“Oh, okay.” Erin smiled. “Anyway, Tommy’s tutor is here to give him Franconian lessons at the moment, so I thought I shouldn’t impose.”
Abigail walked up to Erin and turned to glance at Diarmuid while she thought about what she should say. “Erin, we cant stay here.”
“Why?” Erin asked.
“B-Because…”
Abigail could not come up with a reason just then.
Surely they could not tell Erin that they just received what they suspected to be James’s leg and that it was dangerous here so they had to leave?
“I just reached out to a hospital to treat my eyes. It’d be more convenient over there,” Diarmuid said.
Erin pursed her lips. “But this place is just fine… And the treatment is not permanent, right?”
Maybe they would move back after Diarmuid’s eyes were better?
It was an acceptable excuse, but what about the children? And moving around so much would be taxing, right?
“I wanted to move,” Abigail said. “I just thought staying closer would make it easier to take care of him.”
Erin smiled. “You’re too lovey-dovey, honestly. I mean, can’t you stand being apart from each other for just a while? Well, it’s fine.
I guess I can help out.”
With that, she closed the door, while Abigail gulped.
Although they had managed to come up with an excuse, Abigail’s heart was still pounding heavily from nervousness!
And this excuse would not work in the long run either.
“Is there still no news?” Abigail asked.
Diarmuid said nothing, but his expression was grave!
He had asked his contacts to search for James, but there was no word yet!
Abigail had a hunch that was the case and did not ask any further.
Sheryl did not ask why they were moving again—she had simply been following Abigail and Diarmuid’s arrangements for a while now anyway.
She understood that moving house was not decided lightly, and that the reason must be serious.
She liked it in Franconia, too, having adapted well aside from the language barrier. She especially loved that the children could play anywhere within the castle grounds!
Meanwhile, Zachary told them that they just needed to bring their clothes, and he had his people prepare other daily necessities.
They moved quickly, too, and only the people Abigail brought with her from Zidonia followed.
Still, Zachary’s house was not that huge, but it could accommodate everyone-it was temporary anyway, and they would return once the crisis is over.
Be that as it may, Zachary deliberately mentioned a little loudly, “This place is a little small. I don’t think it’d fit everyone.”
He said that for Erin’s benefit, since he wanted her to leave soon!
Erin did not respond, however, since she had already applied for leave, and she had to stay to help now that Diarmuid was blind.
It was Mrs. Watson who asked, “Should I stay elsewhere?”
“I’m just kidding,” Zachary quickly said. “You can stay.”
As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Erin, who was confused about his intentions.
“What are you staring at me for?” she asked.
Zachary cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m not.”
“You were.” Erin pouted. “And you shouldn’t do that. I’m spoken for.”
Wow.
He was misunderstood.
Zachary could not say anything to that.
Nonetheless, Erin added, “I’m just kidding. Don’t be so serious.”
That only left Zachary speechless again.
Bzzt…
His phone was vibrating just then, and he walked to a corner before taking it out.
Seeing that it was Stan, he answered immediately.
Stan’s voice could soon be heard, and he sounded light-hearted. “We have the DNA test results. The leg doesn’t match James’s
DNA at all, so it definitely isn’t his.”
Zachary smiled in delight. Really?!”
“Really. But…”
“But what?” Zachary became worried again right then. “Don’t leave your sentence hanging. Just spit it out already!”
He could suffer a heart attack right then!
Stan then said, “We know the person that the leg belongs to.”
Zachary was speechless. He wondered if Stan could stop scaring him-his heart was not strong enough for such a thrill!
Stan was literally killing him here!
“W-Well, whose is it?!” Zachary exclaimed.
”lan Althoff’s,” Stan replied, his voice flat just then.
Zachary almost breathed an expletive right then. “Him?! How?!’
It was absolutely unexpected. He would never have thought it possible!
“I don’t know the details either.” Stan sighed.
“Oh, never mind. It’s fine as long as it’s not James. F*ck me, I almost had a heart attack!” Zachary exclaimed cheerfully. “Alright,
I’m hanging up now. I have to tell Diarmuid about this.”
“Yeah,” Stan replied and hung up.
Zachary then slid his phone into his pocket but jumped in surprise when he turned to find Erin standing behind him!
“W-What are you doing here?!” he exclaimed.
Erin simply stared at him in silence while Zachary felt guilty from the stare. Did she overhear something?
He searched his memory but did not find anything suspicious about what he and Stan spoke of.
With that, he confidently returned Erin’s gaze and asked, “What are you staring at me for?”
“Who were you speaking to?” Erin asked with a serious look.
She appeared so stern just then that Zachary avoided her gaze again and slowly answered, “Stan.”
“Oh,” Erin said, and pressed, “And you were talking to him about James?”
Zachary was speechless. Was he?
Wait, he did do so… but only once.
“And what did you mean, ‘it’s fine as long as it’s not James?*” Erin asked then.
“You misheard,” Zachary tried to explain. “I wasn’t talking about him—”
“You were,” Erin said confidently.
Seeing that he was not going to fool her, Zachary said, “Well, I might have mentioned him once to Stan. What’s wrong with that?
Aren’t you getting paranoid here?”
Erin certainly was.
Even after Abigail explained to her that they could not reach James, the whole thing just felt fisher to her.
She just could not explain what it was.
As such, she leveled a coercing glare at Zachary and said, “No, you didn’t mention James for no reason. There was clearly something up with what you said.”
Zachary felt even more exposed right then and made to leave. “Don’t ask me!”
Erin caught his hand. “Don’t you run away from me!”
Zachary wheeled on her and cried, “W-What are you doing, holding on to me like that?! James would be jealous if he sees this!
It’s sexual harassment, y’know?”
Erin knew he was just making a scene so that she would let go. “Tell me what you said about James and I’ll let you go.”
“What? What are you talking about? I have no idea!” Zachary kept trying to play dumb and give her the slip.
However, Erin was much sharper and less naive these days after what happened before.
As such, she did not buy Zachary’s excuse at all.
And she was determined! “You know what I’m asking about. You can stop pretending and understand that I won’t let you go as long as you don’t tell me.”
That was when Zachary suddenly looked behind Erin and said, “Abigail?”
As Erin turned, he seized the moment to pry his hand off her, and he made a run for it.
He might have to tell the truth if she kept bugging him!
Even so, Erin was relentless and promptly gave chase.
Zachary had no choice but to ask Abigail for help!
“Abigail, Abigail…” He panted.
Abigail was helping Sheryl with arranging their belongings, but she could only use one hand since the bullet wound on her shoulder still hurt.
Hearing Zachary’s call, Abigail looked up to find him dashing toward her in panic.
She frowned. “What?”
Zachary quickly hid behind her, saying, “It’s Erin. She was interrogating me about James. I have no idea, but she keeps pestering me anyway.”
Erin arrived after Zachary did and snapped, “You were talking about him on the phone!”
Zachary’s reluctance to tell Erin left her really uneasy, and she turned to Abigail. “Abigail?”
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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