He was not reacting at all when she came in, and as she sat on the bed, she asked softly. “Are you asleep?
There was no response, so Abigail slid underneath the blanket, lying down as she wrapped her hands around his waist from behind. “I know you’re awake.”
His breathing was even, but she had a feeling that he was not asleep.
“I’ve been busy-”
Diarmuid suddenly turned around before she could finish, staring fixedly at her with his hawkish eyes in the darkness.
“Why didn’t you answer me if you’re awake?” Abigail asked.
He still would not answer, but in the next instant, he had moved on top of her.
Abigail was too tired and appeared lethargic, so he asked, “No?”
Abigail shook her head and explained, “No, I’m just…”
“Just what?” Diarmuid leaned in before she could answer, putting his lips over hers.
After their last conversation, it was obvious that they were both upset that they had other people in their lives. Even so, they tried to act as if nothing happened, with Diarmuid being a total tsundere and refusing to admit that he was jealous of Abigail’s ‘upperclassman‘.
He bit her lips a little forcefully, but she did not resist although she was frowning in pain–she simply thought he was venting.
“Bad day at work?” she asked softly.
Diarmuid did not respond. Instead, his hand simply unbuttoned her blouse, his fingers spread over her beating heart as he growled overbearingly, “From now on, pretend that I’m the only one in here.”
Abigail pursed her lips, but quietly murmured, “Okay.”
She did not tell him to do the same–to act as if she was the only one in his heart, because she did not want to be disappointed.
Nonetheless, he was especially needy tonight, and being exhausted in the first place, she almost passed out while her whole body ached.
Naturally, she overslept the next day.
Diarmuid had already woken up and left the bed, but she was exhausted and her legs were sore, and she did not want to get out of her bed at all. However, all drowsiness left her when she checked her phone and saw that it was already past nine.
She moved too quickly–or perhaps because last night had really been grilling, she almost fell, and had to hold on to the nightstand to stop herself from falling.
She stood for a while to adjust herself and start moving again when the door suddenly opened.
“Who is it?!” she snapped, panickedly dropping back onto bed and sliding underneath the blanket, because she was left naked after last night!
“It’s me,” Diarmuid said, entering and closing the door behind him.
She breathed a sigh of relief, but shot him with an unhappy look as she remembered what he did last night. “I overslept. You could have woken me up.”
Still, he walked up to her and retorted, “I saw that you were exhausted, so I let you sleep in. Am I at fault here?”
Abigail knew that she could not win in an argument, so did not bother to fire back. “I’m already late. I need to get dressed.”
With that, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Her body was covered in hickeys, each of which had not faded overnight.
The sight of the body that left him obsessed–from her stunning figure to her fair skin–made Diarmuid’s gaze darken.
She had barely set a foot in the bathroom when a firm hand wrapped around her waist!
Then, she felt herself fall into a firm, warm embrace!
She curled up by instinct, and turned to look at Diarmuid, asking softly, “What are you doing? You scared me.”
Diarmuid watched her and growled, “You’re the one who stayed naked to seduce me.”
Abigail was speechless. She did not even want to be naked, and he was the one she was for!
She whispered pleadingly, “Look, I’m tired, and I’m really late.”
“Yeah,” he said softly and carried her into the shower… and then did nothing.
She had been losing weight, which made him restrain himself.
Suddenly, Mrs. Watson was knocking on the door. “Mr. Althoff? Stan Hill is here. He says it’s urgent.”
Abigail heard her and shoved him. “Go.”
Diarmuid kept staring at her. “You don’t want me to leave at all, do you?”
Abigail was speechless–she did think so but would never say it. Smiling, she reached out from the bathtub, wrapping her hands around his neck and splashing him with crystalline drops of water. “Stay here, then,” Thud, thud.
Mrs. Watson knocked on the door again, urgently this time.
“Mr. Althoff…?”
Diarmuid left the bathroom then, taking a towel as he did to wipe his drenched neck.
Opening the door, he asked, “What is it?”
Stan walked up to him with a grim look. “Something just came in, sir.”
Stan handed him an envelope, and he opened in to find a photo.
His expression changed the instant he saw it.
“Come with me.”
He closed the door and headed to the study with Stan in tow.
They stayed there for little over ten minutes before leaving the mansion, and were gone by the time Abigail. stepped out.
After a quick breakfast, she gave Tommy a peck on the cheek and said, “Please take care of Tommy, Mrs. Watson.”
“It’s what I should do.” Mrs. Watson smiled.
Abigail is earnestly grateful for someone as dutiful as Mrs. Watson, who took good care of Tommy so that she had nothing to worry about while at work.
She was just about to leave when she remembered something. “Has Diarmuid left?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Watson replied. “It sounded like something urgent.”
Abigail nodded.
Along the way to Melville Hospital, she was checking her phone and saw more articles about Quincy. She would be in court today, and a verdict would be made public soon.
Did Stan come to talk about Quincy?
But it should have been a foregone conclusion, with no surprises expected…
Though she was puzzled, her car already arrived at the hospital, so she alighted.
When she arrived at Stephen’s office, Stephen was already done with his rounds and was now reading through a patient’s medical history.
Looking up at her with a serious face, he growled, “Just arrived, did we?”
Having no excuse, Abigail gingerly entered and softly said, “I didn’t mean to be late-”
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.