“What did he say?”
In the end, Erin was still curious about what James thought.
“That he’ll come to you when you feel better,”
Abigail admitted.
However, it was obvious what James wanted to convey.
“He’s a good man,” Abigail said.
Erin pursed her dry lips.
“I’d rather he be terrible. I’d rather not impose.”
Abigail did not know what to say.
However, she was sure of one thing: Erin really loved James, and that love was why she did not want to let James see her broken state.
“I feel disgusted with myself,” she muttered.
Boom! The airplane suddenly plummeted!
Their airplane encountered some turbulence and dropped abruptly, but recovered in minutes.
It was still daytime when they arrived at Minerva due to the time difference.
Abigail had contacted Mick Gooding beforehand.
They saw him standing nearby soon after they disembarked.
Abigail told Mick what happened to Erin behind her back and he appeared somber.
Still, he quickly pretended not to know when he saw them, mainly because he did not want to pressure Erin.
“Welcome back,” he said with a smile.
“Dad.”
Erin was doing her best to pretend nothing happened too, but she could not smile, only make herself look like everything was going fine.
However, the dark circles under her eyes and her haggard reaction was a constant reminder that she was in bad shape.
Mick pretended not to see that.
“Come on.Let’s go home,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulder.
“I had Consuella cook your favorite food.You must have missed the food here while you were in Zidonia, right?”
“Yeah, I do,” Erin replied.
“I knew it,” Mick said tenderly.
“You’ve always been a glutton, even when you were a child.”
Erin felt her tears welling from his words.
“Dad…” she sobbed, unable to stop herself as she wrapped her arms around Mick.
Mick patted her on the back.
“Still acting like a kid when you’re an adult! Why are you being so sad? Did James Cross bully you? Okay, I’m taking the next flight to Zidonia to straighten him out—”
“Dad,” Erin quickly stopped him.
“He didn’t bully me…”
“Then why are you crying? Did you miss me so much?”
“Yeah, I do.Now let’s go home…I miss that place.”
Abigail quietly followed them — it was the right choice to send Erin back to Mick, since that would at least stop Erin from doing anything stupid.
She actually appeared envious as she looked on, that Mick could give all his love for an adopted daughter.Her own father rarely made her feel love, and she mostly remembered his apathy and misunderstandings towards herself.
Shelving those thoughts, Abigail followed them—she bought a ticket for a return flight when she came, so she could not stay for long and only had time for lunch.
While Erin left the table, Abigail said, “James made it clear that he won’t give up on Erin.”
Mick’s cool visage did not change much.
“Please convey my thanks.
And about those people…”
“James and Diarmuid will deal with them, don’t worry,”
Abigail knows what he wanted to ask about.
“But she might need your constant company.” Mick nodded.
“Okay…I will take good care of Erin.Also, aren’t you going to stay the night?”
“I still have work to do,” Abigail replied, shaking her head.
“Okay, then I won’t keep you. I’ll bring Erin to Zidonia to visit once she’s better.”
“Yeah,” Abigail said, and took the return flight after a short break Tommy was a little disappointed since Abigail never returned that night, and only had a few spoonfuls of food before stopping entirely.
Sheryl did not know that Abigail had gone abroad, but when she was about to call, Diarmuid stopped her.
“She has something to do. She won’t be coming home tonight.”
Sheryl grumbled, “I told her to come home earlier tonight. Honestly, why is she always so busy?”
She pretended to be upset for Diarmuid’s benefit, but Diarmuid did not expose her.
Pursing his lips coolly, he asked, “What are you trying to say?”
It was an opportunity for Sheryl to speak her mind, so she brought a chair and sat down while her fingers clenched on a napkin.
“I’m Abigail’s mother but I owe her so much. You know that her father wasn’t a good husband and cheated on his wife, even having a child with a mistress. That’s why she never had a father’s love as a child, and the man refused to help me when I’m dying. That’s why Abigail married you—to save me.”
Holding Diarmuid’s gaze, she continued.
“Being denied love left Abigail insecure, and she is more or less traumatized after seeing my unhappy marriage. That’s why she doesn’t want to give up on her job—it’s better to be safe than sorry, or she’d end up like me. Telling you this might be selfish of me, but I must make it very clear that I hope you can allow her to work.”
Diarmuid was quiet for along time.Her parents died early and he went unloved too.
However, he did not go through the disappointment of being unloved while his loved ones were around.
“I know that this is selfish of me…” Sheryl continued.
“I understand.”
Diarmuid was not upset because he had since come around.He and Abigail were supposed to be equals.
If he forced her to make sacrifices for his own benefit, that makes them unequal.
She was already devastated after what happened to Erin, and yet he fought with her instead of offering her comfort.
Sheryl was left puzzled for a moment.
“Are you agreeing to her getting a job?”
“Trying to stop her was my bad,” Diarmuid replied.
Sheryl had more to say, since she really wanted to help her daughter get her right to keep her job.She was therefore surprised that Diarmuid was being so agreeable, and she was unsure what to say.
Diarmuid rose to his feet and started to leave just then.
“I still have work to do.”
“Yeah, yeah, you should go.”
Sheryl nodded, before adding, “Actually, I…”
Diarmuid turned around.
“We’re family.It’s nothing.”
While Sheryl was left at a loss for words, Diarmuid paused and told her, “I’m happy that Abigail has you, and that her blessing is mine too.”
He obviously could tell that Sheryl genuinely wanted the best for Abigail, and that she was a good mother.
On the other hand, Shery] was actually left speechless, unable to wrap her head around what just happened.
Still, she could tell from Diarmuid’s expression that he was not joking around, and could not help smiling.
It was around 4 PM when Abigail returned to Zidonia.
She headed straight to Hotmesh Research instead of going home after disembarking, since it had been two days since she left.
She just assumed the role of director, only to be absent for two days —she was worried that the good impression she just managed to gain was lost again.
However, Murphy’s law seemed to apply, and she was near the front door when she saw Yolanda King speaking to her colleague.
“Look, I was just being vocal about my support at that meeting because she might harass me if I offend her.”
The other woman raised a brow.
“So it’s just empty promises?”
In reality, Abigail did manage to persuade Yolanda, but she also had her own motive in mustering her courage to stand up and showing support for Abigail.She was worried that Abigail would try to make life hard for her.
“I’m always open and candid in what I do.
Cloak and dagger isn’t my thing, so don’t worry—I won’t take your words to heart.”
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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