Chapter 198
But what about now?
Perhaps William would never truly comprehend how willing she had been, how deeply she desired to bear his children, regardless of the number.
"Okay, the real reason I asked you out was to discuss an issue with your foreign service exam," Hayden said, transitioning the conversation with a swift segue after a light chuckle while looking at Teresa.
"Did you get any news from your friend?" Teresa asked, her voice tinged with excitement.
"Mm-hmm," Hayden nodded, her faint smile accompanying her words. "Do you want the truth or something more... palatable?"
Teresa furrowed her brows, her gaze steady. "The truth, of course."
Hayden smiled and took another sip of her juice.
Teresa calmly followed suit, drinking her juice as she waited for Hayden to continue.
"Teresa, don't bother asking around about the exam. Just go home and ask your husband; he knows the whole story," Hayden said with candor. As Teresa's loyal friend, she didn't want her to be deceived, even under the guise of love.
Hadn't she and William themselves drifted apart due to a myriad of secrets and misunderstandings? She once believed that all her actions were for William's benefit, which only contributed to their current estrangement.
"Ask Gabriel?" Teresa's surprise quickly gave way to confusion, "He checked the papers with me. He's as clueless as I am."
Hayden offered a knowing smile and a gentle shake of her head, "Is that what he told you?"
After pondering Hayden's words, Teresa's calm demeanor gave way to a furrowed brow, "Are you suggesting...?"
"The ins and outs of this whole affair—no one's more aware of them than Gabriel."
...
After parting ways with Hayden, Teresa didn't head back to the Capital Construction regional office but went straight to the hotel.
When Gabriel finished his meeting and tried calling her, she didn't answer.
Sensing something amiss, Gabriel hurried back to the hotel. December's early evenings were already dark well before six o'clock in the capital. Upon his return to the hotel and the moment he pushed open the door to the presidential suite, he was greeted by dimness.
"Honey," he called out, his eyes adjusting to the gloom. His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, scanned the living room and dining area before finally locating Teresa curled up in a corner by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.
Involuntarily, Gabriel's slender eyebrows knit together fiercely as he strode across the room without bothering to flip the light switch.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Gabriel kneeled on one knee in front of Teresa, reaching out to hold her small hand with great care, asking softly.
Teresa finally shifted her gaze from staring blankly out the window to the man before her. With a sudden jerk, she pulled her hand from his large grasp and gave a cold, mocking smile. "Gabriel, if you don't want me to pursue a career in diplomacy, just say it straight. Why go through all this drama?"
Even in the dimly lit room, Gabriel could see the expression on Teresa's face and the emotions in her eyes, clear as day, through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was apparent she knew everything, and now, she was not only furious but also deeply disappointed.
Gabriel gently took her cool hand again, bringing it to his lips for a kiss, his deep, hoarse voice filled with utmost sincerity, "Honey, I'm sorry. Is it too late to talk about it now?"
"Why are you being so selfish?" Teresa, clearly enraged, pulled her hand away again and yelled at him, "Don't you know that becoming a diplomat has been my dream since I was a kid? That's MY DREAM, and I've been working so hard for it for years. Now, just because you don't want it, I have to fail my exams and give up all my efforts, forfeit the dream I've held onto all this time?"
"Sweetheart, I..."
"I don't want to hear it!" Teresa was fuming, beyond upset.
How could Gabriel be so selfish as to manipulate her life so casually, forcing her to abandon her dreams?
So, before Gabriel could speak again, she cut him off with a roar, tears welling up uncontrollably. But she didn't want Gabriel to see, so she quickly stood up, took a few steps away, and turned her back to him.
"Is being a diplomat really that important to you?" Gabriel also stood, taking a deep breath, sounding somewhat defeated.
"Yes, it's important, extremely so!" Suddenly, Teresa turned around, her eyes brimming with tears glaring at him, her confirmation resolute, "Before you, diplomacy was my dream. Why should I have to give up on my dreams just because I met you, just because I'm with you? Does being your wife mean I can't have dreams anymore, that I can't do what I love? If that's the case, then I choose to give up. I give up being your wife; I'll just be Teresa, be myself!"
Teresa's roar was so forceful, like iron nails hammering mercilessly into Gabriel's heart, sending spasms of pain through his body.
The last time she had talked about divorce, she had said to him, "Gabriel, maybe I'm a bit cold-hearted. I don’t tend to feel much affection or dependence on a man."
Does that mean she's still cold-hearted now? Does she still feel no affection or dependence on him?
"Teresa, what if you had to choose? Me or your dreams, which comes first?" Gabriel asked, his brows wrinkled into a deep V as he gazed at her, his eyes filled with a sorrow and pain he had never experienced before.
Through her tear-blurred vision, in the dim light, Teresa couldn't make out Gabriel's face clearly, let alone the tumultuous dark light in his eyes. She just glared at him stubbornly, not showing the slightest sign of surrender.
At this moment, she was truly angry, incredibly angry.
No one had ever taken liberties with her life without her consent as Gabriel had.
And now, he was forcing her to make a choice.
Fine!
Facing him, a sarcastic smile tugged at Teresa's lips, "If you're forcing me to choose, then I'm sorry, but I choose my dreams."
"Ha..." Gabriel watched her, his laugh low and light, filled with a crushing disappointment, agony, and defeat he hadn't experienced before, "Teresa, you really are cold-hearted."
Was she really cold-hearted?
