The Spare Wife by Nadia Gordon

Chapter 42

After a shower, Abigail came out of the bathroom and dried her hair with a

towel. She was about to blow dry her hair when Ana lise called out from the

living room, “Abigail, it’s getting so late. Why isn’t Sean back yet? Did he drink

too much at a business meeting and is too drunk to get home?”

Abigail was startled by her grandma’s voice. She quickly set the hairdryer

down and stuck her head out to glance at the clock on the wall in the living

room. It was 10.40PM.

She didn’t think her grandma would still be waiting for Sean.

“Why aren’t you asleep, Grandma? Didn’t I tell you? He’s quite busy these

days. He must’ve decided to sleep elsewhere tonight.”

Abigail rubbed her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache. Usually,

Ana lise went to bed quite early, so much so that Abigail assumed her

grandma would’ve gone to sleep by the time she came out of her

longer-than-usual shower.

“Hurry up and give Sean a call to ask him where he is. See if he needs

someone to pick him up.”

AH.

Ana lise trembled as she took Abigail’s phone from the table and held it out.

Her voice was stern, leaving no room for discussion.

Abigail sighed. She couldn’t argue with her grandma, so she dried her hands

and took the phone.

Under Ana lise’s solemn gaze, Abigail shiftily hid her screen as she scrolled to

the number listed under the name B*stard.

Her finger hovered mid-air as she hesitated for a while before she finally

made the call.

“Hello. The number you’ve dialed cannot be reached at the moment…”

When the crisp voice of the automated message rang out, Abigail exhaled in

relief. She purposely put her phone on speakers and waved it in front of

Ana lise.

“His phone is switched off. It’s not like I’m trying to avoid calling him on

purpose.”

“The point is that you didn’t even call him sooner,” Ana lise huffed as she

glared at Abigail. “You’re married now. Don’t just focus on your career. You

should be paying more attention to your husband. A man needs to feel the

gentle love and care of his wife. Why wouldn’t he come home if you

expressed more care and concern for him?”

“You’d never be able to find another man like Sean who’s so filial and

capable. A married woman needs to learn to work on her marriage too,

understand?”

The look of indifference in Abigail’s eyes made Ana lise fret. Her voice became

more and more agitated.

For a woman from Ana lise’s generation, it was bad news when a married

man didn’t come home at night.

“I got it, Grandma. Sean’s company has been extremely busy lately. It’s

worried about her grandma’s high blood pressure. She quickly patted

Ana lise’s hand and brought her back to her room.

After sending Ana lise back to her room, Abigail exhaled in relief and set her

phone down. She picked up the hairdryer again.

In the wee hours of the morning, the alarm rang. A group of people with

weary, disgruntled faces shuffled out of the meeting. The last man to walk

out was still dressed in an unruffled suit. Even though he just finished a

four-and-a-half-hour meeting, there was no trace of exhaustion on his

handsome face.

“Your phone is fully charged now, Mr. Graham. I just turned it on for you.”

Sean’s assistant had been waiting by the door for him, and now that he

came out, his assistant swiftly handed his phone over to him.

Sean glanced at the screen before heading back to the hotel.

It was a quiet night. He couldn’t fall asleep.

After tossing and turning for some time, he took his phone and checked

Twitter.

When he saw that the program, Top Designer, had topped the trending list,

he suddenly recalled that Sabrina had called him today about this program.

Sean clicked on the official announcement and glanced at the list of special

guests.

Alas, as soon as he saw the familiar name, the fleeting sense of drowsiness

that was slowly creeping up on him instantly vanished.

He took a screenshot of the announcement and sent it to Kevin’s WhatsApp.

When he didn’t get a reply, he called Kevin.

“Hey, man. Did you not take a look at the time?”

thing out of the latter’s mouth was a complaint.

Sean heard the deafening music that was ringing on Kevin’s side. “What’s the

matter? Did I disrupt you on your blind date?” he fired back sarcastically.

Kevin nearly spat out his drink. He signaled for his friend to lower the music

before asking, “Aren’t you on a business trip? Why are you calling me in the

middle of the night?”

“You’d better give me a good explanation about what’s happening with that

list of special guests who’ve been invited for that program East Joy Talent is

running.” Sean’s voice was icy.

Kevin knew he was in the wrong. After a pause, he said, “You know how good

Alana’s designs are. Our talents expressed the most interest in her. It was a

collective decision.”

“What does that have to do with Abigail?” Sean’s voice became even more

chilly at the recollection of that secretive call Kevin had this morning. He spat

the words out through gritted teeth.

An image of Sean’s icy expression flashed across Kevin’s mind and he hastily

explained, “Oh, Abigail. She’s Alana’s personal assistant, so she’s joining the

show, of course.”

In the face of Sean’s harsh questioning, Kevin didn’t dare to tell him that

Abigail was Alana.

Sean stopped talking.