Chapter 269
Teresa had spent the past three years abroad, enduring everything on her own, giving birth to Michael and raising him to be the adorable boy he was.
After finally clearing up the misunderstandings, he brought Teresa home, only to cause her miscarriage through his selfishness.
And now that they finally understood each other's love, his lymphoma diagnosis came to light, casting a shadow of worry and anxiety over Teresa every day.
Gabriel felt that the person he owed the most to in his life was Teresa.
Teresa stood behind him, wincing as she watched him retch, her forehead creased with concern. All she could do was gently rub his back, trying to offer some comfort amidst his discomfort.
Katherine and the others looked on with hearts aching with empathy. How they wished they could bear the illness instead of Gabriel.
Once Gabriel had finished throwing up, Katherine quickly handed him a cup of water, her voice laced with concern, "Son, how are you feeling?"
He rinsed his mouth, wiped the corners with a towel, and gave a shake of his head, "It's okay. You guys go back to eating. I can't stomach anything right now."
"I'll go upstairs with you. Let's get some rest," Teresa suggested, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at his pale face.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" The little one asked from Raymond's arms, pouting at the sight of Gabriel's unease.
"It's nothing, buddy. Daddy just got a bit sick from eating," Gabriel reassured him, gently rubbing the top of the little guy's head. "Be a good boy and go have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, okay?"
The child nodded with wide, innocent eyes, "Okay, I'll eat well so I can grow big and fight bad guys with Daddy."
"That's my slugger!" Gabriel praised.
"Go get some rest. We can have the kitchen whip you up something when you're ready," Mason advised, his brows knit with worry.
Gabriel nodded, slung his arm around Teresa, and they both went upstairs.
"Honey, if you're in pain, just tell me. Don't hold it in," Teresa said gently as they reached the upstairs.
"The nausea's gone after throwing up," Gabriel smiled, kissing her forehead. "You had it pretty rough with morning sickness when you were pregnant, didn't you?"
He remembered seeing Teresa rushing to the side of their front lawn to be sick. Then she came back from their last clinic visit, and he had mockingly teased her. Gabriel felt a twinge of guilt remembering that.
"How did you know?"
"I saw you." He grinned despite his pallor. There was a charming allure to his smile. "Consider it payback for the tough time you had during pregnancy. It's only fair since I was such a jerk back then," he added half-jokingly.
Teresa's eyes moistened again, "Honey, I've long forgiven you. I don't wish any pain on you, and I just want you to be well. That's all that matters to me."
With a look full of tenderness, Gabriel pulled her into his embrace and whispered, "All right, I promise I'll get better."
"Uh-huh." Teresa clung to him, deeply inhaling the comforting scent of him, "You're going to pull through."
...
A little after 10 PM, when Gabriel had grabbed a bite and stepped into the shower, his phone began to buzz non-stop. Teresa picked it up and saw it was the group chat of Gabriel’s buddies, and Kyle was messaging.
She swiped to unlock Gabriel's phone and tapped into the chat, seeing that Kyle had planned a night out and was rallying the others to join in the fun.
By now, there were no secrets between Teresa and Gabriel, and both could unlock each other's phones.
Reading how excited Kyle was in the chat, going on about some new models freshly signed at his agency coming to join them for drinks and the wild-caught tuna flown in straight from Norway, not to mention a '58 whiskey, Teresa felt her temper flare. She flatly typed in the group chat, “Kyle, from now on, whatever party you're putting together, please stop inviting my husband. Thanks!”
Kyle hadn't expected Teresa to be the one replying and quickly typed back, “Teresa, come on. I'm just missing Gabriel here. Why don't you both come out?”
Meanwhile, Aaron's brows furrowed as he read the messages in the group chat.
He was aware of Gabriel's lymphoma. After all, Gabriel had been hospitalized at his family's hospital. How could he not know?
However, Gabriel's diagnosis was strictly confidential. He was pondering whether to clue in Kyle and Liam.
Seeing Kyle in the chat, still persistently trying to coax Gabriel out, Aaron couldn't resist dialing Kyle's number.
"Don't tell me you're bailing too?" Kyle's voice came through, evidently peeved.
"I might show, but lay off inviting Gabriel, okay? And quit pestering him in the group. He's under the weather," Aaron said calmly.
Kyle joked, "What's wrong with him? Too much partying? Or is the missus cracking the whip?"
Gabriel was known for his robust health among them. He had been the all-around champ during their outdoor endurance training days.
"Cut it out!" Aaron hesitated, his brow furrowing, "Lymphoma."
"What?! What the hell is that?" Kyle clearly hadn't caught it.
Maybe he hadn't misunderstood, perhaps he thought he'd heard wrong, or maybe he just couldn't bring himself to believe it.
"Malignant lymphoma," Aaron repeated, irritated.
"No way! You're messing with me." This time, Kyle heard him loud and clear but remained in utter disbelief.
"I’m serious. He was diagnosed over ten days ago and has already completed his first round of treatment. But you knew that. You can't tell anyone about this, understood?" Aaron cautioned.
On the other end of the phone, Kyle was stunned, unable to process the bombshell that had just been dropped on him.
He could never have imagined Gabriel getting cancer.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kyle snapped back once he regained his composure.
"Gabriel didn't want anyone to know. He hates the idea of people pitying him," Aaron explained.
"Does Liam know about this?" Kyle pressed on.
"I doubt it."
"Then we need to meet up. Call Liam, and we'll figure out what we can do for Gabriel," Kyle said with a heavy heart.
"Okay, I'll call Liam right now."
After hanging up, Aaron quickly called Liam.
