Chapter 173 Thoroughly Corrupted
"Darling..."
"It's okay, don't be scared!" Gabriel reassured the trembling woman in his arms, planting a comforting kiss on her forehead, "Let's get out of here. I'll have someone take care of this."
With that, he scooped Teresa up and carried her out of the room.
Teresa had an intense phobia of snakes, especially poisonous ones. As Gabriel lifted her, she buried her face into his chest and firmly shut her eyes, making sure to avoid another glimpse of the snake.
But as they passed by the jewelry cabinet, the snake, tongue flicking violently red, lunged at them...
Gabriel caught sight of it and swiftly dodged back, then sent a kick flying at the oncoming viper.
The snake was smacked into the wardrobe glass with a loud "clang" and then fell to the floor
Huddled in Gabriel's arms, Teresa trembled even more at the sound.
Gabriel glanced down at her, his brows knitted in concern, and kept moving without pause.
When they exited the room, the butler had already followed, his alarm growing upon seeing Teresa nestled in Gabriel's arms, still shivering. He quickly asked. "Mrs. Garcia, is everything...?
But before he could finish, Gabriel cut him off.
"Teresa's gown, where did it come from?"
"The dress?" The butler paused, not understanding, then quickly responded, "Oh, it was returned by the tailor’s shop."
"It was delivered with a serpent inside," Gabriel sharply instructed, "Get someone to deal with the snake. Get rid of that dress. And find out where the snake came from." After issuing the orders, Gabriel held Teresa tightly and strode out, heading up to the small sitting area on the second floor.
The butler, startled, quickly regained his composure and nodded, "Right away," hurrying into the room to inspect the situation. The sight of the glossy black snake, head raised and flicking its red tongue, sent a chill down his spine, and he rushed to call for help.
"Honey, it's okay, don't be afraid, everything’s over now," Settling into the small sitting room, Gabriel sat down with Teresa in his lap, gently cupping her pale, frightened face in his large hands. He tenderly kissed her forehead and nose, softly cooing, "That thing will be taken care of soon, and those who want to hurt you, I won’t let them get away with it."
"Darling, who do you think is behind this?" Teresa, still trembling, opened her eyes and looked up at the man before her.
"Whoever it is, they won't get away from me," Saying this, Gabriel kissed her again.
Teresa nodded, clinging to Gabriel and burrowing further into his embrace, her fear unabated.
"Maybe we should skip tonight's party?" Gabriel murmured, kissing her forehead as he looked down at her.
Shaking her head defiantly within his embrace, Teresa replied, "No, I want to go."
Whoever was trying to jeopardize her attending the event made her even more determined to do so. Otherwise, she might as well resign herself to being confined at home, unable to go anywhere.
"Alright, then I’ll be with you."
"It's a ladies' gathering," Teresa suddenly lifted her head, her voice regaining strength, "What will you do there?"
Gabriel smiled at the woman in his arms who seemed no longer so afraid, "Trust me, aside from you, I won't give another woman a second glance, let alone touch them."
Teresa playfully scolded him, pouting, "Then you're going to be bored to death."
He laughed and kissed her again, "As long as I’m watching you, I won't be bored."
Teresa was speechless.
"Mommy, what’s wrong?" Just then, Victoria came up with Croissant, and hearing her voice, Teresa reacted as if shocked, immediately attempting to rise from Gabriel's embrace.
Gabriel held her down, refusing to let her off. Victoria spotted this, quickly excused herself with an understanding smile, and stood just outside the room.
Teresa glared at him, speechless.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Why did you scream?" The little tyke rushed over, his round head tilting back as he gazed at Teresa with big, shiny eyes, both curious and concerned.
Not holding back any longer, Teresa sat on Gabriel's lap, leaned over, scooped up the little one, and hugged him tight, planting a kiss on his forehead, "Mommy's fine, just got a bit startled, that’s all."
"Mommy, what scared you?" The kiddo persisted inquisitively.
"Um..." Teresa pondered for a second, "A snake."
"A long wormy thing?" the tot asked with wide-eyed wonder, then slid down from Teresa's arms, tugging on her hand, "Mommy, let's go catch the worm! You don’t have to be scared with me around!"
Teresa was left speechless...
...
Indeed, Teresa was genuinely scared. Even though the snake was promptly removed, yet with the room properly cleaned with disinfectants, the shock of the event continued to haunt her making her offer little or no resistance when Gabriel insisted on accompanying her to the party.
But this kind of gathering in River North was for the female elites, attended only by daughters and wives of fortune. Except for Gabriel, there were no other men.
Seeing Gabriel at such an event, everyone started teasing with a hint of jest in their voices, "Gabriel needs to escort you, huh? Does he fear we might snatch Teresa away?"
"Yep, Teresa is so gorgeous and capable. Mr. Garcia is just worried about her getting swept off her feet, that’s why he keeps such a close watch," Hayden chimed in, laughing as if she was part of Teresa’s family.
"I think it's the opposite. Gabriel's afraid Teresa might charm another man, tarnishing the Garcia family name. Or maybe it's because..."
"Who brought her here?"
"Snap!"
As Hayden's words trailed off, an offbeat voice interrupted from the crowd. Everyone looked up, and saw Dakota striding over. Hayden, without waiting for her to finish, lashed out in anger, cutting her off.
