Chapter 018

Alpha Ethan rushed towards Abigail without thinking, trying to see if she had been burned. But Bianca let out a dramatic yelp that left him undecided. 

“My leg,” she cried. “I can't believe how incompetent she is. She couldn't make the coffee right.”

Ethan moved to her side and grabbed her hand, staring at her sternly. “What are you doing here?” He demanded angrily. “I thought you couldn't move.”

She placed her hand all over his shoulder, marking him as his before Abigail who remained there, quietly nursing her pain and wishing she could vanish.

“I missed you…and I was bored.”

Ethan didn't stop her. He wanted Abigail to feel jealous and hurt. That was exactly how he felt when she betrayed him without a word.

“You shouldn't be here,” he said, his tone less strict. “You could have gotten hurt.”

Abigail bit her lips. There she was, burnt, and yet, she had been totally ignored. And worse, her empty stomach was beginning to affect her eyes. The marble floor doubled and she wobbled 

“I have some…unfinished work,” she forced herself to say.

Ethan heard her but didn't respond. Not waiting for his response either, she turned away and headed for the door. Her head bounced with each step and she prayed she would make it to Mia's desk. Even to her own desk.

Anything but passing out in Ethan's office.

As she reached for the door handle, two blurred objects stared at her. She must have grabbed the wrong one because she fell. She heard the shuffling of feet and Ethan's worried voice calling her name. Even saw his face before she passed out. 

When she woke up, she was in the company's infirmary. Alone.

Ethan was surely back to his ex, Bianca. Not only was there a pit in her stomach. A larger one remained in her heart.

She was getting out of the bed when the company nurse got in.

“Oh no,” she said. “You need some rest…and something to eat.”

Abigail shook her head. She had endured hunger. Wasn't hybrid synonymous to hunger?

“I'm fine,” she insisted. 

The nurse pointed to a table. “Well, you have to eat that before I let you go.”

Abigail stared at the paper bag for a while. Had the infirmary given her that or was it Ethan who had bought it? But the nurse was gone so there was none to answer her question. 

I grabbed the paper bag and when I saw that it was lamb pasta, she knew it was Ethan. Only Ethan and Liam knew how much she loved lamb pasta. 

She was too hungry to reject it. Besides, it was her favourite food and Ethan wasn't in the room with her. She ate hurriedly, trying to quench the hunger bite instead of relishing the taste. When she was done, she stepped out of the room. There were still a lot of things to do and staying in bed, resting, didn't exist. 

At least, not for her.

If her mind wasn't thinking about the numerous workload on her desk, she would think about the very scene that had unraveled before her. Mia had said it was a rumour. But it was indeed true. Ethan had suddenly stopped talking to her and was now back to his ex wife. 

The rage fueled her before the food could. She walked with precision along the hall corridors, reminding herself that she wouldn't let Ethan see her crying for him.

If he wanted to end things without talking, that was fine by her. But as she neared her station, she couldn't help blaming herself. She had insisted for Liam to keep the kissing video online, hadn't she?

Maybe he had seen it. But did it matter? 

It shouldn't have stopped him from talking to her —challenging her about it. 

She stopped beside her desk with a deep sigh, hoping the lovers were not in the office. She could imagine Ethan's hand on Bianca, just the way he had held her in the office. She pictured Bianca on his desk, smiling, almost naked, and Ethan's cock —her property —inside her.

The thought twisted her gut and she settled in her chair. Work was meant to distract her but she couldn't stop wondering if Ethan was truly in the office with Bianca.

Did it really matter if they had spent days together?

She had waited for him to check her. All along, he was with his ex wife. He didn't even care about her. 

She clacked angrily against the keyboard as she tried to finish her correspondence. At least, her stomach was full. Dinner was going to sort itself out when she got home.

Just as her mind had finally shifted away from Ethan, the door to his office opened and he stepped out. Abigail gritted her teeth and fixed her eyes to the computer screen unyieldingly.

Ethan, on the other hand, was mad because he just learnt from Ariana that Pa Frey had been the one who threatened Abigail to leave him. There was the aspect of how Ariana had called while he had her locked up. 

But that was not as important as the truth Ariana had spoken after making him promise she wouldn't tell on him. He watched her as she continued typing without acknowledging his presence. He had missed her, her smiles, her smell. And now that the anger was gone, he realised how much he missed her. 

Whatever his father had told her was not important. She was his. And he made a grave mistake not communicating his hurt with her. Now things were more complex. 

He had let Bianca in and she wasn't willing to leave. Worse, Abigail had witnessed enough to make her heartbroken. If only he had known that she was avoiding him because of his father. 

His voice croaked as he called her name. “Abigail,” he started. “Can we talk?”

She didn't lift her eyes from the screen and her typing only doubled even though treats blinded her and she typed rubbish. She just wanted him gone. Away with his lovely Bianca. 

But he walked up to her desk and placed his hand on it. Not wanting to see her teary, she turned away, biting her lips so hard that she tasted blood.