Chapter 272
Abigail held her gaze. “So, you’re saying he’s the result of your calculated decision? The most suitable candidate after your careful deliberation?”
“My elders decided he was the best match for me,” Blair replied coolly. “You’ve only seen him as a man, but you have no idea what the Robinson family truly is. As long as he carries the Robinson name, as long as that blood runs in his veins, he doesn’t have the luxury of marrying for love. Of course,” she added with a careless shrug, “if he still wants to keep seeing you after the wedding, that can be arranged.”
In that moment, Abigail saw it clearly. Blair didn’t love Sebastian. No woman in love would speak with such casual disregard. She had once thought the idea of love as something sacred was naïve, but compared to Blair’s outlook, even that seemed less absurd.
“I’ll admit, I don’t fully understand what the Robinson family is like,” Abigail said, frowning slightly. “But I know there’s no shortage of wealthy families just like them.”
Blair let out a laugh and swept her eyes over Abigail’s face with something between mockery and amusement. “Plenty of rich men, sure. But ones like Sebastian? Practically nonexistent. Our family doesn’t just care about lineage. We want exceptional genes. You do understand that, don’t you?”
Abigail thought of Sebastian for a moment, and she had to concede. Blair had a point. Most heirs to elite families were either plain or overweight, or else lived in such indulgent chaos that they were hardly enviable. Sebastian was different. He was tall, strikingly handsome, in impeccable shape, and above all, he was capable, focused, and driven. Of course he was in high demand.
“You talk about it like you’re arranging livestock for breeding,” Abigail said bluntly.
Blair visibly bristled at the remark. “Ms. Gibson!”
“Ms. Prescott,” Abigail interrupted, her voice calm but firm. “Allow me to finish. I may have suffered for believing in love, but that doesn’t change this truth. What separates human beings from animals is precisely our capacity to love. We’re not ruled solely by instinct. We form bonds between lovers, between family, among friends. It’s these bonds that allow us to transcend social classes and break free from the chains of circumstance.”
She had known pain, inflicted by those bearing the name Gibson. But there had also been love: the orphanage director who raised her and taught her how to love others in turn; the grandfather who protected her at all costs and quietly laid plans for her future; and even the anonymous benefactor who supported her schooling until she turned twelve. And then there were others, Judy, James, Warren… each of them a thread in the fabric of love that had wrapped around her life.
Blair remained silent, watching her with an unreadable expression.
“It’s those feelings,” Abigail continued, “that make human reproduction more than just survival or duty. We don’t just seek a mate when the time comes. Before any of that, we fall in love. And it’s from that love that new life is born.”
She looked directly at Blair, her gaze cool and unwavering. “You can choose someone who checks all the boxes and pair up when the time feels right. But you have no right to claim a man who’s still searching for something real.”
“Do you even know how Sebastian’s mother died?” Blair asked, not with anger, but with a strange sort of interest, as if she were impressed, perhaps even moved.
“Sebastian never once blamed her,” Abigail replied. “In fact, he loved her deeply. So whatever you say about her, and whether you call her naïve, foolish, or anything else, I’ll only feel sorrow for a woman who lost her life far too young.”
“She loved William at first,” Blair said quietly, turning to the window. “Sebastian’s father. He was handsome, charismatic, came from a respectable family. It was easy for her to fall. But she was too emotional. After they married, she realized William never loved her. He only married her to consolidate power between two elite families. That realization broke her. She sank into depression.”
Abigail propped her chin on her hand and studied Blair in silence.
“That’s why I say, women who believe in love are doomed to tragedy. Love is a luxury the very poor can’t afford, and for the very wealthy, it’s a liability. So believe me when I say, he’s not right for you.” She rose, brushing nonexistent dust from her skirt. Her eyes returned to Abigail’s. “I actually liked Sebastian’s mother. Her death still feels like a waste. So, forgive me if I think you’re too optimistic about him.”
Only then did Abigail truly see Blair for who she was: a woman so rational it was almost terrifying.
“Maybe I am,” Abigail said quietly. “But some things are worth trying, even if you fail.”
“You’re so naïve,” Blair said with a smile, “it almost makes me not want to come after you at all.” She lifted her chin and walked away, her heels clicking sharply across the floor.