“Fine, I’m the greedy one, alright?” Abigail smiled.
“You are greedy. You’d want a son if you had daughters instead… but that’s human greed for you. It’s endless, and humans only ever ask for more,” Lulu said, suddenly staring at the ceiling. “Abigail… I just want to live the rest of my life peacefully with Martin.”
“And you will,” Abigail said. “Martin’s surgery was a success.”
Lulu pursed her lips in silence, while Abigail suddenly apologized—Johnny had told Abigail everything and that Ricky would have been the one getting shot if not for Martin.
In the end, Ricky was the one who caused them so much trouble.
Sighing, Abigail said, “I didn’t think that he would mess up so badly.”
“He’s just a kid,” Lulu told Abigail reassuringly—Ricky was simply led astray.
“But it’s still a grave mistake,” Abigail pointed out. “His life would have been over.”
Lulu became silent.
Even if Ricky had contributed a lot to Bob’s arrest, he was not avoiding prison for his crimes—the only difference was that it was a lighter sentence thanks to his help in arresting Bob.
Moreover, he could get parole for good behavior while in prison, and it was already the most ideal outcome.
Abigail agreed too, since there were no other options in this matter.
Ricky had to take responsibility for his own actions, and he should learn and mature after this.
“Let me get you something to eat,” Abigail said then, getting to her feet.
Lulu was just feeling a little hungry as well, and she could drink and eat easily digestible food six hours after her C-section.
Still, Abigail was limping since she was afraid of putting too much pressure on her sprained leg.
Lulu frowned. “What happened to your leg?”
Abigail turned to Lulu and joked, “I was so worried about you that I sprained my leg when I rushed here.”
While Lulu was left speechless, Abigail asked, “Feeling guilty? If you are, you can have your daughter be betrothed to Tommy.”
Lulu was speechless at that—that was even more ridiculous!
Lulu protested, “She’s just a baby—”
Abigail cut her short. “My son is too.”
Lulu laughed. “Did Diarmuid agree to this?”
Abigail felt as if her heart clenched from the mention of Diarmuid, leaving her with a dull ache in the chest.
She still had not received word from James, and that meant they had not found Diarmuid.
She was absolutely worried since they did not know if Diarmuid survived at all.
“He just has to listen to me,” Abigail said and stepped out of the ward, closing the door behind her.
She did not want Lulu to see the worry on her face.
“Ms. Bernstein.” Johnny greeted Abigail when he arrived with some lunch boxes and saw her outside Lulu’s ward.
Abigail smiled in return as he continued, “I was just bringing Lulu some chicken soup. My mom cooked it —she said it’s good for women just after they give birth.”
“Thank you,” Abigail replied. “I was just going to buy her some food.”
“I can bring it for her next time,” Johnny offered. “Hospital food is really plain.”
Abigail nodded. “Thanks for the trouble.”
“It’s nothing.” Johnny smiled and opened the door to the ward.
As he strode inside with the lunch boxes, Abigail limped and followed him when her phone started to ring.
She whipped out her phone and saw that it was James.
Was there news on Diarmuid?!
She quickly answered it.
Abigail was so anxious her voice was shaking. “Hello?”
Meeting Lulu’s eyes just then, she quickly stepped out of her ward and leaned against the wall outside, calming herself for a moment and asking softly, “Is there news on Diarmuid?”
James was quiet for a while before answering, “It’s bad news.”
Abigail’s heart sank, and it felt as if every bit of strength she had was drained from her body.
Afraid of bad news, she almost did not want to listen…
But that was when James said, “Someone leaked the news that Mr. Althoff is missing.”
Abigail had no idea what that would lead to, and she asked, “Is that something concerning?”
James was quiet again before saying, “It would be great if you can speak on his behalf. You’re legally Mr. Althoff’s wife and would therefore inherit everything, so—”
“Diarmuid’s not dead! I’m not inheriting anything!” Abigail shouted, but she soon regretted it—she should not have responded to James like that, but she was really in a bad mood!
She could not accept people talking about Diarmuid like that, and she would get easily agitated.
Nonetheless, she apologized. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” James said, knowing the pressure was on her—like everyone else did.
Stan and Zachary were still unable to find Diarmuid, meaning his fate was still unknown.
Naturally, they were all worried too.
Trying to stay calm as possible, she asked, “What do I have to do?”
“I sent Stan back to Zidonia,” James replied. “He was on the plane with Mr. Althoff, so you’d be a lot more persuasive if he’s by your side when you speak to the employees.”
Abigail rubbed herself firmly between the brows. “What if they asked about Diarmuid? What should I say?”
“Just tell them that he’s injured and hospitalized,” James replied.
They must keep everyone in line for now. The rest could wait.
“Yeah,” Abigail murmured softly, sitting on the bench just then while appearing withered.
Her mental state was at its lowest point, too!
“Once you’re done over there, you and Stan can come back to Franconia together,” James said. “Zachary is still searching for Mr. Althoff, so you don’t have to worry too much. I mean, even Stan managed to come out unscathed.”
“Yeah,” Abigail replied and hung up.
Still, she remained on the bench, feeling very helpless.
She had no idea how she would face this situation alone without James, Stan, and Zachary’s help.
“Ms. Bernstein?” Johnny stepped out of Lulu’s ward just then, a lunch box in his hand.
Abigail quickly mustered her spirit as she looked up. “Has Lulu finished eating?”
“Yeah,” Johnny replied. “She’s much more spirited after learning that the captain is fine. You have no idea how stubborn she was—she kept refusing the C-section even though she couldn’t give birth naturally, and she kept saying that she would die with Martin! It’s like she doesn’t even care about the baby… We were really scared out of our minds.”
Abigail was actually left in disbelief. “But wasn’t Martin barely hanging on at the time? She should have more reason to deliver her child instead, right?”
“I mean, that’s what anyone would think, right?” Johnny sighed. “I mean, the child is Martin’s, and if anything were to happen to him, he would still have a child for posterity at least. I honestly don’t know what Lulu was thinking just then… must be her head going haywire from fear.”
That certainly would explain her stubbornness.
However, Abigail did not think so, considering Lulu’s previous profession as a forensic doctor.
That line of work was not for the faint of heart, just as they must constantly stay level-headed.
Would Lulu really have given in to hysterics?
Still, Abigail did not tell Johnny about her suspicions, and she simply smiled.
After Johnny left, Abigail returned inside Lulu’s ward, sat by her bed, and stared at her with a scalding gaze.
“What’s that look for?” Lulu asked. “Do I have something on my face?”
Abigail was giving her the creeps!
Abigail asked bluntly, “You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
Lulu was actually left stunned for a moment. “W-What am I hiding from you?”
Abigail’s question was to the point, and she was staring fixedly at Lulu’s face. “I heard that you were refusing to deliver the baby while Martin was in surgery. Why?”
As Lulu lowered her gaze, Abigail pressed on. “Is your child really Martin’s?”
It was not as if she was suspicious, but Lulu’s decision at the time begged a lot of questions.
Lulu declared that she would give up and die if Martin did… and take his son with her to the grave?!
It was simply illogical.
“Actually, forget it,” Abigail said, since she did not want to push Lulu too far. “I won’t ask if you don’t want to tell me.”
“The baby would be gone if not for Martin,” Lulu suddenly said, looking up to meet Abigail’s gaze. “There’s more, and I hope you can keep this a secret for me.”
Abigail nodded. “Yeah.”
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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