Lulu was not sure, however, and she had been wandering alone in the streets.
“How about Bernstein Mansion? I’ll be there soon,” Abigail suggested.
“Okay,” Lulu replied.
Abigail glanced at Tommy after hanging up. The baby was still sound asleep, so she gently closed the door, got changed, and left, telling Mrs. Watson before she did, “I have something to attend to, so I’ll be out for a while. Keep an eye on Tommy and make sure he doesn’t wake up, and if Diarmuid comes home and asks, I’ll be at Bernstein Mansion.”
“Okay,” Mrs. Watson replied, and Abigail left.
Arriving at Bernstein Mansion, she found Sheryl talking to Lulu in the living room as she entered. “It’s late, Mom. Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
“It’s not even nine,” Sheryl countered. “Nobody can fall asleep.”
Abigail then walked up to pull Lulu along. “I need to have some girls’ talk with Lulu. Can we?”
Sheryl feigned exasperation and shot her a look. “Don’t let me stop you.”
Abigail smiled, and took Lulu to her old room.
Once she closed the door, she turned toward Lulu and asked directly, “Did something happen? I could tell from your voice that something is wrong.”
Lulu sat on her bed, silent for a long while.
Abigail waited quietly without urging her, until Lulu suddenly said, “Zachary and I had a fight.”
Abigail was left stunned for seconds, before asking in disbelief, “You two fought? Why?”
“His mother promised that she’d agree to our relationship if Zachary returned to his family business and claimed leadership, right? He did, but his mother now insisted that I must give up on my career to be a full- time housewife if we are to get married. She said that I’m supposed to care for and support Zachary, but I don’t want to give up on my job.”
“Well, what did Zachary say?” Abigail asked.
Lulu scowled at the mention of Zachary. “He said that he gave up his preferred career for my sake, and asked me why I can’t sacrifice mine for him. But is our relationship only sustained by our sacrifices?”
Lulu certainly knew that she should sacrifice a little for him after what he did, but said, “Look, Abigail. I can make it up to him in any other way, but I would have nothing left if I gave up on my career. I mean….
Abigail knew why she felt insecure.
Lulu came from a poor family, and she would be fully dependent on Zachary if she did not have a job.
And if Zachary had a change of heart, she would have nothing.
Abigail understood her worries, and was herself unwilling to give up on her passion over family.
Fortunately, Diarmuid was supportive, and she decided to be nicer to him. After all, not all partners could be understanding like him.
“But you’re working in Sunny City. If you didn’t resign, won’t you be living apart even if Mrs. Slate agreed to you getting married to Zachary?”
“I can request for a transfer here,” Lulu replied, paused for a moment and asked, “Do you think I should resign too?”
Abigail was simply giving her take on the situation and did not intend that, so she quickly shook her head. “I think I’d want to be independent as well even if I get married. At least I’ll have my own career-I’d feel insecure if I depended entirely on someone else.”
“Diarmuid has been good to you, hasn’t he?”
Lulu was actually envious that Diarmuid was powerful enough to not have to consider the opinions of others, but he still pampered Abigail regardless.
Zachary was a different case-he came from a dynasty with strained relationships, and his parents did not like Lulu, causing complications on every turn..
Abigail smiled. Diarmuid was definitely nice to her, but she also had concerns that she never mentioned to anyone. “I’m young, so this is probably our honeymoon period. Who knows what would happen years down the line?”
“Is he cheating on you already?” Lulu’s eyes widened.
Abigail quickly shook her head. “No! It’s just that I’m losing confidence. Do you know that there are many women around him? It’s like another shows up soon after I chase one away.”
“There are women stalking him?” Lulu asked.
“I don’t know about that, but there are some who are secretly in love with him.” Abigail scowled when she remembered Debbie, and knew from the start that she would be difficult to get rid of.
Lulu breathed a long sigh. “I guess life is hard for you too.”
Abigail could not help laughing. “What, did you think it was easy for me?”
“Isn’t it?” Lulu asked in return. “That’s Diarmuid Althoff we’re talking about-he has the money and looks, and most importantly, he loves you. Don’t you think it’s easy not to have a mother-in-law harass you?”
Abigail was speechless for a moment, but decided that Lulu was right.
“I can talk to Zachary for you. There might be other options-”
“No, it’s fine,” Lulu said, cutting her short.
Lulu appeared helpless.
“Look, I didn’t tell you before, but the fight we had was really bad. He’s really angry, and he’s definitely on his mother’s side about having me resign. I feel like he really wants me to be his full-time wife… but this is the one choice that matters, isn’t it? Either I give up my career to be with him, or keep my career and give up on him. Can’t bake your cake and eat it.”
Abigail did not know what to say. “Well, you have no family here and no place to stay, so you can stay here. in my room.”
Lulu smiled. “Thank goodness I have you.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” Abigail smiled back. “I won’t know what to do with myself in Sunny City otherwise… How about a little drink? It’ll help you sleep.”
“No thanks.” Lulu shook her head-alcohol would only ease their frustration for a moment, but would not resolve the issue.
“Go home, Abigail-you have a family now, so you shouldn’t stay out the entire night. I need time alone to think about what I should do anyway.”
“Okay,” Abigail said, since Lulu just might decide what she wanted after calming down too..
“Who knows? Zachary might stay loyal to you forever.” To Abigail, since Zachary was willing to give up on his career as a doctor for Lulu’s sake, he must love her to the bone anyway.
Lulu smiled faintly but said nothing.
As Abigail headed downstairs, Sheryl was still in the living room. Seeing Abigail come downstairs, she said, ” Bring Tommy here if you have the time, Abigail. I miss him.”
“Okay,” Abigail replied.
It was midnight when Abigail returned home, and just after she changed and got in bed, the door swung open, and she looked up to find a figure entering.
Sitting up, she asked, “Where have you been?”
“Zachary called me,” Diarmuid replied, taking off his shirt and ready to take a shower.
“Be careful when you get wet. Don’t hurt your back,” she told him.
“Okay,” he replied.
“Wait…” Abigail suddenly said, frowning because she smelled alcohol. “Were you drinking?”
“He’s in a bad mood, so I had a couple of drinks with him,” Diarmuid chuckled. “I’m quite far from you though. -how did you smell it? Are you a dog?”
Abigail was speechless, and wanted to snap at him, ‘You’re the dog!”
Instead, she said, “Go take your shower already. I have questions.”
“Yeah,” he replied and headed into the shower.
When he stepped out, Abigail was waiting with the ointment for his back. As she applied it with a cotton. swab, she asked, “What did Zachary tell you?”
“Just the usual grumblings,” Diarmuid flatly replied.
Abigail frowned. “Why do I have this feeling that you don’t want to tell me?”
“Just not interested in talking about others with you.”
“Zachary is a good friend of yours, isn’t he? Stan even told me that he quickly claimed leadership over his family because you helped, even offering a lot of advice…”
Diarmuid suddenly turned around, and Abigail had to quickly get the cotton swab away from him. She shot him. a glare. “What are you doing? You almost knocked the swab off.”
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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