Day Thirty-One...

~~*****~~

Nathan didn't bother to hear Abigail's response. He just left the kitchen as he didn't want to disturb Ethan and Abigail from enjoying their meal. Nathan heaved a sigh of relief because he could see that Ethan didn't mind Veronica's words a while ago. He was still very attentive to Abigail. He was feeding her with food and taking care of her.

"Miss Abi, do you want me to accompany you? Are you in trouble again? It seems like my Dad already found out that you are Cliste." Little Ethan gently patted Abigail's shoulder. Whenever she was in trouble, Little Ethan would always come to her rescue.

But Abigail refused to accept Ethan's help. She had to face Nathan alone. Ethan had already done so much for her. She should not rely on Ethan's support. She couldn't involve him in this mess... the own mess she created.

"I'm fine, Ethan. Thank you for letting me know that you are always there to back me up. However, this time I must refuse. This discussion is between your father and me. A talk between two adults..." Abigail stroked Ethan's hair and gently patted his head.This chapter's initial release occurred on the Nov/e/l-/Biin site.

"I understand, Miss Abi. Just always remember that I will always be here to defend you against my father. If he makes you cry, I will scold and punish him with this." Ethan raised his little fist.

Abigail let out a soft giggle. She truly appreciated how much Ethan wanted to protect her. "Thank you, my cute little angel."

~ Ten minutes later... ~

Abigail proceeded to Nathan's study. When she entered the room, she saw Nathan sitting on his swivel chair. His eyes were closed and his right elbow was placed over his forehead. There was a crease in between his brows as he bit his lower lip. He looked like he had a throbbing headache. His left hand was gripping the armrest of the chair tightly.

"Nate?" Abigail called his name softly.

Nathan already knew that she was there. He heard the sound of the door opening and her footsteps a while ago. However, he didn't open his eyes. He took his time conditioning himself. He wondered what kind of answers he would get from her.

Abigail's identity was giving him a headache. She never failed to surprise him over and over again. 'As time goes by, how many more revelations I will uncover related to her?'

"Are you okay?" Abigail's faint voice was heard again.

Nathan exhaled deeply before removing his hand from his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up straight, facing Abigail. The moment their eyes met, Abigail's heart leaped in anxiousness. Nathan was now staring at her intently.

"I'm not okay. Honestly, you are giving me a headache, Miss Scarlett. You have a lot of explaining things to do." Nathan's sharp gaze never left Abigail's face.

Abigail just blinked several times. She didn't know where she would start. Nathan's scrutinizing gaze was somehow pressuring her. But she had to say something. She had to sound believable. Furthermore, she must find a way how she would protect Black Rose. Nathan already learned the truth about Cherry's real identity.

"What do you want to know first?" Abigail asked him. She took a deep breath for her to calm down and clear her mind. Clearing her mind would help her think of the best solution to her problem. Nathan must be suspicious of her.

"First, I wanna know what's your connection with Black Rose. Why do you know her? Are you a member of her guild?" Nathan stood up, walking closer to Abigail.

Abigail stepped back. Nathan just entered her safe zone. She felt uncomfortable with their closeness. Nathan's presence was making her nervous. Her heart kept racing inside her chest. She couldn't control it.

'Damn! Don't get closer or else, I will have a heart attack.' Abigail complained inwardly.

"Black Rose is my acquaintance. As you know, I'm Cliste. I'm also a hacker so it's not a surprise if we know each other. But I'm not a member of Black Rose's guild. Furthermore, I also know Shining Star, remember?" Abigail made sure to give emphasis to Shining Star's name. Since someone used her identity as Shining Star then it would only be fair if she would use that impostor as well.

On the other hand, Nathan became more confused. But her strategy was working. Nathan's expression softened at the mention of Shining Star. "You are friends with both of them?"

"Of course. I'm close to Black Rose and Shining Star!" Abigail promptly responded. It was partly true and partly a lie.

"But do you know that Black Rose's guild kill your friend Shining Star? Why are you helping her? Phantomflake, the leader of Black Rose's guild was the one who murdered Shining Star." Nathan said those words through his gritted teeth. He was reminded of that tragic moment.

