The next day
Selene woke up and looked at her hands, which were completely fine.
She was happy and got up.
Her hands were saved, and she was rescued!
The room around her was no longer a cold prison but a warm chamber.
Her hands had been bandaged and treated.
Selene touched her hands and saw a maid standing by the bed.
She quickly asked, "Was it Master Gu who saved me yesterday?"
When she fainted from the pain yesterday, she vaguely heard Gabriel's voice.
His tone was very cold, as if he was scolding someone.
Was he scolding Eleanor?
Selene's lips lifted slightly as she thought of Gabriel's cold and handsome face.
She also imagined Eleanor being scolded.
She sighed deeply, feeling like she had finally let out her anger.
The maid by the bed looked at her expression and sneered coldly.
Suddenly, the maid took out a very revealing set of clothes and threw them to Selene.
"Put these on."
Selene saw the thin fabric that could barely be called clothing and blushed deeply.
But then she seemed to think of something and shyly asked the maid, "Th-These clothes are..."
The maid interrupted her, "Put them on, then come with me to Lord Merke Yesi's room."
Selene was stunned, then her face turned pale.
"Merke Yesi?"
Merke Yesi was the fat, greasy, and lecherous old man she met last night.
Gabriel was talking to him yesterday evening, and when she was called over, Merke Yesi kept staring at her, making her feel sick.
Now, they wanted her to wear these clothes to meet that old pervert from the West?
The maid saw her disbelief and laughed mockingly.
"What? Do you think the master chose you for something else? Do you really believe a master like him would look at someone like you?"
"With your looks, status, family background, skills, and character, which one can compare to the madam? Do you really think the master would pick you?"
Selene froze and saw the maid's mocking face.
She finally understood something and turned pale.
Her previous pride and romantic dreams vanished.
She threw the thin cloth back at the maid and shouted, "No! I won't!"
Selene rushed to the door.
"I want to see Master Gabriel! Take me to him! I won't meet Merke Yesi!"
The maid seemed ready for this and blocked the door.
She kicked Selene back to the floor and sneered.
"When the master chose you yesterday, he asked you. You thought you had a chance to climb up, so you agreed quickly. Now that it's time to pay up, you want to back out? There's no such good thing."
Selene lay on the ground, holding her stomach tightly and glaring at the maid with anger.
The maid stuffed the thin clothes back into Selene's arms.
"Merke Yesi is cruel to women, but he is a powerful man. If you can climb up to him, it's like your 'daydream came true.'"
Selene breathed heavily and tried to throw the clothes away again.
The maid grabbed her by the neck.
The maid's name was Maid Yu.
Five years ago, when Eleanor just returned to the country, Maid Yu was bought from human traffickers.
She later became a maid in the Gu household.
She stayed by Eleanor for two years.
After training with Eleanor for a long time, she was assigned to serve Gabriel.
After joining Gabriel's side, Maid Yu saw many women come and go around him.
She also saw the tense relationship between Gabriel and Eleanor grow.
She grew to hate the women who swarmed around Gabriel like flies.
Selene looked at Maid Yu with shock and anger.
Maid Yu stared at her coldly.
"The master and madam are the best people in this world.
Besides each other, there should be no worthless scum like you."
"So behave yourself and be a good product.
Finish the task the master gave you.
Got it?
If you dare ruin the master's plans or make him unhappy, I promise you will regret not dying by my hands now."
Maid Yu smiled coldly as if thinking of something.
She mocked Selene quietly.
"Compared to the madam, the master is really a very gentle and kind person."
Selene was nearly strangled.
She looked at the warning in Maid Yu's eyes.
Her chest tightened with fear.
Eleanor… a gentle kind person?
Impossible!
Last night, the master she went to accompany was clearly noble, gentle, and calm.
How could he be the terrible person the maid described?
Maid Yu saw the expression on her face and guessed what she was thinking.
She smiled coldly and let go of Selene.
"Don't believe me? Then go try."
Over the years, besides the madam, no one who dared anger the master survived well.
Gabriel arrived at the bar just after the doctor finished checking Eleanor.
Eleanor lay on the bed, her face faintly pink from the alcohol, sleeping very peacefully.
But no one would guess that she was already in a state of moderate alcohol poisoning.
Melisa stood quietly by Eleanor's bedside. When she saw Gabriel, she was silent for a moment, then stood up and saluted.
Gabriel ignored Melisa's attitude. From the moment he entered, his eyes never left Eleanor.
"How much did she drink?"
The butler answered from behind, "All kinds of drinks together... eighteen bottles."
Gabriel walked to the bed and looked down at the peacefully sleeping Eleanor.
"Did she take the medicine?"
"No."
This answer came from Doctor Wang, who was examining her.
Doctor Wang was the usual doctor Melisa called. He had treated Eleanor a few times before, but this was the first time he saw Gabriel come to see her after drinking.
