Chapter 140

"If Abigail had never existed, the Gibson family would have loved me forever, and I never would’ve ended up like this!" Daniella thought bitterly. "They adopted me, so why did they have to bring Abigail back?"

Abigail skipped breakfast and left the chaotic Gibson Villa behind. She texted Wyatt to let him know she’d be out of town on business for the next few days and wouldn’t be coming home.

Wyatt told her to take care of herself and went back to his own work.

Abigail headed straight to the airport after Timothy messaged her that Sebastian’s team had given R&D a new project. They were waiting for the design department to finish the graphics before passing it over to Timothy’s department.

When Abigail’s taxi pulled up at the airport, she planned to grab some breakfast first. But as soon as she got out, she spotted James, Sebastian, and even Warren standing there.

She walked over stiffly, avoiding Sebastian’s eyes completely. “What are you all doing here?”

“Well, they’re tagging along to Norwick for fun. Since we’re going to Silverdale and the St. Montclair Palace is covering all our meals, they figured they’d come mooch some free food and drinks,” James grinned.

Silverdale was Norwick’s automotive capital, so if James‘ family business was doing well enough to get invited there, their cars must be pretty successful.

‘Still, mooching free meals?’ Abigail thought. She had her doubts about that explanation, but she quickly let go. ‘The three of them are like brothers," she thought. "They probably do all kinds of weird stuff together.’

“So we’re mainly building a smart operating system for them?” Abigail asked curiously.

James explained, “Yeah, it’s a new car model with smart chip technology built in. But I think the company I hired to develop the system did a lousy job—it’s not flexible at all."

“That could cause real problems down the road and kill our reputation, so I need you to take a look at it.”

Abigail nodded. “I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“No problem! Breakfast is on me,” James said immediately.

Through this entire exchange, Abigail hadn’t looked at Sebastian once.

Warren stood nearby, grinning like he was enjoying the show.

Sebastian gave him a nudge and followed Abigail and James.

“Airport food is terrible,” Sebastian said to Abigail as they walked into the terminal.

Abigail didn’t turn around, just replied calmly, “I’m not picky.”

‘Right, of course she’s not,’ Sebastian thought. After three years in prison, she’d been through every kind of hardship. Any food out here probably tasted good to her.

They found a random pasta place and sat down. Abigail ordered a basic plate of pasta and asked them, “Have you guys eaten already?”

“We already ate, but if you feel weird eating alone, we can all order something,” James offered.

Abigail looked slightly exasperated. “No need. I was just asking. I’ll eat first. What time’s the flight?”

“You’ve got half an hour. Take your time,” James said with a smile.

He finished speaking and glanced at Sebastian, signaling him to say something too.

Sebastian felt like work was the only safe topic with Abigail. Whenever he tried to talk about anything personal, she thought he was playing games with her.

After finishing breakfast, Abigail boarded the plane with them.

Stephen didn’t call until after takeoff.

Abigail didn’t want to answer at first, but he kept calling over and over, so she finally hit the accept button. “What do you want?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going on a business trip? I could’ve at least driven you to the airport. Who are you traveling with?” Stephen’s voice was full of concern.

Abigail snapped back impatiently, “How is that any of your business?”

“Of course it’s my business! You’re my sister, aren’t you? If you’re traveling with a male boss, you need to be careful. A lot of male supervisors deliberately pick young, attractive employees for business trips. Then, they slip something in their drinks or openly threaten them – play along or get fired.”

Stephen was genuinely worried about Abigail traveling alone. He’d had to pressure Wyatt to find out she wasn’t just going on a business trip, but an international one. It made him panic.

Abigail’s expression turned cold. “That’s still none of your business. Stop pretending to care. I’m hanging up!”

Abigail didn’t give Stephen a chance to respond and ended the call. But his words still stirred something in her mind.

It wasn’t that Abigail didn’t trust them. Before Sebastian had confessed his feelings, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But now that he had, she probably should be more careful.

Abigail hadn’t liked the idea before. She thought she and Sebastian were just boss and employee, nothing more. But if he had feelings for her–and she knew it sounded conceited to think that way–she needed to be careful.

At this thought, Abigail stole a glance at Sebastian beside her. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be sleeping. His headphones weren’t leaking any sound either, so he probably hadn’t heard the phone call.

Abigail quietly looked away and reached into her bag for an eye mask, planning to put it on.

“Was that your family calling?” Sebastian suddenly asked.

Abigail jumped, startled.