Husband With Benefits-Chapter 50: A Misunderstanding

"Mom, I am so happy right now! You won’t believe it, but my ploy actually worked!" Arabelle bubbled happily later in the night as she called her mother, singing a completely different tune than she had been just that morning.

"What did you do, my sweet child?" Her mother asked curiously.

"Mother! When Demetri sent Gabe to show me around, I was just so unhappy! But then I thought that I could use this to my advantage! I flirted with Gabe and then added a few of our pictures to my Insta story. You saw that, didn’t you? I think Demetri saw the story too because, within an hour, my date with Gabe was interrupted, and I was invited to have lunch with him!"

The older woman frowned as she heard this. Demetri, that cold block of ice who was rightfully known as Demon, interrupting her daughter’s date because he felt jealous? Arabelle might have delusions about the man, but she had seen the boy grow up, and she did not have any such delusions. Carefully, she probed," Did Demetri personally interrupt your lunch date?"

Arabelle leaned back onto her pillows, relishing the feeling as she glanced fondly at her other hand... the one he had touched.

"Of course not, Mom. That is Demetri. Do you really think he would stoop low enough to do that, no matter how much he likes me? In fact, if he had done that, I might actually not like him so much! Demetri’s main attraction is his dangerous aura and the challenge of subduing him. Anyway, he sent Ian to invite us both for lunch."

"And how did you reach this conclusion that he knew about your Instagram story, and the lunch was a reaction to that?"

"Umm, he passed me the plate of food and then told me to ’sober up.’ Isn’t that him caring for me? Also, how would he know that I’d been drinking when I had not even had anything to drink yet? The only way that was possible was he had seen the wine in her picture’s background.

"Arabelle, sweetheart, none of this constitutes that he was jealous or wanted to woo you. I know you have him in your heart, and I won’t stop you from pursuing him, but you need to be careful, baby. I do not want you to get hurt. And do not try to use Gabe against Demetri... It could be dangerous."

"Relax Mom. There is no need to worry so much! Gabe is harmless. Once he knows that he helped his sister-in-law to get his brother, he will get over it. And I don’t have to worry about Demetri; he can harm anyone, but he cannot harm his own brothers." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Arabelle, listen to mom..." However, Arabelle had already disconnected the phone as she tried to explain that it was not so easy. She knew, of course, that there was no point in talking to her daughter as she was already on a set course of action, and the only thing she could do was to try and protect her. Her daughter was the most precious thing in the world to her, and she would not let any harm come to her.

Arabelle, on the other hand, was lost in her own dreams as she caressed her hand, which had been touched by his fingers when he passed the plate to her.

"Gabe, come on, since when did you become a masochist?"

Gabe glared at Ian who was questioning him and then at Demetri, who was ignoring him.

"What do you mean that I became a masochist?"

"Well, you are well aware that she does not like you but Demetri. She insists she is his fiancé. She came here to chase him. And what are you doing? The moment you came to know that she’d come here, you followed her here like a dog wagging his tail at its owner, and then you offered to take her to the private family hot spring."

"So what? How does that make me a masochist? I am trying to chase the woman I like, and what is so wrong with that?"

"Nothing is wrong if she would not string you along and try to use you against your own brother. Gabe, did you throw your brains somewhere over the ocean while flying here?"

"You can’t be sure of that, Ian. We had a good time tonight. Usually, Arabelle would only fight with me, but today... I felt as if I had a breakthrough with her. If you had not come..."

"If I hadn’t come, she would have kindly rejected your invitation to join lunch and continued to chase Demon. You saw her behaviour at lunch! One crook of his finger and that girl would have thrown herself at Demon. Look, I also think Arabelle is great and I understand that you like her and would be happy for you if she liked you back but she does not! So, why are you setting yourself up for a fall?"

Gabriel pushed his hand through his hair in frustration as he gave a weak defense, "She was drunk..."

"Yes, she was. Drunk enough to show that the only person you are fooling is yourself, Gabe."

Desperately, Gabe turned to Demon and tried to reason," Demon, can’t you tell her directly that you are not interested in her? Look, I know that you are not leading her on! But I think she needs to hear this from you."

"I’ve already told her, Gabe." Demon answered, his voice unconcerned.

"I know but can you say it again?"

"When ears are closed, words fall on barren soil. Look in the mirror to see a living example."

Gabriel understood what Demetri was saying, and yet, his heart could not help but ache. It was what made him understand Arabelle’s plight. The heart wanted what it wanted. Just like he wanted her, and she wanted Demon.

He only hoped that the coming days would prove to be a catalyst, and things would soon reach a culmination point