Chapter 191
Teresa and Gabriel had set a date to move to their new place in Foxglove Fields, which was all set for Sunday morning.
As usual, on Saturday, Teresa and Gabriel brought their son and joined the Bennett family for dinner. By the time they arrived, Michelle was there too, hand in hand with William, descending the stairs in a cozy display of affection.
Ever since Teresa witnessed Michelle's confrontation with Hayden at the Bennett Group's office building, she had tagged Michelle as the epitome of a schemer, and now, she couldn't stand her.
However, out of respect for William, she didn't show her dislike. She greeted Michelle indifferently and then proceeded to ignore her. Whether being sweet with Sophia and Patrick or cuddling up with Michael and Gabriel, she simply wanted nothing to do with Michelle, which also meant she was less inclined to engage with William, a man she had always respected.
Michelle had planned to charm Teresa by playing with Michael when he was in William's arms, but as soon as she reached for his hand with a smile, Teresa scooped up Michael and said, "Sweetie, uncle's been smoking. He's all stinky now, let's not play with him."
William raised an eyebrow at his sister's blunt intervention and glanced over at Gabriel, lounging contentedly on the couch, "Doesn't Gabriel smoke?"
Teresa raised an eyebrow and nodded, "He does, but I actually like the way he smells."
Watching his sweetheart take charge with such assertiveness, Gabriel couldn't help but smirk.
William squinted at her and chuckled, "Figures. You're already one of the Garcias."
"That's where you're wrong, my brother-in-law. It’s not 'already,' She had been one all along." Gabriel stood up with a wide beaming smile, walked over, and wrapped Teresa in his arms.
Michelle stood not far away, watching the three of them joke around. She could not help but smile politely in response to Teresa's obvious jabs at her, even though she had no strategy to defuse the situation.
"Buzz—"
At that moment, William’s cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out, muttered a quick instruction to Michelle, and stepped outside with the phone.
As he went out to take the call, Michelle, trying to escape the intimate atmosphere brought by Gabriel and Teresa’s interactions, politely excused herself to help in the kitchen.
Once Michelle disappeared into the kitchen, Teresa passed Gabriel their son and stepped out to find William.
"Hey, William, can we talk?" Teresa said with a cheerful grin upon seeing William hang up.
William looked at her, furrowing his brow, "What’s the matter?"
"Are you serious about Michelle?" Teresa didn’t beat around the bush with her older brother.
Cocking an eyebrow, William nodded, "Why? Do you think I'm not?"
"Then what about Hayden? She's carrying your child, don't you know?" Teresa confronted him, visibly annoyed.
—Could Hayden really be pregnant with his child?
Staring at Teresa, William smiled and chose not to respond immediately.
He had taken precautions the last time they were together; he didn’t believe for a second that the condoms in the club owned by the Bennett Group could fail.
So, the only possibility was that Hayden was lying.
It was one thing for her to lie to him, but continuing the facade in front of Teresa?
Teresa was naive; she believed everything she was told.
But sadly for Hayden, William was not Teresa.
"Yeah, I know," William admitted after a brief pause.
"Then shouldn't you take responsibility for Hayden and the baby?" Teresa pressed, even more upset.
William cracked a wry smile, an enigma in his chuckle, "Teresa, don't you find it ridiculous to think a child can tether two people together for an entire lifetime? Did you not have feelings for Gabriel at the time, which was a big factor in your decision to marry him?"
"But the child is innocent. You can't just abandon your responsibilities, or worse, suggest Hayden should get rid of the baby with such cold indifference," Teresa retorted, struggling to reconcile this harsh demeanor with her elder brother's typically responsible nature.
Gazing at the determined Teresa, William furrowed his brows before letting out a soft sigh, "Teresa, this is between Hayden and me. Don't involve yourself; we don't want to strain the relationship between the Garcia family and the Bush family."
"William..." she started.
"Did Hayden send you to plead her case?" William cut her off before she could finish.
Teresa just wanted to roll her eyes at him.
It couldn't be clearer; he had no desire to discuss Hayden with her.
Hayden was right, after all.
Only the one who caused the problem could solve it. Even as William's sister, she was an outsider regarding his and Hayden's issues.
"Fine, Just so you know; I'm not fond of Michelle anyway. It's your call!" Since he didn't want to talk about Hayden, Teresa shifted the conversation to Michelle.
"Before long, she might just become your sister-in-law," William put on a faint smile.
“What?” Teresa gasped in mock surprise, "William, you're joking, aren’t you?"
"Do you really think I'm joking?" With a playful smirk, he strode past her and into the house.
Teresa glared at his back. Such a heartless man, infinitely more loathsome than Gabriel.
...
On Sunday, Teresa and Gabriel, along with their little kid, officially moved into their lakefront villa at Foxglove Fields. To get things going and infuse the new occupants of the house with positive energy, Katherine had planned a large housewarming a party.
The housewarming party was a gathering of close family members and, naturally, Teresa and Gabriel's friends. This included Gabriel’s trio of friends, with Liam; and of course, Teresa's best friend, Diana, couldn't be missing.
On Friday night, Diana had stayed over at Liam's place, parting ways only after breakfast the next morning.
They hadn't spoken since, and upon seeing Liam again after a day and a half, Diana felt an undeniable shift in her emotions.
The first time, it had been she who, in a drunken blur, had initiated their encounter. But the second time, it was Liam who had invited her to his apartment, Liam who made the advance. Did this mean he was starting to have feelings for her? Even if it was just a little, it meant there was something there.
Diana wondered if, by continuing this way, she might soon find herself in the title of Liam’s girlfriend.
