Chapter 173

Chapter 173:

Abigail accepted the friend request without hesitation. She was skilled at the art of flirtation, and it didn’t take long for them to arrange an evening rendezvous. A sly smile played on Abigail’s lips. The man seemed like someone who relished a bit of playful intrigue, even requesting that she wear an eye mask when she arrived.

Rich men and their peculiar tastes! Naturally, she didn’t mind indulging such a simple request, especially if it could secure her future. She was more than willing to play along.

Her phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with Asher’s name.

“How’s it going?” Asher inquired.

“Asher, there’s no need to fret. Everything is unfolding even better than I anticipated,” Abigail replied, her voice dripping with confidence.

Asher’s chuckle came through the line. He was clearly pleased. “I knew it. No man can resist your charm. Keep doing what you do best.”

“Will do,” she said, before the call ended, leaving Asher in a buoyant mood. If Andrew was indeed ensnared by another woman’s embrace, then Madisyn’s reign of superiority would soon crumble.

But not long after, Asher’s phone rang again—this time, it was his father. “Asher, what’s the status? Our company’s stock price is plummeting! I have no doubt Andrew is behind this.”

A cold wave of panic surged through Asher. “Dad, don’t worry. That woman is already on her way to meet Andrew. We’ll have everything under control.”

“Good, but we must act swiftly. If things continue on this trajectory, we’ll be bankrupt in less than a week,” Orion warned, the weight of confronting a powerful adversary heavy in his voice.

Later that evening, Abigail arrived at a hotel room as promised. The room was cloaked in darkness, a sultry warmth filling the air. The next morning, Abigail awoke to find herself alone, save for a stack of cash left on the nightstand.

She let out a derisive laugh. Did that man truly believe that cash alone could brush her off? Seething with anger, Abigail attempted to reach out to him, only to discover he had erased her from his contacts.

With grim determination, she sent him a friend request, her mind set on not letting this slight go unanswered. The man accepted her request almost immediately.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Why did you leave so early? I have something to discuss with you,” Abigail responded.

“What’s the matter?” he replied.

“It’s nothing urgent,” Abigail said. “I just thought we could spend a little more time together. After all, we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on. By the way, could you ease up on the Cruz family?”

She hadn’t wanted to bring up the issue that soon, but Asher had been insistent—if they delayed any longer, the Cruz family could be ruined. That was why Abigail broached the subject now.

“What Cruz family?” came the man’s response.

“Asher’s family. They’ve realized they made a mistake. Just let them go. How about I treat you to dinner tonight?” Abigail offered.

There was a pause before the man answered, “I don’t know who Asher is.”

Abigail frowned. What was going on? Had Andrew just been pretending? She quickly checked the man’s profile picture, which showed a man’s back. Now she realized it didn’t seem like Andrew’s back.

Her heart skipped a beat. This man wasn’t Andrew!

Abigail was stunned. “You’re not Andrew. Who are you?” she typed out with trembling fingers.

“Andrew? Do you really think I’m Andrew? That’s laughable. Why would a man like Andrew be interested in you?” The reply came swiftly, laced with arrogance. Before Abigail could process the sting of his words, the man had deleted her again.

Abigail’s eyes widened in shock. She had been duped! She didn’t even know the identity of the sleazy man she had been with last night. Panic rising, she noticed several friend requests on her WhatsApp again.

She accepted all of them and found out they all wanted to ask her out. A chilling thought crossed her mind. Had her phone number been exposed? Abigail was so furious that she nearly fainted from the shock.

Just then, her phone rang—it was Asher. “Abigail, what happened? Did you manage to talk to him?” Abigail hesitated, not wanting to utter a word. This was an unimaginable blow to her professional reputation. She clenched her jaw, finally forcing herself to admit, “Something went wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“It wasn’t Andrew,” Abigail replied.

“What? No!” Asher’s voice escalated into a panicked scream, his heart sinking as the realization hit him. If it wasn’t Andrew, then what were they supposed to do? His mind raced, unable to process the implications. “Abigail, you’re the best at this. You have to come up with something! Men are just playthings to you, right?”

“I’ll figure something out. But first, you need to track down Andrew.”

“Andrew has just returned to Ansport. How can I track him down?” Asher’s desperation was palpable.

Abigail bit her lip, resentment bubbling up inside her. Damn it! If only she had verified everything last night, this mess could have been avoided. She had overestimated herself.

Asher continued to pile on the blame, his words sharp and relentless. Finally, fed up with his accusations, Abigail hung up the phone.

Her phone rang again. Irritated, she assumed it was Asher calling back. But to her surprise, it was an unfamiliar number. Half-expecting it to be Andrew, she answered quickly.

“Are you free tonight? One thousand dollars for a night,” a man’s voice drawled on the other end.

Abigail’s face darkened as the realization hit her—this wasn’t Andrew. It was another man who asked her out, assuming she was that kind of woman. Furious, she slammed the phone down, her anger boiling over.

But her phone rang again. Frustrated, she answered again, only to hear the same lewd proposition. Without hesitation, she hung up, her patience wearing thin. Her phone rang again, and this time, it was from a different number.

She also noticed a flood of friend requests, each one accompanied by the same degrading question. Her head throbbed with anger and disbelief. She wasn’t a prostitute!

Damn it! Someone had exposed her phone number, plastering it on some shady website. Abigail was furious!

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