CHAPTER 26: I heard everything

ASHFORD BAY.

The hormone treatments were taking a huge toll on Abigail’s body.

By her fourth morning of receiving the daily injection, she felt miserable. A dull ache settled deep in her lower abdomen. Her head throbbed with persistent migraine, the nausea made the thought of food unbearable. And even though the weather was really warm she wore a thick wool cardigan over her shivering shoulders.

She walked slowly into the dining area of the Grey's penthouse.

He was already sitting at the long glass table, dressed casually in a dark blue turtleneck and trousers, and drinking a cup of black coffee while scrolling through his tablet.

Abigail paused by the doorway, looking confused. She checked the clock on the wall. It was 9:50 AM. Grey was a man who practically worshipped his schedule. He never left for the office a single minute past seven o'clock.

"You are still here?," Abigail murmured softly, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Grey didn't look up from his screen. "I cleared my morning schedule. I am working from home today."

"Why?" she asked with an arched brow, her voice was raspy.

Grey finally looked up at her. Her skin was pale, there were dark circles under her eyes, and she subconsciously shivered slightly. He hated seeing her look so fragile. It dug under his skin in a way he refused to understand.

"You look like you are going to collapse at any moment," Grey replied flatly. "If you pass out and hit your head on the marble floors, it will disrupt my entire week. So eat your toast."

It was a cold, unsympathetic excuse. But Abigail knew that Grey had skipped work to stay home and watch over her. A tiny, dangerous flutter of warmth bloomed in her chest.

She reached for a slice of dry toast. But before she could take a bite, her phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.

The caller ID flashed brightly: Richard Cavell.

It was her Dad.

Abigail’s stomach instantly dropped. She fumbled to grab her phone, desperate to silence the call before Grey got annoyed.

But her trembling fingers slipped against the screen, accidentally hitting the green accept button and the speakerphone icon at the exact same time.

"Abigail!" Her stepmother Caroline's sharp voice immediately echoed across the quiet dining room.

Abigail gasped, frantically tapping the screen to turn the speaker off. But the screen froze. She glanced at Grey in panic. He was sitting completely still, his dark eyes locked onto the phone. She didn't want to hang up immediately, terrified it would look like she was hiding a secret conversation about him.

"Are you pregnant yet?" Caroline demanded cruelly through the speaker. "I doubt it will even work. You were always so weak. I honestly do not understand why you two are still together. His probation ended."

Abigail’s face burned with intense humiliation. She wanted the floor to open and swallow her whole. Grey was sitting right across from her, listening to every single word.

"Caroline, please," Abigail whispered, trying to cover the microphone.

"Do not 'please' me," Caroline snapped back. "Since you are somehow still living in his penthouse, you need to send us some money. Grey is really rich. You owe us for putting a roof over your head all those years. We expect a large wire transfer by Friday."

"I am not sending you his money," Abigail said firmly, disgusted by her greed.

A heavy sigh crackled through the speaker. Her father, Richard, took the phone.

"Don't speak to your mother that way, Abigail," Richard said, his voice dripping with selfish irritation. "We are in a tight spot again. The horses have not been kind to me this season. If you will not ask your husband for the cash, that is fine. I will just secure a new loan from the Maroni family."

Abigail’s blood ran completely cold. The Maroni family ran the underground gambling rings in Ashford Bay. They were ruthless, violent, and far worse than Grey had ever been.

"Dad, no," Abigail pleaded, terror gripping her throat. "Don't borrow from them."

"I have to," Richard replied carelessly. "And since your marriage to Knight ought to have ended anyway, I will just use you as the collateral again. The Maronis are always looking for pretty girls to work off family debts in their clubs. Once you pack your bags and leave that penthouse, I will send them your new address."

Abigail stopped breathing. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.

If Grey divorced her, she would no longer be his legal wife. She would no longer be his concern. She would be completely exposed, thrown right back to the wolves. Her own father was casually planning to sell her to a violent underground syndicate the exact second she stepped out of Grey's protection.

She suddenly realized her desperate plan to leave and raise a child alone was completely doomed. She really needed Grey.

Before Abigail could utter a single word, a cold hand reached across the table.

Grey snatched the phone right out of her trembling grip.

He lifted the device to his mouth. He looked really angry.

"I heard everything," Grey said.

His voice was really calm, but it carried a chilling coldness with it.

A sharp, terrified gasp echoed through the speaker. Richard instantly recognized the voice of the man who had once threatened to bury him alive.

"M-Mr. Knight," Richard stammered, his arrogant tone vanishing into fear. "I didn't know you were listen--"

"Shut your mouth," Grey commanded quietly. The line went dead silent.

Grey leaned back in his chair, his storm-grey eyes burning directly into Abigail’s terrified face as he spoke to her father.

"Now, listen to me very carefully," Grey warned, every word dropping like a heavy stone. "You will stop calling her. You will stop threatening her. You will never insult her, ever again. You will not visit this city unless invited. And if you ever, even for a single second, think of selling her off to anyone else, I will personally make sure you all regret breathing. Do you understand."

"Yes! I understand, I swear it!" Richard babbled frantically, his voice cracking. "I swear it, Mr. Knight! It was just a joke--"

Grey hit the end button. He tossed the phone onto the table with a sharp clatter.

Abigail was stunned. Tears burned the corners of her eyes. She had always been terrified of her father, yet Grey had completely broken the same man with just a few calm words. He had protected her. In fact he had literally claimed her.

And honestly Abigail couldn't be more grateful, after all the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know.

"Grey...." Abigail called in a whisper, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you."

Grey’s jaw clenched tight. He hated that hopeful look shining in her eyes.

"It's fine," Grey dismissed bluntly, picking up his coffee cup. "Your heart rate was spiking. You shouldn't be stressed out right now. It is bad for the hormone absorption."

He looked back down at his tablet.

But Abigail kept looking at him,

He could blame it on the medical procedure all he wanted, but he had stayed home to look after her. And he had protected her from her toxic family. And that's all that matters.