Chapter 373
Without waiting for a response from Sophia, Diana hung up.
On the other end of the phone, Sophia had intended to tell Diana to hold off on visiting Teresa, but considering how urgently Diana had hung up in her rush, it seemed she truly cared. Sophia decided not to voice her concerns.
Diana ended the call and glanced at her watch. Lunch break was fast approaching, and First Hospital was close to Evans Group. Without notifying Liam, she immediately headed for the hospital.
Rushing into the hospital, Diana was stopped by a bodyguard when she was about fifteen to twenty meters from Teresa's room.
After explaining who she was and her purpose, the bodyguard still didn't let her through.
"How about this," Diana negotiated, seeing that her identity didn't sway him, "you go in and mention I'm here, I'll wait. I'm sure Gabriel won't mind if he knows it's me wanting to see Teresa."
"Alright, please wait here," the bodyguard, knowing Diana was a close friend of Teresa's, hesitated before going to inform others inside.
Gabriel had made it clear that no one could enter Teresa's room without his permission except the Garcia family, the Bennett family, and designated medical staff.
Inside the room, Teresa and Gabriel were having lunch together.
Despite the numerous injuries on her body, Teresa's appetite was good, and she wasn't refusing anything Gabriel offered her.
Catching a glimpse of a peaceful Teresa, not bothered by the recent traumatic experiences, filled Gabriel with indescribable joy.
With his spirits lifted, his appetite increased too. Teresa was before him, and with her eating, everything tasted better to him.
Midway through their meal, a bodyguard came in and reported that Diana was outside waiting.
"Diana, isn't she my college friend?" Teresa looked at Gabriel as the bodyguard finished speaking.
She remembered clearly that her relationship with Diana had been average before the first half of their junior year, and it only got closer during the second half of that year.
It was also during that time that she started dating Liam.
Gabriel nodded affectionately, reaching out with his warm, slightly rough fingertips to gently wipe away a small soup stain at the corner of Teresa's mouth, softly asking, "Would you like to see her?"
Teresa didn't shy away from his approaching hand this time. As his fingers touched her, her heartbeat involuntarily quickened, and a faint blush spread across her pale cheeks.
Gabriel watched her adorably embarrassed demeanor, feeling absolutely delighted.
"Sure, let's do that!" Teresa quickly lowered her head, awkwardly stuffing a piece of broccoli into her mouth while nodding in response as Gabriel withdrew his hand.
"Alright, I'll go invite her in. Keep eating," Gabriel said, putting down his utensils and turning to leave.
Outside, Diana had been waiting for a short while and was inwardly nervous when she saw Gabriel coming out to greet her personally. Nevertheless, she tried to appear calm and collected.
"Gabriel," she said with a slight smile as he approached, greeting him as she normally would.
Although Diana and Teresa were best friends, Diana felt she could never get close to Gabriel. His attitude towards her was always indifferent, and his eyes were devoid of warmth.
She felt as though she and Gabriel were from entirely different worlds: Gabriel elevated above all, looking down on the masses, while she was just an ordinary ant.
"I didn't expect Diana to be so concerned about my sweetheart coming to the hospital this soon," Gabriel approached with a teasing half-smile, and Teresa spoke up, her tone difficult to read.
"I heard about Teresa's accident from Liam, too," Diana managed a composed smile. "Gabriel, how is Teresa now? Is she alright?"
"My sweetheart is doing quite well," Gabriel responded indifferently, nodding. Then, smoothly changing the subject, he added, "However, when you see my Sweetheart later, I hope you'll refrain from mentioning anything beyond your and her issues. Better to say less, or perhaps, say nothing at all."
Diana looked at Gabriel, unable to decipher his thoughts or the meaning behind his words. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded with a smile and agreed with a simple "Okay."
"After you, then!"
...
Gabriel sat quietly to one side, watching Diana and Teresa as they talked.
Teresa seemed at ease, but Diana felt on edge, uncomfortable in her skin.
Gabriel had already advised her to speak only of matters between her and Teresa and nothing else. Diana, ever mindful of boundaries, mentioned nothing beyond their shared experiences studying in Jena.
Because she needed to return to work, Diana stayed briefly and, after about half an hour, got up to leave.
Seeing her getting ready to depart, Gabriel stood up with a charming smile, courteously seeing her out.
Diana knew deep down that Gabriel had something he needed to say to her. There was no other reason he would have driven her.
"Diana, can I ask you something and get a straight answer?"
Sure enough, about twenty yards from the hospital room, Gabriel stopped walking and looked at Diana with a subdued expression.
Diana paused and nodded, managing a slight smile, "Sure, Gabriel, shoot."
His dark eyes fixed on her intensively, his handsome, narrow eyebrows twitching slightly as he asked directly, "Who did you tell about dinner with my sweetheart last night?"
Diana knew Gabriel would find out sooner or later if she had done anything. His direct questioning was just a test to see how deep her cunning ran.
"Gabriel, are you suggesting that I tipped off the kidnappers about Teresa's whereabouts last night?" Diana asked, her eyes meeting his with disarming honesty.
Gabriel's lips curled in a sneer that might have been mocking, "It's not suspicion. It's a certainty."
Diana's heart skipped a beat as she looked at him, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes.
Gabriel observed her closely, easily catching that brief flash of disarray.
"I just remembered, yesterday at noon, someone in our college group chat asked about Teresa. She didn't answer, so I mentioned that I had plans to meet her at the XX club for dinner, wondering if anyone wanted to join. Teresa later invited that person to the chat, but they weren't in River North, so they didn't end up joining us." After a split second of panic, Diana regained her composure and pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Gabriel with a small smile, "Do you want to check our conversation, Gabriel?"
Gabriel's gaze dropped to the device, his dark eyes unreadable as he glanced at the screen. Then, with a cold smile, he uttered, "No need."
