Seeing that she was laughing, Martin laughed too.
Her smile was fake back when they first got married, but he could feel that it was earnest now.
He happily put more salad on her plate. “Alright. Time to eat.”
“Yeah,” Lulu replied and picked up her fork.
Martin went to bed right after dinner. He was very sleepy since he went without sleep for the entire night.
At the same time, Lulu cleaned up the table and the kitchen.
Not wanting to bother him, she prepared herself for a stroll—her doctor told her before that it would help ease her delivery.
She headed to their room to get her coat when she saw Martin’s bandaged arm.
She raised her brow and walked around the bed, watching him.
Martin, who was a light sleeper, opened his eyes groggily when he sensed someone watching him.
As his eyes focused on her face, he murmured, “Lulu?”
“You’re hurt,” she said.
“Oh, it’s just a flesh wound. I’m fine,” he assured her.
Lulu felt guilty nonetheless. “I’ve really failed as a wife. I didn’t even know that you’re hurt.”
“Hey,” Martin said, taking her hand. “You’re not at fault. It’s mine, because I didn’t tell you.”
“Does it hurt?” Lulu asked.
“No,” Martin said, shaking his head. “What’s a flesh wound to a big man like me?”
“You’re still flesh and blood,” Lulu pointed out, but she leaned in to give him a kiss on the forehead. “Alright, sweet dreams. I won’t wake you up again.”
Martin still had work in the afternoon—he could only sleep in the morning.
With that, Lulu left the bedroom and gently closed the door behind her.
As she took her stroll, she took out her phone and called Abigail.
Abigail happened to be in the courtyard with her baby, who could now stand but not walk.
Whenever she tried to draw him forward, he would simply start to drop forward, though Abigail managed to catch his little frame each time.
She had a carpet laid out, but the fall might hurt him nonetheless.
“Abigail? You have a call.” Sheryl Harris approached her with her phone just then.
Abigail scooped her baby up with one hand and took the phone in the other. “Who is it?”
“Lulu,” Sheryl replied.
Abigail quickly answered, “Hello?”
“I have something to tell you, but you need to prepare yourself.” Lulu’s tone was grim.
There was no hiding this, so she decided to tell Abigail sooner—so that Abigail could prepare herself mentally.
Abigail quickly remembered what they talked about in their last call.
“Is it about Ricky? Tell me!”
“He’s a criminal,” Lulu replied.
Abigail’s fingers clenched on her phone, calming herself down even as she asked, “What did he do? Is it serious?”
Lulu replied, “Yeah, it’s serious.”
Abigail heaved a deep sigh. “How bad is it?”
“He’s involved in murder,” Lulu said shortly.
Abigail’s face fell, and she quickly sat down with her baby since her legs suddenly caved.
The baby was not staying put, however, and was flailing around, clapping her cheek one moment and grabbing her hair the next.
“I just want you to be prepared, Abigail,” Lulu said then. “That’s why I’m telling you this. Martin will do his best to help Ricky too.”
“I’m counting on both of you,” Abigail replied. “Try to help him whenever possible. I can’t go over there right now, with both my children here and Diarmuid gone…”
“Don’t worry,” Lulu assured her. “Martin and I will do our best.”
“Yeah,” Abigail murmured softly. “Thank you.”
“It’s fine,” Lulu told her.
Hanging up, Abigail carried her baby back into the mansion, but it seemed that he was reluctant, and he started crying as soon as they stepped inside.
As such, she had to stay outside and keep teaching him how to walk.
That was when a car drove into the compound, and Abigail looked up to see James Cross hurrying to her. “What are you doing here?”
James appeared hesitant to speak even as he watched her, so she said, “You can tell me, whatever it is.”
Even so, James only seemed to scowl harder, and he stood there appearing flustered.
Whatever it was, it must be very difficult for him to tell her.
Sensing that it was serious, Abigail asked, “What is it? Why are you panicking so much?”
James then quietly said, “Mr. Althoff is in trouble.”
Abigail wobbled, stumbling a step backward unsteadily.
She felt as if her heart was clenching, while James quickly helped her to the bench nearby and took her baby off her hands.
“Mrs. Althoff?” he asked tentatively.
However, Abigail was still clutching her chest—she just found out that Ricky was in trouble, and now Diarmuid was too.
She really could not take it, and she certainly could understand why James was hesitant to speak.
The man had always been calm and composed—it had to be something very serious for him to lose composure.
“What happened? Just tell me,” she said, trying to sound as calm as possible.
As James looked at her, he said, “We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t found him yet, so we’re not sure what happened to him—”
“What do you mean you haven’t found him yet?!” Abigail exclaimed, staring fixedly at him.
James averted his eyes right then. “His plane crashed.”
“What?!” Abigail’s pupils dilated as she gaped in disbelief and denial.
“I’ve already sent our people over. Local police are involved too,” James said.
All Abigail could feel right then was her chest hurting and the taste of blood pumping in her mouth.
She clenched her knuckles, her nails digging into her palm as she asked in anguish, “Was there no other information to go on with?”
“No,” James replied, hanging his head.
Abigail felt pain even as she breathed. She cried, “Where did his plane crash? I have to go there!”
“Mrs. Althoff—” James began.
Abigail waved him off and cut him short. “Don’t try to talk me out of this.”
“I’ll go there,” James said regardless. “You have to stay with your children.”
Abigail looked up into his eyes. “I have to stay with him too.”
This was Diarmuid they were talking about!
James understood that too.
However, they did not know if the plane crash was an accident or engineered, so they must keep a constant eye on the children.
At the same time, Abigail’s head was working rapidly while she took deep breaths to calm herself down.
Soon, she managed to compose herself and said, “I’m taking our children to Franconia.”
Diarmuid had told her before that he wanted to move the family there, since they had a house and everything else.
Like James, she was worried that it was unsafe to stay in Zidonia.
James thought about it and agreed with the idea. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
Abigail nodded. “Make it fast.”
Every second was grilling for her now—she wanted Diarmuid found as soon as possible, but she also had to consider their children!
“James,” she murmured frailly, yearning for some comfort just then. “Is he going to be alright?”
James did not dare to look at Abigail, let alone answer her.
It was not as if he refused to offer her any comfort.
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.
Leave a Reply