He could sit up now, so Abigail sat down on the couch and played with him, amusing him with a toy.
Mrs. Watson suddenly said, “Mrs. Althoff, I must give it to you – you were staying at the mansion with us for so long, but I’ve never known that you were pregnant.”
Mrs. Watson was stunned when she first saw Tommy, and left speechless to learn that he was actually Abigail’s son!
Abigail smiled but stayed silent, since the matter was quite complicated.
“I’m just so happy,” Mrs. Watson then added. “I’ve never seen Mr. Althoff so gentle.”
She was certainly dumbfounded when she came over and saw Diarmuid holding Tommy in his arms!
He had always been lofty and aloof, but he carried the baby so carefully that she thought she was imagining things.
Naturally, she knew that he changed because of Abigail. In the years she worked for him, he was slowly becoming a new person ever since Abigail came to his life.
Abigail kept playing with Tommy, and said offhandedly, He’s just a little cold and empathetic.”
Mrs. Watson shook her head. “Not really, ma’am. Mr. Althoff simply lacked familial warmth because he lost his parents as a child. He may seem aloof, but he actually has a lot of empathy.”
Sighing, Mrs. Watson continued, “You’ve heard recent developments, haven’t you? His grandfather wants him to step down as CEO so his uncle could take over. He respected his grandfather all this while, only for his only family to betray him too.”
Abigail knew that Diarmuid was having trouble with the Althoffs, but not that much.
Mrs. Watson’s words made her realize that she didn’t care or understood Diarmuid enough.
“Well, you’ll get along just fine with Mr. Althoff now that you have a child together.” Mrs. Watson smiled.
In the end, Diarmuid was just aloof in appearance–he wasn’t heartless, but he had to stay distant because of his environment.
Abigail nodded. “I know.”
“I’ll wash Tommy’s clothes now,” Mrs. Watson said. She left, while Abigail was pensive.
She could feel Diarmuid’s yearning for kinship for quite some time, and she realized that she wasn’t showing enough concern.
The clock on the wall kept ticking, and soon, it was already 1 a.m.
Diarmuid hadn’t returned, while Tommy was fast asleep.
Abigail, who had been waiting for Diarmuid, was feeling a little drowsy as well. But just as she closed her eyes, the door clicked and opened.
Sitting up and turning towards the door, she called out, Diarmuid?”
Diarmuid entered, and asked, “You’re not sleeping yet? Did I wake you up?”
“No, I was waiting for you,” Abigail replied. She got off her bed and gave him a hug, resting her face on his chest.
The move surprised Diarmuid, and he stiffened for a while before asking with a smile, “What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing,” she replied. “Just wanted a hug.”
Diarmuid looked at her, “Let go. I’ll be back after a shower. I’m filthy right now.”
Abigail tightened his embrace instead, gluing herself to him.
“What is it?” Diarmuid asked quietly, feeling as if she was not in her right mind.
Abigail rubbed herself against his chest. “From now on, I’m your family wherever you go. I love you.”
His quiet voice turned raspy right then. “Really, now… What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing. I just missed you and wanted a hug,” Abigail stood on the balls of her feet to kiss him.
He was stunned, and though he responded enthusiastically, he pulled away spoon enough. “I need to take a shower.”
Abigail actually found that odd about him. He would have hugged her back if it was any other day…
Had he lost interest in her?
She was naturally flabbergasted by the thought. “Did you fall out of love already?”
“What are you talking about?” he exclaimed, but he still was not touching her. “I saw a corpse on my way back. It’s bad mojo, and I don’t want you to get it.”
Abigail wasn’t surprised, since as a doctor, she saw many herself.
Moreover, not a day went by without a patient passing away in a hospital.
Therefore, she was less afraid than curious.
“A corpse? This late at night?”
Diarmuid was silent for a while, before answering, “It’s
Samantha.”
Abigail spaced out for a long time at his answer, and thought that she was hearing things. “Who?”
“Samantha, Samantha White. I received this text giving me an address around 10:30, saying that I’d find her there. I brought my people along and headed there around eleven, where we found her dead on the scene. After that, we searched the area around and tried to trace the sender, but we got nothing. That’s why I was late.”
Abigail smelled a rat as well. “When Ricky was told to poison Tommy, it was the same thing: an anonymous sender that can’t be traced…”
Diarmuid agreed. “What was their point in luring me there?
Did they just want me to see her corpse?”
Abigail frowned-it could not be that simple. “Did Stan find anything?”
“Not yet. The Althoffs are quiet,” Diarmuid replied.
In reality, it was not as if they were being quiet–they had made their move, but Diarmuid simply found out beforehand and foiled them.
It was why he had been busy. However, he didn’t tell Abigail to spare her from worry.
“It’s not their style. Maybe they’re being quiet but actually making a move in secret?” Abigail guessed.
Diarmuid wondered if it was a misdirection as well.
Were they trying to use Samantha to cause a stir?
It couldn’t be, because he and Samantha were not close.
Abigail was confused as well.
“Ricky would be devastated if he finds out his mother is dead. Do you want to check on him?” Diarmuid pointed out.
“Let’s leave that for tomorrow. He probably doesn’t know, and it’s already very late,” Abigail said, glancing at the clock which showed that it was 2 a.m. “I’ll go to the hospital early tomorrow.”
“Okay. Go to sleep for now. I need a shower,” Diarmuid said. “Yeah, alright.”
Abigail did not get in bed immediately. She went to check on Tommy instead, just taking a look since Mrs. Watson was taking care of the baby.
Tommy was sound asleep, so she tiptoed out of his room and returned to the master bedroom.
There she sat on the bed, unable to sleep, resting her hand on her head and wondering who their adversaries were. However, she could not come up with anyone other than Robin and the Althoffs.
Meanwhile, Diarmuid stepped out of the shower to find her sitting on their bed. He made her lay down as he moved on top of her.
As he retained warm, moist kisses on her, the mood was getting just right when they heard Tommy’s sudden cries.
Both of them paused, though Abigail came to her senses first and tried to push Diarmuid off. “Tommy’s hungry.”
“Mrs. Watson would feed him.”
“But…”
Her comeback was stopped by a kiss right there and then.
Soon, she was drowning in a night of unending passion.
The lights were still up at the Althoff Manor–both Henry Althoff and his son Greg were looking grim since they failed to topple Diarmuid.
Greg’s wife–Quincy Moore–was with them as well. After all, Henry wasn’t even bothered to hold old grudges now.
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