Chapter 198
Chapter 198
Hugh was admittedly shocked to see a flour-covered Greg looming up in front of him at the door. It was an unexpected sight and borderline comical.
"Who is it, Greg?" Abigail's crisp voice traveled from the living room. Upon hearing the gentle lilt of her tone, Hugh bristled as his gaze darkened imperceptibly.
She really is here!
"Just the delivery guy," Greg answered loudly as he stepped to block Hugh from view. An ominous look colored his face as he warned, "You'd better leave now before things get ugly." He had lowered his voice drastically that they were the only ones who could hear what he said. NôvelDrama.Org holds this content.
Jealousy had turned Hugh's eyes red. He had half the mind to barge into the house, but it didn't look like Greg was going to let him do it without putting up a fight. "Move!" he growled.
"I see you have a death wish," Greg observed sarcastically. He had been holding back for Abigail's sake, but it was clear to him now that Hugh had no intention of staying in line. Right now, he's triggered by how loving and indulgent Abigail sounded earlier. He's going to take me on in a fight even though he's wounded. The thought had only just crossed Greg's mind when Hugh suddenly swung his fist out.
Being challenged by Hugh on his own doorstep rubbed Greg wrong, and he had run of patience.
"Sweetheart, I'm heading out for a bit. Keep working on the ravioli and wait for me!" Greg called out gently, but there was no hiding the murderous gleam in his eyes.
He quickly closed the door behind him and shoved Hugh onto the lawn.
On the other hand, Hugh was itching to kill Greg. He lunged toward him and dealt all the deadly moves he could think of, but Greg dodged them with ease and landed several punches on his wound. Although it was a low move, it was effective.
Soon, blood seeped through the gauze that had been taped over Hugh's wound, and the pain had sucked all the color out of his face. However, Greg did not let up with his punches and mercilessly forced Hugh to back away.
In the past, Greg might have pulled back his punches as a favor to Hugh for taking care of Abigail and the girls, but the man had wanted him dead and even tried to kill him. As things were, whatever tolerance Greg had afforded him was gone, and mercy wasn't something he had to spare.
Greg pulled a feint, and Hugh had only been distracted for a second when he suddenly found himself locked in a chokehold.
"You!" Hugh gasped angrily, but Greg did not loosen his hold on him. Instead, he looked even more murderous, and he seemed intent on strangling Hugh to death.
At last, Hugh panicked.
He had believed that Greg was not as formidable as rumors made him out to be, and that it was merely because he was the Fourth Young Master of Harrion that he got to where he was today. He was even convinced that the only reason why Greg put up with his antics the past few times was because he didn't want any trouble, and that he wanted to avoid a fight with him at all costs. However, he finally knew what danger felt like at this moment. He could see his life flashing before his eyes, and the prospect of death tightened his chest and wrung out his heart.
"Don't think that I won't kill you, Hugh. You're on my turf, and I believe I've given you enough chances. If you still don't learn your place, I don't mind wiping you off the face of the earth without anyone
knowing about it. I have plenty of ways to make Abigail think you left without saying goodbye. Try me if you dare," Greg bit out coldly as he tightened his arm around the man's neck, pressing into his jugular.
Hugh grimaced menacingly and spat, "Abbie will learn of your true colors soon enough! You think you've claimed her as your own? Hah! Let's just say that you're not even the first man she's been with. Do you know where I saved her from? I saved her from—argh!"
Jealousy had twisted Hugh's features and brought out all the ugliness in him. In fact, he was planning to tell Greg about the most disgraceful part of Abigail's past. After all, he thought that there was no man in this world who could tolerate the fact that his woman had been screwed by some other guy before.
Unfortunately, Greg had already reached out his left hand and pressed it hard against Hugh's bleeding wound before the latter managed to get his words out. The pain made him cry out immediately.
There was not a single ounce of warmth in Greg's eyes as he bit out, "I know everything about her, and I won't have you coming to my place to defile Abigail's reputation and feed me stories about her. If you want to die so badly, I can do you the favor and send you on your way."
As he said this, he suddenly produced a thin blade between his fingers. It looked fragile, but it was sharp. The blade was drawing close to Hugh's neck when a crisp and alluring voice spoke up from somewhere. "Mr. Buckley, I saved that man because Abigail asked me to, and if you were to kill him now, I'd have a hard time explaining it to her."
Violet had shown up just in time. She knew that the man she was confronting right now was the dark emperor of Harrion, but that didn't keep her from speaking up.
Abigail had not kept in touch with her for five years, and when she did, it was to ask her to save this man called Hugh. While Violet wasn't sure what personal grudges tied Hugh and Greg together, she didn't want Abigail's intention of saving the former to end up in vain.
Meanwhile, Greg froze when he heard the female voice that had suddenly piped up out of nowhere. He swiftly kept the blade and threw Hugh aside.
On the other hand, Hugh staggered before he regained his footing. He managed to not humiliate himself in front of Greg, but he glowered at him nonetheless as he said maliciously, "You didn't get to kill me today, but you can bet that I'll come for you and kill you with my own hands one day."
"Go ahead. It's not as if you're so intimidating anyway," Greg replied with a scoff. He had been murderous a moment ago, but he now resumed his cold and imperious front. Then, he turned and looked at Violet icily. "You're Abigail's friend?"
"Technically, I'm her senior. Hi, pleasure to meet you. I'm Violet." With that, she offered him a handshake.
