Chapter 129 Gabriel's Favorite
Laughable, that's what Liam found the bodyguard's words to be. Pathetic and laughable.
The next second, his eyes caught sight of his discarded clothes and phone on the floor. He stumbled towards them, clinging desperately to the fragments of his sobriety, shrugging on his garments before dialing Yvonne's number.
Yvonne was seated across the surveillance monitors when Liam's call triggered her phone to life. Without hesitation, she answered.
"Mother, do you want me to hate you for the rest of my life?" Liam seethed, his forehead veins throbbing.
"Son, I'm just saying, you're not getting your due. Teresa slept with Gabriel while she was seeing you. Now, she's Gabriel's darling. It's only fair for you to have her," his mother's voice cut through the phone.
"Yvonne Evans!" he roared, his veins threatening to burst under his skin, fueled by the drug and an unprecedented fury.
Yvonne's bodyguard, witnessing the scene, simply stepped aside and walked out, closing the door behind him without interjecting further.
"Son, don't worry. Gabriel will never find out. Even if Teresa wakes up, she surely won't spill the beans herself. You're free from any burden," Yvonne concluded before abruptly ending the call.
Liam felt a surge of mockery from the call-ending tone, which he promptly hurled across the room. Unable to bear even a half-second glance at Teresa on the bed, he stumbled toward the bathroom. With a slam that echoed his inner turmoil, the bathroom door shut behind him.
Teresa's phone on the floor incessantly rang, replaying over and over, cutting off automatically and then, without missing a beat, ringing anew.
On the other side, it was morning in Chicago. Gabriel was in the presidential suite of a six-star hotel, adjusting his tie while trying to reach Teresa by phone.
He was about to head to a meeting with another company, wrap up a deal, and after that, he could fly straight back to River North.
But call after call went unanswered.
"Boss, it's about time for us to head out," Finley said as he stepped in, offering a respectful reminder.
Gabriel glanced at the phone as another call got disconnected. Assuming Teresa had her phone on silent and didn't hear it ring, he pocketed his phone and as he walked out, asked Finley, "What's Mrs. Garcia up to?"
"I'll call and check," Finley replied, who, being merely human and not omniscient, couldn't keep tabs on Teresa at all times. However, if anything were urgent, the bodyguard assigned to her would report to him immediately.
Now, he dialed Teresa's bodyguard, who also served as her driver, to inquire about her whereabouts.
"Mrs. Garcia is at Liam's apartment and hasn’t come down yet," the driver reported on the other end.
Teresa had instructed them to wait downstairs, saying she would call them if needed.
At Liam's apartment?
In the elevator, Finley's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He glanced at the man next to him, acknowledged the information, and promptly ended the call.
"Where is she?" Gabriel, catching sight of Finley hanging up, asked immediately.
"Mrs. Garcia is at...” Finley hesitated, then divulged, "at Liam's apartment."
— At Liam's apartment.
Gabriel's handsome brows twisted in a frown. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Teresa's number once again.
Now, all he wanted was to hear from Teresa herself, to say what she was doing with Liam. He would believe her; just her words were all he needed.
Elsewhere, in the master bedroom of Liam's apartment, perhaps the bodyguard hadn't been diligent enough, or perhaps Teresa's consciousness was fiercely awakening, or maybe it was Spencer's "Island of Solitude" that started playing from the phone on the floor again, rousing her.
Whatever the reason, Teresa's eyes fluttered open once more. She was awake.
For some inexplicable reason, she had taken a particular liking to Spencer's "Deserted Island," so much so that she set it as her ringtone.
As the repetitive chime of her cellphone roused her, she shook her heavy head, wriggled out of the blankets, and crawled out of bed. Recognizing the call was from Gabriel, she quickly answered.
"Hey, love, what are you up to? Why didn't you pick up after so many calls?"
"My phone was on silent, I didn't hear it." Teresa said, her eyes still closed, head pounding faintly.
"Where are you right now?"
"Right now?" Teresa hesitated, visibly startled once she realized the implication, but she swiftly regained her composure and replied, "I... I'm at Liam's place. His stomach is acting up again."
It was not the time to confess the truth to Gabriel; she found no other choice but to lie.
On the other end, Gabriel naturally felt relieved hearing Teresa's frankness, but the idea of her rushing to Liam's bedside because he was ill left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"When do you plan on leaving?" Gabriel asked in a heavy tone after a moment of silence.
"I... I don't know. You have that meeting and contract signing today, right? You focus on your work; don't worry about me," She wasn't sure about Liam's condition and wanted to cut the talk short to avoid more lies. She ended the call.
Back in his own space, Gabriel was left listening to the call-end tone, his heart sinking as if plunging into an icy abyss, a profound sense of loss and defeat aching at his core.
Teresa had once made it crystal clear: she loved Liam, not him.
She had also said she married him for nothing but for Michael.
It seemed, indeed, her heart still held Liam in higher regard.
Meanwhile, in Liam's apartment, Yvonne watched Teresa's every move through the surveillance cameras, a cold sneer playing on her lips.
Seeing Teresa wake up and take the call, Yvonne was in no hurry. She was certain Teresa wouldn't call for help. Doing so would only cause her more embarrassment, especially if word of the situation got out, not to mention Yvonne's people were guarding the entrance. There was nothing to fret about.
She was curious, however, whether Teresa and Liam could truly resist each other, especially now that Liam was at a point where control was likely beyond his grasp.
After ending the call, Teresa took a deep breath, glanced at her clothes strewn across the floor, quickly dressed, and began searching for Liam.
"Liam, Liam!" she called out.
Having endured the horror of that night three years ago, Gabriel eventually confided in her that he had acted so viciously because he was drugged. Teresa, taking no chances, later researched such drugs and learned that an immediate relief injection was crucial to alleviate the torment or the victim might suffer near-fatally.
Teresa wasn't sure if Liam was still in the apartment. She called out but got no response. Checking the bedroom and walk-in closet, she found nobody. With an uneasy feeling, she was about to search outside when...
"Thud!"
The muffled sound from the bathroom stopped her in her tracks. She furrowed her brows and turned towards the bathroom.
Right, the bathroom. How could she not think of that?
In the next second, she was striding towards the bathroom. Reaching the door, she grasped the handle, twisted it open, and looked inside. With just one glance, Teresa froze at the threshold...
