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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFERS BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
Chapter 126 Bittersweet
Abigail dropped the stuff toys that Alex had won from that claw machine at the orphanage. She had her hospital appointment that day so she had taken the day off.
The children were very happy as they received the small gifts that they were given and Abi was extremely happy as well as she looked at their bright, happy faces. She even took pictures of the smiling children because she was planning to show it to Alex once she returned to his house.
Thoughts of Alex filled her mind again and a blush crept up to her cheeks, but luckily, the children and teachers were too busy looking at all the gifts she had brought to notice.
However, Abi's smile later faded as soon as she heard that Little Betty had been in the hospital since two nights ago.
Her face fell and the news broke her heart. Her mind was preoccupied with many thoughts about the little child as she headed to the hospital. At least one comfort was that It just so happened that her doctor was at the same hospital where Little Betty was admitted, so Abi made sure to visit her before her doctor's appointment.
When she got there, she went straight to the little girl's room. The girl was lying on the bed with an oxygen mask and tubes were hooked up all over her. But still, she smiled brightly the moment she saw Abi.
The little girl looked very weak and it pained Abi's heart so much to see her like that. Her heavy heart was already filled with sadness but then a memory of her own mother, also lying on the hospital bed like that, surfaced in her mind and the pain cut even deeper.
"How are you?" Abi asked softly as she held the little girl's hand.
"Feeling better," she smiled. "I missed you, Abi."
"I missed you, too, sweetie." Abi started to feel quite emotional but she did her best to fight the lurking tears in her eyes. "Ah, I have bought some gifts for you."
She tried to be cheerful as she brought out the toys that she bought from Country V for Little Betty. She also gave her the cute bear that Alex had won from the claw machine.
"They're so cute. Thank you, Abi! Now I have a friend to stay here with me." The girl was happy as she hugged the toy in her weak hands.
Unfortunately, their time together was cut off because it was time for the little girl to take her medication. She knew that Little Betty would soon fall asleep once the medicine took effect so she stayed for a while until the girl fell asleep.
Her heart was heavy as she left the ward until she arrived at her doctor's room.
As expected, the doctor told her the same thing she did a few weeks ago. The only thing that changed from the doctor's statement was her warnings. The doctor told her more fiercely to take extra care and be more careful because her condition was like a ticking time bomb.
Abi was calm when she came out of her doctor's room but anyone who saw her at that moment could already tell that what she heard inside was bad news.
Her grip on the door knob as she closed it was tight. Then she leaned on the wall and stared at the ceiling as she took some heavy deep sighs. She felt like the people passing by the hallway were shadows and the sound she was hearing were sad… sad music.
But a smile still curved on her face. She thought she shouldn't be like this. She told herself that there were others who were in much, much more difficult situations than she was in. Some even left this world unannounced and some left too soon, before they could even see what the world was like. She knew that she was still fortunate compared to the others who couldn't do anything anymore. She was lucky because she still had the time to fulfill her wishes. She was blessed because she had met someone who was willing to fulfill those for her.
Thinking about Alex, Abi's smile turned bittersweet and she sighed again, trying to keep calm.
She remembered that she had planned to visit home after her appointment and spend the whole afternoon with her family so she took another deep breath and composed herself.
However, before she could take a step to leave, Abi froze in place.
Her eyes flew wide when she saw a man standing there, looking back at her. Ezekiel Qin! What was he doing here?!
Abi's heart started pounding, as if she was some thief that had been busted in action. She couldn't move her feet. She had heard a while ago from her doctor that this hospital had just been sold to the Qin Enterprise but she never once thought that Ezekiel Qin would be here! She knew that he was now the CEO of this hospital but… how could he patrol the hospital's wards the very next day after he acquired the place?! Relax Abi, just act normally and he won't suspect anything. It is pretty normal to be seen inside a hospital.
Abi's panic somehow started to dissolve as she did her best to stay calm.
The man was accompanied by some other men in expensive suits, who looked like they might be directors of this hospital, and he looked very respectable as always, like the noble, powerful man that he was. He was saying something while the men with him were nodding but his eyes were still on her.
Abi breathed silently and finally moved. She acted very normally and slightly nodded at him like how people usually do when they pass by someone they know, but aren't well acquainted with, on the street.
And then she started stepping away casually, however, she didn't even take five steps when,
"Miss Chen," Ezekiel Qin called her.
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Chapter 127 Awkward silence
Abi jolted and stood frozen on the floor as his voice echoed in her mind. Her brain stuttered for a moment. Every part of her went on pause while her thoughts caught up.
She forced herself to think and moved her legs to turn. Once she did, she found that Ezekiel Qin was already standing right before her.
