Valeria opened the door and said, “My husband is here!”
Abbie’s hair was still wet and she was surprised when she saw William. He smiled nonchalantly and said, “Come down when you’re ready, I’ll head downstairs to prepare dinner.”
Abbie looked away after seeing that William had gone downstairs and asked, “Is your husband worried that I would sell you off? Why is he keeping an eye on you so closely?”
“Of course not. Abbie, he didn’t come here alone, Michael is here too.” Valeria knew that this would eventually be brought to light, hence there was no point in hiding it from Abbie.
“It’s fine, I can handle it. I wouldn’t make a fool out William,” Abbie promised.
Meanwhile, Michael was cooking up a piece of steak in the kitchen with an apron around his waist. William stared at him by the door and asked, “Can you handle it? If not, I’ll take it over from here.”
“Yes, I’m good. She used to love the steaks I make…”
“Give me a break, she doesn’t even remember!” William cut him off and said, “She can’t even recall what you both had gone through back then. How is it possible for her to remember the taste of your steak?”
“I’m just keeping my hopes up. We used to be so close and comfortable with each other, how could she have forgotten it all?” Michael’s expression was gloomy.
“Alright, don’t worry about it. I’ll take my wife out after dinner so that you can straighten things out with her. Don’t screw things up.”
“Thank you so much,” Michael sighed.
“Don’t mention it.” William was furious all of a sudden and said, “Why do you f*cking look like a pig ready to be slaughtered? Stop being sulky, you’re making me pissed!”
“I can’t help it as well. William, what would you do if your wife doesn’t remember you?”
“That would be impossible!”
“What if, okay? What if there was to come a day when your wife has no idea who you are? How would you feel?”
“Hmm… I would try my best to regain her memory. If that doesn’t do the trick, I would make her fall in love with me all over again!”
“It’s easier said than done. Just look at me! Richard hates me and my mother is making things worse…”
William interrupted him abruptly and said, “Alright, that’s enough. Stop playing the victim card, I don’t remember you being so easy on others when you’re in court? Why can’t you come up with better ideas? I would give it my all to achieve my goals if I were you.”
“You wouldn’t understand. Abbie is different from your wife.”
Just then, footsteps could be heard and they immediately stopped their conversation.
Michael continued to cook while William pretended to be busy preparing fruits.
Abbie and Valeria stopped at the door to the kitchen to see how things were going on. Valeria said, “Honey, I’ll be heading to the cellar to fetch some wine.”
“I’ll go with you. The cellar is really dark.” William walked out of the kitchen and held Valeria’s hand as they both headed to the cellar.
Abbie did not know what to do at that moment, she was stuck between staying there and leaving. Michael glanced at her and ask, “Abbie, could you please help me chop some onions?”
As she heard this, Abbie walked over and started preparing the onions without saying a word. She picked up the knife and started to chop them after giving them a good wash.
She was not used to being in a kitchen as she was born and raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. Not long after, her tears came gushing out as the onions had irritated her eyes.
When he saw that, Michael went over quickly and said, “Are your eyes okay? Let me see.”
“It’s none of your business!” Abbie pushed him away but she had forgotten that she was holding a knife and had accidentally cut his hand with the sudden gesture. He exclaimed slightly as blood streamed from the cut.
Abbie froze as she saw the blood on Michael’s hand. After collecting herself, she quickly put the knife away and helped to stop the bleeding.
They were standing so close to each other and Michael smiled foolishly as he saw how anxious Abbie was.
After Abbie had taken care of his wound, she frowned as she saw Michael acting all silly, “Why are you smiling?”
“Abbie, you look beautiful!”
“Sh*t it!”
“I’m serious. You’re getting prettier as the day goes by!”
“Michael, I’ll punch you if you keep spurting nonsense like this.” William said at the kitchen entrance, holding Valeria’s hand and a bottle of wine on the other. William grinned as he saw their interaction while Abbie let go of Michael’s hand and left.
Michael cried out while William paced into the kitchen and said, “Why are you yelling? You’re about to ruin the steak, you dumb sh*t!”
“Are you telling me off right now?”
“Who else? Why would you let go of such an opportunity? I would have gone in for a kiss if I were you.”
Michael glared at William and said, “Are you even on my team? I would be asking for hell if I were to kiss her back there.”
“Look at you being all timid. If you are going to be a coward, just give up already!”
“Excuse me? You told me not to make a move on her last time, but now you’re telling me otherwise? Make up your mind already!”
“You have to learn to be flexible, alright?” William nudged Michael away and continued, “Just sit back and relax, I’ll be the one making dinner tonight. You’re injured anyway, might as well play the victim card for real this time.”
Soon, after dinner, William and Michael were playing rock-paper-scissors to see who would be washing the dishes. Michael, as expected, had lost.
William laughed while wrapping his arm around Valeria’s shoulder and said, “Honey, let’s go for a walk together. We’ll leave everything to Michael.”
“I don’t think…” Valeria glanced at Abbie hesitantly.
“It has been a while since I last visited this place, so let’s take a trip down memory lane. I would love to revisit the place where I proposed to you,” William replied confidently while dragging Valeria away with him.
Valeria punched him playfully as soon as they left the villa and said, “Stop spewing bullsh*t. You did that for Michael, right? I’m not stupid, just so you know.”
“I would say that you’re half correct. My main intention is to check out the place where we got engaged, and to conveniently create an opportunity for him too.”
“You are absolutely cunning!”
“Come on, don’t you know that nice guys finish last? I doubt that you would even fall in love with me if I were to play things by the book,” William replied her with a whiff of confidence.
Valeria was out of words while William hugged her waist as they both headed down to the beach.
Abbie did not move an inch as she sat there while Michael cleared the table. All of a sudden, Abbie stood up and offered, “Let me do it.”
“It’s fine, I can take care of it.”
“But you’re injured!”
“It’s just a small cut, no biggie. It won’t be a problem as long as I wear gloves,” Michael glanced at Abbie and said.
Abbie was furious as Michael was wearing the gloves. She snapped, “Can’t you hear what I just said? Let me do it!”
As she said this, she shoved Michael away but was immediately alarmed by Michael’s cry. It seemed that Michael had accidentally hit the cabinet when she pushed him away.
Abbie was shocked for a moment as she saw Michael’s pained expression. She asked reluctantly, “Are you okay?”
“My back… it hurts so badly…”
“Are you sure?” Abbie looked at Michael doubtfully.
“Yeah. I think I hurt my back,” Michael groaned in pain as he exaggerated his expression.
Abbie frowned and said, “You’re such a hassle. You’re a grown man but you’re making a big deal out of everything. Come here, let me have a look.”
Then, Michael lifted his clothes to reveal a visible bruise on his back.
However, Abbie was not taken aback by his injury. Instead, she was shocked at the sight of a tattoo that said, ‘I love Abbie!’