Xander suddenly reached out. His slender and cold fingertips glided over her cheek, gently tucking her hair behind her ear. "I like it!"Xander liked everything she did for him.Abigail smiled upon hearing that. A faint dimple appeared on her cheek."Lie down on the bed and hold onto that hot water bottle," she said.Xander was a germophobe, and he never went to bed without taking a shower first."I'll take a shower now.""Sure." Abigail responded, turning and rushing into the bathroom. She turned on the heater, then adjusted the water temperature for him."Just take a quick shower. Don't take too long, and be careful not to catch a cold."Knowing that Xander would not wear the hotel's pajamas, Abigail looked around and found new pajamas and towels in the changing area. She brought them over and handed them to him."Here, now go ahead and take a shower."Abigail pushed him into the bathroom and hurriedly left the room. Earlier, she had asked the front desk to prepare a plasti
This was the first night they were going to spend with each other after being married for two years. Strictly speaking, it would technically be considered their wedding night.Abigail had decided to wait until Xander fell asleep before she entered the room to avoid embarrassing him just in case he wasn't up to the task. She even stayed in the bathroom for almost half an hour before returning to the bedroom.By the time she returned, he was already asleep, but the bedside lights were still turned on. She tiptoed over, wanting to tuck in his hand that was sticking out of the blanket, but his freezing hands jolted her. His hand was even colder than before. If it were not for his soft breathing, she would have thought that it was a corpse on the bed instead.Xander, still fast sleep, pulled Abigail into his arms and held her tightly after feeling a touch of warmth from her. That seductive position they were in made Abigail uneasy and she instinctively struggled. Xander may not have been
Xander's deep laughter echoed behind her. "Get ready and join me for breakfast. I made it myself."The breakfast was a simple fare—whole wheat bread with eggs, milk, and vegetable salad. But Xander had made it himself, and this added a special sense of satisfaction to Abigail's meal."It's delicious. I love it!""If you like it, I'll make it for you every day." Xander handed her the warm milk.As Abigail lifted her glass and took a sip, it left a white ring of milk around her lips. Xander reached out, gently wiping it away with his finger before bringing it to his own lips.Silent, Abigail thought, 'Isn't he a germaphobe? We're not that close, are we? Besides, this whole scenario could easily lead to wild speculations!' Embarrassed, she avoided his gaze, biting into the bread. But the moment her lips touched it, a hiss of pain escaped her.Concern creased Xander's forehead as he reached out, gently touching her lips. "Does it hurt?""Yeah, I think I might be a bit dehydrated." A
Abigail instinctively wanted to pull away, but her back was against the wall, so she had nowhere to go. She could only watch, wide-eyed, as Xander scooped more of the salve onto her lips. His approach was patient and focused, seemingly intent on addressing every inch of her lips. His gentle and meticulous actions were both comforting and nerve-wracking, causing Abigail's cheeks to flush and her heart to race.She thought perhaps if she could not see what he was doing, she would not be so excited, so she closed her eyes. However, the absence of sight only left all her other senses even more heightened.Her eyes flickered open, only to meet Xander's deep gaze head-on."All done."His voice was slightly hoarse, and Abigail faintly heard the sound of him swallowing. Work time was fast approaching; she tried to shake off the stirring feelings he evoked in her and focus on the tasks ahead."We have an important schedule today, Mr. Zane," she said, attempting to regain her professional d
They were both women, yet Daisy demeaned women with each word that came out of her mouth, as if women were born to be playthings for men. Abigail believed that women should be seen as thoughtful, independent individuals, not as someone else's property."You're going to regret not making this deal with me." Daisy warned.Abigail did not want to get into a verbal sparring match with her. "Well, let's just wait and see who ends up regretting," she replied curtly before ending the call.She immediately dialed Justin. "Mr. York, there's more money to be made. Are you in or out?"Justin answered enthusiastically, "Oh, Moneybags! Moneybags! You're my personal jackpot!"Abigail chuckled at his exaggerated excitement. "How did I suddenly become a jackpot?""Do you have any idea how much I made yesterday?" Justin asked."How much?""Take a wild guess."Abigail guessed he made quite a sum from the way he was excited. She tried to guess high. "$500,000?""You need to aim higher, Abigail.
"Who, boyfriend? No, he's my husband." Abigail clarified.Justin started firing question after question. "You got married? When did this happen? How come I didn't know about this? How old are you again? How come you've already tied the knot so quickly?""Just yesterday was the second anniversary of our wedding. Didn't I mention before that I've been married for a while?"Justin was flabbergasted. "Two years already? That long? You're not even twenty-five yet, right? So two years ago you were barely twenty-three, meaning you got married right after college?"Abigail nodded. "Yeah, about then, I guess..."Justin continued. "So, this guy, was he your college classmate, or a co-worker?"Abigail had known Justin for many years. He was one of her few friends, aside from Felix and Melody. During college, Abigail and her friends often did part-time jobs with Justin. She trusted him like an older brother and did not feel the need to hide anything from him."He wasn't my classmate or a co
Her sudden embrace caught him off guard. Xander froze momentarily, then opened his arms to catch her soft body.Abigail wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "I eat well, sleep well, and I'm as healthy as a horse. Grandma always says I'm like a small furnace. If you hold me, you won't feel cold anymore."She thought his cough was because he was still feeling cold.Xander shook his head helplessly. "I don't feel particularly cold.""N-Not cold?" Abigail touched his hand, pondering, 'He's not as cold as last night, but he's not warm either. In this hot weather, this can't be normal.'Good thing she had contacted Dr. Watson in advance, asking him to rush to their office to check on Xander.Xander covered the area over his heart. "It's here that feels uncomfortable."On hearing this, Abigail's face turned pale with worry. "Heartache, is it? Don't worry, I'll get ahold of Dr. Watson immediately."Xander replied, "Heartache... because you've been chatting with another guy the en
"After you sent me home that day, I told him the news that Daisy was wearing a counterfeit and got him to use this information as the next day's headline. His news immediately broke out and earned him a pretty sum, so he gave me half of the earnings." Abigail looked at Xander, her eyes not unlike bright sapphires. "Mr. Zane, can you guess how much I got?"'So, it turns out that the reason she chatted so long with that man was for money.'This little money grubber!'Xander had heard her mentioning some numbers earlier, and it did not take much for him to guess how much she had gotten. However, he still played along. "Give me a hint."Abigail made a big gesture. "A huge, huge sum of money."Of course, the concept of a huge sum of money differed from person to person.For Xander, it would at least take 10 billion for him to consider it a huge sum of money.For Abigail however, 2 million was already considered a large sum.Yet, to just play along and make her happy, Xander lowered