Quentin had no choice. He bent down, preparing to give Alana CPR.
Before he could do so, Alana drew in a deep gulp of air and wheezed, âIâ¦Iâm much better now.â
Quentin straightened up, feeling considerably relieved; however, he could not help being somewhat disappointed as well.
Alana took another few labored breaths, then gave Abel her most pitiful look.
Abel deliberately averted his gaze and refused to look at her. Instead, he told Quentin, âTake her back to the hospital, Dr. Anderson. Make sure nothing happens to her.â
âAbelâ¦â Alana protested, pouting all teary-eyed like a spoiled child.
âIâll visit you later.â Abel gestured impatiently and turned away.
âLetâs go, Ms. Lane,â Dr. Anderson murmured, wheeling her downstairs.
âAll of you, leave now,â Abel ordered. âEverythingâs fine here.â
Luca hurriedly ushered everyone out of the room like a mother hen herding a disobedient brood.
Abel stopped him at the door before he left as well. âLuca, give the children breakfast, then send them to kindergarten.â
âYes, Mr. Abel. Iâll do that.â
Abel shut the door firmly in his face.
Emmeline emerged from under the blankets where she had buried herself the moment everyone invaded the room. âOh shit, oh shit, how the hell am I going to show my face in public?â She wailed in agitation.
âWe havenât done anything we shouldnât,â Abel said placatingly. âThereâs no need to fear rumors if we havenât done anything wrong, right?â
âThen you go explain the entire mess to them and tell them nothing happened between us. Whoâs going to believe you?â Emmeline shot back derisively.
Upon consideration, Abel had to admit she had a point. If everyone knew that he had spent the night with a beautiful woman in his arms without doing anything about it, they would suspect he was either lying or something was wrong with him.
Right at that moment, Emmelineâs phone rang.
Abel looked as if he had just bitten down on a lemon. It must be Benjamin, calling to check up on her.
However, when he glanced at her phone screen, the name on the display read, âFilm Set.â
âFilm set?â Abel blinked. âWhat film set?â
Emmeline had already snatched up the phone to answer the call.
âYes, Mr. Faughn?â
âHey, Emma,â Simon replied. âEveryoneâs here on set except for you. Is everything alright?â
Only then did Emmeline recall that she had taken on a stunt job with the film crew. Her face burned.
âYes, yes, everythingâs okay. I havenât forgotten about the stunt job, Mr. Faughn! Something came up, thatâs all. Iâll be there in half an hour! Iâm so sorry!â
âSure. Just get here as soon as you can; everyoneâs waiting on you.â
Emmeline hung up at once. As she turned, Abel leaned over and stared at her full in the face, startling her so much that she pulled the covers up over herself and shrank back involuntarily. âWhat are you doing? Why are you giving me the evil eye?â
âStunt job?â Abel eyed her narrowly. âEmmeline Louise, are you out of your mind, taking a stunt job?
Has being poor stunted your brain somehow?â
Being poor has stunted my brain? Emmeline stared right back at Abel, bereft of speech for a good few seconds before she pulled herself together enough to retort, âThatâs right, being poor has definitely stunted my brain. The coffee shop isnât a booming business like yours, after all!â
Abel immediately turned and reached for his wallet, then pulled out a bank card. âIs ten million enough?
If not, I can give you more.
Another bank card with ten million, just like the last time. Emmelineâs mind flashed back to that scene from five years ago, and the old grievance rose up within her again. Waspishly, she shot back, âWhy donât you give it to Alana instead?â
Abel almost choked at that, and his brows raised so high they almost disappeared into his hairline. âMs.
Emma Emmaline Louise, Alana set her pretty little trap so well back then that the entire incident remains a blur to me still. You canât use that against me. Itâs just like you and Adrien; you canât tell me thatâs not a blur to you as well.â
Emmeline swallowed. Abel was Fight; she remembered nothing about that incident at all, not after that wretched man had drugged her.
She hadnât even been able to call for help. âBut why did Adrien have your bank card with him, though?â
âWhen I went overseas, I gave him both of mine since I figured wouldnât be able to use them anyway.â
âReally?â Emmeline had to let that sink in for a moment. She nodded slowly after that. âAlright. I believe you. But Iâm still not going to take your money, though. Iâll manage on my own.â
An inexplicable pang shot through Abelâs heart. He knew how stubborn Emmeline was and he did not dare to insist on her taking the money. However, his mind went to Adrien, and he said bitterly, âWell, itâll have to be Adrien then, if not me. No matter what, he canât stand by and watch you and the children suffer!â
Adrien?
Emmeline had to pause and think for a moment. True, Adrien should take some responsibility, butâ¦she didnât need his help. âIâll be fine. You donât have to worry about me.â She got out of bed and began getting ready as fast as she could. âIâm afraid Iâll have to trouble you to send the kids to kindergarten.
Iâve got to get to the set right away.â
âEmmaâ¦â Abel caught hold of her wrist. âThenâ¦â