Day Four…

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Aiden couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Stephen Zhao, who is so picky when it comes to women… someone whose attention couldn’t easily be caught by just beautiful and alluring women, was staring at Abigail with so much interest in his eyes.

“Stephen Zhao, what’s wrong with you? I only get to see this expression of yours whenever Phantomflake is being mentioned!” Aiden was not able to stop his blabbering mouth. He confronted Stephen directly, not minding Abigail’s presence.

He felt somehow jealous and pissed because his charm didn’t work on Abigail. But now, his inexperienced friend managed to talk to Abigail without getting intimidated by her overbearing presence.

“Watch your mouth, my friend… if you don’t want Nathan to cut off your tongue.” Stephen glanced at Aiden helplessly. He knew it. Aiden’s blabbering mouth would always put him in trouble. Though he was smiling when he said that, there was a warning in Stephen’s eyes.

“Oops. It’s my bad!” Aiden hit his mouth as he realized his mistake. He had a slip of the tongue since he got excited after seeing how Stephen became interested in someone. He could see the hint of intrigue on his face whenever he would look at Abigail.

“Who is Phantomflake?” Abigail asked them, feigning ignorance. She was pretending to be clueless about Phantomflake, her own self.

“She’s someone you shouldn’t mention in this house and most importantly in front of Nathan. That name is a taboo word for him!” Aiden promptly responded.

Stephen narrowed his eyes at Aiden, his sharp gaze telling him to keep his mouth shut. Aiden immediately bit his lower lip, sealing his mouth.

However, Abigail wouldn’t miss this opportunity to find out what Aiden and Stephen were both thinking about her.

“Why are you interested in that person called Phantomflake?” Abigail asked Stephen expectantly. She subconsciously tightened her grip on his hand.

Stephen smiled at her before giving her an answer. “She’s an interesting fellow.”

“Interesting?” Abigail arched her eyebrow in confusion.

Stephen let out a soft chuckle as he nodded his head. Then he elaborated his words.

“Because I thought she was smart… but she stupidly waged a war against my brother, Nathan. She foolishly offended the wrong guy.”

Bullseye!

Stephen’s words were like a hammer hitting Abigail’s head. Her expression darkened and she crumpled her face. She felt insulted but she couldn’t refute that.

‘I hate this guy already!’ Abigail thought to herself, clenching her teeth. She further squeezed his hand tightly, making Stephen flinch in pain.

“Miss Scarlett, I think… you are squeezing me too hard,” Stephen called out her attention, his gaze pointing to their entangled hands. He maintained his charming smile.

Not waiting for Abigail to let go of Stephen’s hand, Aiden stepped into the middle of them, yanking their hands to separate them.

Stephen watched his friend strangely, lifting his eyebrow as he gave Aiden a questioning gaze.

Aiden just shot him a sharp glare, pulling Abigail to his side. He seemed to remind him that Abigail was his assignment, not Stephen’s.

Abigail just blinked her eyes in puzzlement. She felt like Aiden was snatching her away from Stephen.

‘What’s wrong with them?’ She asked herself, darting her gaze back and forth between the two men.

Then her eyes stopped at Stephen. ‘I thought Aiden was the only guest today. Why did suddenly Stephen show up? Butler Li didn’t mention anything about Stephen coming today.’

“Gentlemen, I will just get another drink for our esteemed guest,” Abigail said jokingly before she left. She headed straight to the kitchen.

When Abigail was gone, Aiden immediately pulled Stephen to the corner of the living room.

“Hey, what is that all about?” He questioned him. He was referring to Stephen’s reaction upon seeing Abigail.

“I should be the one asking you that. Why are you acting like a jealous boyfriend?” Stephen retorted, arching his eyebrow while looking at Aiden suspiciously.

“Of course not! I’m just…” Aiden didn’t know what to say. In fact, he was truly jealous because Stephen managed to capture Abigail’s attention. They even held each other’s hands. As for him, Abigail grabbed his hand but she ended up twisting it.

What did he do to deserve it? His ego was hurt a little bit. Among the three men, he was the most popular with the women as he was the only approachable and friendly towards them. But when it comes to Abigail, she wasn’t mesmerized by his gorgeous face at all.

“Let’s get to the business. Why did you summon me here? How is your interaction with her? Do you find anything suspicious?” Stephen asked his best friend inquisitively. When Aiden called him a while ago, he sounded very anxious as if he was in great trouble.

Aiden put on a pitiful face as he recalled what transpired a while ago. He almost broke his arm.

Aiden glanced at his surroundings first, making sure that Abigail was not yet around. When everything was clear, he leaned closer to Stephen, whispering something.

“Miss Abigail Scarlett… she is so scary. She is like an untamed tigress. Damn Nate! He didn’t warn me about her combat skill! I almost lost my precious arm a while ago!” Aiden lamented, complaining to Stephen as if he got bullied in school.

“Really? What did you do?” Stephen probed. He thought Abigail wouldn’t do something if only Aiden behaved.

“Nothing. I just wrapped my arm around her shoulders to greet her,” Aiden said matter-of-factly.

Stephen facepalmed at Aiden’s remarks, looking at him like a hopeless child.

“I can’t believe you did that. No wonder you almost got beaten up by her. You deserved it.” Stephen said, his lips curling up in a mocking smile.

Aiden frowned and pursed his lips. He stretched his hand to throw a punch at Stephen’s shoulder. But Stephen reacted swiftly, blocking his fist. He grabbed it using his palm.

They were still in that fighting stance when Abigail returned, holding a tray of food.

‘What the hell are they doing? Are they fighting over something?’