Chapter 369 Utter Nonsense
"Daddy."
Gabriel had been sitting on a bench outside the hospital room, lost in thought for who knows how long, when a tender, familiar voice snapped him back to reality. He turned to look.
"Daddy, Daddy!"
Seeing Gabriel, the little guy, Croissant, was ecstatic, charging toward him with a joyful shout.
Gabriel looked at his son, and in him, he saw a reflection of his beloved Teresa. He stood up, leaned down, and scooped the little one into a hug, planting a firm kiss on his forehead.
"Missed Mommy and Daddy?"
"Yeah, missed you," the little one replied with a crisp, firm nod.
"Let's go see Mommy then," Gabriel said, carrying the little one back into the hospital room, with Mason and the Raymonds following behind.
Inside, Liam had been recounting to Teresa everything that had happened to her during the last three and a half years and was now tenderly feeding her Tacos al Pastor.
The bowl of Tacos al Pastor was nearly empty.
Upon entering, Gabriel's first sight was of Liam sitting at the bedside, his tender gaze fixed on Teresa as he fed her, and Teresa herself, leaning against the headboard, meekly and obediently eating the Tacos al Pastor.
Although there was no intimate contact between them, even this simple scene pierced Gabriel's eyes like a dagger.
"Mommy, Mommy!" Little Mikey called out upon seeing Teresa, his tiny arms reaching out for a hug.
Teresa's heart melted into a puddle of warmth when she looked up to see Gabriel holding their rosy, chubby son. Was that really their child, her and Gabriel's?
"Michael," Sophia chimed in tenderly. She had sat quietly until her beloved grandson arrived. She quickly stood up and approached him. "Come to grandma, let's have a cuddle."
"Grandma," the little rascal dove into Sophia's arms and then pouted at Teresa, "Why isn't Mommy paying attention to me? Doesn't Mommy love me anymore?"
Sophia glanced at the bewildered Teresa and shook her head indulgently. "No, that's not it, darling. Mommy's hurt and can't hold our little Michael right now."
"Mommy's hurt. Let me blow a kiss to make it better," Mikey suggested, extending his hands towards Teresa, his big, shiny eyes filled with longing.
Gabriel stood to the side, silently watching the exchange, swallowing hard. He was unable to articulate his feelings as he observed Teresa look on with a face that seemed calm, maybe even indifferent.
"Mason, father-in-law, mother-in-law," announced Liam as he and the others entered the hospital room.
He helped Teresa finish her Tacos al Pastor and set the empty bowl aside. Then, standing up to greet the newcomers, he casually said, "Mr. Gabriel, Patrick, Aunt Katherine."
"Liam, good to see you," Mason nodded politely at Sophia before turning his affectionate gaze onto Teresa. "Teresa, do you remember Grandpa?"
"I recognize you. You're the CEO of Capital Construction," Teresa acknowledged with a nod.
"Teresa, what happened to you?" Katherine said after greeting Sophia, taking a closer look at Teresa.
Though Teresa was dressed in a hospital gown, her numerous injuries were still visible, raw, and exposed.
Her face, lips, neck, wrists, and hands were all marred by scars, and Katherine couldn't help but feel a surge of distress at the sight of them.
"Poor kid!" Striding over, Katherine grasped Teresa's hand to examine her wounds, her eyes seething with rage. "That damned Brian. I never should've gone soft and pleaded on his behalf."
"You..." Teresa looked up at the compassionate Katherine without resistance, "You're my mother-in-law, right?"
—You're my mother-in-law, right?
That simple phrase ignited life back into Gabriel, who was standing nearby. He rushed over to the bedside, his deep eyes shimmering with excitement as he looked at Teresa. "Sweetheart, do you remember now?"
Teresa raised her head to meet Gabriel's gaze. He was tall and stunningly handsome, his face handsome beyond words. The sudden brightness in his eyes and the child-like excitement on his face struck her heart intensely.
He must really care about her!
"No, I heard it from Liam." Teresa looked into Gabriel's intense and affectionate dark eyes and gently shook her head.
"I have an important meeting in a bit; I have to go. Rest up and heal. I'll come by to see you later," Liam said with a warm smile, looking at Teresa.
"Okay, sure," Teresa responded with a slight smile, nodding.
Liam returned the smile, glanced at Gabriel, greeted Mason and the others, and then left.
"Teresa, don't you remember Mom? Do you not even remember Gabriel and Michael?" Katherine asked anxiously, gripping Teresa's hand and glancing at the distressed Gabriel.
"You..." Teresa found it hard to call Katherine 'Mom,' so she awkwardly replaced it with 'you.' "I'm sorry. Can everyone please leave so I can have a proper talk with him?"
With that, she gestured toward Gabriel.
"Alright, you two have a good talk. We'll step out," Mason agreed, leading the way out of the room. With Mason's consent, the others had no objections and followed him out.
"Sweetheart, what did you want to talk about?" Once everyone had left, Gabriel sat by the bedside and subconsciously reached out for Teresa's hand.
Teresa quickly pulled away.
Seeing her evade so clearly, Gabriel let out a rueful laugh, "Sweetheart, are you afraid of me?"
"Don't call me Sweetheart, and I'm not afraid of you. I don't like being..." Teresa's heartbeat scattered in the presence of the man, whose smile, even when bitter, seemed enchantingly devilish, "I don't like strangers touching me."
"Sweetheart, we have a son together, and before you lost your memory, I held you as we slept each night. Just yesterday afternoon, we made love. How can I be a..." Stranger?
"Shut up!"
Teresa felt a surge of annoyance as Gabriel spoke with a cheeky grin, saying those outrageously shameless words. She let out an irritated hush to cut him off.
Gabriel's lips curled into a smile at the sight of her ire and embarrassment, his mood visibly lifting.
Because, at least for now, the look in Teresa's eyes was no longer wary or indifferent – it had begun to warm.
And now, she was actually getting mad at him, showing a blush of shyness in front of him.
This was almost exactly like the Teresa of the past, who had relentlessly pestered him at the start.
"Do you want to talk or not? If not, get out!" Teresa's annoyance flared as he shamelessly basked in more laughter.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Gabriel immediately surrendered, his face tenderly indulgent. "Whatever you say, sweetheart, I will patiently listen, and I won't talk back or retaliate, no matter what."
"Who's cursing and hitting you? Have some dignity, okay?" Teresa glowered at him, her irritation growing, but she didn't feel a hint of actual anger inside.