His stoic eyes were questioning her but no word left his lips. He simply glanced at the door where she came from. Did he see her step out of the room?! Abi prayed that he didn't.
"H-hello, Mr. Qin." Abi finally found her tongue and greeted him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his overbearing aura was intense that Abi felt a little uncomfortable. She felt like she was an elementary kid, talking to a strict and stoic looking principal.
"I am just running an errand," she managed to answer normally.
However, the man just stared at her. He was silent, almost as if he was waiting for more explanation. Or more like an investigator waiting for her to confess.
Abi already saw how aloof this CEO was but now that she was alone with him, she found it extremely challenging just to stand there and speak with him. His unfriendly aura and his lack of words was making it difficult for Abi to comfortably speak with him. No wonder those directors surrounding him a while ago looked really tensed.
"Uhm… I still need to visit Little Betty in the ward so I'm–"
"Miss Chen, are you sick?" he suddenly cut her off. Abi felt her throat immediately run dry. She felt like her blood drained from her face but she desperately tried not give anything away.
"No. I just came to pick up some medicine for the kids at the orphanage and also to visit Little Betty. She was admitted into this hospital. Remember that child I brought with me to Alex's house? It's her. Do you want to come with me and visit her? She's in the children's ward."
Somehow, Abi seemed to have managed to turn the odds in her favor. But the man unexpectedly agreed to come. She only asked him if he wanted to come with her because she didn't think that Ezekiel Qin would actually agree and follow her to the ward. She initially thought that the man would decline since he was obviously here for work.
But then, Abi didn't think too much about it. Maybe this man had grown a liking to Little Betty and he just wanted to see her?
As they walked in the hallway, everyone turned around to look at them. Ezekiel Qin was really famous, after all. His fame was on par with superstars in this country. The only difference with him was that nobody dared to approach him or mob him, like what fans do to their idols, when they saw them roaming around in public places like this.
Abi thought that it was maybe because of Ezekiel Qin's intimidating aura but she was sure that his reputation of being the last man people wanted to mess with was the biggest factor as to why people didn't even dare try to do anything funny in his presence.
Seeing the attention this heartthrob, and the so-called number one man every girl wanted to marry in this country, was getting, Abi couldn't help but think what would happen if Alex was with them right now. If these people were to see Alex, what would they do?
The answer Abi came up with was, a disaster. She thought that she would believe him if Alex told her that he purposely hid from the world because he didn't want the trouble his beauty would bring upon him. It seemed ridiculous but it was actually logical.
Finally, the duo reached the ward but Little Betty was still asleep so they simply stood there by the doorway and watched the little sleeping girl.
Ezekiel was silent.
"Will you be coming here often from now on?" Abi broke the awkward silence.
"Probably."
"Uhm, then… Can I ask you to visit her again? Little Betty is actually always asking me about you. She keeps telling me to say hello to you from her," she told him before her gaze fell on the girl again.
"What happened to her?" he asked and Abi's smile slowly faded as she explained Little Betty's condition.
"She doesn't have much left..." Abi's voice became weak. "So can you visit her? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."
"I will see."
"Thank you."
Silence reigned again after that for a long while. Abi finally realized that the man would never speak unless she spoke first.
"Uhm… I need to go back to the orphanage now, Mr. Qin. Little Betty has Mrs. Yan with her so I'll be going back," Abi told him but the man remained silent.
Abi couldn't help but want to scratch her head because of their awkward situation.
"Well then, I'll be off, Mr. Qin." Abi slightly bowed and then turned to leave when...
"I'll drive you there," he said, causing Abi to frantically wave her hands.
"No, no. No need, Mr. Qin. I'm sure you're extremely busy," she politely declined, but the man's brows creased in displeasure.
Abi secretly swallowed. "Uhm. I can't possibly waste your precious time Mr. Qin. I know you're here for a business matter so I'll just take a cab," she explained but the man suddenly walked away, passing her by.
"Let's go," he ordered as if he didn't hear what she just said.
His actions made Abi speechless. Why on earth would this busy man offer her a ride?
In the end, Abi didn't have a choice but to follow him.
From the moment they left the hospital, the car was shrouded with a thick, almost unbearable silence. Abi tried to think of a topic of conversation but she just couldn't find any, until eventually, they arrived at the orphanage without uttering a single word. That was probably the most tensed and most awkward car ride she had ever experienced. She felt a little suffocated by that silence that she couldn't wait to step out of the car so that she could finally breathe again.
However, just as Abi held the door handle to leave, the man finally spoke.
"Miss Chen, what are your feelings towards Alex?"
