Chapter 177

After dinner, Wyatt planned to head back.

“You go wait in the car first, I need to say a couple of words to Grandpa,” Abigail said with a stern face to Stephen, who was in a great mood.

Stephen immediately nodded, “Okay, I’ll go wait in the car.”

As soon as he got into the car, he thought of Ralph. Ralph clearly liked Abigail. He could tell from the way he looked at her. But as things stood now, Sebastian clearly had the upper hand.

Even as a man, Stephen had to admit Sebastian looked better. And besides, Sebastian had more chances to interact with Abigail due to work.

Most importantly, Abigail was utterly fed up with the Gibson family. She didn’t want to live at Gibson Villa, so she willingly chose to stay at Sebastian’s place.

Unable to hold back, he called Ralph.

“Why are you calling me so late again? What do you want this time?” Ralph answered with his usual annoyance.

“Let me ask you this–do you like Abby?” Stephen’s voice was unusually serious.

Ralph was caught off guard and stammered, “W–why would you suddenly ask that?”

“I need to tell you something serious. Abby’s about to agree to be Sebastian’s girlfriend,” Stephen said, full of gravity.

“What do you mean?” Ralph’s tone immediately turned grave.

“I went with Grandpa to visit her today and found out she’s staying at Sebastian’s place. She spent last night and is staying again tonight. Do you understand what that means?” Stephen said.

Although Stephen felt sorry that his best friend didn’t get to be with Abigail, he still thought Sebastian was better than Ralph. If he were a girl, he’d pick Sebastian too.

Sebastian wasn’t just handsome–he had a lot of business assets too, even though no one knew the details.

Ralph didn’t say anything for a long while. After a pause, he asked, “Do you think I’d still have a chance if I dug up the truth about Daniella?” Stephen said, “Honestly, Abigail’s already done her time and lost her bright future. Daniella being in jail now is just her paying the legal price she owed.”

He continued, “To Abby, that doesn’t mean much. I think even if you sent Daniella to prison, she wouldn’t necessarily feel moved.”

After Stephen finished, he sighed. If Abigail had just gotten out of jail and Ralph had helped clear her name, she might’ve been touched enough to agree to be his girlfriend.

But now, the sentence was already served, the prestigious college she had gotten into was gone, and three years of her time had been wasted in prison.

Even though Daniella was now in prison, that meant nothing to Abigail anymore. Sebastian and Halden Group didn’t care about Abigail’s criminal record. She had real ability, so people still appreciated her.

But what she’d lost–the time and the chance to attend a top university–was real. No one could help her get it back. Time wouldn’t rewind.

Ralph fell into a long silence.

Stephen said, “I get it now. The things you didn’t cherish in the past–by the time you want to treasure them, fate may not give you another chance.”

His voice held a note of melancholy. “Back then, I was too impulsive. If I had just thought things through, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

He had loved his sister. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have protected Daniella so blindly. Being hated by Abigail brought him immense pain. That pain made him hate Daniella even more.

“No matter what, I’m still going to send Daniella to prison,” Ralph finally said firmly after a long pause.

Stephen replied, “That’s for the best. I called to let you know early so you could be mentally prepared.”

Stephen looked at Abigail, who was standing not far away, talking with Wyatt.

When Abigail had first arrived at Gibson Villa, she was so thin and small. He had heard from Bianca that the orphanage wasn’t well-managed. Older kids like Abigail would sometimes eat less to let the younger ones grow.

Back then, Abigail was physically weak, her face dull, and she couldn’t compare at all to the fair-skinned, pretty Daniella. Even though Abigail always had nice features, in the eyes of the Gibson family, she was just an ugly girl.

“I get it. Bye,” Ralph said listlessly and hung up. Stephen put down his phone and looked at Abigail in the distance, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

She was still slim, but much more beautiful than before, with a colder presence.

Stephen realized Ralph truly wasn’t worthy of her anymore. No wonder Abigail preferred being with Sebastian. Thinking she didn’t deserve Sebastian made Stephen feel it was laughable.