Chapter 157 Be A Man of Your Word
"Oh, sorry, Liam. I thought you were Gabriel," Teresa apologized upon hearing Liam's voice instead of Gabriel's.
Liam responded with a grunt and promptly hung up. Tossing Gabriel's cell back to him, he caught Gabriel's gaze, which had been fixed on him throughout the call.
With his lips curving into a mischievous smile, Gabriel teased, "See? My wife's really worried about me, huh? She's already on her way, right?"
Liam shot him a bored look and dismissed him with a single word, "Boring!"
"Gabriel, that's kinda low, man. You know Liam has..." Aaron cut himself off, realizing he had slipped.
Leaning back in the couch, Gabriel met Liam's eyes with a smug grin. "Maybe Teresa had a thing for you before, Liam, but now, she's all about me. I'm the one she loves, so you should let go."
The two ladies who were chilling with the guys had already been sent away, leaving only the four in the cozy upstairs living room. It was a safe space where they could speak freely.
Since the last time Liam knocked himself out to avoid touching Teresa, it was clear to Gabriel that Liam had not moved on.
Today, Gabriel wanted to make it crystal clear to Liam that Teresa was his girl, his love, and his alone, hoping that Liam would finally move on, heart and soul.
Liam sat opposite Gabriel, silently observing him with narrowed eyes.
Aaron and Kyle were there too, quietly dreading the possibility of a fight breaking out over Teresa. Thankfully, the tension seemed controlled without any signs of an imminent clash.
"Gabriel, I've brought the troublemaker," Russell burst into the room, followed by two bodyguards dragging a woman behind them. It wasn't just any woman; it was Helen, the young actress who had just earlier been with Kyle.
"This chick," Russell pointed angrily at the woman presented by the bodyguards, "is the one who served me the drink, and she's the one who slipped something into it."
"No, it wasn't me! Gabriel, Kyle, you have to believe me, I swear it wasn't..." Helen's pleas were abruptly cut off by a loud thud.
Just as Helen's tearful pleas were still hanging in the air, Russell lashed out and sent the woman sprawling onto the floor. Pointing a finger at her, he spat out angrily, "You filthy tramp. The damn surveillance caught you drugging the drink, and you still have the nerve to deny it?"
The surveillance caught it?!
Helen's face turned deathly pale at the words, even the carefully applied makeup couldn't hide her ashen complexion.
"I... I had no idea, I didn't know it was for Gabriel, I thought... I thought it was for Kyle, considering it’s his birthday tonight, I just thought..."
"Thump!"
Before Helen could finish her feeble excuse, Kyle sprang up from the couch with surprising agility and stormed over to her. He lashed out at her. She crashed against the wall before slumping to the ground.
In an instant, Helen's pretty face contorted in agony.
"Who put you up to it?" Towering over her, Kyle demanded with a ferocity that seemed to surge through him.
"...Kyle, I... I don't even know that person, they just... they told me if I drugged... if I drugged Gabriel Garcia, they would... they'd get me a night with... with Gabriel Garcia.” Cowering on the floor, Helen struggled to breathe, each word was a monumental effort, as if choking on blood threatening to spill out, "I... I was blinded by greed, so... I did it."
"Disgusting whore!"
"Kyle!" Just as Kyle was about to kick Helen, Gabriel called out to stop him.
"Gabriel, leave it to me, I'll make sure she pays," Kyle growled, turning around with a look of unbridled rage.
"No! Please, don’t..." Helen was petrified, her complexion completely drained of color, panic stricken, "Kyle, I... I'm sorry, I apologize to you, I won't... I won't dare again, please, let me go, Kyle, Gabriel... spare me!"
"Gabriel, I'm dragging her out right now, and she's done," Russell interjected, his face seething with anger.
Liam and Aaron sat there, staring indifferently at the figure sprawled on the floor. Compassion or sympathy was alien to their gaze.
In showbiz, there were plenty of women like Helen, who slept their way into the arms of a magnate and believed they were something special.
"No need," Gabriel said with furrowed brows and a raspy voice, "Let's wait for my wife to handle this."
"Heh, you always think things through, Gabe. We'll let Teresa deal with it," Russell replied with a chuckle, nodding in agreement.
As Helen lay on the ground, overhearing their conversation, fear set her trembling like a leaf in the wind; after all, when women take charge, men better step aside.
Meanwhile, Teresa was in her car, frantic with worry.
Even though Liam hadn’t provided any details, the message "He's waiting for you" was enough to send her into a panic.
It was approaching nine in the evening, well past rush hour, and the roads were clear. Seeing Teresa's urgency, even on deserted streets, the chauffeur ran several red lights, cutting the forty-minute journey to nearly half an hour.
"Hey, Teresa, you’re here! I'm Kyle's brother, Russell. We met at Cynthia's birthday bash," Russell greeted Teresa with a grin as she got out of the car by the grand entrance.
Teresa stepped out, her brows furrowed even more tightly, and nodded at Russell, "Hi, Mr. Campbell, I remember you. Where's Gabriel?"
