Life in Full Bloom After Walking Away

After exploring the villa for the rest of the morning, Samantha told Owen and her friends that she wanted to treat them to lunch.

"No need," Owen said. "Please leave if you're done messing around."

Samantha pretended to be deaf to his words, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the door. Her friends dragged Gabriella along, worried that Owen would refuse to go if she were left behind.

The group's destination was a hot springs resort.

Gabriella rarely interacted with Samantha and her friends, so she found it difficult to join their conversations. She hadn't wanted to join them in the first place, so she sat by herself in a corner and watched them clink glasses and converse happily among themselves.

Noticing how Gabriella was having a hard time fitting in, Owen strode over to her after pouring a glass of fruit juice for her.

Gabriella was just about to accept the offered drink when Owen walked right past her, pushing himself into the crowd.

Owen snatched the glass of whiskey from Samantha's hand just before she touched the glass to her lips. His furious voice reverberated around the room when he said, "You're allergic to alcohol. Do you have a death wish?"

Samantha blinked in confusion, looking at him innocently. "I thought it was fruit juice. Why are you getting angry at me when I just picked up the wrong glass?"

She then plucked the glass of fruit juice from his right hand. "Thank you," she said, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

Owen subconsciously clenched his fist. But in the end, he didn't say anything. He turned around and returned to his original seat before offering the glass he was holding to Gabriella.

Gabriella looked between Owen, who was obviously restless, and the glass of amber liquid that he was holding. She didn't accept the glass from him. Instead, she grabbed her bag and rose to her feet, saying lightly, "I don't drink alcohol. I'm going to soak in the hot springs."

It was only then that Owen realized that he had offered the wrong glass to Gabriella. He had been so distracted with Samantha that he had accidentally offered the glass of whiskey to Gabrella instead. He wanted to explain himself, but Gabriella had already left by then, giving him no chance to speak.

…

Gabriella felt her exhaustion melt away as she soaked in the hot spring. She leaned against the edge of the spring as she watched the rising steam, getting progressively sleepier until she ended up falling asleep right there and then.

Perhaps she had already gotten used to the ruckus outside, but she didn't notice someone knocking on the door.

Meanwhile, Owen grew a little anxious when he didn't get a response, even after calling out to Gabriella several times.

His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he pushed open the door and noticed her lying in the hot spring, looking half-unconscious. He immediately jumped into the spring and picked her up.

Gabriella blinked her eyes open. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made her reflexively wrap her arm around Owen's shoulders.

Steam filled the air around them. The atmosphere suddenly turned flirtatious when they realized how close they were to each other.

Owen couldn't help himself and leaned down.

Just as the distance between their faces closed enough for their breaths to mingle, a pair of footsteps burst into the room.

Samantha had tailed Owen when he left to check on Gabriella.

The smile on her face stiffened when she saw Owen and Gabriella pressed together. She bit down hard on her lip and didn't bother hiding the shock and disappointment in her eyes. She whipped around and bolted from the room while clutching her hand.

Owen stood rooted to the spot. He hastily set Gabriella down on her feet and chased after Samantha, hollering, "She must have misunderstood what's going on. I'll explain the situation to her."

A misunderstanding?

Gabriella and Owen were married. Why did he have to explain himself to Samantha, even if she did see them kissing?

It was obvious that Owen was still stuck in the past, still thinking of himself as Samantha's boyfriend. That was the reason why he subconsciously wanted to explain the situation to her.

It wasn't easy for someone who had once willingly allowed himself to be trained according to his lover's preferences to break old habits.

As Gabriella stared at Owen's retreating back, she barked out a laugh, her eyes reddening. She wrapped a towel around herself and opened the window to get some fresh air. Coincidentally, she saw Samantha running out of the resort.

Samantha had just wrenched open her car door when Owen grabbed her hand.

Gabriella could hear their heated argument with crystal clarity.

"Gabriella fell asleep in the hot spring. I was just worried about her catching a cold. Why are you causing such a fuss over such a trivial matter?"

"You're right. I don't have the right to get angry because she's your wife. You should go back and accompany her. There's no need for you to explain yourself to your ex-girlfriend."

"Do you have to bring this up, Samantha?"

"Bring what up? I'm just speaking the truth!"

The two of them parted unhappily the moment the words left Samantha's lips.

Samantha's eyes were bloodshot as she shook herself free of Owen's grasp. She then scrambled into her car and sped away.

Owen was only stunned for a few seconds before he got into his own car and chased after her.

Gabriella quietly turned around and headed to the changing room after the dust settled back on the road. She had just changed back into her clothes and exited the room when Samantha's friends grabbed her and exclaimed, "Bad news, Mrs. Wendell! Owen and Samantha got into a car accident!"