The two women and their staff stayed late at work. It was only after 8.00PM when everyone else had left that Abigail and Luna finally stopped working and slumped onto the couch.
“Is Sean still staying at your place?” Luna broke the brief silence.
“I don’t know if he went back.” The mention of his name filled Abigail’s heart with mixed emotions.
He was a company president. It didn’t seem right to ask him to stay at that tiny place of hers. Furthermore…
The photos that Joan had shared online flashed through Abigail’s mind. She closed her eyes and forced herself not to think of it. When she picked her phone up, she noticed a new text.
Amid her exhaustion, she checked the text. It was from Kevin who was informing her that she needed to get ready to start filming for the show.
“Kevin says the filming will start soon. I’m not particularly worried about anything, except that there won’t be anyone to stay with Grandma once I join the show.”
Abigail started worrying. She didn’t want to trouble Sean and have him continue pretending that they were a loving couple anymore.
“I got the text too. What do you plan on doing?” Luna waved her phone and frowned as she read the text.
“Luna, do you know any reliable housekeepers? I want to hire someone who can stay with Grandma. She’s getting old now and her health is getting frail. I don’t want to leave her alone at home.”
After thinking about it, Abigail figured it was best for her to get Luna’s help.
“I knew that would be the case,” Luna replied at once. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell the housekeeper at my house to come over today. You can take her back with you. She used to work for my family too and she’s been taking care of me for years, so you can definitely trust her.”
Abigail didn’t expect Luna to be this considerate. She couldn’t resist giving her friend a hug. “Don’t get married. We can just spend the rest of our lives together.”
Luna declined the arrangement. “I object. You’ll soar to new heights without a man dragging you down, but I will die without one.”
Abigail was speechless.
Once the housekeeper came over, Abigail didn’t want to let the woman wait around too long, so she brought her home first. She didn’t get in touch with Sean.
He wouldn’t want me to try and get in touch with him anyway, Abigail thought. Previously, his relationship with Joan was still a secret, but it’s somewhat out in the open now.
It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to come to her place anymore.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Once Sean arrived in Lakevale, he passed his phone to Cameron before entering the meeting room. “Give Abigail a call later. Tell her I won’t be heading home tonight.”
Graham International’s director of sales was supposed to meet with one of the company’s business partners, but he had been in a car accident. As a result, Sean and Cameron had to rush over to Lakevale at a moment’s notice.
While Sean was busy meeting with the other company’s representatives, Cameron was busy with all kinds of logistics matters too. It was already past 1.00AM when he recalled what Sean had told him to do.
Sean’s phone ran out of battery, and Sean was still in a business meeting.
Mrs. Graham is probably asleep by now.
Cameron was too afraid to disturb Abigail. He began charging Sean’s phone as he decided to let Abigail know tomorrow instead…
After a shower, Abigail came out of the bathroom and dried her hair with a towel. She was about to blow dry her hair when Analise called out from the living room, “Abigail, it’s getting so late. Why isn’t Sean back yet? Did he drink too much at a business meeting and is too drunk to get home?”
Abigail was startled by her grandma’s voice. She quickly set the hairdryer down and stuck her head out to glance at the clock on the wall in the living room. It was 10.40PM.
She didn’t think her grandma would still be waiting for Sean.
“Why aren’t you asleep, Grandma? Didn’t I tell you? He’s quite busy these days. He must’ve decided to sleep elsewhere tonight.”
Abigail rubbed her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache. Usually, Analise went to bed quite early, so much so that Abigail assumed her grandma would’ve gone to sleep by the time she came out of her longer-than-usual shower.
“Hurry up and give Sean a call to ask him where he is. See if he needs someone to pick him up.”
Analise trembled as she took Abigail’s phone from the table and held it out. Her voice was stern, leaving no room for discussion.
Abigail sighed. She couldn’t argue with her grandma, so she dried her hands and took the phone.
Under Analise’s solemn gaze, Abigail shiftily hid her screen as she scrolled to the number listed under the name B*stard.
Her finger hovered mid-air as she hesitated for a while before she finally made the call.
“Hello. The number you’ve dialed cannot be reached at the moment…”
When the crisp voice of the automated message rang out, Abigail exhaled in relief. She purposely put her phone on speakers and waved it in front of Analise.
“His phone is switched off. It’s not like I’m trying to avoid calling him on purpose.”
“The point is that you didn’t even call him sooner,” Analise huffed as she glared at Abigail. “You’re married now. Don’t just focus on your career. You should be paying more attention to your husband. A man needs to feel the gentle love and care of his wife. Why wouldn’t he come home if you expressed more care and concern for him?”
“You’d never be able to find another man like Sean who’s so filial and capable. A married woman needs to learn to work on her marriage too, understand?”
The look of indifference in Abigail’s eyes made Analise fret. Her voice became more and more agitated.
For a woman from Analise’s generation, it was bad news when a married man didn’t come home at night.
“I got it, Grandma. Sean’s company has been extremely busy lately. It’s normal for him to get off work late. Just relax and go to sleep.” Abigail was worried about her grandma’s high blood pressure. She quickly patted Analise’s hand and brought her back to her room.
After sending Analise back to her room, Abigail exhaled in relief and set her phone down. She picked up the hairdryer again.
…
In the wee hours of the morning, the alarm rang. A group of people with weary, disgruntled faces shuffled out of the meeting. The last man to walk out was still dressed in an unruffled suit. Even though he just finished a four-and-a-half-hour meeting, there was no trace of exhaustion on his handsome face.
“Your phone is fully charged now, Mr. Graham. I just turned it on for you.”
Sean’s assistant had been waiting by the door for him, and now that he came out, his assistant swiftly handed his phone over to him.
Sean glanced at the screen before heading back to the hotel.
It was a quiet night. He couldn’t fall asleep.
After tossing and turning for some time, he took his phone and checked Twitter.
When he saw that the program, Top Designer, had topped the trending list, he suddenly recalled that Sabrina had called him today about this program.
Sean clicked on the official announcement and glanced at the list of special guests.
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.