Chapter 205 Don’t Let Anyone Take Advantage
“Sir...” Finley didn't realize when Gabriel had appeared at the doorway of his office, scaring the daylights out of him, and his face turned pale.
“What did she say?” Gabriel's dark eyes bore into Finley, pressing him for an answer.
“Mrs. Garcia said...”
“What did she say?” Gabriel demanded impatiently, as Finley stuttered and struggled to speak, his anger rising.
"She said you're not a child that does not know he ought to eat when he is hungry or take medication when he’s sick. Doing these to yourself, who are you trying to impress?" Finley was completely stunned, his mind a blank slate, unable to think straight. All he could do was honestly relay Teresa's words.
"What else?" Gabriel glared at Finley, his face darkening to the extreme.
"And... she said you can do whatever you want. From now on, she's got nothing to do with it. If push comes to shove, she'll divorce you and take the kid to find someone else," Finley was truly petrified by Gabriel's frightening demeanor, and he blurted out Teresa's exact words without a filter.
“Oh, Teresa, you're truly heartless, aren't you? No matter what, I just can't warm your heart.”
“Or is it that you've always been heartless, never loved me from the get-go, never at all?”
Gabriel's hands, which were dangling by his sides, tightened into fists at that very instant. His eyes were starting to turn crimson, and a bitter, salty taste was rising in his throat. The veins on his forehead and back of his hands were pulsating wildly. His chest felt like a sponge soaked with water, making breathing hard.
"Sir, when she said those things, she..." Finley tried to explain, to tell Gabriel that when Teresa had said those words, there was a clear sob in her voice, but Gabriel was beyond furious. He didn't give Finley a chance to continue, his shout cutting him off, then turned on his heel and stormed back to his office.
“She wants a divorce and wants to remarry with my child, doesn’t she? Huh!
Not on my watch, Teresa! As long as I draw breath, you won’t even think about leaving The Garcia family for a single day or taking my son to marry someone else.”
Back in his office, looking at the still steaming meal waiting on the table, Gabriel approached and began to eat voraciously.
“She thinks I'll die and then she can just remarry with our son? Over my dead body!”
“Thinking she can live a carefree life without me? Impossible, Teresa!”
“So, I must stay strong. Otherwise, how can I keep my eyes on Teresa and make sure she never strays far from my side?”
Not even daring to breathe too heavily, Skylar stood at her desk outside the office, watching Gabriel sweep back in like a storm of wind.
The sight of Gabriel just now... That was terrifying.
Long after Gabriel had entered the office, she finally patted her chest and hurried toward Finley's workspace.
Still visibly shaken, Finley remained standing dumbfounded at his desk, not fully snapped back to reality.
"Finley, are you okay?" Skylar rushed over, waving a hand in front of his face with concern at his unnaturally pale complexion.
Finley looked up, took a deep breath, and finally regained his bearings, "When did the boss start standing outside my office?" he asked.
"He followed right after you got back," Skylar replied.
"Why didn’t you remind me?" Finley was genuinely startled.
Skylar looked innocent, "The boss was already at your door; how could I have reminded you?"
"Man, I’m screwed," Finley sighed heavily, slumping down onto the windowsill of the floor-to-ceiling windows with resignation.
"Were those comments actually from the boss's wife?" Skylar asked with curiosity, still looking at Finley.
“Drop it, just go do your work. And don’t bring up his wife again; we don’t want to make him even angrier," Finley responded with a mix of frustration and pain.
Why was Gabriel's argument with Teresa affecting him so much?
Seeing that Finley didn't want to elaborate, Skylar nodded and left without further questioning.
...
"Mommy, why are you crying? What happened to you?"
After washing his hands, Michael rushed through the spacious house to throw his arms around Teresa's legs, only to discover tears streaming down her cheeks.
At once, the little one’s lips puckered, and he began to feel upset.
"There’s just something in Mommy’s eye; a little rub, and it’ll be okay," Teresa quickly tried to hide her tears and knelt down to reassure him, "Honey, why don’t you go downstairs and video-chat with Grandma and Daddy?"
"What about you? Aren't you going to talk to Daddy too?" The little one asked with bright, sad eyes.
"I have already called Daddy. Now, you go and tell him to eat well; If he doesn’t eat well, he’s not being a good boy, okay?" Teresa fought to keep her emotions in check as she coaxed her child.
"Okay, I’ll talk to Daddy," the little one agreed, nodding emphatically.
"That’s my boy," Teresa kissed him and handed him over to the housekeeper, who would take him downstairs for a video chat with Gabriel.
That evening, Teresa stayed at the mansion, but Gabriel didn't come home, citing a pile-up of work as his excuse.
The next morning, while everyone was enjoying breakfast, it was clear to the family that there was some trouble brewing between Teresa and Gabriel. Mason glanced at Teresa and, after wiping his mouth with a napkin, asked warmly, "Teresa, didn't you go with Gabriel to the capital to review those exam papers? What happened, did something go wrong with the grading?"
