Even thought he was quiet, his expression said it all.


    She scotled. "You think I''m trying to con you?"


    "I never said that." Gabriel corrected. "All I said was ''I can''t blindly trust you'', Since when was there something wrong with being on my guard"This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    Leonica looked like she was about to report back, but held her mouth


    Onguard? Against who? The mother of your child?


    Sie so wanted to say that, but considering the fact that Gabriel didn''t even remember who she was, coupled with Doctor Bailey''s


    dvice, she bit those words back,


    "No, there''s nothing wrong with that." She said, sounding moreposed than a few seconds ago.


    Gabriel nodded in agreement, for some reason, he found watching her lose herposure rather entertaining. Either it had something to do with the fact that he always enjoyed thepanies od blonde, attractive ones such as herself, or it had something to do with... that.


    "So?" He tilted his head to the side with a questioning gaze, strands of his fair falling out of ce with the action.


    The disced strands caught Leonica''s attention and caused her to stare. Not only did Gabriel, dressed in a hospital gown with his hair returning to its natural middle parting that allowed the ends of his hair brush against his cheek bones due to the absence of perming gel, lookpletely unlike him, but also surprisingly handsome, as much as Leonica wouldn''t love to admit.


    "Why don''t you take a pic, itsts longer." The irony in Gabriel''s voice had Leonica snapping out of her unintentional stare. She red at him. "I wasn''t staring "


    *Yeah? Then what were you doing if not undressing me with your eyes?" He boldly questioned, leaving Leonica speechless. The Gabriel shenew would never dare say such a thing!


    Then again, as she started at him, taking note of the fact that his countenance was indeed different from the Gabriel, business stuck up, cold bastard and workaholic asshole, she knew. This Gabriel, although, the same person was more straightforward and surprisingly polite despite his bold antics.


    Leonica couldn''t help but wonder if this was how Gabriel actually was like before he met Angelina. Before he was tasked with taking on the burden of such a bigpany. Before all the hate and betrayal he experienced during his climb up. Before He had to watch his grandmother slowly die.


    Before he became the Gabriel Bryce he was today.


    "I wasn''t undressing you with my eyes," She began with a sigh that suggested she was done with whatever entertaining y Gabriel was about to begin. "I was thinking about how much... different you look from your usual self." She said, butter cursed herself for opening her mouth and speakingfortably around Gabriel


    ''Don''t forget, he may have lost his memory and now seem like a totally different person, but he''s still the same man that had hurt you. The thought had her tensing up, putting her guard, which she had unintentionally let down, back up.


    Gabriel didn''t fail to notice the sudden change in her countenance. "What''s wrong?" He questioned.


    "Nothing Leonica said and stood up after ncing at her watch. "I have business to get back to. I''ll stop by yourpany and inform Bill that you have woken up." She said with a tinge of indifference in her voice.


    That didn''t go unnoticed by Gabriel, along with the way she seemed to hurry to get her things. For some reason, his senses were highlighted to her every movement and thanks to that, he noticed how quickly she had changes her countenance with him, Now one thing about Gabriel Bryce was that, whether ten years younger or ten years older, he forever remained an Observing person and because of that, he didn''t need anyone to tell him that her countenance had changed because she recalled something Something he couldn''t, the passing thought brought a weird feeling of annoyance but it quickly disappeared.


    But despite the feeling bring gone, he couldn''t help but ask." focused on locating her phone, he questioned again, this time around, one that she couldn''t avoid. "Are we really married?"


    "I''m I that much different?" When Leonica didn''t respond and instead


    She stopped just when she had located her phone and looked back at him.


    There was no point in lying. We on


    once were, but now, we''re divorced."


    She said and with the brief moment Gabriel looked speechless, she walked out of the room.


    The hospital hallway had fewer people thanks to the fact that this section was VIP only and for that, Leonica was thankful that there was no one to witness her legs turning into a weird jelly state as she leaned against the wall, supporting her body and giving her leg much needed relief.


    Fuck, that was the first thought that came to her mind. Fuck fate and it''s cruel tricks.


    Did the universe honestly think by giving Gabriel a side dish of amnesia along with the main course meal of a sleepa, her forgive him? would make


    chuckled lowly. Even she didn''t know the answer to that question. She says she could never forgive him, yet she worried day and about him in the past three weeks and the moment she heard he had woken up, she felt an inexplicable amount of relief and back, she took his sacrifices into consideration and blurted out the fact that she was his wife, scratch that, ex wife.


    Had she really not forgiven him, or had she and was ''not forgiving him'' something she held onto in other to protect herself from getting hurt any more than she already has?


    Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She nced down at the device in her hand and narrowed her eyes at the unknown number.


    Despite this, she still answered the phone and pressed it close to her ear. "Yes, Hello?"


    "Hello, am I speaking with Ms. Romero?" A few voice questioned.


    "Yes you are. How may I help you?"


    "My name''s Anita, I''m a warden from Oslo Fengsel." Leonica became alert at the mention of Angelina''s prison. Many thoughts roamed her mind in seconds, wondering why a warden had called her like. How she had gotten her number.


    Had Angelina done a jailbreak? Was she in danger? Was Ashley in danger?


    All of the questions that roamed her mind were answered in the next second. "Ms. Angelina Fernandez has requested a personal visit from you. Would you possibly be able to make it today?"


    Visiting The Viiness.


    "We once were, but now, we''re divorced,"


    Gabriel stood by his window, ncing down at the small meaningless passing figures, all the while allowing Leonica''s words to rey in his mind as if it had been set on repeat.


    Not a secondly longer had gone by after thest repeat, when he sighed and stuffed both of his hands into his pocket, leaning his weight slightly on the back of his heel.


    Why was Leonica''s words disturbing him? No, why was he allowing her words disturb him?


    Was it because of the familiar aura that surrounded her, prompting him to believe that they had indeed been married, but now divorced as she said? Or was it the fact that he found it challenging to believe that he had actually settled down with the very same woman his grandmother had picked for him?


    That''s right, be remembered Leonica, at least he remembered what his memory allowed and that was the fact that she was the woman. his grandmother had picked to be his wife in an arranged marriage between two families.


    He recalled seeing her picture, the broad and dignified smile on her lip as she stood beside her parents, exhibiting nothing but elegance in the picture his grandmother had shown him


    That picture and the conversation that followed, had ultimately lead to an argument between them both. It hasn''t been anything too hot, butsted a long time as each side of the party had their says and reasons.


    Gabriel''s reason for refusing the marriage was that he still wanted to remain single, having the freedom he craved but was never given as a child when his parents insisted on locking him in the house, employing private tutors and any other form of interaction that was necessary in shaping him into bing the fine heir his father needed.


    His second reason was one that had stunned L. True love, honestly speaking, hearing a man like him rant over true love wasn''t something you saw on a daily basis, but the case was otherwise for L Bryce, Gabriel was a man who strongly believed in true love, the kind of love he had never seen his parents share. His final reason fell in line with his second. Gabriel believed because his parents were unhappy in their arranged marriage, always arguing and throwing hands, everyone involved in an arranged marriage was doomed just like that,


    And that was something Gabriel wanted to avoid. As cool, arrogant and aloof as Lloyd and Christian dubbed him as, Gabriel cared immensely about his happiness and that of his future partner.


    But L had obviously not bought his sell. She went on about how Gabriel needed to get married, produce an heir. And whether he liked Leonica or not, she liked her and would only approve of the sweet girl, as she had addressed her with, being her granddaughter in


    Gabriel remembered that being the one that broke the camels back. He snapped, used his grandmother of wanting to force him into an unhappy marriage just like she bad done to his father.


    She wanted him as miserable as she had made his father.


    But the moment those words left his mouth and Gabriel saw his grandmother''s expression, he instantly regretted saying them. Like the civil thing to do, he had apologized, genuinely and excused himself in a bid to clear his mind.


    He remembered strolling along the river banks for hours just so that he could have a better mind to think and just when it seemed like he had gotten into that frame of mind, a mad cyclist charged in his way. He dodged, stepping out of the way just in time to evade the Iing bike, but tittered backwards and fell into the water behind him.


    As the water had covered him, soaking his dress, Gabriel had thought ''No big deal, what''s a soaked dresspared to being run over by a mad cyclist. I can easily swim out of here."


    Until he couldn''t.


    It had all happened so fast that Gabriel couldn''t remembered how he got out and the more he tried to remember, the more he got back splitting headache


    This time around, he had pushed his luck and just when he saw the sh of a blurry image, a girl with brown wavy hair, he received another wave of painful headache. This one had him shutting his eyes and gripping on the bed frame to steady himself.


    When his eyes opened, he blinked and narrowed them as his attention was momentarily shifted from the topic at hand, Leonica to be precise, to the image that had just crossed his mind


    It had been blurry, but for an


    a moment, he could have sworn it was the image of a girl... with brown hair.


    Lennica didn''t have brown luir.


    Was he forgetting something? Or perhaps something?


    If there was one thing Leonica was certain of, then it would be that being around Gabriel made her make stupid decisions. That or she had finally lost a screw in the head.