Chapter 76


    "Are you out of your damn mind, Greg?" Abigail muttered through gritted teeth as she glowered at the


    man at the customer service counter balefully. She didn''t consider herself to have a short fuse, but ever


    since she met Greg, she was almost always tempestuous. Right now, she was on the verge of running


    over and smacking him upside in the head.


    Greg seemed perfectly at ease as he pointed at Abigail and announced to the eager-looking crowd,


    "That there is my wife! Those of you in line before her, hink about my offer carefully. We''re really in a


    rush right now, so if you leave and let her move up the line, then you''ll get five hundred in cold, hard


    cash!"


    "Me, me, me!" None of the customers waiting in line before Abigail hesitated to take up the offer, and


    they immediately left the queue to im their reward like a murder of crows.


    The ones who dropped by the supermarket were average working folks or nannies who worked for


    blue-blood families. Five hundred in cash was more than enough to cover their groceries for the day.


    As expected, Abigail ended up being the first in line to checkout.


    Greg sauntered up to her with a devilish smile. "Come on, pay up and leave."


    She shot him a murderous look and said huffily, "You''re insane!" She proceeded to check out the


    groceries in her basket while he called someone to bring cash over to fulfill his promise to the ten


    customers who had given up their spots at the counter.


    When Abigail had bagged up her things, she walked out of the supermarket with Greg in tow.


    She cast a sidelong nce at his empty hands, which were shoved into the pockets of his pants. Then,


    she looked at the grocery carrier bag she was holding. It seemed as if he had no intention of helping


    her at all, so she shoved the bag unceremoniously into his arms. "Next time you go shopping with a


    woman, make sure you offer to carry her bag. That''s the mark of a gentleman."


    Surprised by the bag thrown his way, he quickly caught it. Frowning, he asked, "I thought women were


    into bad boys."


    "That''s an outdated notion; most women are into gentlemen now who take impable care of them.


    Gentlemen, got it?"


    "Not at all."


    "And that''s why you''re a jerk," Abigail threw the words coldly over her shoulder as she walked away


    from him.


    Greg didn''t like the fact that he had just been called a jerk for no reason. His brows drew together, but


    he couldn''t make a retort. The carrier bag she had thrown to him was also surprisingly heavy.


    Considering that she was the mother of his daughters, he decided to let her win. Swallowing his


    frustration, he followed her to the parking lot and found his car, then ced the supermarket haul into


    the trunk. After that, he drove her to the hospital.


    He knew that Abigail would not rest easy until she saw the girl from the ident pull through without a


    hitch.


    It wasn''t until they had pulled up outside the hospital that Abigail realized she didn''t have her phone


    with her. I must have left it in the car back at the crash scene. She turned around and extended an arm


    toward Greg, saying, "Lend me money."


    He tossed his wallet to her and said nonchntly, "There''s a bank card in there, and the pin is 105666.


    Just swipe it; I don''t have cash with me at the moment."


    She was just about to ask him to transfer her the money instead when she remembered that she didn''t


    have her phone. As such, she opened his wallet to take out the card, only to see a woman''s headshot


    in one of the dockets.


    The woman had a sweet and delicate look about her that distinguished her from Abigail. She''s


    obviously someone raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. The thought of this gutted Abigail for some


    reason, and she turned to ask Greg casually, "Is this your girlfriend?"


    Upon hearing this, Greg recalled that he had, indeed, kept Genevieve''s picture in his wallet. The


    picture was taken during her high school graduation, and he had kept it for years, so much so that it


    became a habit.


    Sometimes, habits could kill.


    When Greg did not respond, Abigail took his silence for admission. "She''s pretty," shemented,


    though there was a bitter look in her eyes that did not match the cid smile on her face.


    What''s wrong with me? She had known for a while now that he had a girlfriend, and she was also


    acutely aware that nothing could ever work out between Greg and herself, so her resentment was


    baffling.


    Stop fantasizing, Abigail. You''ll only end up getting hurt. With that in mind, she squared her shoulders


    and slipped the card out of his wallet, then returned him the wallet.


    She said stoically, "I''ll pay you backter." Then, she stepped out of the car.


    She made a beeline for the ATM at the hospital and withdrew cash, then bought a phone from the


    nearby store and a phone card. Then, havingmitted her bank card details to memory, she keyed it


    into her e-wallet tform and paid Greg back the money.


    Meanwhile, Greg did not leave even after Abigail had disappeared through the hospital doors. He was


    holding onto his wallet absentmindedly, and his gaze was far away.


    By the time Abigail showed up at the hospital, the surgery for the girl had already wrapped up. The


    procedure went well, and she was promptly sent to the ward.


    As instructed by Greg, the girl was put up in the VIP intensive care unit, and she was still unconscious


    when Abigail dropped in to see her.


    The other patients had their families to fuss over them, but this girl was all alone in the room. Seeing as


    she would have nothing better to do even if she were to go home, Abigail decidedly asked for an extra


    bed to be set up in the room and checked herself in.


    An itch spread across her chest, and she knew her wound was in its healing stages. She asked for


    antiseptic from the nurse and tended to her wound, thereafter scrolling through her phone while making


    herselffortable on the bed.


    The girl didn''t wake up until three hourster, and she was startled to see that she was in a white room.


    "Are you awake? I''m Abigail. We got into an ident together. Do you remember that?"


    The girl nodded weakly.


    "Don''t worry. Your medical and hospitalization bills have all been ounted for, so just recuperate in


    peace. You cane to me for anything at all, and I''ll try my best to help you out," Abigail said hastily


    when the girl did not respond.


    The girl shook her head. "I''m Anastasia Woods. The ident was partially my fault as well. I was in


    such a rush that I dashed out into the street when I saw your car idling there. I didn''t think you''d pull


    away from the curb so suddenly. I''m sorry."


