Chapter 140 From Beginning to End, You're Mine
Teresa couldn't believe it. She'd just hooked up with Gabriel in the hospital bathroom, and she didn't feel an ounce of regret or hesitation.
Leaning against the bathroom door, clutching a towel to her chest, she watched Gabriel at the sink. He looked sharp from the waist up, fumbling with a hot towel, and she couldn't help but laugh.
Sure, the setting was less than ideal, but it wasn't as bad as she'd always feared.
This feeling was something she never imagined or experienced before.
"Here, let me wipe you down!" Gabriel said.
"Don't touch me again!" Teresa snapped, snatching the towel from his hand and glaring at him with a mix of allure and defiance.
Gabriel just smiled. Ignoring her resistance, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. He kissed her head, his deep-set eyes filled with a satisfaction and joy he'd never felt before.
But when he saw the bruises on her body, his brows furrowed with pain, and he tightened his grip. In a deep, hoarse voice, he said, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'll make Yvonne pay for every hit she inflicted on you."
Teresa stopped struggling. Through the towel and Gabriel's thin shirt, she felt the rise and fall of his chest, the warmth. She looked up and scolded him, "What about what you just did?"
She never expected her first time with Gabriel would happen like this, in such a place.
Fortunately, after the initial roughness, he'd been gentle and careful with her.
Gabriel smiled again, lowered his head, and kissed her red lips and nose. "I'll serve you for the rest of my life, how about that?"
Teresa glared at him, "Pervert, I don't like it!"
Gabriel was too happy to care. He hugged her tightly again. "Whether you like it or not, you're my sweetheart, always."
"Scoundrel!" Teresa muttered, pushing him away. "Hurry up and get out."
"You're already mine, don't be shy. Let me help you." Gabriel laughed softly, his hand slowly caressing her smooth back.
"Stop it!" Teresa shouted.
"Sweetheart, don't move."
"Gabriel, I'm a patient right now. Don't push it." Teresa looked up at him, her voice tinged with a sob.
"Okay, my bad." Gabriel immediately admitted his mistake, seeing the soft and delicate Teresa in his arms. "Do you really not need my help?"
"Hurry up, get dressed and get out!" Teresa glared at him fiercely.
Gabriel laughed, finally letting her go. He quickly dressed and, after planting a kiss on her forehead, said in a low, hoarse voice, "I'll be right outside. Call me if you need anything."
Teresa glared at him, not wanting to respond. Gabriel smiled contentedly, finally opening the door and stepping out.
After he left, Teresa closed the door, leaned her back against it, and took a deep breath. Scenes of the two of them together flashed through her mind.
Everything had happened so quickly that it still felt unreal. But the stirring in her heart was unmistakably clear.
Suddenly, Teresa felt cheap!
She was supposed to divorce him, and now she had been so easily swayed by him.
So what now? Was she still going to divorce him? That seemed impossible.
Taking another deep breath, Teresa raised her hand to her face, realizing how hot it was. She quickly walked to the sink to take a look.
Her face was so red it was indescribable, not just her face, but her whole body!
No wonder that bad man Gabriel was so happy. He must have thought he had completely won her over, right?
"Sweetheart, need any help?" Gabriel's cheerful voice came from the door.
"Don't knock, I don't need it!" Teresa shouted towards the door, feeling extremely embarrassed.
Why was Gabriel so cheerful!
Outside, Gabriel heard her voice and couldn't help but laugh softly, his lips curving into a smile of unprecedented happiness and sweetness.
Gabriel was on cloud nine, feeling so happy and satisfied that he could die right then and there.
But then he remembered all the crap Teresa had gone through yesterday, and his eyes filled with a fierce, burning anger.
He grabbed his phone and dialed Luke's number.
"Where the hell were the bodyguards supposed to be with Teresa?" Gabriel's voice was icy cold as the call connected.
"They were all captured by Yvonne's people. We just got them back," Luke answered respectfully.
"These are the people you arranged to protect Teresa?!" Gabriel's voice grew even colder.
Luke felt wronged!
Last night, Teresa had insisted on going to Liam's apartment alone, and besides, Yvonne's people outnumbered them. The three bodyguards assigned to Teresa were simply outmatched.
"Mr. Garcia, I will arrange for the best people to be by Mrs. Garcia's side," Luke promised, despite feeling wronged.
