Chapter 14: Putting Joan in the Film Crew

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous again?"

"Stop daydreaming," she replied, practically rolling her eyes. Her expression was cold.

He looked at her. "It must have been tough pretending to be a good wife for the past three years."

His words embarrassed Abigail. She had indeed acted gentle and virtuous to make him fall in love with her.

Seeing her reaction, Sean knew he'd hit the mark. Her current personality was far from her former self; this was the real Abigail.

The waitress arrived, and Abigail handed her the menu.

After the waitress left, Abigail fell silent, watching videos on her phone, deliberately playing them loudly.

Understanding her desire for silence, Sean also took out his phone and began reading Kevin's messages. Kevin had sent countless messages that day, but Sean disliked checking WhatsApp unnecessarily.

Opening Kevin's messages, he saw a link to an Instagram post. It showed a photograph of him and Abigail entering a hotel. There weren't many comments, but the post was trending.

Someone was clearly doing this on purpose.

He texted Kevin: "Did you get us trending on Instagram?"

Kevin didn't reply; he was probably busy.

Continuing to read, Sean discovered Joan had claimed he and Abigail were cousins. He frowned. Joan's eager to explain, huh? We haven't said anything yet, but she's already jumped in.

"Do you know we're trending?" he asked abruptly.

Abigail looked at him and closed her video. "What's wrong?"

"Joan said we're cousins. What do you think?" he asked, testing her.

"Isn't that convenient? It saves you from explaining our relationship," she replied nonchalantly.

He looked at her. "I don't mind making our relationship public."

"Don't. I mind," she replied hurriedly. "Besides, we're not public figures. Our marriage is nobody's business."

"Are you trying to leave yourself an escape route, or do you genuinely not want people to know?" Sean's eyes narrowed. He suspected she was planning to be with Anthony after their divorce.

"What are you trying to say? Do you still want to enjoy this meal?" Abigail's irritation was immediate. She easily guessed his thoughts—that she was protecting Anthony.

Their conversation ended when a waiter brought a fruit platter.

Abigail ignored Sean the rest of the afternoon.

As it grew dark, Sean received a call from Kevin: Joan had severely cut her hand.

When Abigail left the store and didn't find him waiting, she understood what had happened.

Sean called her repeatedly, but she didn't answer.

After several busy days in Broham, Abigail received a call from Lewis: she was needed on the film crew to take measurements and sort sizes before garment production.

Anthony picked her up the day she joined the crew. "How's the fabric selection going?" he asked with concern as she packed her tools.

Abigail put her ruler in her bag. "It's going well. Some fabrics are being custom-produced, and I'll have samples in a couple of days."

"You've been working hard. I heard you've been visiting fabric markets," Anthony said sympathetically.

His tone sounded odd. Just as she was about to mention her marriage, he continued, "Did you and Sean go to Broham because of difficulties and you sought his help?"

"Not really. He came along," she replied casually. She couldn't reveal her marriage; Anthony might deduce she was married to Sean. She wanted to keep their marriage private, avoiding gossip after their divorce.

"Joan said he's your cousin. Your cousin seems to care a lot about you," Anthony teased.

She replied indifferently, "Let them say what they want. I'm not a public figure; it's best not to respond."

Anthony nodded. "You're right. Online attention is a double-edged sword. Maintaining mystery is self-protection."

"Exactly," Abigail smiled. She felt much better talking to Anthony; he was far more pleasant than Sean, who only added to her troubles.

As they got in the car, Anthony asked, "Some media reported Sean took Joan to the hospital. You're his cousin; what's their relationship?"

Abigail didn't want to answer. "Why are you asking?"

"Director Lewis said Sean arranged for Joan to join another film crew, so we'll meet at Millstone," Anthony replied with a faint smile.