Chapter 4

Gabriella was momentarily stunned before she swiftly recovered her composure. She took her phone back from Owen and explained, "I'm not buying plane tickets. The airline company just sent me a promotional email about discounted tickets."

Owen wanted to question her more, but when he noticed that she had no intention to elaborate, he decided to drop the subject. After all, she had never lied to him.

He nodded as Gabriella retrieved her phone and left to freshen up. However, she stopped him before he could leave. She then grabbed a first aid kit from the cabinet and said, "Your back was hurt by some broken glass just now. Let me bandage it for you."

Owen was stunned by her words, but he still obediently sat on the couch and removed his jacket, revealing the scratch across his back.

It wasn't a serious injury, but no one had noticed that he had gotten hurt because the wound was on his back. He was surprised that Gabriella had noticed it at all.

His thoughts wandered to her letter, which Thomas had read aloud as he watched her concentrate on disinfecting the cut with a cotton swab.

"Gabriella, about your letter—"

"Make sure not to get your wound wet when you take a shower later. You wouldn't want to get it infected. Also, be more careful when you get into fights in the future. Try not to get hurt. No one's going to help you bandage your wounds anymore."

Gabriella interrupted Owen before he could finish his question.

Meanwhile, Owen didn't fully grasp the meaning behind her words after getting distracted by her interruption. "What did you say?" he asked, looking up at her.

Gabriella just shook her head. She made sure the bandages were secure before turning around and leaving the bedroom.

By the time she was done blow-drying her hair, Owen had also finished showering. He wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning down, wanting to kiss her.

However, Gabriella turned her head away from the kiss, saying lightly, "I'm on my period. I'd like to turn in early for the night."

Owen didn't continue his advances after hearing her words. He tucked the blanket securely around her before switching off the lights.

The next day was bright and sunny.

Gabriella was freshening up when she heard a commotion downstairs. She changed out of her pajamas before heading downstairs.

Samantha was standing at the door with an entire posse behind her.

Owen leaned against the doorway. "What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning, sounding a little irritated.

Samantha couldn't get a single word out before her friends approached Owen, matching grins on their faces.

"Sam said you saved her yesterday. She's very grateful, so she wanted to personally thank you."

Samantha pulled out a bouquet of fresh flowers and an exquisitely wrapped gift from behind her back. "Thank you for helping me yesterday, Owen. Please accept these as tokens of my gratitude."

Owen didn't accept the gifts, but it was obvious that his expression had softened.

Samantha shoved the bouquet into Gabriella's arms and said a little rudely, "These Juliet roses are Owen's favorite. Please put them in a vase for me."

Owen frowned. "Don't drag me into this when they're your favorite flowers," he said coldly. "Also, Gabriella is my wife. Don't order her around as if she's your maid."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold.

Gabriella's expression remained unchanging. She stared at the bouquet of vibrant roses in her arms, musing to herself that this was the first time she learned their name.

Juliet roses, was it?

It was no wonder Owen spent so much money cultivating them in the greenhouse since they were Samantha's favorites.

Gabriella kept her thoughts to herself as she handed the bouquet to the housekeeper and said, "Please get the vases from the display case on the second floor."

Samantha shot a knowing look at her, but Gabriella simply ignored her and brought her breakfast to the balcony.

Although there was a door separating them, she could hear the conversation in the living room with crystal clarity.

"Isn't this the paper crane I folded for you in middle school, Owen? Why did you store it inside a glass box? I can fold more for you if you like.

"What's this box of dolls doing here? I remember I tossed them into the trash. Did you fish them out from the bin?

"Aren't these the maple leaves that we brought back with us when we visited Cloudfall Mountain? You actually made them into bookmarks and kept them for so long?"

As Gabriella listened to Samantha's excited voice that sounded as if she had discovered a trove of treasure, she couldn't help but think about how she had also asked Owen about the little trinkets when she first moved into the villa.

"I kept them because my cousin, who's in kindergarten, gave them to me."

Gabriella had believed Owen's words at the time, completely missing the complicated look in his eyes.

Love, hatred, longing, and resentment had shone in his eyes, making it clear that each was tied to his love life.