Chapter 4
Abigail bit her lip and snuggled into Zachary’s arms, blushing as she playfully pounded his chest.
Zachary let out a soft chuckle as he apologized to Abigail for his carelessness while keeping a covert eye on my expression.
When he realized that I wasn’t angry in the slightest, that stifling feeling he felt in the hospital ward that day crept in again.
“Keira, you’ve been glued to your phone since you got in the car.”
His tone came out harsh and almost jealous.
“Are you chatting with your cousin or with someone I don’t know?”
I had just booked my flight, so I turned off my phone screen.
“Just browsing the news.”
The furrow between Zachary’s brows only grew more pronounced when he heard my answer.
He snatched my phone while I wasn’t paying attention and demanded to know my password.
“My birthday.”
We had been married for nine years.
It was a simple six-digit code, but Zachary tried inputting the string of numbers over and over again until the phone locked him out. He failed to unlock it as he had hoped.
The silence stretched the entire way until we reached our destination.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Zachary, looking deeply concerned, guided the queasy Abigail to the master bedroom.
Then, he ordered the cook to prepare Abigail’s favorite dishes.
As he came back downstairs, he caught sight of me retreating into the guest room.
After giving it some thought, he said to the cook, “Prepare two dishes my wife likes. Set the table for three.”
Once I was back in the guest room, I opened my luggage to find that all my clothes had been slashed to ribbons.
Thankfully, my passport and documents hidden in the inner lining were left untouched.
I gathered my papers and was ready to leave when Abigail stepped in front of my door, blocking my path.
She held a black bottle in her hand as she sized me up with undisguised contempt.
“You’re quite patient, Keira. I humiliated you and made you the laughingstock of high society. And yet, you continue to cling to the Twains and refuse to leave. Then again, that old hag from the Sullivan family passed away last month, didn’t she? Without her to back you up, of course, you’d cling to Zach like he’s your lifeline.”
Abigail suddenly remembered something she found amusing.
“Do you remember the day you were crying and pleading for Zach to fly you by helicopter to the hospital to see your grandmother before she passed? Do you know why he refused?
“Because he had already promised to take me to the beach to watch the sunset that day. See this picture on my phone of us kissing? It was taken that very evening.”
I smacked Abigail’s phone out of her hand. I had finally had enough and grabbed her by her throat.
The bottle in her hand slipped. The stench of gasoline immediately filled the air.
During the chaos, a flustered Abigail set fire to the gasoline spilled across the floor.
Thick smoke filled the air as the flames continued to rage.
As I was freshly out of the hospital, I was quickly overwhelmed by the fumes and collapsed helplessly to the ground.
That was when I heard Zachary’s voice.
“Keira!”
Right after that, the household staff’s voices could be heard stopping him.
“Sir, it’s too dangerous! You can’t go in there! The security team will be here with the fire extinguisher soon…”
“Move aside! Keira is still in there!”
He charged inside regardless of the danger.
Only, he hadn’t realized that Abigail was still inside too.
“Zach, save—”
Before Abigail could finish her sentence, Zachary scooped her up without hesitation and walked out, never sparing me a single glance.
Half an hour later, after calming Abigail down, he scoured the entire mansion. However, I was nowhere to be found.
…
It was late at night at the airport.
After mailing my package, I boarded the flight to Nortzence, coughing as I went.
I received a text from Zachary just before takeoff.
“I don’t have time to play games with you.”
