Chapter 77


    Jonathan didn''t take kindly to the remark, either. He didn''t understand what Greg had meant by that. It


    took something close to a miracle for him to be able to go out with Abigail like this.


    However, Abigail simply ignored Greg, and it went without saying that Jonathan dared not offend the


    man. In the end, Greg''s repartee went unentertained, and he was so angry that he stormed off.


    He probably deserved it, he thought. He should have known better than to worry about Abigail''s meals,


    and he most certainly should not have been worried about her gastric acting up again.


    After watching Greg leave, Abigail sighed and said somberly, "Come on."


    She and Jonathan found themselves outside the Swanson Hut. The establishment was almost always


    packed with customers, but thankfully, Jonathan was a regr here, and they had reserved a private


    dining room especially for him.


    Upon entering the private room, Jonathan earnestly poured out a ss of water for Abigail as he said,


    "The food here is amazing. Is there anything you''re craving for? I remember how much you used to like


    albondigas. Shall I ask them to serve that up first?"


    In contrast to his enthusiastic and lively demeanor, Abigail was pointedly indifferent. "Whatever. I don''t


    really care what we eat." As she said this, she set the ss of water he had poured out for her aside,


    then poured out her own ss.


    He stiffened at the sight of this. Now she won''t even touch the water I poured out for her, he thought


    sullenly. "Are you still mad about what happened five years ago, Abbie? You have to know that I didn''t


    mean to be so hard on you. It was Emma who—"


    "Can you just let me have my meal in peace? I''m starving," she cut him off brusquely.


    She didn''t want to hear about his thoughts on Emma, and she most definitely didn''t want to hear about


    the incident five years ago. She had been such an idiot back then, and in hindsight, Jonathan had


    never really loved her, either.


    Upon seeing how stormy her face was, Jonathan stopped talking immediately, but not before saying,


    "Okay, if it''s peace you want, then I''ll be really quiet from now on."


    He was eager to please her like an obedient husband, but it was a shame that Abigail didn''t care for


    him anymore.


    It didn''t take long for the dishes to be served, and they were all Abigail''s favorites. She didn''t hesitate to


    take up her utensils and began to dig in.


    Throughout this, Jonathan tried to make conversation, but he was so intimidated by her that he decided


    to keep his mouth shut.


    The private room was deathly silent, so much so that the atmosphere bore down on them like a dense


    storm cloud.


    Just then, the approaching stato of heels sounded from outside the doorway.


    Abigail frowned and set her utensils down.


    "What''s wrong? Are you done with your meal? You didn''t eat much at all. Here, try the foie gras; it''s


    really good," Jonathan said as he gave her a helping of the foie gras.


    At that moment, the door to the private room mmed open, and Emma barged in. When she saw that


    Jonathan was putting food on Abigail''s te, her blood boiled.


    "How dare you be so shameless as to try and seduce my boyfriend, Abigail?!" she shrieked as she


    paced over to the table. She grabbed a cup of tea and immediately hurled its contents on Abigail''s


    face.


    However, before Abigail could react, Jonathan reached out an arm and deflected the tea in time. "Are


    you out of your mind, Emma?" he growled. The tea was not as hot as it had been earlier, but it still


    scorched his skin red.


    "Jonathan, are you okay? Why did you do that for her? Don''t you know she had me thrown into a


    holding cell at the police station? And yet here you are, happily dining with her instead of helping me.


    Do you even love me at all?" There was hurt and disappointment in Emma''s eyes, and her tears were


    about to spill over.


    Abigail had no interest in watching their melodrama y out, and she had lost her appetite. She set


    down her utensils and decidedly rose from her seat, dering coldly, "I''m full. You two go ahead and


    hash things out while I make a move."


    "Abbie, I can drop you home."


    Jonathan quickly tried to follow suit, but he was pulled back by Emma, who had a vise-like grip on his


    arm as she stomped her foot angrily. "Jonathan!"


    He frowned unhappily. Heaven knew how long he had been waiting to have some quality time with


    Abigail, but Emma just had toe by and ruin it for him. Infuriated, he shrugged her off none-too-


    gently and snapped, "Go home and think about what you did instead of wrecking my day here! Move!"


    Then, he bolted downstairs after Abigail.


    "Abbie, listen to me. I didn''t ask her toe here. I really didn''t. You hardly ate anything at all. Should


    we go somece else? Maybe you''d prefer Italian food?"


    Meanwhile, having been shrugged off aggressively by Jonathan, Emma staggered and nearly crashed


    to the floor. To add insult to injury, she had seen how he chased after Abigail like some lovesick


    labrador, and the sight of it made her want tobust on the spot.


    She had been with Jonathan for years, and she was always the one who tried to please him. Never


    once had he shown her the same adoration he had for Abigail. What does she have that I don''t? Why


    is Jonathan fawning over like that?


    Running out after them, Emma was belligerent as she shrieked, "You''re a shameless homewrecker,


    Abigail! How dare you try to steal my man! You''re a downright tramp just like your mother was!"


    Abigail had no ns of entertaining Emma at first, but it seemed as if thetter was only all too happy


    to rile her up, not to mention she had dragged Abigail''s mother into this. Refusing to stand for this,


    Abigail seethed, "Why don''t you try saying that again?"


    "What difference will it make? I''m just stating facts. You and your mother are both tramps who always


    pined after someone else''s man." Emma then turned to look at Jonathan with a maniacal expression


    and decided to spill the ugly truth of Abigail''s past. "Don''t be fooled by her, Jonathan. She might not be


    married, but she has kids and doesn''t even know who the father is! Just what do you see in a tramp


    like her?"


    There were members of the upper-ss society among the crowd in Swanson Hut. Presently, they


    were watching this free-for-all with interest, and they began to whisper among themselves after hearing


    what Emma said about Abigail. When they turned to appraise thetter, it was with outright contempt.


