Noticing that he was upset, Abigail asked tentatively, What’s wrong? Are you upset?”
Diarmuid didn’t answer, and instead pulled her to himself so that she was leaning completely against him! With just the fabric of their clothing between them, Abigail actually felt his scalding warmth.
Suddenly feeling a dryness in her throat, she couldn’t help gulping as her heart pounded.
Putting both hands against his chest, she whispered, ”
You’re holding me too tight. I can’t breathe…”
Diarmuid didn’t stop despite her words, and instead tightened his hold–Abigail had to stand on her toes to be able to breathe.
Their dank, warm breaths were tangled, swirling around each other.
“Can’t you fall for me?” Diarmuid asked quietly.
“I can,” Abigail answered quickly, inadvertently telling him her truest thoughts.
Pursing her lips, she said, “I… No, I mean, I want to stay with you, not just because you’re Tommy’s father, but… because I have feelings for you too.”
“Really?” Her answer left him overjoyed.
She had feelings for him… Did that mean she loved him?
At once, Abigail was hit with a wave of awkwardness and embarrassment.
“Yes, I love you,” she admitted grumpily as she struggled against his hold. “Can you let go of me now?”
Diarmuid chuckled. “Nope.”
“You’re going to smother me if you keep holding me like this,” she complained.
“I would never,” he said quietly, and kissed her on her forehead.
His kiss was as gentle as a summer breeze, tugging at one’s heartstrings.
Abigail felt her heart skip a beat, and leaned against his chest.
He was the first man whom she fell for–they were two individuals who would never have crossed paths, yet events brought them together almost by force.
Perhaps this was their destiny…
Bzzt-
Diarmuid’s cell phone on his desk began to ring, and Abigail pulled away from his arms, saying, “Your phone is ringing.”
Diarmuid heard it but did not take it, so she picked it up instead. Seeing that Stan was calling, she said, “It’s Stan. Something must be up.
Diarmuid finally answered, and Stan quickly told him, “Take a look at the news, sir.”
Diarmuid turned on the big screen on the wall he used for video conferences.
It turns out that the media was now aware of Ian’s casino ship, and every channel was reporting about it–they were all now setting their crosshairs on the Althoffs due to Ian’s involvement.
They were certainly saying anything they wanted, but most of it was harsh criticism–that the Althoffs had plenty of money, yet would still take up such illegal activities that harms families and societies, and would suffer retribution for it.
Diarmuid raised a brow. “What happened?”
He only called the cops, not the media–how did the media find out?
“Someone talked. Everyone knows about the casino ship,
” Stan replied.
“Someone talked?” Diarmuid became pensive.
Ian would never dig a hole for himself by revealing his own crimes, so who could it be?
Harvey Gooding, perhaps?
“Check if Harvey’s on the move recently,” Diarmuid said.
“Alright, but this is huge. I think your grandfather would be upset if he finds out,” Stan pointed out, aware how much Henry cared about reputation.
The casino ship would disgrace the Althoffs and turn them into public enemies. Henry would be throwing a fit once he found out!
Diarmuid, however, did not care what Henry thought—that old man hadn’t deserved his respect for a long time!
All Henry cared about was to keep up appearances without regard for his own family. He was no human, but a cold–blooded reptile!
“Don’t bother,” Diarmuid said, disenchanted with the old.
man.
“Alright, sir. I’ll be right back once I’m done here,” Stan said.
Diarmuid had just hung up when there was a knock on the door. It opened before he could say “Come in.”
Henry was standing menacingly at the doorway, with Debbie the secretary hanging her head behind him, saying, “I’m sorry, sir–I couldn’t stop him.”
Diarmuid simply waved, dismissing her.
While Debbie left, Henry glanced at Abigail before sitting on the couch.
“Good, you’re here too,” he said, waving at Moneypenny to put her divorce papers on the desk, “I was the one who registered your marriage, so I’ll help you with your divorce too. Come.”
Abigail was just about to walk to Henry, but Diarmuid caught her wrist. “Don’t move.”
Releasing her right after, he walked up to the desk and picked up the divorce papers. After scanning through it, he tore them apart with a deafening rip.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Henry snapped.
Diarmuid acted as if he did not see Henry’s indignation, and threw the scraps of the torn papers nonchalantly into the trash can. “If I want a divorce, we can handle it ourselves. You don’t have to worry, Grandfather.”
With that, he sat opposite the old man, folding his legs casually. “Did you come to show me this? If that’s so, I’ve seen it and showed you what I think.”
Henry’s face was ashen. “Do you know who you’re talking to?!”
Before Diarmuid could respond, he continued, “You’ve seen the news, haven’t you? Do you see what you’ve done? What good came of it?”
“You mean I should let Tan keep my wife and child, and let that be?” Diarmuid asked sharply in return.
Henry was left speechless right then–his one mistake lost Diarmuid’s patience and respect.
It wasn’t as if Diarmuid never distrusted Henry. They both know how Diarmuid’s parents died, but Henry persistently defended Greg.
Even so, Diarmuid never turned against Henry–Diarmuid still regarded Henry as his grandfather despite his parents‘ murders, but what did Henry do?
He knew Ian had Abigail and Tommy hostage, but did nothing.
That was what Diarmuid cannot abide with.
Diarmuid had already lost his parents, and he wasn’t about to let the same tragedy happen to his new family.
“Sir, our stocks-”
Stan rushed into Diarmuid’s office the instant he returned, but clammed shut when he saw Henry. He then walked to stand beside Abigail.
Henry was basically huffing. He couldn’t do anything to Diarmuid, but being the previous CEO, he still had some tricks. up his sleeve and held stature as previous head of the company.
“Moneypenny, go find out–what happened to our stocks.
“Yes, sir,” Moneypenny replied, and left the room for just five minutes before returning.
His expression was somber. “It seems Sky Group stocks plummeted because of the news…”
Henry, however, knew that beforehand -it was leverage he can use.
“Diarmuid, I trust you. That is why I left the company in your hands. However, you’ve made a mess of things because you made it personal, so don’t blame me when I take back management,” he said as he rose to his feet. “You have three days to sort this out.”
With that, he strutted out of the office on his crutch, with Moneypenny helping him.
When they got in the elevator, Moneypenny finally asked, “What are you doing, sir?”
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