Abigail remained silent.

Ivy sighed softly and said, “I know you were forced to take over Gibson Group because of your grandfather, and now you feel wronged since these shareholders don’t understand you. But let’s settle this case first. Afterwards, Mr. Robinson will help you deal with each of those shareholders.”

“I’ll talk to Stephen,” Abigail said. She simply didn’t want to ask him for help.

She had wanted nothing more than to see them all thrown behind bars. Now, she had to turn to one of her tormentors for help. The thought alone made her stomach churn with disgust.

“You don’t have to talk to him yourself. Just give me the nod, and I’ll handle it. You won’t have to get involved,” Ivy said gently.

Abigail cautioned her, “Actually, none of them want to go to prison. Be careful with your words when you talk to them. We can’t have them flipping on us in court.”

Ivy nodded. “Thank you for the reminder, Ms. Gibson, I’ll handle it with discretion.”

In the days that followed, Abigail didn’t see Ivy at all. But she did finally hear from Sebastian. He had finally called her. “The real question is,” he said the moment she answered, “have you been taking good care of our little furball!”

“You’re more worried about your cat than me?” Abigail shot back.

Hearing this, Sebastian let out a laugh. “I’m afraid if I ask how you’re doing right away, you’ll think I’m underestimating you.”

Abigail wasn’t in the mood to banter. “When are you coming back?”

“Still a while to go. I’m stuck here,” he replied, his voice carrying a playful whine. “Poor me, I can’t even see my Abby.”

“Had I known you’d end up stuck there, I never would’ve let you go,” Abigail huffed.

“I was actually supposed to come back a few days ago, but Grandpa’s been sick for a while. I wanted to stay and keep him company for a few more days,” Sebastian explained.

Her tone shifted at once, “Is it serious?”

Sebastian chuckled briefly. “Nothing too serious. Winters in Chesterwick are just harsh. You know how it is with elderly folks, they tend to get sick easily when the cold season comes.”

“Then stay with him a little longer,” Abigail said softly. She agreed that Sebastian should be there for his grandfather. With Sebastian spending all year in Cobridge, Darian must miss him terribly.

“I want to be with you too,” Sebastian said, his voice low and warm over the phone. “Grandpa wants me to bring you here for New Year’s and celebrate it at our place. What do you think?”

Just hearing his voice made Abigail feel all soft inside. She hesitated, then asked, “What if I run into your dad?” She bit her lip after the question, almost regretting it.

“He won’t be there. Ever since my mom passed away, my Grandpa hasn’t let him set foot in the house. Grandpa doesn’t even acknowledge him as his son-in-law anymore. Not that he cares anyway,” Sebastian said casually.

Abigail leaned against the bed, her phone on speaker as she skimmed through emails from the R&D department on her tablet. “Can I ask you something personal? Got a minute?”

“Shoot,” Sebastian said readily.

“Were you and Ms. Prescott childhood sweethearts?” Abigail asked, biting her lower lip.

“Asking this makes me sound like some jealous girlfriend,” Abigail thought to herself. “Okay, maybe I’m a little jealous?”

“If simply growing up together makes us childhood sweethearts, then does that mean every female classmate I attended university with also qualifies as that?” Sebastian countered dismissively. While the Prescott family might push that narrative, he’d never subscribed to it.

Abigail chimed in, “So you two did grow up together, then.”

“We grew up together until high school, but to me, she was just an acquaintance, a neighbor I happened to know.”

“Compared to her, you’ve actually taken up far more space in my life, ever since the moment I started sponsoring you,” Sebastian said earnestly, as if stating some profound truth.

To her surprise, after all the twists and turns, the conversation circled right back to her whole world.

She was still searching for the right response when she heard Sebastian continue softly, “Ever since my mom passed away, you’ve been my everything.”

His words caught Abigail completely off guard, sending her heart racing. Abigail blurted out, “What about James and Warren!”

“How could that possibly be the same?” Sebastian’s voice was softer than usual, warmer, with a low magnetic timbre. “They’re my friends, and they’re men. But you and my mom… you’re women. She taught me to stay faithful in love. And you… you taught me how to love.”

Abigail bit her lip, and after a long pause, she finally muttered, “You’re such a smooth talker. It’s getting late. I’m calling it a night.”

Sebastian coaxed softly, “Let’s video chat? I wanna see your face, hmm?”

“Then why didn’t you just video call me in the first place?” Abigail grumbled, but despite her words, she still hung up, switched to her tablet, logged into WhatsApp, and initiated a video call.

Sebastian picked up instantly.

On the tablet screen, his handsome face appeared, wearing that familiar, easygoing smile. Yet his eyes–solemn and intense–were locked on Abigail, as if she were the only one in his world.

Abigail rested the tablet on her lower abdomen, deliberately avoiding Sebastian’s gaze. Instead, she pretended to be absorbed in the headache-inducing code from the R&D team.