The lunchbox was not from the cafeteria, and while the sliced fruits inside were not rare, it was not exactly common either.
Not even Sheryl knew that she liked it because of its sickly sweet taste, even compared to other fruits.
She loved it as a child, and since not many knew that, she soon had a hunch.
To no surprise, Seth appeared at the door and he entered with a smile.
Abigail’s expression was ice-cold, however.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just checking in on you, or is that not allowed?”
“Nope,” Abigail said shortly.
Seth was not discouraged, however.
Even if he wanted to know what happened between Abigail and Harvey badly, he was smart enough to not mention it.
“I remembered that you liked this fruit as a kid, so I bought it for you as dessert after your lunch.”
Abigail lowered her gaze.
She did like to eat sweet food as a child, but that was because life has been tough for her as a child.
Now that she was an adult, she no longer relied on that stuff, and she did not hesitate to throw the lunchbox into the trash can.
“What are you doing?!”
Seth gaped.
“I went out of my way to buy that for you—”
“I’ve had plenty, so leave!”
Abigail rarely thought about the mess with Harvey while she was at work, but the scene from that moment immediately flooded her mind once she saw Seth.
Seth pursed his lips.
“Aren’t we friends…?”
“Don’t even say that!”
Abigail snapped sharply.
“Don’t ever bother me while I’m at work, and don’t ever show up in my sight ever again! We will never be friends!”
“But we were! I even thought of you as my younger sister—”
“That was before.”
Abigail cut him short.
“Are you going to leave, or do I have to call for security?”
Seth refused to leave, however.
“Look, I’m just here to apologize…”
Abigail called for security right then, and several security personnel quickly arrived.She pointed at Seth, saying, “Don’t let him in ever again.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Still, they did not get physical with Seth immediately, instead telling him calmly, “Sir, I’m afraid it’s time for you to leave.”
“we’re friends,” Seth quickly tried to explain.
“You have to leave, sir,” the security personnel repeated, clearly not as kind this time—even appearing a little overbearing.
Seth scowled.
“Look, I told you: we’re friends—”
Two of them strode forward right then, seizing his arms and holding them behind his back as they began to drag him outside.
“Abigail! How could you do this to me?! Even if you’re upset, just tell me what happened…”
Seth’s voice soon faded from the doorway, but Abigail became restless and she could not calm down whatever she did.
She was in no mood to continue her work and she headed to a lab, locking herself inside and poured all her attention into it.
She slowly calmed down and her restlessness vaporized since she would forget about everything else once she gets focused.
Since she had a feeling that Diarmuid was not going home tonight either, she worked late into the night.
However, her stomach was hurting after skipping two meals, and she was leaning against her desk, arching her back as she sweated profusely from her forehead.
Still, she turned off her equipment before stepping outside.
When she opened the door and saw the man standing outside, she took her hand off her stomach as she felt at once excited and evasive.
Lowering her head, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
Diarmuid did not answer right away, and instead asked, “Are you sick?”
Abigail took her hand off her stomach and denied it.
“No…it’s just my hip.It’s sore from standing all day.”
Aside from the first glance, she had not been looking at Diarmuid since, and said even as she kept her gaze lowered, “It’s late.We should go home.”
She started to leave, and tried to keep herself standing straight as much as possible, reluctant to let Diarmuid see that she was ill.Diarmuid remained where he was.
Suddenly, he asked, “How long do you need?”
Abigail’s back stiffened for a moment, and she began to stride off.She did not want to talk about it, and with him at that.
Diarmuid quickly caught up, and took her hand despite his reluctance.
She struggled a little, but she allowed herself to be pulled along since she could not free herself.He had parked his car outside, and the lights flickered as he whipped out his key and pressed a button.
While he opened the door, Abigail held the car door in place.
“Diarmuid,” she said, looking up at him then.
“I’m tired.I don’t want to talk about it today.”
Diarmuid pursed his lips, but he quietly muttered, ”Yeah.”
She shook her wrist then.
“Now let me go.”
Diarmuid did not, and instead leveled her a pensive look.
Uncomfortable from being stared at, let alone meeting his gaze, she quickly entered the car, saying, “Let’s go home!”
While Diarmuid entered the car from the other end and turned on the ignition, Abigail closed her eyes and leaned into her seat, since doing that felt comfortable with her aching belly.
Still, the car was quiet since neither of them spoke, and there were not many cars on the road that late in the night.
Abigail opened her eyes when she felt the car stopping, only to find that they were not outside a hospital —not the hilltop mansion.
She frowned.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Diarmuid alighted without a word and walked around the car to open her door for her.
“Out.”
“Why the hospital?”
Abigail did not move.
“Why, you ask?” Diarmuid said, arching his back to undo her seatbelt.
“Because your face is pale.”
Abigail slapped his hand off.
“I’m fine, and I’m a doctor myself—I’d know if I’m sick, so don’t force your opinions on me.” Diarmuid stared at her for a couple heartbeats.
“What are you so upset about?”
“You took me to a hospital when I’m just doing fine.Are you trying to jinx me?” she snapped, clearly on edge.
Diarmuid smiled despite himself—the vigor she showed while she was upset was far better than her despondent state.
Abigail frowned.
“Why are you smiling? Is that so funny to you?”
“Abigail,” he said softly.
“Do you trust me?”
Abigail became silent for a few moments.
“Nope.I’m superstitious.”
“And I feel like it’s as if fate itself arranged for us to come together, ” Diarmuid said, his expression turning serious.
“I sometimes wonder how much good karma I’ve garnered in my past life that I would meet you twice, and both times while I’m desperate.” Abigail understood.
“Why mention that now?”
“Because I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” he told her, taking her hands in his.
“I said I don’t mind, and I mean it.You gave me two lives, y’know?”
Abigail almost smiled—her grim expression eased considerably anyway.
“I bore two sons for you.”
“Got the better end of the bargain, huh?” he chuckled, brushing his thumb on the back of her hand.
“You’ve gotten skinnier.Didn’t sleep or eat well the last few days, have we? You look so worn out, and I did see you clutching your belly.Does it hurt?”
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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