"Pick the twenty best bodyguards. I want to personally screen them," Gabriel ordered sternly.
"Yes, Mr. Garcia."
"Has Liam woken up?" Gabriel asked immediately.
"Not yet."
"Let me know the moment he wakes up." Gabriel felt grateful to Liam.
"Yes."
Hanging up the phone, Gabriel put it away and walked back to the bathroom door. Not hearing any noise from inside, he immediately reached out to turn the handle.
Just as his hand touched the doorknob, the bathroom door opened from the inside. Teresa, wearing the same hospital gown, almost bumped into his chest as she walked out.
"Sweetheart." Before Teresa could fully react, Gabriel had already pulled her into his arms. His clean, pleasant scent instantly filled her nose.
"Are you dressed?" he asked.
"Don't you have eyes?" Teresa glared at him and pushed him away.
Gabriel didn't let go. He kissed her forehead and asked, "Do your injuries still hurt?"
Teresa glared at him. "They won't hurt if you don't touch them."
Gabriel chuckled softly, raising his hand to gently caress her still slightly swollen cheek. He kissed her nose and, in an increasingly husky and sexy voice, asked, "Did I hurt you just now?"
Teresa glared at him.
Her heart, which had just calmed down, was now completely out of rhythm again.
Gabriel always knew how to tease and tempt her!
"Yes, it hurt. Let go!" Teresa said, pushing him again.
But Gabriel didn't let go. Instead, he held her even tighter, though carefully, afraid of hurting her again. In a hoarse voice, he said, "I'll be gentle."
With her face pressed against his chest, Teresa muttered, but listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, she felt a sense of security she had never gotten before.
Gabriel laughed, clearly in a good mood. The next second, he let her go, bent down, and scooped her up in his arms, then turned and walked towards the hospital bed.
"Lie down. I'll let the doctor and my mom come in." Placing Teresa on the bed and pulling the blanket over her, Gabriel kissed her gently and said softly.
"Gabriel." Just as he straightened up and was about to leave, Teresa grabbed his hand.
Gabriel immediately turned back to her, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"How's Liam? Has he woken up?" Teresa asked directly, not avoiding the topic of Liam.
Gabriel turned back, kissed her again, and held her hand, "No, I just asked. He's still unconscious. When he wakes up, we'll go see him together."
"Actually, about Liam..." Teresa started but then decided not to continue.
Why should she explain? If Gabriel trusted her, he would believe her without explanation. If he didn't, no amount of explanation would change his mind.
"What about him?" Gabriel pressed, seeing her hesitation.
Only God knew how much he longed for Teresa to tell him that the person she loved now was him, not Liam.
"Liam and I are still friends. If he ever really needs me, I won't ignore him," Teresa said, looking at him.
"So, you're saying you only see Liam as a friend now, nothing more?" Gabriel confirmed.
"What else could it be?" Teresa countered.
Gabriel's eyes shone brightly as he looked at her, smiling almost confidently, "Sweetheart, actually, nothing ever happened between you and Liam. You just kissed, right?"
Originally, everything was going great, but Gabriel switched gears so fast that Teresa got annoyed right away. "If I slept with Liam, what would you do?"
"I knew you would say that," Gabriel said, giving her nose a playful pinch. "From start to finish, you're mine. Always have been, always will be."
Teresa just stared at him.
This shameless Gabriel!
"Be good, lie down. I'll get the doctor and Sophia," Gabriel said, kissing her again before letting go of her hand and heading out to call them in.
Seeing them make up, and even sweeter than before, Sophia finally felt relieved.
The doctor checked Teresa and said her injuries weren't serious anymore, just needed some good rest at home.
Gabriel wasted no time getting her discharge papers sorted, and they headed back to the Garcia Manor together.
"Gabriel, I can walk by myself. Put me down," Teresa protested as Gabriel, worried sick about her, scooped her up after she changed clothes.
"No way!" Gabriel said firmly. "I'm not letting you go."
Teresa was speechless.
"Daddy's holding Mommy, what about me? I want to hold Mommy too!" Their little one looked up at them, feeling left out.
"Your mommy is my sweetheart, so of course, I hold her. When you grow up, you can hold your own sweetheart," Gabriel said seriously to the little one.
Teresa shot him a glare.