Not knowing the true situation between them, Doctor Wang was worried he couldn't give Eleanor the medicine by injection.
Seeing Gabriel, he quickly pleaded, "Master, you came just in time. I have prepared the medicine, but she is tightly closing her lips and won't drink it. Since you're here, please feed her the medicine. Otherwise, other methods might hurt her."
He handed the medicine bowl to Gabriel.
Melisa and the butler both looked at Gabriel immediately.
Doctor Wang meant forced feeding by mouth, not just normal feeding.
Gabriel and Eleanor always acted like a good couple outside, but they kept a respectful distance, rarely touching. Their true relationship was much worse than it seemed. Now Gabriel had to feed her medicine by mouth?
The room was silent. Melisa and the butler nervously watched Gabriel, unsure if he would agree or refuse.
Gabriel looked at the dark medicine in the bowl and was silent for a moment. Then he raised his hand and took it. With the other hand, he gestured.
The butler immediately understood, bowed slightly, and asked Melisa and the doctor to leave the room.
When Gabriel took the bowl, Melisa let out a slight breath of relief.
She didn't know if Eleanor would allow Gabriel to feed her medicine if she were awake.
If Gabriel refused, the only option would be injections or drips.
Eleanor had a severe scar-prone condition and felt much more pain than normal people.
Others might only feel pain at the start of an injection, but she would feel pain the whole time and afterward, serious scars would remain. Sometimes it took months to heal.
Fortunately, Gabriel did not refuse, so Eleanor would avoid that pain this time.
Melisa sat down on a chair in the corridor and just relaxed when a man hurriedly ran in from the hallway.
"Sir, the Jiang family just summoned you. They want you to see them immediately..."
The Jiang family was the top clan in the southern region. After nearly a thousand years of turmoil, political power had faded into the control of major clans.
Besides the four great families like Gu, Bernard, and Jiang, the Jiang family was the oldest and most powerful clan in the south. Even though it had weakened, it still led the region.
The butler frowned and looked inside, "Must it be now?"
The man nodded. Seeing Melisa sitting on the chair, he bowed slightly, then whispered something to the butler.
The butler's frown deepened. After the man finished, the butler hesitated but finally knocked on the door that had just closed less than a minute ago.
Inside the room, one minute earlier.
Everyone else had left, only Gabriel and Eleanor remained.
Gabriel held the medicine bowl and looked at the woman on the bed, who was only so calm and gentle when asleep.
Eleanor was truly beautiful, especially now. Sleeping peacefully, all her sharpness was hidden, leaving only delicate, lovely features.
Gabriel's gaze moved to her full, red lips.
In their five years of marriage, except for the bedroom, Gabriel could hardly remember any normal couple contact between them.
The medicine bowl in his hand smelled bitter. He drank a sip, then rested one hand on Eleanor's pillow and slowly bent down.
Just as he was about to touch her, the butler's slightly anxious voice came from outside the door.
Gabriel paused, looked at Eleanor's close face, hesitated, and slowly stood up.
"Come in."
The butler entered and whispered beside Gabriel.
Gabriel rubbed the rim of the bowl with his finger. After hearing the butler, he put the bowl on the bedside table, glanced once more at Eleanor, then stood and walked out.
Outside, Doctor Wang quickly approached. "Master, is the medicine done so fast?"
Gabriel, helped by the butler to put on his coat, looked at the doctor and said calmly, "Give her an injection."
Doctor Wang frowned and was about to speak, but Gabriel walked away quickly.
After Gabriel left, Doctor Wang frowned at Melisa. "Madam, Eleanor has severe scar-prone skin. She can't have injections. Does the master not know?"
Or does he know and not care?
Melisa sighed but did not reply. She only told him to prepare, then went into the ward.
Outside,
Gabriel sat in the car. His dark eyes stared at the clinic.
"Qiuyue Bar is closed."
The butler paused, "Qiuyue Bar is Bernard's..."
Gabriel seemed not to hear "Bernard." He repeated calmly, "Closed."
The butler dared not say more and quietly answered.
But inside, he wondered if the master was about to move against Bernard.
Over the years, the master focused on avenging the Gu family's past. The Bernard and Gu families had a decent relationship on the surface.
If possible, making allies was better than attacking.
But now… is it because of Madam?
Thinking again, the butler felt that was unlikely. If the master was attacking, it was because of Bernard, not Madam. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let things between him and Madam get so bad, or continue searching for that girl.
But the butler never understood how much Madam meant to the master.
If the master's action had nothing to do with Madam, that was impossible. Why act so suddenly?
If the action was for Madam, that was also impossible.
For so many years, the master ignored many things about Madam. This time, Madam only drank at a bar, and the master had Bernard's place closed. That logic did not make sense.