“Okay.”
…
When it was nearly time to get off work, Abigail set aside her design drafts and, as if under a spell, opened up her chat with Sean. Yesterday’s conversation filled her screen. There was no new message.
Abigail tapped one out. “Are you coming home tonight?”
She hesitated for quite some time, but in the end, she hit send.
Though she waited for a while, she didn’t get a reply.
Abigail only realized that it was dark out when Luna came over and patted her on the shoulder. “Isn’t that fellow coming to pick you up tonight?”
It was time to get off work and almost everyone at the studio was gone. Luna only noticed that Abigail was still at work when she came upstairs.
“It’s just as well that he’s not, right? Saves you the trouble of calling me a fool in love.” Abigail exhaled and tidied up her desk as she got ready to head off.
“The production team will be officially announcing our partnership on Twitter tonight. Remember to retweet the announcement later.” Noting the anxiousness in Abigail’s eyes, Luna simply gave her a reminder without asking any other questions.
“I got it.” Abigail didn’t spare the time to say much else. She grabbed her purse with one hand while making a call to Analise with the other.
Even as she started her engine, Analise still wasn’t picking up her calls.
Abigail got a bad feeling. All sorts of scenarios flooded her mind.
Her grandma didn’t know how to use the gas stove. No one would realize anything if she slipped and fell unconscious.
She ended up taking fifteen minutes to complete the half-hour journey back.
As soon as she got back, she rushed into the empty living room without even taking her shoes off and heard sounds coming from the kitchen.
“Grandma! Are you alright?”
Abigail rushed into the kitchen, only to find that Sean was sitting in the kitchen picking through the vegetables while Analise cooked.
“What’s the matter with you? Why are you as clumsy as you were as a child? You should learn a thing or two from Sean. Even though he’s the company president, he’s still sitting here in my kitchen helping an old lady like me cook. You should be nicer to him.”
Upon hearing the commotion, Analise slowly turned around. The kindly smile on her face allowed Abigail’s heart to settle back in place.
Abigail eyed the vegetables in Sean’s hands with a look of surprise. His hands were dirtied by the soil from the vegetables. For a moment, Abigail was dazed.
Was this still the same proud and haughty Sean that she usually saw…
Meanwhile, Sean ignored her and calmly sorted out the vegetables.
“I kept calling you but you didn’t pick up, so I thought…” Abigail didn’t finish her sentence.
She thought something had happened to her grandma.
“Oh. The hood’s too loud and my phone’s in the bedroom so I couldn’t hear it ringing.”
Analise got back to her cooking. “Hurry up. Go change your shoes and help Sean with the vegetables.”
Abigail nodded and quietly went back to the hallway.
During dinner, Sean took excellent care of Analise as usual. However, he paid a lot less attention to Abigail.
Even when Abigail tried to strike up a conversation with him, he gave short, curt answers.
Analise sensed that something was going on between the two of them, but she didn’t make any comments.
Once dinner was over, Analise went back to her room to rest, leaving the two of them to clear the table.
“Thank you for taking care of my grandma the last two days.”
Abigail hesitated as she watched Sean wiping the table, but she took the initiative to break the awkward tension.
“No need to thank me.” Sean’s gaze was hidden by his luscious lashes. His thin lips were pressed tightly together as he efficiently finished his task.
“If you’re not used to staying here, I’ll tell Grandma that you left on a business trip. That way, you won’t have to suffer so much.” Abigail took the rag from him and set it aside.
Sean didn’t respond. He eyed her for a moment before smiling, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Abigail felt a little nervous.
Afraid that their voices would disturb Analise, Sean walked off to the bedroom before Abigail could say anything else…
The next day.
When Abigail woke up, she found that the person who was sleeping beside her had left already.
“Oh, Abigail. You’re awake.” After hearing the sound of the bedroom door opening, Analise got up from the couch and headed into the kitchen to warm up her granddaughter’s breakfast.
“Where’s Sean?” Abigail combed through her disheveled hair with her fingers. The pair of leather shoes by the door was missing.
“Sean went out to buy breakfast and left right after. Before he left, he said to remind you to have your breakfast when you wake up.”
Analise brought out a hearty sandwich and a glass of warm milk from the kitchen. Then, she looked at Abigail expectantly. “How are things going with you two?”
Well, the sun must’ve risen from the west this morning today. The cold-blooded businessman has learned how to take care of someone else.
Analise had to repeat her question before Abigail snapped out of her thoughts. She bit down on the sandwich and muttered, “Well… same old same old.”
“Look at how well Sean takes care of you. You’ve been married for three years now. When are you two going to have a baby…”
Upon seeing that Analise was about to start urging her to have a baby again, Abigail downed the glass of milk and ran to the door with the sandwich in hand.
“I’m going to be late for work, Grandma. I’ll get going now. Take good care of yourself. I’ll come home at noon to make you lunch.”
Abigail grabbed her purse from the hallway and opened the door.
“Abigail! Why, this girl.” Analise quickly called out to Abigail, but as Abigail closed the door, her voice was cut off.
Abigail took a deep breath before driving to her office.
As soon as she opened the door to the studio, Luna came up to her. “Just in time, Abigail. I was just about to call you and ask you why you weren’t responding to my texts.”
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.