Not One, But Two!

Chapter 214

"It's not just a feeling. Something's definitely up with Mommy."

Arianna shook her head and muttered, "Do you still remember what we were doing before we fell asleep?"

"I think we were playing."

Alissa's brows furrowed deeply as she found her thoughts a little hazy.

"Why does it feel like I've been sleeping for a very long time?"

"Same here. My body hurts all over too."

Arianna tried to move her arms but felt sore all over her body.

Alissa climbed out of bed as she quickly tried to think things through.

"Do you think Grandma and Mommy fought?"

"That's not possible. Grandma likes Mommy very much."

Arianna shot that thought down at once.

However, Alissa continued, "How else can you explain why we fell asleep while playing and woke up here? Where are we anyway?"

"Should we give Daddy a call?" Arianna suggested.

"That's a good idea."

Alissa got her phone out and called Greg.

He seemed to pick up at once.

"What's up, Allie?"

"Daddy, where are you now?"

Alissa's voice sounded pretty strong over the phone, making Greg feel much more at ease. It seemed like the girls were probably alright now.

"What's the matter? Are you missing Daddy already?" Greg answered with a question of his own.

Alissa was a charmer herself, so she immediately announced, "Of course, Daddy! I miss you so much my stomach is aching."

"Why would your stomach be aching?"

"Because I keep thinking about you."

Greg chuckled at his daughter's coquettish voice.

"My guess is that you're hungry."

"Hehe. Daddy, I feel like eating a slice of black forest cake. Can you bring some to me?"

"Sure. I'll bring some over to you in a few moments."

Greg ended the call and drove straight to the nearest cake shop.

When Arianna heard the sound of a car starting, she leaped out of bed and opened the curtains to see Greg's car leaving. "Allie, look! It's Daddy's car."

"Where?"

Alissa ran over at once.

Her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Greg's car driving off.

"No wonder Daddy didn't ask where he should send the cake to. He was right here. What's going on?"

"I don't know."

Arianna shook her head in response, but she still had a niggling feeling that something was wrong.

However, she did not have her laptop with her, so she could not try and figure things out.

The two girls climbed back into bed and stared at each other, and they were both at a loss.

Just then, they heard the sound of Abigail approaching the room.

"You're both awake, huh? Mommy made some food for you. Are you hungry yet? You should eat something."

Abigail brought some porridge and side dishes up to them.

Alissa looked up at Abigail and said with a smile, "Mommy, I feel like eating black forest cake."

"That's a lot of calories to eat as soon as you wake up. It won't be good for your health."

Abigail had not rejected it outright, but Alissa got the message that she should just eat the porridge instead.

She pouted. "But I've already called Daddy, and he's buying the cake for me."

Abigail stilled for a moment before commenting coolly, "Since you've already decided, why do you bother asking me?"

"Mommy, did you fight with Daddy?"

Alissa might seem like she had a pretty carefree personality, but she could be rather perceptive if she put her mind to it.

She noticed how Abigail had frozen a little at the mention of Greg, and her expression had flickered as well, so she made a deduction.

"Nonsense. Why would I get into a fight with him? Since you don't want to eat, just wait for your black forest cake then. I'll go back down now. Ms. Reeve isn't feeling very well right now, so don't make too much of a stir while you're staying here, got it?"

Abigail had checked in on Teal when she went down earlier and saw that her complexion was still rather sickly. There was still poison in her body, and it was causing trouble for her, so the second round of treatment had to be done as soon as possible.

Since she had nothing else to do now, she decided to stick close to Teal and help her recuperate.

Alissa had difficulty sitting still, but she could only nod in agreement at Abigail's insistence.

Arianna knew that she should not be hankering after sweets due to her asthma, so she obediently started eating the porridge instead.

Abigail's heart ached a little when she saw how obedient her youngest daughter was.

Arianna was wise beyond her years and probably had her guesses too. Compared to Alissa's loud and carefree personality, she was a lot quieter and reserved, but she had all the same feelings as Alissa. She just did an excellent job of hiding them.

"Aria, why don't you look up what kind of laptop you want? You can tell me what you want, and I'll buy it for you."

"Okay." Arianna nodded sweetly.

Abigail left right after.

She did not know how to face the children since she could not just come out and say that their grandma wanted to take custody of them and take them away from her.

Children were sensitive souls, and Abigail did not want to leave them with any kind of trauma over this. So, she was beginning to consider sending the children overseas.

Maybe it was best for them to leave this place. That way, no matter what happened between her and Valerie, the children would not be significantly affected by it.

Now that she thought about it, she made up her mind to do just that, but she did not start making the arrangements at once. Instead, she decided to wait for Greg to come back.

