Chapter 167

After yelling, Stephen cried and said, “Back then, those butterfly clips were cheap. We could’ve bought more. Why did you let Daniella take hers?”

He couldn’t remember how Abigail looked back then, but now that he thought about it, he figured Abigail, sitting on the steps watching, must have felt terribly hurt.

She hadn’t even reached adulthood and had just come back from the orphanage. Her heart was pure. She was clearly a kind and naive girl, raised in a place where life was hard but simple and carefree.

After returning to the Gibson family, she had to face so much unfairness. The people closest to her kept hurting her over and over again at the most innocent time of her life. Bianca froze when she heard Stephen’s question.

Stephen said, “That butterfly clip was just a dollar, and you let Daniella, that nasty woman, snatch it from her. Did you ever think how Abigail felt at that moment?

“Every time she bought herself something cute, you said it didn’t look good on her and took it off to give to Daniella. Now that your hand’s hurt, go ask Daniella then.

“I’m blaming everything on you now. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but if you never did those things, how would we even come to realize any of this?”

Every word Stephen said stabbed straight into Bianca’s heart. She didn’t even remember the butterfly clip.

“From the way you’re reacting, I can tell you don’t remember,” Stephen said angrily, then turned and walked away.

After getting into the car, he called Ralph. As soon as the call connected, he said, “Do me a favor. Come out, right now.”

“Do you even know what time it is? I’m swamped with stuff,” Ralph replied. He’d been buried in stress lately, still digging through the Daniella hit-and-run case from years ago, and had no time to deal with Stephen’s mood swings.

“Just come out,” Stephen’s voice cracked a little, his tone carrying a hint of suppressed emotion.

Ralph figured Stephen must be feeling a bit too sentimental tonight. He let out a sigh and said, “Alright, I’ll come. Wait a bit.”

Lately, Ralph had been so busy chasing down every tiny clue that he’d fallen behind on work and was completely burnt out. Seeing Stephen might actually give him a break.

They met at their usual bar. As soon as Ralph sat down, he could tell something was off about Stephen.

“What’s going on with you? You get dumped?” Ralph asked curiously.

Stephen stayed silent, staring at the table. After a long pause, he said, “Do you remember Daniella showing off that butterfly clip to you?”

“No. That was forever ago. How the hell would I remember that?” Ralph had always treated Daniella like a younger sister, but that didn’t mean he remembered everything she did.

“Try to remember. The one that fluttered like a real butterfly when she ran.” Stephen was getting impatient.

“And why exactly do you want me to remember this now?” Ralph asked, confused.

Honestly, Ralph had barely retained any memories of Daniella. But Abigail–he often thought of her after she was sent to prison.

Abigail had always been a memorable girl. When she first came back to the Gibson family, she was quiet and aloof, but her personality was warm. If anyone spoke to her, she always smiled in response.

But now, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her smile. He thought, ‘If I were Abigail, wrongly thrown in jail by my own family, I wouldn’t be smiling either.’

“I want to buy a clip like that or get someone to make one for Abby. That butterfly clip back then–Daniella took it from her.” Stephen didn’t want to admit that even their mother had silently allowed it. That made him feel ashamed.

The moment Ralph heard it was for Abigail, he got serious. He said, “Tell me exactly what it looked like. I’ll get someone to design it.”

“There were a lot of tiny rhinestones on the butterfly wings. It sparkled when it moved. The wings were connected with a little spring,” Stephen described carefully.

“Alright, I’ll find a jewelry designer. You’ll have it in three days,” Ralph paused, then added, “When you give it to her, tell her I made it. Deal?”

Stephen said, “Of course. Just don’t go falling for Daniella, okay? You’re not blind. I swear, if you liked her after all this time, I’d lose it.”

Stephen thought about how he used to push for Ralph and Daniella to get together, and he just wanted to slap himself.

“I didn’t like Abigail back then, but even then, I could tell there was something off about Daniella,” Ralph said.

Ralph had always felt Daniella was kind of fake. But every time Stephen stood up for her, Ralph would second-guess himself.