'Yeah! You don't have to tell me that. I already knew that. I'm Phantomflake,' she chanted in her mind.

"Let me correct your statement, Nate. Phantomflake was the one who killed Monica, but not, Black Rose. She is innocent. You don't have to take your anger and hatred on her. Just let her go. Besides, Phantomflake should be the one to suffer, not Black Rose."

Abigail wanted to clear Black Rose's name. She wanted to put all the blame on herself. Nathan should only direct his anger on Phantomflake, not other people... not Black Rose.

Nathan didn't say anything for a moment. He was trying to digest Abigail's words. To convince him further, Abigail had to elaborate on her statement.

"That was the reason why I helped you in searching for Phantomflake. You owed me, Nate. Because of my help, you managed to get Phantomflake back. Am I right?"

Nathan was at a loss for words. He couldn't refute that. Cliste was the one who warned him about the Red Dragon's Trap. She was the one who informed him about the location of the Red Dragon's Sanitarium and the hospital where Phantomflake was transferred to.

"Now, do me a favor, Nate. Release Black Rose. Please don't hurt her. She is my friend." Abigail pleaded.

Nathan was still reluctant to grant her request. But he had no reason to refuse. Cliste was a big help to him lately. Furthermore, he owed her his life.

"How long have you known my secret?" Nathan finally spoke up after being quiet for a minute.

"Secret? What secret?" Abigail feigned ignorance. She didn't what secret he was referring to.

"My involvement with the Syphiruz Mafia... Did you tell Ethan about this?" Nathan was worried that his son would know his dark sides.

Abigail restrained herself from rolling her eyes. 'Nathan Sparks, if only you knew how smart and mature your son was... Even if you tried your best to hide so many secrets from him, Little Ethan has many ways to find them out. You don't even know that your son already knew the real cause of his mother's death. I wouldn't be surprised if Ethan already knew that you are the Leader of a Mafia Group.'

'Hmm. Thinking about that... I am not sure if Ethan knew or not. Maybe, he was not mentioning it to me because he didn't want his father's reputation to get ruined in my eyes. Maybe Ethan didn't want me to be scared of Nathan?' Abigail started to speculate.

"Answer me, Abi!" Nathan urged her to speak up. Abigail seemed to be distracted and she was not paying attention to him. Her mind was wandering off somewhere. However, Nathan's voice brought her back to the present.

"No! I didn't tell Ethan any of this. I swear." Abigail said, raising her left hand as a sign of her sincerity.

"Are you sure?" Nathan stepped forward, closing their gaps. He had a serious expression on his face. He held her shoulders, making her look straight into his eyes. He wanted to know that Abigail was not lying.

"I swear. I haven't told anyone about this. As for the time when I learned your secret... Uhmm... actually... I discovered it when your men brought me to the medical facility when you were poisoned... I mean when your allergy worsened because of the food I cooked."

"So clearly, it's not my fault that I learned your secret. It was your men's fault for summoning me there and I saw Phantomflake." Abigail added, making a good alibi and at the same time, putting the blame on Nathan's men.

"Oops, I forgot. It was Dr. Veronica who ordered your men to bring me there. So blame her!" Abigail shamelessly said. She even sneered at Nathan.

Nathan: "..."

'Why do I feel like she is getting even at Veronica? Veronica tried to make Abigail look bad in Ethan's eyes. And now, she is clearly putting the blame on Veronica.'

Nathan felt amused by Abigail's bluntness and shamelessness. But for some unknown reason, he felt at ease now, hearing this explanation. Abigail or Cliste meant no harm, either to him or Ethan.

Her story sounded believable. And the way she reasoned was compelling. Though he didn't completely buy all her words, part of Nathan was telling him to trust Abigail.

"Alright. I will grant your request about releasing Black Rose and not laying a hand on her... but on one condition..."

Abigail's face brightened up when she heard that so without waiting for Nathan to complete his words, Abigail cut him off immediately. "Sure! Sure! Just tell me what you want!"

"Don't ever tell Ethan about this and..."

"And what?" Abigail was very eager to hear about his condition.

"Tell me more things about Monica... what do you know about your hacker friend... Shining Star..." There was a spark in Nathan's eyes when he said his last statement.

Abigail: "..."