Not One, But Two!

Chapter 21

When Abigail's eyes lit up, Greg noticed her subtle reaction and confirmed that his suspicions were right. Thus, he chuckled coldly and said, "You'd better hope I don't find anything, or else…"

"I'm not going to waste my breath talking to you." Abigail turned around and made her way toward Alissa's room.

The moment she entered the room, she was slightly stunned—it seemed like it was Greg's room. The interior of the space had a simplistic black and white theme to it, and Alissa could be seen curled up in the large, white bed as she slept adorably.

Abigail walked closer and removed the blanket that was covering her face. Upon sensing the child's steady breathing in her sleep, Abigail smiled and felt surprised about the fact that Greg was so certain that Alissa was his daughter. At the thought of that, she wasn't sure if she should be happy or sad about the matter.

All of a sudden, Alissa grasped Abigail's arm in her sleep while she mumbled, "Daddy! I have a daddy, so stop laughing at me!"

Upon hearing her daughter's words, Abigail couldn't help but feel a stab of pain in her heart. As she looked at the smile on Alissa's face, she felt a pang of guilt surging through her.

Over the years, she always made sure to give her daughters the best life and education they deserved. She did everything she possibly could to make that happen, but even so, she failed to fill the emptiness within her children's hearts.

Is it really that important for them to experience fatherly love?

When Abigail was younger, Philip had married Sasha and took her home along with Emma. However, her life took a turn for the worse when Philip chose to stand by and do nothing to stand up for her every time Sasha wronged her. Instead, Abigail was the one who always received the scolding and lecturing.

As time went by, she started to think that her father would never protect her at all. Thus, she naturally thought that a father figure wouldn't make a difference in changing her children's life for the better until she witnessed the desire on Alissa's face. As her daughter's expression made her tears well up in her eyes, she stood up and walked toward the window.

In front of Abigail was the bird's eye view of the entire city of Harrion, yet she was worried about her younger daughter, Arianna. As she wondered how her daughter was doing, Abigail reached for her phone and video called her daughter. As soon as the call connected, Arianna was seen lying in bed in a sickly manner.

"Mommy, when are you coming back with Alissa?" Arianna appeared to be wearing her pajamas with cartoons on them as she rubbed her nose non-stop.

"I don't think I'll be back anytime soon. Something has come up with my latest surgery, and I need to get it fixed, my dear. How do you feel now, Arianna?" Abigail asked in a concerned manner.

"Much better."

"I thought we stored some medicine for you in case of an emergency, right? How did the asthma attack happen?" Abigail couldn't figure out the reason behind Arianna's latest attack. After all, Arianna's congenital asthma was the biggest reason that motivated Abigail to venture into the medical world.

Arianna shook her head. "I don't know. I remember putting it in front of the computer, but it was gone after that. Perhaps I misplaced it or something."

"Who touched your computer?"

"No one, but I think Alissa used the computer to browse the internet earlier."

Upon hearing Arianna's story, Abigail began to understand what had happened. Judging from Alissa's bluff manner, it didn't come as a surprise to Abigail that her elder daughter might have carelessly knocked the medicine over from the computer while she was using it, which was likely the reason why Arianna couldn't find her medicine. "Please keep it with you wherever you go from now on. Okay?"

"Okay, I heard you," answered Arianna obediently.

"Take good care of yourself, and give me a call if there is anything. Meanwhile, I'll arrange for someone to deliver you your meals." Abigail couldn't stop worrying about her younger daughter.

However, Arianna shook her head and said, "Don't worry about me, Mom. Papa said he'll take me to his place where I can stay for two days while we wait for you to come and pick me up."

Abigail froze when she heard that. "Your Papa is back?"

"Yeah, Papa is back." While Arianna happily answered her mother's question, Abigail appeared a little avoidant in response to that question.

"Well, I guess it's better for you to be with Papa. I won't be as worried then," Abigail subconsciously replied.

Soon, Arianna heard the sound of a car's engine and happily asked, "Papa is back, Mommy. Do you want to talk to him?"

"No, dear. I'm a little busy right here, but I want you to behave yourself when you get to your Papa's place, okay?"

"Alright, Mommy. Bye." Arianna quickly ended the video call.

At the thought of Hugh, Abigail couldn't help but feel goosebumps running all over her body. Deep down, she reckoned it was wise for her to distance herself from him, but she could trust him to treat her daughters well nonetheless. As soon as Abigail hung up the call and turned around, she saw Greg standing at the door and was frightened by the sight of the man. "Oh, gosh! Are you a ghost or something? I didn't hear your footsteps at all. Besides, why didn't you knock before you entered the room? I didn't know you had a habit of listening in on people's conversations!"

Greg's eyes were rather cold, and he asked the lady, "This is my room, so why do I have to knock before coming in?"

Abigail was rendered speechless, and she did not know what to say in response. "What did you hear?" Her heart was pounding rapidly. After all, she didn't want Greg to learn about Arianna's existence because Alissa had already been exposed to him. Otherwise, she would have to cry and beg for both her daughters' attention.

Nonetheless, Greg acted as if he didn't hear Abigail and went straight to Alissa's bed to sit there. With his eyes focused on the girl's adorable appearance as she slept, his expression appeared to be much gentler.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." Abigail experienced the man's silent treatment once again.

