Sorry My Step-Uncle, I'm Not Your Backup Plan novel Chapter 15

It was Mason Reed, Drake's friend—and the same one who'd expressed sympathy for Gabriella that night at the party.

After knowing him for nearly three years, Gabriella had always found Mason to be one of the more decent ones in Drake's circle.

"Just picking up some things," she replied.

Mason glanced at the shopping bag in her hand. "A gift for Drake?"

Finding it easier than explaining, Gabriella simply nodded.

"That watch... even their basic models run like fifteen grand. You don't need to spend that kind of money on him, Drake is—"

He's not worth it, Mason thought.

Drake had straight-up admitted he couldn't get over Sienna, that Gabriella was just a replacement.

Last night, he'd humiGabbyted Gabriella by leaving the party with Sienna, right in front of everyone.

What Gabriella didn't know—but Mason did—was that Drake and Sienna had spent the night together at the Four Seasons. Their social circle had a private WhatsApp group that Gabriella had never been invited to join in three years, yet Sienna was added the moment she got back to New York.

That afternoon, Sienna had "accidentally" posted a photo of them in bed, with some BS caption about keeping memories. She'd deleted it within a minute, but Mason had seen it.

He'd wanted to say something but held back. Best to stay out of that drama.

Mason almost told Gabriella the truth but changed his mind. "Look, Drake doesn't need expensive gifts. You shouldn't drop several months' salary on him."

After all, Drake was his boy from college. Fifteen years of friendship meant something.

He'd wanted to add that Drake probably wouldn't even appreciate a gift that cost Gabriella months of her salary from her law firm.

But that was too harsh to say out loud.

Gabriella knew perfectly well Drake didn't deserve it—the watch wasn't for him anyway. She smiled politely. "You're right. Won't happen again."

After some small talk, they parted ways.

Watching her leave, Mason sighed. "Damn, what a waste. Girl's way too good for him."

He opened WhatsApp, unable to resist messaging Drake.

[Yo, you're sleeping on a good one. Just saw her buying you some fancy-ass watch. Must've dropped like 15K on it. That's months of her salary, man. Don't mess this up.]

Drake read the message while having dinner with Sienna.

His earlier anger dissipated instantly.

So Gabriella felt guilty about today and was buying him a peace offering. Fine, he could play nice.

He'd accept the gift, apologize for being harsh, tell her not to take it personally, throw in some sweet talk—Gabriella always fell for that.

"Drake? Who's texting?" Sienna asked from across the table.

"Nobody important," he replied smoothly.

Sienna didn't push it.

When Drake hit the restroom, Sienna grabbed his phone. She'd seen him enter his passcode before—his birthday, how basic.

She quickly checked his chat with Gabriella. The last exchange was from a week ago: Gabriella asking about taking a trip together during the fall break, sending links to places she wanted to visit.

Drake had replied five hours later: "Everything's packed during holidays. What's the point?"

Gabriella hadn't messaged since.

Sienna smirked at the suggested destinations. Their three-year relationship couldn't be that serious if Drake wouldn't even vacation with her.

Finding nothing interesting in Gabriella's chat, she browsed further and found Mason's message.

For problems with multiple approaches, he'd explain each method thoroughly.

Gabriella's initial resistance turned to admiration.

"How do you remember all this? It's been years since you took these courses."

"I reviewed the textbooks before coming," he admitted, then gently tapped her head with his pen. "And it's 'Asher' to you, remember?"

That summer before her A-levels, Asher spent two months tutoring her.

He was at Cambridge then but dedicated his entire break to helping her—explaining concepts, checking her work, marking practice papers.

Even after her term started while he was still on break, she'd come home to find him waiting in her family's sitting room, ready to help.

Thanks to Asher, her mathematics improved dramatically, from failing grades to near-perfect scores.

She'd always excelled in other subjects, and with mathematics no longer holding her back, she earned a place at Cambridge herself, following in Asher's footsteps.

Back then, Gabriella saw Asher as the perfect older brother figure.

She respected him, admired him, but never thought of him romantically.

So when her father proposed the arranged marriage with Asher, she'd balked.

How could she marry someone she saw as a brother?

Her reminiscing was interrupted by Drake entering the bedroom. He leaned against the doorframe, looking down at her. "All packed?"

"Almost."

"Gabriella... isn't there something you want to tell me?"