By the ti Eveline left Sherlyn's clinic, Gabriel's car was already waiting for her in the parking lot. Without a second thought, she headed straight for it and slipped inside.
"I doubted you would let be," Eveline joked as she fastened her seatbelt.
Gabriel wore an annoyed expression, making her brow furrow in confusion.
"I don't think that look is because you're upset with … There's sothing else bothering you," she said, her tone laced with curiosity.
Eveline was being playful, but Gabriel didn't budge. "You should know that your uncle has lost it. He's acting like a teenager who just got dumped. That man nearly fried my brain with his complaints."
Eveline puffed out a laugh, barely holding it back. But when Gabriel shot her a that's not funny look, she just grinned.
Gabriel had no intention of wasting his ti thinking about Kaden and his endless rants, not when he could be spending it with his girl.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot.
"Sowhere we can be alone," she said, her voice carrying a clear suggestion.
Gabriel understood imdiately and drove them to their sanctuary, their penthouse, their fortress.
After parking the car under the canopy, they stepped inside. Eveline had a lot to discuss with Gabriel, but first, she needed to satisfy her hunger.
She had already requested him to prepare sothing for her, and as soon as they entered, he got to work.
Within minutes, he was back, setting the table with a plate of Italian pasta for both of them, perfectly paired with a glass of wine.
"The setup reminds of our proposal," Eveline mused, watching him as he joined her.
Gabriel passed her a knowing look, one only she could decipher and soon, they began eating.
"It's her," Eveline suddenly spoke.
Gabriel looked up, eting her aningful gaze.
"Valeria Lee," she revealed. "That's the na of the woman we saved that day."
Gabriel wasn't surprised. He knew Eveline had been curious about the woman ever since she noticed the scars on her body. It left her wondering what kind of life Valeria had lived and how her family had treated her. Yet, no trace of her past had been left behind, no details, no records, nothing for anyone to uncover.
Still, a lingering doubt had pushed Eveline to dig deeper, and fortunately, her persistence had paid off.
"And what do you plan to do with that piece of information?" Gabriel asked, his tone asured.
He admired her concern for the woman, but prying into soone else's life wasn't their business.
Eveline pursed her lips, making Gabriel drop everything and stare at her in disbelief.
"Don't tell that's why you visited Sherlyn… You want her to gather more details about Valeria?"
Gabriel couldn't believe Eveline would go this far. 'Was she really so desperate that she planned to invade the woman's privacy?'
"I'm not doing this to pry into her life," Eveline defended herself. "But there's sothing about her that feels… familiar."
Gabriel didn't look convinced.
"And what exactly feels familiar about that woman?" he asked, displeasure evident in his tone.
Eveline took in the serious look Gabriel gave her and finally decided to explain.
"That day, the man who ca looking for Valeria dropped sothing from his wallet when he introduced himself," she began, recalling the fleeting mont before the man had left with the doctor for his office while she prepared to head ho.
However, on her way out, she noticed a card lying on the floor. When she picked it up, she saw that it bore the na of Jedrick's forr company.
She knew that before coming to Country S, Jedrick had been working overseas, and that na belonged to his old business.
Still, she wasn't sure if it was just a misunderstanding or if there was no way to confirm it yet.
Eveline stood up, grabbed her purse, and pulled out the card.
"Here," she said, handing it to Gabriel.
He took it and quickly examined the details.
"I wasn't sure, which is why I didn't dwell on it much," she admitted. "But this morning, when Uncle ntioned that Aunt Sherlyn was handling a case involving an Alzheir's patient, sothing just clicked. I didn't know if what I felt was right..."
She took a breath before finishing.
"But it turns out the woman is the sa one we helped that day."
Gabriel found it hard to refute Eveline now that she had proof. How could a random encounter suddenly connect them to the answers they had been searching for?
"Uncle Kaden won't allow it," he said abruptly, wiping the glow from Eveline's face.
She knew asking Sherlyn to step beyond her professional boundaries was a big deal, but Kaden's resistance made it even more complicated.
"I spoke to Uncle this morning," she admitted, lowering her gaze in concern. "But I doubt he'll agree with the latest changes we made after eting her."
She worried about how Sherlyn would handle the situation.
***
Sherlyn had been avoiding the conversation with Kaden, knowing he would imdiately shut her down and stop her from doing anything reckless.
Yet, she couldn't bring herself to ignore Eveline's request, so she decided to keep it to herself for now.
"I'm starting to think that my niece is more intrigued by you than I am," Kaden muttered. "I just feel bad for that poor guy, Gabriel. He's stuck with a crazy girl."
If only Sherlyn knew how badly Kaden whined to that sa poor boy, complaining about not getting enough ti with his own girl.
"Is that so? Because, my dear Kaden, unfortunately… I'm intrigued by her too."
"..."
"Tell that's a lie," Kaden said, his face blank.
Sherlyn burst into laughter.
It had beco so easy to get a reaction out of him these days. A man who was once serious and cold-hearted when it ca to his work now turned into soone entirely different around her, soone she could tease and joke with.
Kaden relaxed as he watched her smile and smoothly changed the topic.
"So, what did you two talk about?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist from behind.
Resting his chin on her shoulder, he tilted his head slightly, patiently waiting for her response.
Sherlyn fell silent, her mind racing for an excuse.
"Alzheir's," she finally said. "She ntioned eting soone with the sa disease and wanted to learn more so she could advise them to visit ."
Kaden's brows furrowed, his expression darkening.
"Is she purposely taking revenge on or sothing? I don't rember offending her."
Sherlyn let out a chuckle. It was entertaining to witness this uncle-niece rivalry. Yet deep within,, she felt a sense of guilt for keeping him in the the dark.
Reviews
All reviews (0)