Greg was the children's father, so he also had a say in this.

Teal had returned to her room, so Abigail stood alone outside to wait for Greg. The two girls splayed out in front of the window and stared at Abigail, and Alissa murmured, "Why does it look like Mommy's sad?"

"I think so too. Did Mommy and Daddy really fight?" Arianna was worried.

"Who knows? The adult keeps getting into all sorts of arguments, so who knows what's going on with them?" Alissa sighed.

Soon, they heard the sound of a car approaching. Greg had returned with the cake in hand, and when he saw Abigail standing outside as if she was waiting for him, he was taken aback.

"What's wrong? The girls wanted to have cake, so I bought one for them. Here, take it in."

Greg handed the cake to Abigail, but she did not take it. Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.

"You can go in and give it to them yourself."

Abigail could tell that Greg was worried about the children. As their mother, she could see how he cared for them and did not want to take away his rights as their father.

If she did send the girls away, it would be difficult for Greg to see them in the future.

Greg was startled. He started at Abigail and asked, "What's going on? Or should I say, what have you decided?"

"Why do you ask that question?"

Abigail was a little shocked by how sensitive Greg was.

Greg asked in a low voice, "Are you planning on sending the girls away?"

This was something he had thought about while driving earlier. Abigail would never let the children come to harm. But, if Valerie continued to cause trouble for Abigail, or if she took Abigail to court for the children's custody, Abigail would worry about the effect this would have on the children's mental health. Greg had been wondering what to do with the children, and now that he saw the shock in Abigail's eyes, he knew that he had deduced correctly.

"Where do you want to send them?"

"Maronian, where I had been staying before this."

Abigail did not try and hide it from him. Since he had already guessed it, it made it easier for her to bring it up.

"I don't plan on making this decision by myself. I was going to discuss it with you first."

"I'm all for it," Greg said once before Abigail could finish explaining her thoughts.

"It won't be good for the girls if they stayed here. It's my fault. I can't give them a peaceful environment, and I can't even deal with my mother. It's not right for the children to suffer because of me. Why don't all four of us leave together? Maybe my mother will come around after some time."

Greg thought that this was a perfect idea. It would be like a family vacation, and they would not need to separate at all.

Abigail was staring at him. She did not want to burst his bubble but decided to say it anyway.

"Greg, running away doesn't solve anything, and I have things I need to do here, so I can't leave."

The joyous light in Greg's eyes dimmed at once.

Abigail felt terrible about it too, but she knew they had to address the issue somehow.

"Give me some time. I'll sort things out with my mother first. Then, you can send the girls away if I fail, alright?"

Greg was scared that as long as he was out of Abigail's sight, she would want to break up with him, but her words reminded him of something important.

He could solve nothing by running away.

If all he did was scurry away and hide here with Abigail like a coward, it would never resolve the conflict between Abigail and Valerie.

If he wanted to marry Abigail, he needed to cross the bridge that was Valerie. He had to ensure that Abigail could marry him without worrying about anything. That was his responsibility toward Abigail.

Abigail saw the determination in Greg's eyes, and she wavered slightly.

"The longer they stay here, the more they might realize what's happening. I'm afraid…"

"Three days. Just give me three days. If I can't deal with this within three days, I'll follow along with whatever you say."

There was a flash of agony in Greg's eyes.

He had always been a proud man, and there was no reason for him to go this far.

Abigail knew that she was right about him. He was someone worthy of her love, but sometimes, love just was not enough.

Perhaps she should give him a chance. It would be a chance for both of them.

"Okay."

In the end, Abigail nodded her assent.

Greg wanted to pull her in for a hug, but in the end, he decided against it.

"I'll go upstairs to take a look at the girls. I won't be long."

"Alright."

Abigail nodded again.

She suddenly realized how awkward things were between them right now.

She had always been a straight shooter who was cut and dry with her feelings, so when had she ever allowed herself to be caught up in such ambiguity?

Yet, it was Greg she was dealing with, and she was willing to give him a chance.

Abigail moved aside, but Greg caught one of her hands. His warmth spread over to her, and it made her waver.

"Let's go up together. The girls might start making wild guesses if we don't." Greg started pulling Abigail along with him, but deep down, he felt bitter about this.

Did he need to resort to such excuses just to be able to openly hold her hand now?

He could not allow things to continue like this.

Greg's eyes steeled with resolve, but he did not notice how Abigail was staring at him in a daze.

He was not the only one who had his heart in this relationship, and he was not the only one who felt reluctant to end it either.

It was just that Abigail was not the kind of person to suffer for the sake of compromise, and she was unwilling to lose her sense of self just for the sake of love. Still, the stinging pain in her heart right now was also pretty hard for her to bear.