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Chapter 128 Far away
Abi's hand on the door handle tightened around it. She looked at him and the man's eyes looked extremely serious. Where did that come from? Why was he asking?
His question shocked Abi that she just stared at him and couldn't speak. She never ever thought that she would be having this kind of conversation with this aloof, stoic man! Her brain started to function again and she was about to answer but then, her phone vibrated.
Abi looked at it and saw that it was her dad calling her.
She looked up at Ezekiel Qin with a small apology in her eyes before she picked up the phone and answered it.
"Hello? Dad? Are you already here?" Abi looked outside the car window and saw her dad's car parked near the park. "Okay, I'm coming," she said and when the call ended, she looked at Ezekiel Qin.
"You can go," he told her, not looking at her anymore.
"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Qin."
"Mn."
Once the door was closed, Ezekiel Qin turned and looked at the girl making her way towards another car.
"Sir, are we going back to the company?" the driver asked.
Ezekiel Qin didn't answer. He just stared silently at Abigail for a while before he spoke. "No, let's go back to the hospital."
Abi heard the car leave as she got to her dad's car. She turned around and watched it disappear before turning her attention back to her dad who was waiting for her. She hugged the old man and the two happily chatted as they drove out of the city.
That afternoon, Abi spent her time pleasantly with her family. She went to her room and stayed there for a while until it was finally time for her to go back.
Her family were all smiles as they said goodbye to her. They didn't give her any more advice like the last time she was here to visit. It seemed like they finally accepted that their girl was already a grown up lady.
Abi rode a cab back to the city. She was thinking about the request she should ask today as she stared out the window. That was when she realised that she really missed Alex. It had only been a few hours but she felt like it was days since she last saw him.
Letting out a sigh, Abi went to get her phone from inside her bag, when all of the sudden, the cab squealed into a full stop. Abi bumped her head on the back of the driver's seat as she heard a loud, deafening noise.
"Miss, are you okay?" the driver asked as he looked towards her.
Abi's hand was on her head. She was glad that the seat wasn't made of harder material or her head might be bleeding by now.
Seeing that she was alright, the driver climbed out of the cab.
She too, climbed out to survey the scene. The scene of the accident was a shocking one. She saw that a car had collided into a big truck and it was almost crumpled. She immediately shuddered, thinking that people inside it might have been dead, but fortunately, there was only one passenger in the car and he looked like he only suffered minor injuries, which was incredibly impressive and unbelievable, looking at the state of the car!
While they waited for the police to clear the road, Abi found out that their car just narrowly missed the collision and that if the white car didn't cut in, maybe the cab she was in would be the one that collided with that truck!\t
Thinking about it made her stomach feel uncomfortable and uneasy. She couldn't help but remember Kelly's warning about people trying to hurt her because she was with Alexander Qin.
…
Due to the collision, it was already past twilight when she arrived at Alex's house. She was ten minutes late.
Her steps were hurried as she entered the door and she immediately ran towards the fireplace where Alex would always sit while waiting for her.
When she spotted him sitting there, Abi felt relieved. She smiled, happy that she was finally able to see him. She silently walked and even tiptoed towards him, to surprise him.
However, as she walked closer, something made Abi halt in her tracks. Alex was silent as always, doing nothing, but Abi could feel the coldness he was exuding. And for some reason, she felt like something had changed.
She felt as though he had become distant, like the moon so far away, impossible for her to reach.
"You're late, Abigail," his deep voice was cold. "You broke the rule again… for the second time…" he trailed off, not turning to look at her and Abi was temporarily incapacitated.
Alex was… scaring her.
"Come over, Abigail," he ordered and Abi swallowed before she walked towards him and stood before him.
The moment she stared in his eyes, her heart slightly trembled. Her brain desperately scrambled to figure out what was going on. Why Alex was suddenly like this.
She just felt that this was not because of the rule she broke. She had done it before but it never elicited this kind of reaction. This had to be because of something else.
Abigail was tonguetied. She couldn't speak as she looked at him. Why was Alex like this? Why did he suddenly become this cold? Did something happen?
As Abi was frantically asking herself so many questions, a thought entered her mind. She remembered Ezekiel Qin and the thought that the man might have found out about her secret and told Alex about it made her feel like something knocked every wisp of air from her lungs. She couldn't breathe for a moment. But she persevered because she might be totally wrong!
"Abigail…" he called her name again and she felt goosebumps run down her spine. She never heard him spout her name with such coldness before.
Alexander kept her rooted in place by the binding force of his stare. "I hope you prepared yourself," he continued.
