With a light, neutral tone, Abigail said, "It's not like I can't afford it. Honestly, I thought you'd just say, 'Why buy a place when you could just live with—'"

Her words left Sebastian momentarily speechless. He wondered, "Wait, wasn't that the right thing to say? Does Abigail actually want to move in with me?"

After a long pause, he finally asked, "So… If you're not buying a place, would you want to just move in with me?"

"Nope. I just figured most guys would answer like I did." She was genuinely curious why he’d chosen that response. Sebastian found himself somewhat contradictory, too.

Before Sebastian and Abigail were officially together, even though he'd been contrary about her, he always carried himself like the one in control whenever they interacted.

But after they got together, he found himself no different from any other man in love – constantly overthinking her words, trying to read between the lines, wondering if there was some hidden meaning.

The thought made him let out a helpless smile. Abigail, of course, had never been that complicated.

"I thought the same. Letting you stay at my place was just because I wanted more time with you. It has nothing to do with whether you want to buy your own place or not."

He turned to glance at her and added, "Still, I do hope you have a home that's all yours. A place that's completely your own – a little world just for you."

"I see," Abigail murmured softly.

"Well," he added with a cheeky grin, "if we get married, then it'll be our home too."

Abigail simply smiled, offering no reply. Marriage seemed pretty far off to her.

Right now, she and Sebastian were just like any new couple, sweet and a little unsure of the road ahead.

As the New Year approached, the Gibson family's case was finally scheduled for its first hearing. But early that morning, Abigail received some unsettling news.

In the office, Warren said gravely, "Ms. Prescott has intervened in Gabriel's case. She claims to have hired a top-tier lawyer to defend your parents."

"I wasn't planning to go to court today, but now it looks like I have no choice." Abigail thought, "Let's see just how good this so-called hotshot lawyer really is. Can they actually pull off a miracle and overturn the Gibson family's case!"

Warren asked softly, "Honestly, this whole mess happened because Jin didn't tie up loose ends. Even though he is my friend, I still have to call him out on it. You… you're not mad at him, are you? He's already left for Chesterwick."

"Even an outsider would have a hard time judging family matters like this," Abigail said. "With his family background, an arranged marriage was almost inevitable. Ms. Prescott is just doing all this to come between us."

Warren said, "He's already heading to Chesterwick to handle this."

Abigail looked at him. "Is his father that difficult to deal with?"

Warren let out a sigh and rubbed his temples. "Seb never talks about his mom, and that's because her death was beyond tragic. His father was the one who made her life unbearable.

"So when I say 'hard to handle,' it's not even that. The man is impossible. His mother would rather die than keep living with him."

Abigail frowned. "Turns out he's had it even worse than me."

Chapter 258

"This isn't the time to compare who's had it worse," Warren said, his tone heavy with concern. "I just wanted to prepare you for what he is up against. If you get an acquittal, they might still avoid prison."

"Ms. Prescott's protecting them just to spite me, right?" Abigail asked. She thought to herself, "She's protecting criminals just to spite me? Is this how the rich play their little games?"

"Pretty much," Warren said, meeting her gaze. "It's also her way of warning you."

Abigail smirked and said mockingly, "Warn me? Pathetic women always pick on other women. If she really believes that, she needs to keep him on a tighter leash."

Warren noticed she'd stopped calling him by his nickname, Seb, and that must mean she was upset. If that is what it takes, she'd go after Seffish and—

He cleared his throat gently and said, "Seb asked me to accompany you to court. This case will definitely go to a second trial."

"So the outcome of the second trial still depends on Ms. Prescott's whims, doesn't it?" Abigail asked, taking a quiet breath.

Warren explained, "We were caught off guard this time, but in the second trial, we won't let her call the shots. Seb's warning isn't going to work, so we'll definitely hire a better lawyer."

Abigail gathered her bag and got ready to head to court. "There's no need to waste more money and energy on this if I care about securing an acquittal for myself.

"As for what happens to the rest of the Gibson family, I don't want to get involved."

If I am convicted on the first trial, so be it.