Chapter 29 A Shirtless Showdown
Ste <b>had </b>expected it–either <b>Ethan </b>or someone from the Reed family.
She instinctively nced up at Abraham, and sure enough, the warmth in his eyes hadpletely disappeared.
Her grip on the phone trembled. “No, that’s <b>not </b>what 1-
You like money, don’t you? The card I gave you is still open–buy whatever you want, as much as you want.”
Finished
The condition was simple–bring Rianne back. But before Ethan could finish, Abraham plucked <b>the </b>phone from Ste’s <b>hand </b>and hung up without hesitation.
Their eyes met for a brief moment. Under his cold, piercing gaze, Ste instinctively lowered her head, not daring to look at
him
Abraham’s voice was icy. “He treats you well, doesn’t <b>he</b>?”
Ste forced a dryugh. “No.”
Abraham’s tone sharpened. “He’s willing to give you anything you ask for.
Ste fell silent. <i>If </i>someone only heard Ethan’s words without any context, that’s exactly what it toonld sound like.
“It was all for a reason,” she muttered. “It wasn’t because he had feelings for me.”
For some reason, whenever the topic of emotions came up, she felt guilty in front of Abraham. Probably because back <b>in </b>school, he had always drilled into her head. No dating allowed!
She endured hours of relentless questioning. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and she slumped over onto Abraham’sp. falling asleep.
Under the bright living room lights, Abraham brushed a <b>few </b><b>strands </b>of hair <b>from </b>her face, tucking them behind her ear. Then, without hesitation<b>, </b>he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.
When he stepped back into the living room, Abel was already <b>waiting </b><b>there</b><b>, </b>surveying the small apartment.
“Should we take Ms. Dawson back to Verdant Vi?” Abel <b>asked</b>.
Verdant <b>Vilia </b>was located <b>in </b><b>the </b><b>Shallow </b><b>Bay </b>area of Rivermount. When that piece ofnd first became avable, every powerful family in the city had tried to get their hands on it.
But back then, Ste had nced at a scenic rmendation and casually mentioned she liked it. Thend became Abraham’s in an instant.
The original n had been to develop luxury <b>seaside </b>residences, <b>but </b><b>Abraham </b>had <b>personally </b>remodeled it to fit Ste’s preferences instead.
He had intended to gift it to her on hering–of–<b>age </b>ceremony, but before that could <b>happen</b>, disaster struck the Dawson family, and she <b>vanished</b>.
Abraham stepped onto the <b>balcony</b>, lighting <b>a </b>cigarette. He <b>took </b><b>a </b>slow drag before exhaling.
“Don’t move her <b>tonight</b>. Let her sleep. Just bring my things up.”
Hearing that Abraham nned to stay the night, Abel instinctively nced around the small apartment again.
“You’re staying here?”
Abraham shot him <b>a </b>frosty <b>re</b>. “Is there a problem?”
Chapter 29 A Shirtless Showdown
Sleeping in this cramped apartment was just because Abraham didn’t want to wake Ste up
Finished
Abel hurried to bring Abraham’s things upstairs. Once Abiel left, Abraham took his time inspecting Ste’s apartment–every corner, every inch.
we
Only when he waspletely sure there were no traces of another man did the tension in his body finally ease.
He grabbed a fresh towel from her linen cab. The only options were soft pastels–pink and light yellow–all fluffy and clearly picked with care.
A style that was unmistakably her. Without hesitation, Abraham grabbed one and headed to the bathroom.
Half–asleep, Ste stirred, waking up only because she really had to use the restroom. Annoyed, she groggily crawled out of bed, her eyes still half–closed, and shuffled <b>toward </b>the bathroom.
The moment she stepped out of the bedroom, she froze.
<b>Abraham </b><b>was </b>standing there, fresh from the shower, a towel–her towel–wrapped loosely around his waist.
Ste’s mind went nk. Thest traces of sleep vanished instantly.
She barely had time to react before the doorbell rang, ringing urgently.
Startled, she nced toward the entrance, then back at Abraham.
He frowned. “Someone’s looking for you at this hour?”
The clock on the wall pointed to 5 AM. It wasn’t justte at night–the sun was about to rise.
The doorbell rang again, this time more aggressively. Ethan hadpletely lost it. When Lillian woke up again in unbearable pain, he had reached his breaking point.
He didn’t care about the time–he hade straight here.
No matter what, he had to get Ste to agree to Rianne’s return. Lillian couldn’t wait any longer.
Abraham took a seat on the sofa, ncing at Ste. “Open the door
Her eyelid twitched. “Do I have to?”
Before she could say anything else, Ethan’s furious voice erupted from outside,
“Ste! Open the damn door! I need to talk to you!”
Ste was stunned. What the heck is torong with this man? Shouldn’t he be at Lillian’s side at this hourt Why is he here?
“If you don’t open up, I’ll have <b>someone </b>break the lockt‘ Ethan shouted, his rage boiling over.
With all the <bmotion</b>, there was no way Ste <b>was </b><b>still </b>asleep–he knew she was <b>awake</b>.