Greg knitted his eyebrows and said in a hushed tone, "My daughter is sleeping. Can't you see that? If you want to talk with your 'sugar daddy' over the phone, do it outside. I don't want you to set a bad example for my daughter right here." The man nearly succumbed to his anger. Papa?! I can't believe she has a sugar daddy! While sugar daddies were nothing strange in modern society, he didn't think Abigail would pursue a life of comfort and wealth at the cost of her pride and decency, but he knew it wasn't easy for her to raise her two daughters alone. As his mind was filled with images of Abigail having an intimate moment with an older man, Greg's anger and disgust immediately surged through him.

Meanwhile, Abigail was stunned when she heard his words. Wait, what? A sugar daddy? Ugh! Greg must have missed the earlier part of the conversation. She then heaved a sigh of relief and said, "It's not what you think it is."

"You don't have to explain it to me, Abigail. I wouldn't have given a damn about how you lived your life if this happened back then, but now that I'm aware of my daughter's existence, I don't want her to hang around with a promiscuous mother like you. From now on, I'm going to take back my daughter's custody," Greg responded in a serious manner.

"I gave birth to my daughter, Greg! You want the custody back? Sure, tell that to yourself in your dreams!" Abigail was exasperated.

"Try me then." Greg finished his sentence and looked away as he spoke in a deep voice. "Get out of my room! I don't want you to dirty my place."

"You!" Abigail was angered by Greg's statement, wondering what the man meant behind those offensive words. Is he saying that I'm an escort or something? Now, he's even forbidding me to show up in front of my own child?! Is he out of his mind or something?! She then walked closer to Alissa with the intention of carrying her away, but before her hand could reach the girl, Greg deflected it with his palm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking my daughter out of here."

"You can leave, but my daughter stays! Besides, don't you dare touch her—I don't want her to inherit any of your disgusting illnesses."

As Greg became more verbally abusive, Abigail raised her hand and swung it across the man's face, only to have her wrist caught by the man mid-air. "Do you think you can just slap me in the face all you want?" The moment he flexed his wrist, Abigail was sent flying onto the ground right beside the bed frame.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Greg, who are you to stop me from touching my daughter?! I'm her mother!"

Abigail's blood was boiling, but when she turned around, she saw Greg wiping his hand with a piece of tissue paper with a disgusted look on his face.

Just when she was about to explain what the misunderstanding was about, she immediately swallowed the words that were forming at the tip of her mouth because she knew she would have to mention Arianna. Considering Greg's domineering character, she was certain that he would take Arianna away from her as well.

At the thought of that, Abigail quickly took a deep breath and suppressed her anger, thinking that she should be less concerned about his opinions. What he thinks about me is his own problem. In fact, I think it's probably better for us if he keeps thinking that way. There is no better excuse to stay away from this man than this one, after all. Despite the thought of that, Abigail still couldn't help but feel sad and disappointed as she walked out of the room with a heavy heart. Fine, I'll grant his wish then. I don't want to stay here and see his face either.

Watching as Abigail walked away, Greg's eyes turned cold and indifferent. How could this lady just abandon her daughter and leave like that? Is she really Alissa's mother? Greg could barely hide his anger when he recalled Abigail mentioning her sugar daddy on the phone. However, what irked him more was that Abigail did as he said and walked out on him and Alissa like that. Are you seriously a mother, Abigail?

Greg got up from the bed huffily and made his way to the bedroom's door, and he caught sight of Abigail talking to his butler. "Hi, is there a guest room in this house?"

Was she not planning to leave?

Upon seeing that, Greg lightened up considerably. He felt glad that Abigail still had some sense in her. Hmph!

When he turned around and looked back, he realized that Alissa had already woken up.

At that moment, Alissa rubbed her eyes and slowly made out Greg's face with her sleepy eyes. The moment she managed to identify Greg's looks, her eyes lit up with thrill and excitement like the stars in the sky even before she figured out where she was. "Daddy!" She then sat upright, ready to spring off the bed while giving Greg a frightening scare.

"Slow down, girl!" Greg quickly approached the girl, but due to his height, he had to crouch down to catch her. In the meantime, Alissa had no idea that her action just gave Greg a heart attack. Instead, she praised her father happily with a bright smile.

"You're awesome, Daddy! You managed to catch me!"

Seeing the girl's smiling face, Greg swallowed his lecture while rubbing Alissa's head. "I can do many other things too besides catching you. You'll find out in no time."

"Is that so?" Alissa appeared skeptical.

Greg refused to show weakness to his daughter, so he nodded in response. "Of course."

"In that case, are you able to fight?"

Greg was stunned, wondering what kind of question Alissa had just asked. Did she just ask if I could fight? When he noticed the excitement that filled his daughter's eyes, Greg suddenly had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

"You like to fight, don't you?"

"Not really, I just like to be active."

Upon hearing Alissa's words, Greg curled his lips upward while questioning Abigail's parenting method deep down. How did you raise your daughter, Abigail? At the thought of the lady, his eyes darkened as he was somehow reminded of the sugar daddy she had been talking about.