Billionaire Villainess (Unedited)

Aftermath (Edited 8/31/24)

After Judith left the cafeteria, Gabriel remained frozen at the table, still staring at the spot where Judith had been just seconds before.

His friends and Verona tried to snap him out of it.

"Gabriel, are you okay?" Verona asked, concern evident in her voice as she reached out to grab his hand.

"Gabe, you've been staring into space for too long!" Marko said, snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"Hey, Gabe, you alright, man?" Hollister added worriedly.

"Snap out of it, dude!" Jericho exclaimed.

Jericho leaned over the table and snapped his fingers a few times in front of Gabriel's face.

Startled, Gabriel finally came back to his senses. "Oh, sorry, guys... my mind was elsewhere for a bit," he said, sitting back down.

"It's fine. We were just concerned about you. That b*tch really messed with your head," Hollister said.

Verona scooted her chair closer to Gabriel's and suddenly grabbed his face.

"Huh?" Gabriel was caught by surprise, and his friends were equally shocked by her unexpected action.

Normally, if someone touched him without permission, Gabriel would be furious, but...

He was struck by the sight of Verona's big, watery eyes.

"How could my sister hurt you like that? It's so cruel of her! Your face is so red! There's even a cut under your eye! I'm so sorry she did this to you!" Verona burst into tears.

*'A cut under my eye? It must be from that witch's long nails,'* Gabriel thought, anger flaring briefly.

But his heart warmed as he realized this girl, who was unfortunately related to Judith, already cared for his well-being, even though they had just officially met.

Verona was so different from Judith. She was kind and beautiful, with an aura of innocence, while Judith was annoying, spoiled, and arrogant.

It seemed like a godsend that Judith had embarrassed him publicly because now he had the perfect excuse to break off their engagement. The girl herself was even willing to let it happen.

That was the only good thing to come out of this situation.

Plus, he felt a sudden attraction to Verona.

Since his father wanted him to marry a Wellester...

Maybe he should pursue Verona instead.

It seemed like a good idea. Verona was obviously way better than her wicked sister. Why hadn't his father engaged her to him in the first place? Was it because Judith was older?

Gabriel decided to pursue Verona. He believed he had found the perfect girl, and there was absolutely nothing that could change his mind.

Gently, he took her hands, which were still holding his face. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Verona. You shouldn't apologize on your sister's behalf," he said softly.

His voice made her stop crying, leaving only sniffles.

Gabriel pulled out a fresh handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping Verona's tears.

"W-what are you doing, Gabriel?" Verona stuttered, surprised.

"You have a handkerchief?" Marko asked out of the blue.

"It's for cleaning myself of any Judith germs," Gabriel replied, not looking away from his task. His eyes were focused on Verona, filled with adoration.

His friends just stared at the two of them, weirded out by his actions.

Not only them, but some of the surrounding students were also watching their interaction in disbelief.

Gabriel had just met the girl and was already treating her like a delicate flower.

"Oh, Gabriel, thank you, but I'm okay now! You didn't have to wipe my tears! I think you should've used that handkerchief to clean yourself up first instead of me!" Verona protested, embarrassed.

Gabriel paused and looked down at himself. His shirt was stained with iced tea. "You're right, I do need to clean myself up. I should excuse myself from my next class to wash up and change."

"And your face too, Gabriel! You should get an ice pack for it and treat that cut! Or else it could get infected!" Verona suggested.

"Thanks for the suggestion, and you can just call me Gabe."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You can call me whatever you want."

"Okay, Gabe."

Soon enough, the lunch period was almost over.

"Do you want to come with me to my dorm to help treat my cut?" Gabriel asked Verona unexpectedly.

Hearing that, the other guys nearly choked on their last bit of food.

Hollister, Jericho, and Marko exchanged disbelieving glances.

WTF?! they seemed to say with their eyes.

"But what about class, Gabe?" Verona asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry about it. Just let your teacher know you were with me, and they will excuse you from any work you missed."

"They will...?"

"Of course, they will. They know who I am." He came from the wealthiest and most influential family in the world.

"Well, if it's really fine, then okay, I'll go with you to your dorm," Verona finally agreed.

Cough! Cough!

Marko had accidentally choked on his food. A piece of hotdog got stuck in his throat. His choking sound caught Hollister and Jericho's attention.

Alarmed, Jericho, who sat next to Marko, immediately got up and performed the Heimlich maneuver on him.

Marko spat out the piece of sausage, which flew through the air and hit a random student at a nearby table.

"Ew! Gross!" the random student cried out in disgust.

"Mark, are you okay?" Jericho asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Jericho, thanks!" Marko said gratefully.

"Anytime, buddy!"

Gabriel and Verona noticed none of this, their eyes remaining glued to each other.

Finally, the lunch period ended.