"Come here, let Grandma hold you, Michael," Katherine said with a smile, picking up the little one.
"Okay, Grandma holds the baby, and Daddy, Mommy, and the baby go home together," Michael laughed.
Looking at Michael, Teresa smiled and nodded, "We'll go home together."
Patrick, Sophia, and William all headed to the Garcia Manor too.
After yesterday's drama, Teresa might have been physically hurt, but she got a lot of love from the Garcia family. Mason and Raymond showered her with gifts worth billions, and Katherine gave her two sets of jewelry.
After lunch with everyone, Teresa lay in bed, feeling all the love while scrolling through the flood of online reports about her. Seeing how things had turned out, she couldn't help but sigh.
The police had officially cleared things up, posting unedited videos and photos of her being abused on their website. The tide turned quickly, with netizens bashing Yvonne and the Evans Group's stock price tanking.
"Stop looking at that, it's bad for your eyes. Get some sleep," Gabriel said, annoyed that Teresa was glued to her phone and ignoring him. He snatched the phone from her.
But when he saw the screen, his expression changed.
"Terry is such a busybody," Gabriel muttered as he started typing on Teresa's phone.
"What are you doing? Give me back my phone," Teresa said, trying to grab it back.
Gabriel dodged her and then pretended to wince in pain.
"What's wrong? Did you hurt your back?" Teresa leaned over, worried about his still-healing burns. Gabriel took the chance to flip her over, pinning her beneath him. He held her hands above her head with one hand and used the other to press the voice function on her phone, sending a message to Terry, "Thanks for your concern for my sweetheart, but I'll take good care of her myself, so no need to worry."
With that, he released the button and sent the message.
"Gabriel, you jerk! He was just being a friend."
Before Teresa could finish, Gabriel dropped the phone and kissed her.
Liam woke up in the evening. After hearing the secretary's report on the whole mess, he recorded a video to post online, clearing things up and apologizing deeply for the harm Yvonne caused Teresa.
After recording the video, he leaned against the headboard, staying silent.
Tyler, who had been on a business trip, rushed back when he heard about the incident. Seeing that Liam was okay, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Liam, do you hate your mom?" Tyler asked calmly, sitting on the hospital room sofa.
Honestly, he had been fed up with Yvonne for a long time. What she did this time was shocking but not entirely surprising.
Yvonne had a strong desire for control and a nasty habit of retaliating fiercely when someone crossed her.
If it weren't for the Evans Group and the Evans family, Tyler would have divorced Yvonne ages ago.
Back when the Evans Group was in crisis, it was the Campbells family who bailed them out, which was why Yvonne held 15% of the Evans Group's shares. This gave her the confidence to try to control both father and son.
"I've already cut ties with her, why would I hate her?" Liam replied calmly.
In the past, even after leaving the Evans family and severing ties, Liam still held gratitude for Yvone because she had raised him
Now, even that gratitude was gone.
Tyler nodded, walked over, and patted his shoulder, "In a while, I'll divorce her. You're my son. I hope, after the divorce, you'll come back."
Liam looked at Tyler but said nothing.
However, he could clearly see that Tyler had aged significantly, with nearly half of his hair turning white.
They looked at each other in silence. Tyler patted his shoulder again and then left.
Shortly after Tyler left, Teresa and Gabriel arrived.
"Teresa, are you okay?" Ignoring Gabriel, Liam looked Teresa up and down, concerned.
Gabriel, standing beside Teresa, wrapped his arm around her, staking his claim.
"I'm fine." Teresa let Gabriel hold her, not minding him, and asked Liam, "How about you? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
"Liam, thank you," Gabriel said sincerely, holding Teresa tighter.
This was the first time Gabriel had ever thanked Liam since they were kids.
Liam looked at them, a bitter smile forming on his lips. Suddenly, he changed the subject, "Teresa, can you let Yvonne go this time? Consider it a favor to me."
"Absolutely not!" Gabriel refused firmly before Teresa could respond, leaving no room for negotiation.
Teresa glanced at him, then looked at Liam, and said, "Okay, this time I can pretend nothing happened and I won't hold Yvonne accountable."
Teresa didn't know that Yvonne wasn't Liam's biological mother. She thought it was normal for Liam to plead for Yvonne as her son.
She felt she owed Liam, so letting Yvonne go this time was a way to repay him. She had no objections.
