Abigail sneered. “Are you saying you‘re being nice? Then why are you keeping me captive here?”
Harvey had no retort for that–she was right.
However, even if he could not have her, he would not allow Diarmuid to have her either.
“I was out clearing any traces of your presence today, in case Diarmuid comes looking for you. Aren‘t you afraid he would guess where you were, leaving your mother out there for him? That‘s why I‘ve been kind enough to bring her here to stay with you. Shouldn‘t you be thanking me instead?”
Abigail naturally did not have that much imagination in her–she was too worried that Harvey would hurt her mother.
“Are you really that nice?” she asked suspiciously.
Harvey wrinkled his brow right then. “You really don‘t know what‘s good for you. Sure, I have my own reasons for hiding you here, but have you considered the fact that I had not forced myself on you?”
Pausing for a moment, he then continued, “You may have threatened to kill yourself, but do you think I care? I could just do what I want, while you die if you want to— but the point is, I didn‘t. Shouldn‘t you be thanking me for that alone?”
His tone then eventually eased as he said, “Just don‘t do anything stupid if you don‘t want your mother to be worried.
With those words, he walked up and clapped a hand on Abigail’s shoulder, but she promptly darted away by several paces, maintaining a great distance while staring at him warily.
Harvey raised a brow but suddenly chuckled. “Fine. I won’t touch you.”
“I need dinner,” Abigail then told him.
Harvey finally remembered that the house was usually unoccupied, and there was nothing in there—he had also kept her here for an entire day, so she would have no food to speak of.
“I’ll send somebody,” he said.
“Thank you,” Abigail said–now that she was his captive, she should know when she should compromise.
After all, she would just get on his nerves if she kept putting up resistance, and she would never be able to run if he got violent with her..
“Oh, you actually know your manners?” Harvey was actually surprised that she could suddenly act like this.
Abigail said nothing and simply strode into the house, where Sheryl hurried to her and tugged at her hand, quietly asking, “Is he really your friend?”
She had never met Harvey, and therefore found the claim dubious.
Still, Abigail had to admit to that for the moment. “Yeah.”
She just did not want Sheryl to get suspicious.
An hour later, another woman around her fifties arrived, and Harvey said, “She will be taking care of you two.”
Abigail, however, knew that Harvey actually meant that the woman would be keeping an eye on them instead of taking care of them.
Still, she kept that in mind without exposing him–it was understandable for Harvey to do that.
Then, giving Abigail a look, Harvey asked, “I‘m actually curious about your relationship with Diarmuid Althoff. Would you mind telling me?”
Abigail chomped on a muffin before saying, “We‘re married.”
Harvey was speechless, his jaw almost dropping off right then.
“What?!” he exclaimed, unable to believe his ears. “Come on, you can do better than that! Everyone knows that he‘s single, and you‘re saying you two are married? You‘re kidding!”
It was natural for Harvey to doubt her, and he was convinced that she was using Diarmuid to stop him from having any funny ideas.
Still, Abigail calmly looked up at him. “I‘m not lying. He wants revenge—that‘s why he‘s hunting me down.”
“Revenge against you?” Harvey appeared interested just then. “Do tell.”
“Our marriage is hidden, so not many know about it, and it‘s understandable for you to doubt me. Anyway, I‘m running away because I cheated on Diarmuid, and now pregnant with someone else‘s child. Naturally, there‘s no way he could live with that, so he‘s hunting me down now,”
Harvey was laughing out loud even before Abigail could finish.
The indomitable Diarmuid Althoff a cuckold?
He did not hesitate to flash her a thumb up. “Well done.”
Now, he was quite impressed with her–he was not the only one who kept losing to Abigail, but Diarmuid was too!
He really wanted to laugh so hard right then.
Abigail gave him a cool look. “Are you really that happy about that?”
Harvey, however, was certainly in a good mood. “I‘ve lost so many times to that man, but you managed to cheat on him. How could I not be pleased? Anyway, you have nothing to worry about if you stay with me. I‘ll never trouble you–what you did is enough reason for me to play nice.”
Abigail actually told Harvey about her relationship with Diarmuid so that he knew that Diarmuid was hostile to her.
As the saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Even if she and Diarmuid were not enemies, she needed help to stay away from him and deliver the baby with no issues.
After that, the next few months passed with her living under Harvey‘s protection.
Her belly swelled as the due date loomned.
During one of the afternoons, she was napping before the window, beneath the sun.
Harvey entered on tiptoes so that he did not wake her. He often visited, and seeing her belly swelling was enough for him to believe her claims.
Moreover, he looked into the claim that she had cheated on Diarmuid–it turned out that they were really married, and it was a hidden marriage that not many knew of.
“Urgh…” Abigail stirred, and had to hold up a hand to block the glaring sun, narrowing her eyes at the person before her as she asked, “You‘re here?”
As he promised, he was never out of line after she stayed here, and his wariness toward her slowly lowered.
Pulling out a chair to sit beside her, Harvey said flatly. “Yeah. Just checking up on you.”
Abigail stroked her belly in turn. She was grateful that he had provided her with everything for an easy life over the last few months. Even if she was not allowed to leave, her pregnancy was a healthy one.
Harvey also sent doctors to check on her on occasion, ensuring her child‘s health.
Losing one only made her very prudent toward the other.
On the other hand, Harvey had something gnawing on his mind for a long while, but eventually asked, “Have you actually realized that you can‘t hide forever?”
“I just want to deliver the baby.” Abigail certainly did not think that far ahead.
Harvey held her gaze then. “I have an idea.”
Before Abigail could respond, Harvey said, “If you don’t want to stay with Diarmuid Althoff, and you’ve already broken up with your boyfriend… Why don’t you just marry me?”
Harvey had asked Abigail who the child’s father was before, and Abigail lied that it was a boyfriend whom she had broken up with–that was why the child was now fatherless.
“No-”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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