Not used to such kindness, Abigail was left staring at him. “It‘s not poison, is it?”
It was not as if she was being suspicious–she just could not get a read on his attitude. Diarmuid was left holding her gaze for seconds. Was he such a terrible villain to her? As such, he pretended to threaten her. “Not yet. I have to keep you alive to torment you.” Abigail actually felt relieved by that this was the Diarmuid Althoff she knew. With that, she allowed him to feed her, and he patiently did so until she was finished.
He then started to scoop a bowl of chicken soup that Mrs. Watson brought, but she waved him off. “I‘m full.”
She was worried that she would lactate even more if she ate too much, and the ensuing swelling would just hurt her further. Diarmuid then poured her a glass of water, and she took a few sips before lying down. When he helped her, he inadvertently brushed against her breast, causing her to wince. “What‘s wrong?” he asked
Abigail quickly pulled her blanket up to her shoulders and flatly replied, “Nothing.”
Diarmuid, however, sensed that her breasts were exceedingly stiff when she leaned against him, and her clothes were wet.
He was not sure, but had a hunch that she was lactating because she was recently in labor.
“Should I get the doctor?” he asked.
“No,” Abigail replied–she was a doctor herself, and knew she would be better after just a few days.
It was just an inevitable process. She hesitated for a while, but eventually asked, “May I borrow your phone?”
Diarmuid quickly took his phone out without giving any excuses. “There’s no password.”
Abigail made sure that she was typing the number out of his sight before dialing a certain number, and her call was soon answered.
“It’s me,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry.” Lulu Adams replied, “Your mom is me. I‘ll take good care of them.”
Before Diarmuid got to her, Abigail sent Sheryl to Lulu, knowing that her former upperclassman will help her mother so that she did not have to wander around Sunny City, not knowing where to go.
“Thank you, Lulu”
Before Abigail could finish, Zachary Slate just happened to enter the ward, and he heard her.
“Were you talking to Lulu Adams?” he quickly asked.
Abigail did not expect him to suddenly arrive. Her fingers clenching on the phone, she hastily explained, “You‘re just hearing things.” Then, she told Lulu, “I‘m hanging up.”
Once she was done, she erased the number before returning the phone to Diarmuid. However, Zachary knew very well that she said ‘Lulu‘ Staring at her, he asked, “Abigail, have I ever been unfair to you?”
“No,” Abigail replied earnestly.
“In that case, can you be honest and tell me where Lulu is?” he pressed. Abigail, however, had promised Lulu not to. What if she brought trouble to Lulu‘s doorstep if she told Zachary? “Zachary… I really don‘t know.” Abigail lowered her gaze, too guilty to meet his eyes just then. That was the first time Zachary was angry with her. He knew for a fact that she was clearly lying–she could not even look him in the eye!
“Abigail-” Nonetheless, when he tried to ask again, Diarmuid cut him short. “She needs rest.”
Zachary was not about to give up, but he did not keep pressing Abigail because Diarmuid stopped him.
In fact, the look on Diarmuid‘s face made it clear that he was not okay with that, as he believed Zachary‘s presence affected Abigail’s rest and recovery. “Let‘s step out for a moment,” he said.
Zachary followed unenthusiastically. Diarmuid frowned, but held out his phone. “Just because you look pitiful.” “Oh, look who‘s talking!” Zachary did not hesitate to retort. “Don‘t combat the whole world for Abigail when she runs away, then. There are women everywhere and most of them are in love with you, but you‘re acting like you can‘t live without her,”
His rant quickly stopped before he could finish–he sensed a cold aura.
Diarmuid was about to tell Zachary that the logs on his phone were recoverable even after deletion, but Zachary did not seem to care and exposed his Achilles‘ heel!
He promptly pocketed his phone and coolly said, “You‘re no gynecologist, so there‘s no reason for you to come. Now, get the hell out of here.”
With that, he turned and headed back to the ward. Knowing that he had made Diarmuid upset, Zachary quickly explained, “Sorry, that was my bad–1 let my temper get to me, so calm down, alright?” When he saw that Diarmuid was ignoring him and opening the door, however, he panicked and caught the hem of Diarmuid’s jacket. Diarmuid’s expression darkened right then and he growled, “Let go!” Zachary did so fearfully even as he flashed an apologetic smile. “Come on, please don‘t be so petty with little old me… I just wanted to ask, where did you find Abigail?”
He knew that there were not many people that Abigail could go to for help, and she may have been hiding where Lulu was hiding. After all, those two used to be close. Zachary’s reaction was certainly quick.