People would typically clamber to be associated with the Fourth Young Master of Harrion, but Violet wasn't one of those people. However, she still thought that he was a worthy acquaintance, and she figured there was no harm getting on friendly terms with him seeing as he meant something to Abigail.
However, Greg acted as if he never saw her proffered hand as he said indifferently, "Get him out of Allie's Garden after you see to his wound and don't let him show up in front of me ever again, or I can't promise that you'd be able to keep your word to Abigail. Also, my girlfriend is rather strict about me coming into physical contact with other women, so I'm afraid I can't shake your hand. Sorry."
Having said all this, he turned on his heels and left.
Violet stared at her hand, which still hung in mid-air, and felt somewhat awkward.
Strict, huh? She thought about how impassive Abigail was and sputtered at the idea of her being strict with her boyfriend.
Next to her, Hugh stared after Greg's retreating figure venomously, but he knew that he had lost out on the chance to kill the man where he stood today. However, he consoled himself by saying it didn't matter, for there was plenty of time to plot his vengeance.
Violet saw the mutinous glint in his eyes and sensed that he was not a character to be messed with, but she kept her tone neutral as she said, "Sir, I think we'll have to go over those wounds again, and you'll have to take my words seriously this time. Otherwise—"
"Go away!" Hugh roared and lashed out at her.
Although Violet was a mere doctor, she had her own pride too. She had nothing to do with this patient in the first place, and if Abigail had not asked her for such a favor, she wouldn't have come to treat this ingrate of a man. Now, he was demanding that she get out of his sight, and that did not sit right with her at all.
When one rubbed a doctor wrong, one had to bear their wrath.
She smiled before lunging forward to grab Hugh's wrist.
At first, he didn't think a delicate girl like her would actually hurt him, so he did not dodge when she reached his hand toward him. However, he was about to shrug her off when he felt an unnatural numbness in his arm.
"You—"
"How disobedient," Violet noted dryly. The next second, she did not hold back and struck him unconscious.
Seeing as Greg had told her to get Hugh out of Allie's Garden, she figured she could do the Fourth Young Master of Harrion a favor and have him owe her one.
Afterward, she dragged Hugh's limp body without much decorum and hauled him into her car before driving away from Allie's Garden. She wasn't sure where she was supposed to leave him, but she didn't mind driving around while she pondered on the possibilities.
Back in the house, Greg had watched the whole thing take place from where he stood at the doorway, and he had to say he was mighty impressed with Violet's skillset. Violet, is it? Very well! I'll have to ask my buddies to go over to her place of business and keep an eye on it.
With that in mind, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he turned to go into the house.
Presently, Abigail was already done with half of the ravioli batch. When she saw Greg walk in, she smiled and asked, "What did the delivery guy want with you?"
"He came to the wrong house. He's a newbie who doesn't know the area well enough yet. Since I live near the address he was supposed to deliver to, I brought him over instead," Greg replied easily.
The excuse was unrefined, and Abigail sputtered when she heard it. I don't know if he's a bad liar or if he just doesn't want to hide anything on purpose. Either way, she did not press further and let the matter drop by putting on a show of her conviction.
"Go and get the water boiling. I'll be done soon with this batch and we can get cooking," she said.
"Okay." Greg was in a good mood after he had dealt with Hugh, and he was very obliging as he went into the kitchen to do whatever Abigail told him to.
Meanwhile, Abigail stared out the window and thought about what she had witnessed just now. Then, she shook her head in disappointment.
She originally planned on speaking to Hugh in person, but the incident just now made it clear that things had changed completely. In other words, they could never go back to old times.
The way Hugh had tackled Greg earlier showed his intention to kill. If Greg weren't skilled in fighting and if Violet hadn't shown up in time, things might have turned out pretty drastic today.
At the thought of that, Abigail shuddered.
She quickly pulled out her phone and texted Violet, 'Violet, could you bring him to Dock Number Three? I'll arrange for someone to send him out of Harrion.'
Violet did not ask any questions and merely smiled as she replied, 'Got it. You owe me a meal for this, and I will be sure to collect it!'
'You got it,' Abigail texted along with an emoticon. At any rate, she was feeling considerably better.
Given Violet's skills, Hugh would likely sleep through the boat ride and wake up on his own turf.
Abigail promptly arranged for someone to wait at Dock Number Three to take the man off of Violet's hands, and she told them that it was imperative that Hugh be sent out of the city for good. As for whether he would come back and threaten Greg without regard for his own life, she figured that it was completely out of her hands.
After all, if Hugh really did have a death wish, there was only so much Abigail could do to protect him.
When she was done making the arrangements, she finished up wrapping the ravioli and went into the kitchen where Greg was keeping an eye on the boiling pot of water.
Just like that, the both of them cooked the ravioli and devoured them happily. It seemed as though Hugh had never come by in the first place and nothing ever happened.
After finishing the ravioli, Greg insisted that Abigail went up to the bedroom to get some shut-eye. The woman laughed in response and uttered, "Do I look like a piglet to you? One can't just sleep right after a meal, you know. It's bad for digestion."
"You have a point, but you're a patient right now, aren't you? It's important that you get enough rest," Greg argued stubbornly.
She couldn't beat him, so she obediently shuffled up to the bedroom and lay down in bed to take a nap.
At that exact moment, Greg's phone rang. He became grim when he saw the caller ID, and an odd look flashed in his dark eyes.