    "Okay, that''s all over now, and you needn''t worry about it. All you have to do now is focus on getting


    better before we talk about anything else. I''ll get you a caretaker."


    "Thank you," Anastasia said with a feeble nod. She was a student with no fortune to her name, and it


    would take a toll on her if she were to fork out her own medical fees. She nced at Abigail then and


    asked quietly, "Miss Abigail, could you give me your bank details?"


    "Why do you need them?"


    "Once I get better, I''ll find a job and get my first pay. I''ll pay you back for the medical fees and whatnot.


    After all, you weren''t entirely in the wrong in the first ce, and you shouldn''t have to pay for my


    treatment."


    Abigail was stunned by Anastasia''s offer. By the looks of this alone, she was sure that the girl had


    principles.


    "What did you major in?"


    "Financial management."


    "I''ll give you a job rmendation once you get better. Now, get some rest. Is there anything you feel


    like eating? I''ll go and get it for you."


    She had only just said this when Greg walked into the room with a bag of food. "Karen made chicken


    soup and other food as well. I was thinking the girl might be awake soon, and she could do with a bit of


    food in her."


    Abigail gaped at him in surprise, then asked, "Did yourpany close down or something?"


    He shot her a withering look. "What in the world are you talking about?" He found her absolutely


    infuriating at times, as if she wasn''t capable of holding up a conversation without getting on his nerves.


    He wanted to throttle her.


    She seemed unfazed as she pointed out, "I mean, it must have closed down for good. Otherwise, you


    wouldn''t be hanging around here and delivering food to us."


    "Allie and Aria were the ones who wanted me to bring food to you and watch you eat up everyst


    morsel. They were worried that you would skip out on your meals when you''re left alone. I wouldn''t be


    here if it weren''t for their pestering," he said sardonically, not at all happy that his kind gesture was


    being treated with cold indifference.


    When Anastasia saw their dynamics, sheughed and asked, "Miss Abigail, is this your husband? He''s


    handsome."


    Abigail wasted no time in refuting this. "As if I would marry the likes of him."


    Greg did not respond to this and merely gave Abigail a long, hard look. Then, he broke eye contact and


    turned to hand the bag of food to Anastasia. "Here you go, youngdy. Eat up and get better soon.


    Don''t be shy toe to me for anything. Make sure you take this time to regain your strength, okay?"


    "Thank you," Anastasia said as she took the bag.


    He nced over at Abigail then and said, "Come on, the girls are waiting to have dinner with you."


    Abigail looked at Anastasia kindly and said with a smile, "Take good care of yourself. I''ll get going now,


    but you can call me if you need anything." She gave the girl her phone number and allowed Greg to


    lead her out of the room.


    When they were in the hallway, she cleared her throat and said, "I have somewhere I need to be


    tonight, so I won''t be going home for dinner. Tell Allie and Aria that I''ll drop by to see them tomorrow."


    With that, she spun on her heels to leave, but Greg grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Are you


    avoiding me?"


    She stared at him and countered defensively, "Do you think that highly of yourself? Why would I avoid


    you? Who do you think you are?"


    He couldn''t help raising a brow when he saw how flustered she was.


    "I really do have to see someone."


    "You don''t even have friends in Harrion! Who are you meeting up with?"


    He had only just said this when Abigail pointed at the approaching Jonathan, who was there by sheer


    coincidence. "Him!"


    Greg turned and registered Jonathan''s arrival. Thetter was flushed as he said, "Abbie, I''ve settled


    things with the insurancepany. I tried to call you, but why didn''t you pick up?"


    Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Abigail quickly pulled away from Greg. "Come on, let''s go for dinner! You got here right on time!" She


    promptly seized Jonathan by the arm and dragged him away.


    A dark and insidious look glimmered in Greg''s eyes as the air around him crackled with his anger.


    Jonathan was confused, but before he could say anything, Greg''s voice traveled grimly down the


    hallway, "I didn''t know you had a thing for going back to your exes, Abigail."


    Without even sparing a second look at him, Abigail drawled haughtily as she frog-marched Jonathan


    toward the exit, "Well, that just goes to show how little you know about me!"


    Jonathan could tell that problems had arisen between her and Greg, but he could neither make head


    nor tails of it. As things were, their spat was working out in his favor because Abigail had actually


    grabbed him by his hand on her own ord.


    He was practically buzzing with excitement. "Where are we going for dinner, Abbie? My treat."


    "I was only bluffing, Jonathan. Don''t take it seriously," Abigail drawled. She let go of her hold on him as


    soon as they were out of the hospital.


    Disappointed, Jonathan mumbled, "But I did take it seriously. I had my hands full dealing with the


    insurancepany on your behalf for the whole afternoon, and I was the one who asked Uncle Greg


    to call the police station and have them go easy on you. Sure, I didn''t do much, but I helped


    nheless. You could at least have a meal with me."


    He sounded extremely dejected, but all Abigail heard was how he had asked Greg to help her out after


    the ident.


    She knew how busy Greg was on a daily basis, but he had pushed back his work just toe to her


    aid. On this point alone, he was much stronger and more reliable than Philip had ever been.


    At the thought of this, she sighed. Just then, she caught a glimpse of Greg walking out of the hospital,


    and she quickly turned to Jonathan to say, "Let''s go to Swanson Hut for dinner."


    Upon seeing that she had agreed to have dinner with him, Jonathan lit up like a child at an amusement


    park. "Okay!"


    At that moment, Greg brushed past them, and he made it a point to say in clipped tones, "I hope you


    won''t get food poisoning."


    The corner of Abigail''s lips twitched. I can''t believe he''s jinxing me like that!