Closing the door behind him, Diarmuid strode off toward the other end of the walkway, with Zachary in tow. There, Diarmuid stood before a window, keeping a hand in his pocket as he looked out the window. His figure was perfect – broad shoulders, a straight back, and a slim waist, making even the shadow he projected on the floor a sight to behold. Zachary was convinced that if Abigail could make things work between them, they were a match made in heaven.
After thinking about Diarmuid’s question, he asked, “What do you want to know about her?” “Everything.”
Zachary carefully chose his words as he began. “She’s an honors student who was outstanding in university, and a professional doctor once she graduated. The head of Charity Hospital admires her, and she is also chaste…”
He allowed his voice to trail off halfway before making up his mind to give Diarmuid the truth, so that he would not be so uncompromising with Diarmuid now. “Well, she used to be a good girl, and she never had a boyfriend even though many boys liked her on campus. I heard that she received many love letters, but she rejected all advances. Still, I guess things are different now–she‘s been with another man and got pregnant. Surely you can‘t accept someone like her? Just let her go, then.” Diarmuid was still keeping his back to Zachary. No one could see anything apart from his towering figure, let alone his reaction.
“She was pregnant with twins?” he asked evenly after a while. Zachary nodded. “Yes. She lost one during her miscarriage, but kept the other with everything she could. Judging from the timeframe, she should be going into labor around this week… So, did the child make it?” Diarmuid actually flinched – his back arching as he kept himself standing by holding one hand against the window sill.
“What‘s wrong? Are you sick?” Zachary asked, walking up to check on him. Diarmuid waved him off, gesturing for him to not come closer. He was simply heartbroken-he was the one who had killed his own children.
And the woman he considered filthy? The woman whom he humiliated? It was the woman who held the key to his heart. He never knew regret before in life, but with Abigail, he now did.
Diarmuid regretted his failure to recognize the right woman, and losing his own children as a result of that.
The punishment was so severe that someone as gritty as him had trouble shouldering it!
“She lost the other child too. Don‘t mention children in front of her so that she won’t feel hurt. “His voice was quiet but carried a hint of raspiness. Zachary sighed–he was not actually surprised. “It‘s a miracle to keep a twin alive when the other dies. Even if she‘s worked so hard to protect it, the risk of infection was just too much, and there was no assurance that the abortion surgery did not hurt her womb. Still, it‘s no loss – I‘ve been telling her from the start not to keep it because she doesn‘t even know the father. I can‘t understand what she‘s thinking, insisting on delivering the baby anyway and raising her as a single mother.”
Diarmuid‘s heart could split right then.
Abigail did all she could to protect their child even if it risked his ire–her courage and resolve was there for all to see. “Alright, I‘ve answered however I can. Now, can you tell me where you found Abigail?” Zachary asked-he was not about to forget his purpose. Diarmuid did not answer, but after a while, he composed himself and passed his phone to Zachary. “Restore the logs. You‘ll find the number she called.”
Zachary’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Once he got the phone, he worked quickly and soon restored the logs, finding the number he wanted. Still, he hesitated for a moment before calling it, suddenly realizing his breathing was unstable.
He worked hard to breathe and then dialed anyway.
On the other end, Lulu appeared confused when she heard Zachary’s voice over the phone when Abigail called her.
She was spacing out, his voice lingering in his mind although Abigail had already hung up.
It had been years, but she still recognized his voice-it was just so familiar.
“Wah!!!” The baby on the bed suddenly started crying, and she quickly scooped him up in her arms as she regained her senses.
At the same time, Sheryl arrived with a milk bottle. “Must be hungry.”
“I‘ll feed him,” Lulu replied as she took the bottle, letting a drop of milk trickle over the back of her hand to test its temperature before feeding the baby.
“Has he been named yet?” she asked.
“He only has Tommy as a nickname for now,” Sheryl replied.
Abigail had marked the child in remembrance of the other even if it never saw the world, it had certainly existed.
Still, Lulu chuckled. “Abigail’s a good doctor, but she’s really bad with names. Well, it’s just a nickname–be more serious with his proper name.”
She was clearly dissing the baby‘s name for being terrible, and Sheryl smiled. She watched tenderly as Lulu cradled the child in her arms, he was still very young, and his face was a little wrinkly. But in her eyes, he was her beautiful grandson anyway. “He resembles Abigail, doesn‘t he?”
“He‘s still so young. How could you tell?” Lulu asked, studying the baby‘s face just then. “Well, no matter who he resembles, he‘ll share her last name,” Sheryl replied. Lulu did not try to argue against that. “It‘s only right after Abigail went through so much to bring him to this world.”
Bzzt…
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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