Before Life 330 Chapter 301

“Abigail has no one to blame but herself. She’s the one who messed up. Dan, you’re just too soft,” Stephen snapped, anger bubbling up. He stared at Abigail’s back and let out a cold snort. “She knows we feel guilty, so she’s pushing her luck. I’d love to see what kind of job she thinks she can land. Let’s see if she can even support herself without the allowance we gave her.”

Ralph frowned slightly, his tone cooling. “It’s getting late. I should go.”

Stephen stopped him, clearly annoyed. “You just got here. Why are you leaving already? Stay for breakfast, then take Dani to work. She’s your fiancée. You two need to spend more time together.”

At the word “fiancée,” Ralph’s eyes darkened. “I have an early meeting. I don’t have time today. Dani, sorry!”

Daniella gave a weak smile. “It’s okay, Ralphie. If work’s busy, you should go take care of it.”

Ralph nodded and turned to leave. As soon as he was gone, Stephen looked at Daniella’s tearful eyes and got even more upset. “What’s wrong with Ralph? He agreed to the engagement. What’s he trying to pull now?”

Daniella lifted her bear-filled eyes and shook her head. “Stephen, it’s not Ralphie’s fault. This engagement shouldn’t have been mine in the first place. Abby must really hate me. But I love Ralphie so much.” Tears rolled down Daniella’s cheeks, and Stephen’s heart ached for her. He said, “Abigail must’ve said something to Ralph. She probably thinks if she does that, she can marry him herself. As if the Fletcher family would ever accept her.”

Stephen could tell Abigail didn’t take him seriously, which only made him angrier. He made up his mind–he was going to teach her a lesson. Daniella saw the anger on Stephen’s face and felt secretly pleased, but the satisfaction faded fast as she remembered how Ralph treated Abigail so differently. A flash of resentment passed through her eyes. Abigail didn’t know that Daniella had added her to her mental blacklist once again.

She was waiting for a ride. The app showed a driver had accepted, but since the pickup point was a little far, it would take a while. Her phone buzzed with a new message. Abigail looked down at the screen. Someone had texted her: [Are you short on cash?]

Her fingers paused. She thought, “I never told him I took a job. How does he know?”

Abigail replied: [A little. Not anymore though.]

She’d just gotten out of prison with nothing to her name. Bianca had gone on and on about how guilty she felt but hadn’t offered her a dime. Abigail figured maybe Bianca didn’t want to. Either way, Abigail didn’t care anymore. She had no interest in touching a single cent of the Gibson family’s money. Since she had some free time last night, Abigail had picked up a few small gigs and made a bit of money. A few thousand dollars should be enough to tide her over until her first paycheck.

That person texted: [Alright. If you need anything, just ask.]

Chapter 101

Abigail stared at the message. She felt a mix of warmth and surprise. She thought, “He’s never been the type to get involved. But maybe it’s like he sees me as his student.”

“Ms. Gibson,” someone suddenly called out behind her.

Snapped out of her thoughts by the familiar voice, Abigail looked up and saw Ralph. His car pulled to a stop. His eyes settled on her. “Where are you going? I have time, I’ll take you.”

Abigail had agreed to ride with Ralph before because she had been out of touch with the city for three years and didn’t know her way around Cobridge anymore. But now, with everything going on–especially with Ralph and Daniella’s connection–and the fact Abigail still hadn’t seen Wyatt, Abigail didn’t want more trouble. And right now, Ralph was trouble.

“Mr. Fletcher, thank you for the offer, but I already called a ride,” Abigail said, holding up her phone politely.

Ralph’s expression turned cold as he seemed irritated. Without another word, he rolled up the window, and the car pulled away. When the ride dropped her off at Halden Group, Abigail didn’t go in right away. She stood outside and called Jeremiah.

“Hello? Who is this?” Jeremiah asked.

“It’s me. Abigail,” she said.

He sounded a bit surprised. “Ms. Gibson, you got here a little too early. Hold on, I’ll be right there.”

After the call ended, Abigail checked the time. It was seven in the morning. She thought, “This counts as early?”

Jeremiah rushed over and spotted her waiting outside the building. He walked up quickly. “Ms. Gibson, I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I got here too early.” Abigail had already checked the company’s working hours on her phone.

Jeremiah wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave her a small smile. “Let’s head up. You can meet your department manager and the rest of the team.”

Abigail looked a little confused. She thought, “Didn’t he say work hasn’t started yet? They’re already here?”

Jeremiah gave a helpless look. “They pulled an all-nighter. They’re probably still upstairs resting.”

As they stepped into the elevator and he pressed the floor number, Abigail asked in a calm voice, “Do people here have to work overtime?”

Jeremiah froze for a second, then quickly explained, “Ms. Gibson, first of all, the company doesn’t force anyone to work overtime. Second, overtime hours are paid. And third, they’re doing it on their own. You’ll understand why once you get there.”

He spoke carefully, trying to make sure Abigail didn’t leave before even getting upstairs. He didn’t want her complaining about him to the CEO. Thinking of that, Jeremiah glanced at Abigail’s face. She didn’t look like she was planning to leave. He finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

The elevator doors opened. Jeremiah took the lead and introduced, “Ms. Gibson, this floor is the Software Development Department.”

Chapter 302