Chapter 257

Abigail had no idea what was going through his mind. She just said lightly, “Honestly, things between us have always felt pretty ordinary.”

She felt that her relationship with Sebastian was more of the slow-burning kind.

“Not exactly,” James said meaningfully. What Abigail didn’t know was that Sebastian’s long-standing crush on her had been anything but easy.

Sebastian knew that after she returned with the Gibson family, she had fallen in love with Ralph.

None of the guys really knew what Sebastian had been thinking at the time, but it couldn’t have been easy for him.

Secretly loving someone while watching her desperately pursue the one she loved in such a sorry state–he must have felt anger, jealousy, and, above all, heartache for her.

“All the drama you never saw? That was just him, going through it all on his own,” Warren teased.

“Shut up,” Sebastian snapped, his ears burning red from their teasing.

Even though Abigail knew it wasn’t exactly proper to pry into someone else’s secrets, she still wondered just how intense things had been for Sebastian when he went through it all alone.

Propping her chin on her hand and with her eyes twinkling with amusement, she asked, “Spill the tea.”

“Let’s talk about this at home after dinner,” Sebastian muttered, visibly uncomfortable.

“Oh, come on. What better setting than a nice dinner?” James said with a mischievous grin. “Right, Abby?”

“Say another word and I’m punching you at this table,” Sebastian threatened.

James gasped dramatically, looking all aggrieved. “You’re seriously threatening me while eating food I went through hell to get for you? That’s cold, man.”

“Isn’t ham pretty easy to get, though?” Abigail asked, genuinely puzzled.

She wasn’t exactly a food expert, but she vaguely remembered it wasn’t that…

Unlike seafood that would lose its flavor just hours after being caught, ham could be preserved with care. It was something that could be easily bought with money. That was exactly James’ area of expertise.

“True, but getting your hands on premium-grade ham is a whole different story. A three-year-old aged ham with that milky aroma and perfectly balanced marbling is incredibly rare.

“Sometimes, you can go years without seeing even one. I only managed to get mine because an insider kept watch for me, after sharing it with people, I was left with just one piece.”

“Some ingredients aren’t expensive, but because they depend on the perfect alignment of natural conditions, it can take years for a truly exceptional one to appear. And when that happens, everyone fights over it,” Warren explained.

Abigail nodded. “Oh,”

“I’m telling you that this piece of ham would melt right on your tongue,” James said, gulping involuntarily.

Sebastian said with a smile, “Out of the three of us, he’s the real foodie. Whenever you’re craving something, just give him a call. He’ll hook you up right away.” He didn’t mind at all that Abigail was getting close to his closest friends.

“Alright,” she replied, a subtle smile playing at her lips.

“It’s the perfect season for it,” James said, waving down a nearby waiter. “Let’s go ahead and order a serving of ham hock and spring vegetable velout tonight.”

Abigail had started to notice something about the three men. Despite their wealth, they always chose restaurants based on flavor, not flair. For them, good food mattered more than fancy settings.

After dinner, Abigail excused herself to the restroom while Sebastian and the others waited at the table.

“Abby’s so gentle,” James said worriedly as he tapped out a reply to a message on his phone. “Ms. Prescott, on the other hand, has a serious attitude problem. If the two of them ever crossed paths, Abby would definitely be the one to suffer.”

“You’re worrying about nothing. Even without me, she could handle someone like Ms. Prescott on her own,” Sebastian said, brushing off the concern.

“Ms. Prescott isn’t the issue. The one to really worry about… is his father,” Warren replied, picking up a cigarette, giving it a sniff, then tucking it back into the pack.

At the mention of Sebastian’s father, the table fell silent. On the way back, Warren and James took a separate car. Abigail left with Sebastian and headed back to his place.

“I’ve been thinking about buying a house. Do you think I should?” she asked. Now that Gibson Villa was gone, staying indefinitely at Sebastian’s place didn’t sit right with her.

“Have you picked a preferred neighborhood? Ren has great connections in real estate. He can get you a quality property in any area,” Sebastian offered. Though secretly, he wished she would just keep living with him.

But Abigail wasn’t someone who depended on him. Whatever she wanted to do, he should support her.

“I don’t know,” Abigail replied. “The idea just popped into my head. I suddenly wanted to buy a place.”

Sebastian asked her, “How about I bring Ren to your office after work tomorrow so he can give you some advice?”

“Sure.” Abigail turned to him with a playful look. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I want to buy a place?”

“Buying a place is a great idea. If you’re short on cash, just come to me,” Sebastian said with a gentle smile.