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Chapter 129 Fear
"A-alex… I… I'm sorry…" she stammered as she tried to apologise and explain. "I… I didn't mean to be late. I… There was an –"
"Abigail… I've already told you. Rules are rules," he cut through her, his voice merciless, without even a tiny trace of warmth. Abi felt like her heart was being squeezed tightly as she looked at his face. Her heart was thumping loudly in her ears, so loud that it was deafening. Was all this coldness simply the result of her breaking the rules? She couldn't make herself believe it. She just knew there was something else that was causing him to become like this.
She felt like crying, not because of fear or because she was scared of the punishment, but because she didn't like it when he became this scary. She didn't like seeing Alex looking so cold, as if he was heartless and soulless. This wasn't the Alex that she had come to know.
Despite the suffocating look emanating from his eyes, Abi opened her mouth again. "Okay, I'm not going to ask you to forgive me," she uttered. Her voice was weak. Her lips trembled a little. "I will take my punishment so c-can you go back to normal now?" she asked. "Please Alex… I don't like you being like this. Please? Please, don't be angry anymore," she pleaded but Alex's face darkened even more, as if he didn't like her reading him.
"I'm not angry, Abigail," he said but the girl stubbornly shook her head.
"Then… why are you like this?"
"You know the reason why, Abigail."
She shook her head again.
"No, I don't believe you. This is not only because of the rules I broke. So what else have I done?" she argued. Her voice was filled with worry, panic and fear. "T-tell me, did something happen?" Wet liquid began to lurk in the corner of her eyes. She finally remembered that look in his eyes last night and she knew that whatever happened last night had something to do with his sudden change, too.
But Alex's lips curved up into a quick cold smile and then, he abruptly stood up. He pinched Abi's chin and stared into her eyes. His piercing icy gaze was sharp, so sharp she felt like they were cutting through her.
"Nothing happened, Abigail," he said emotionlessly, repeating what he told her last night when she had asked him the same question.
Abi shook her head again.
"You're… lying… Alex…" she whispered and she saw the man's eyes dim into a pitch black darkness, as his jaws clenched slightly. "I feel that something happened last night. T-that's why you're like this…"
A short silence passed before a wicked and forced smile curved on Alex's face. He slowly rubbed her cheek with his thumb as he spoke. "I'm like this because this is how I am, Abigail. This is the real me. I told you… I'm even colder than you could ever imagine," he uttered and Abi didn't know why, but her heart throbbed in pain. She wanted to shake her head. She wanted to not believe his words, but she could tell from those eyes that he was telling the truth;? that he was like this because this was who he really was.
"Abigail… you're finally scared of me, huh?" he added, looking at her slightly trembling lips. And then, he smiled at her. But that smile was the most painful and devastating smile Abi had even seen in her life. "That's right… that's how you should be acting towards me, Abigail… you should feel nothing towards me but fear…" he whispered before he abruptly let go, turned his back to her and walked out of the room.
Abi was left there, frozen. Her eyes and mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise. Every part of her went on pause. She felt like every wisp of air from her lungs had been knocked out again and she felt like she could hardly breathe. She didn't even register that she was now all alone in what had become a very cold room, despite the warmth of the fire blazing next to her.
…
The moment Alex was out of the living room, his aura blazed with hellfire, as if the darkness inside his soul could not be contained any longer and it was all now leaking out without constraint. He was completely swallowed by his own cold, reeking darkness.
He stood by the door with his fists clenched into tight balls. He didn't even notice Zeke leaning by the wall right beside him until the man spoke.
"I can't see any reason why you need to scare her like that," Zeke said. "At this rate, she will –"
Before Zeke could finish his words, Alex's hand flew like lightning towards Zeke's neck and Alex pressed him hard on the wall.
"Shut up, Zeke…" Alex hissed, gritting his teeth hard.
Zeke didn't react and just stared back at Alex's dangerous gaze.
The next moment, Alex let go of him and left, leaving Zeke leaning there watching him walk away.
Once Alex was gone, Zeke entered the living room as if nothing had happened. He saw Abigail, still standing by the fireplace like a frozen statue.
He quietly walked past her, heading towards his room, but then he paused, as if he had forgotten something, and walked back towards her. He stood in front of her but the girl didn't even seem to notice his presence.
"Miss Chen," Zeke finally called out and Abi was startled. Her gaze flew towards the man before her and her senses slowly returned to the present.
"M-mr. Qin," was all she said. She bit her bottom lips as she looked down, hiding her devastated expression from him. "Mr. Qin, tell me… d-did Alex find out something about me? Is that why he is like that?" she asked, as her fingers gripped the end of her dress.
Suddenly, the man's hand landed on her head.
Abi's body stiffened and she lifted her face up to him, full of surprise.