    An angry flush colored Abigail''s face as rage threatened to consume her. Whose fault was it that I


    became a mother to four-year-olds? And yet the culprit has the audacity to stand here and mock me for


    it. She was starting to regret agreeing with Greg when he suggested they release Emma.


    Right now, she didn''t think she would want to spare Emma even if the wretched girl got down on her


    knees and begged for her forgiveness.


    However, Abigail did not p Emma, either. Instead, she turned to eye Jonathan steadily as she said,


    "You want to know what it takes for me to forgive you? It''s easy. You just have to go up to her and give


    her four ps on the face, and I''ll forget about all that you did four years ago."


    When Jonathan heard this, he became very still. It was unseemly for a man to be caught abusing a


    woman. More importantly, they were at Swanson Hut, and everyone here had money and status. If he


    were to strike Emma, his reputation would be ruined.


    "Abbie, can''t we use some other way to resolve this?"


    She scoffed at him and pointed out, "Looks like you never really meant to ask for my forgiveness in the


    first ce."


    Emma was so incensed that she ran down the stairs and took off one of her heels, then hurled it in


    Abigail''s direction as she screamed, "You wh*re! You''re trying toe between me and Jonathan! I


    ought to beat you to death!"


    "That''s enough! Can''t you just give it a break already?" Jonathan deftly caught Emma''s shoe and


    barreled toward her, then pped her hard across the face. She fell to the ground in a graceless heap,


    and he towered over her menacingly as he bit out, "I don''t know what you''re thinking, but you''re


    humiliating me in front of everyone! Let me make this clear, Emma: we are over!"


    Emma was shaken. She couldn''t believe that he had actually struck her, but the pain had yet to ebb


    before she registered that he had broken up with her.


    Panic rose within her as she cried, "No, I don''t want us to be over! Jonathan, you''repletely


    bewitched by her. She''s nothing but a tramp, a lowly wh*re!"


    "Shut up!" Without warning, Jonathan pped her again.


    There were people like Jonathan who would throw away everything to reach their goals. He was so


    obsessed with being forgiven by Abigail, and he was so hopeful that they might get back together and


    start afresh that he didn''t mind casting Emma aside like some old shoe.


    The sting of the first p had yet to wane when Jonathan struck her again, and this time, Emma burst


    into tears. She leaped up to her feet and lunged toward him with her ws out. "You b*stard,


    Jonathan!"


    As the two of them tangled up in a brawl, Abigail turned away. She had no interest in sticking around to


    see them rip each other''s throat''s out, as entertaining as that sounded.


    Presently, she had only just walked out of Swanson Hut when she saw Greg leaning against his car. He


    was eyeing her in amusement as he said, "Well done, Dr. Kain. I must say that was an impressive


    move, turning them against one another without having to lift a finger."


    "I thought you went home. You didn''t stay here and wait for me, did you?" she asked in a voice that


    was heavy with implication, but this only aggravated him.


    "I''m here to have dinner. You got a problem with that? Is Swanson Hut some exclusive club of yours?"


    "Go right ahead and have your dinner, then." She was unaffected as she brushed past him. Be it Greg


    or Jonathan, she didn''t like the idea of being in close proximity with them at the moment.


    Abandoning his car outside Swanson Hut, Greg turned to follow her.


    "Why are you following me?" Abigail demanded with a frown.


    He said breezily, "I don''t see your name on this road."


    She decided to ignore his roguish demeanor. Then, out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the


    public restroom not too far away and turned to look at him. In all seriousness, she asked, "Hey, I''m


    going to thedies'' restroom. Are you going toe with me?"


    The corner of his lips twitched as he ground out, "I can always use the men''s restroom."


    "Of course, you can." She shed him an irritatingly pleasant smile and extended her arm, clearly


    indicating for him to go first.


    Having been out-witted, Greg suddenly grew sullen. However, he was too prideful to stay back, which


    would, in any case, be an admission of defeat, so he trudged reluctantly to the public restroom.


    The moment he left, Abigail seized her window of escape and quickly gged down a passing taxi, then


    fled.


    The only thing she had left behind was a cloud of dust, which greeted Greg mockingly when he


    emerged from the restroom. He was starting to feel ashamed of himself for pining after someone who


    so clearly did not want to be in hispany. Am I really a masochist at this point?


    He pinched his nose bridge, then frowned when he caught sight of the ruckus outside Swanson Hut. As


    it turned out, Jonathan and Emma were still at each other''s throats.


    How disgraceful. He took out his phone and snapped a few pictures of the fight, then sent them to


    Jonathan''s mother. After that, he got into his car and left.


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    While this was happening, Abigail was in the backseat of the taxi, feeling sorry for herself. The


    resentment that welled up convinced her that staying in this city would drive her crazy. "Sir, I''d like you


    to drop me off at the airport," she said to the taxi driver. After that, she fished out her phone and called


    her assistant.


    "Hey, are there any emergency surgeries in Marona that still need a doctor to preside over? I''m going


    back."


    The assistant hurriedly replied on the other line, "Believe it or not, Dr. Kain, there really is a surgery


    lined up for you."


    "Schedule me in, then. I''ll book the ticket now, and I should arrive by midnight."


    "Roger that."


    She ended the call and let out a huge sigh of relief, then left a voice note for Allie and Aria to tell them


    that she was going back to Marona to take charge of surgery. She also reminded them to be good


    while they were at Greg''s ce.


    Having done so, she bought her air ticket online and turned off her phone right after.


    Following that, she arrived at the airport and went through security with her flight ticket in hand. She


    was moving almost mechanically as she boarded the ne, but just as she was about to reach her


    seat, her brows knitted.


    Someone had taken her seat!