Gabriel slammed the car door shut, and his inner turmoil was clear only to himself.
Ashley, visibly upset, confronted him, "Gabriel, what are you trying to do!?"
"Ashley!" Gabriel finally raised his voice, his tone fraught with irritation. "I said I would come to pick you up!"
Unable to control his emotions, he tried to assert himself with his voice as if to mask his disarray. His current demeanor was far from a gentleman.
"But I didn't say yes!" Ashley retorted with her chin and neck raised. "I don't need it! Don't do this again! Understand?"
Instantly, Gabriel's expression shifted as if he was processing what he had just heard. A long silence prevailed after that.
She didn't need it? Every word Ashley said seemed to drive home the message that she no longer needed him.
Almost desp