"Don't worry, this has nothing to do with your secret," he whispered before retracting his hand.
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Chapter 130 Moon
Abi felt like the world stood still. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she tried to hide her shocked expression. Even though she had been worrying about this, that Ezekiel Qin might have become suspicious after seeing her at the hospital, she still couldn't believe that he found her out.
Her face became white as chalk and she started to tremble.
Seeing the girl's reaction, Zeke's eyes slightly widened. He didn't expect her to react like this.
The man's eyes moved as he checked if anyone else was within earshot of the two of them. When he confirmed that it was clear, he slightly bent down and whispered in her ear. "Rest assured that I will not tell anyone about it, not even Alex."
Abi was again stunned. She opened her mouth but no words came out.
"He's like that because he's angry about something else."
"S-something else?"
"Miss Chen… just like the fact that you have a secret that you never want him to find out, you also know that he is hiding something as well, right? This is something that he never wants you to find out, no matter what happens." He stared at her, his eyes calm like there was a drifting gray cloud in them. "I'm not going to meddle in your affairs. I will keep yours and his secrets but… I just want to tell you this, Miss Chen, that no matter what he does to you, no matter how terrifying he becomes, if you want to stay with him… don't ever fear him… or at least, make sure not to show him how scared you are."
Abi just gaped at him as she listened to his words. She couldn't say a word back.
It was then that someone entered the living room.
Zeke glanced at the person before he casually moved away. "Don't worry about him. He'll come back once he calms down," he told her before he left.
Once the man was gone, Abi finally moved from her spot. She abruptly turned and was about to run out but she collided with Kai, the person who walked into the room from behind her.
"Careful," the man said as he held her shoulders, steadying her.
When Abi saw that it was Kai, she immediately asked him where Alex was.
"I don't know. He's probably outside somewhere," the man replied as he looked outside the window. Abi followed his line of sight and she finally realized that a thunderstorm was raging outside.
When Kai saw worry and panic flood into her eyes, he immediately tried to coax her.
"Don't worry, Abigail, that guy will be fine. Even if a tornado will eat him, he will still survive," he chuckled. Even though his words seemed like a joke, he wasn't kidding at all.
Abi knew that Alex wasn't a fragile creature like her but that didn't make her feel any better. She walked past Kai and headed to the grand entrance door.
"Wait! Please don't go out!" Kai stood against the door, blocking her. "It's dangerous for you to go out there! The lightning might strike you. Don't worry. Alex will come back soon. That guy's just throwing a tantrum. It's nothing serious. Hehe. And I didn't mean he's just outside the house. I meant that he went somewhere far from here. So just wait for him here, okay?"
Abi could see that the man was doing his best and she didn't want to give him a hard time, but she couldn't contain herself.
"It's okay, Kai. I won't step out into the rain. I will wait for him just outside the door. I promise, I won't run away," she pleaded and the man was speechless.
He was about to coax her again when Zeke's voice rang from behind them.
"Stop blocking her, Kai. Let her do what she wants," he said and Kai pressed his lips into a thin line.
He looked worried as he stared at her. "Promise me that you'll just stay by the door," he hesitantly said and when Abi nodded, he finally moved away from the door, letting her step out. He followed her outside but the girl politely asked him to leave her alone.
Once the door was closed, Abi leaned on it. She stared at the raging rain and the strong wind and a tear fell from her eyes.
She realized what she had done. That look in his eyes when he saw her tremble in fear, squeezed her heart. She remembered that Alex had always tried to scare her away but every time he tried, she always managed to coax his coldness and his terrifying aura away by hugging him. Now that she thought about all those times, she realized that he always mellowed down when she stayed fearless. He even easily softened when she hugged him tightly like she never wanted to let go.? So why didn't she hug him that time? Why did she let him go? Why did she let her fear beat her?
Abi slid down to the ground and she sat on the floor, hugging her knees.
To her, Alex was like the moon. Distant, cold, and lonesome, but he was breathtakingly beautiful and he exuded a light that always warmed her heart. He was ever changing and the light he exuded changed all the time. Despite that, she managed to embrace all those sides of him no matter when he was shining brightly or when his light dimmed like the full moon turning to its waning crescent phase. But this time, she failed. When he lost all his warmth and light, she started to tremble in fear, like how people only appreciated the moon when it exuded beauty and light and shunned and ignored it when what it showed was its mere dark side. She felt like she had done that to him tonight - when the moon turned dark, she feared him.
She shouldn't have feared him when he no longer exuded any warmth. She should've embraced him during his darkest state and tried to shared some of her starlight with him, to give him a spark to help him shine again, instead of letting fear take over.
But she didn't and she regretted it.
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