's a difference." Gabriel popped open the top button of his shirt, clearly fresh from some formal meeting. With his suit jacket off and his shirt collar feeling a bit tight, he casually undid a couple more buttons, looking effortlessly cool. He shot her an amused look, "It's not the same kind of sleep. I took you to city hall in broad daylight to get legally hitched, letting you sleep it off at home, rather than tricking you into marriage and taking advantage of you while you were drunk. Big difference."
Jessica raised an eyebrow, "In that case, I should add that you took advantage of my drunkenness to drag me to city hall, and then..."
Gabriel suddenly leaned in, and Jessica's heart skipped a beat. She quickly leaned back against the sofa, catching a glimpse of his arm reaching past her, pinning her between his body and the sofa, leaning even closer.
She could smell Gabriel's clean, fresh scent, and, flustered, met his gaze. As he leaned in and noticed her startled expression, his gaze fell to her slightly parted lips. His deep, swirling eyes, like an endless sea, made Jessica's repressed feelings suddenly race.
It was as if the long-dormant waves were starting to surge, filling the air with a long-lost sweetness.
Although it was a bit sudden.
But they were already married.
Any talk of maintaining proper distance and boundaries after breaking up had become useless nonsense.
After all, they had once been the closest couple.
Thinking of the faint smile on Gabriel's refined face in their marriage certificate photo, and her own silly grin as she leaned on his shoulder, those long-suppressed feelings kept trembling, as if ready to burst forth and rekindle.
She suddenly closed her eyes, waiting for Gabriel to kiss her.
However, after a moment, she heard a sound by her ear, as if something was being taken away.
Jessica opened her eyes abruptly, only to see Gabriel holding a file folder, clearly just taken from behind her.
She glanced at the low cabinet behind the sofa, where a few file folders and binders were placed.
Gabriel had already stood up straight, looking down at her. "What did you think I was going to do?"
She felt very embarrassed now, quickly looking away, and pretended to calmly tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to regain a calm voice, "Nothing, the light in your office is too bright, the sunlight is dazzling."
Gabriel looked at her for a long time, then shifted his gaze to the light coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Most of the light was on the other side of the office, with no sunlight falling on the sofa area.
Jessica's ears heated. She had been holding the marriage certificates this morning, refusing to admit they were real, and now she had quickly accepted the fact, sitting there waiting for him to kiss her?
Jessica glanced at the direction where the sunlight fell, then suddenly stood up, grabbed her bag, turned to leave, "You just came back from a meeting and have work to do. I'll wait outside. When you're done, I'll..."
But after sitting there and looking at her phone for so long, her legs had gone numb. Standing up too quickly, she felt a sharp pain and numbness in her calves, and fell backward unexpectedly!
