Hellbound With You Chapter 71 – A book, a pillow, and a blanket

The moment they entered the dining room, three pairs of eyes greeted them and one didn’t even bother to look up, as if he couldn’t care less. Of course, the boisterous one was the first to say something.

“Oh, we have a new member in the family?! So cute! What’s your name?” Xavier asked.

“My name is Betty. Nice to meet you all.” Betty introduced herself and smiled at Xavier.

“I’m Xavier, baby girl and this guy here is Kai.” Xavier beamed at her while Kai gave her a small, kind smile.

Betty’s eyes surveyed the two men for a while before her gaze fell on Ezekiel Qin. She then turned and walked towards him and poked him gently on his leg to grab his attention.

“Uncle, what’s your name?”

The man silently raised his eyes and looked at the girl before him.

“Hey, don’t ignore a lady’s question.” Alex’s voice was mocking.

“Ezekiel” was all he said before he looked down again, as if he was an unwilling participant.

Dinner seemed to be laid out and ready for them already so they all took their places around the table and started to eat the always scrumptious meal made by the kitchen staff.

Betty couldn’t believe the amount of food that was laid out on the table. ‘Holy moly! I have never seen this much food in my life! YUUUUUMMMMM!!!’ was the thought that ran through her head. She was used to the food from the orphanage and while it wasn’t fancy like this, it was certainly nutritious and still yummy. But the little foodie certainly wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass by her!

Abi saw the millions of stars in the girl’s eyes and she couldn’t help but chuckle as she placed a heaped spoonful of food on Little Betty’s plate. She definitely understood what she was feeling.

This was, after all, how she also felt when she first got here. Knowing how much of a foodie this little girl was, she made sure to give her at least a small portion of every dish so that she could have a taste of all of the dishes, much to Little Betty’s delight.

Dinner was much more lively than usual, with Xavier and Kai asking Little Betty a lot of questions, as if they had never spent time with a little child before, and Little Betty answered them all with her cheerful, bubbly, little voice surrounding them like a warm blanket.

Once they were finished with their meal, Abi and Little Betty patted their food babies with satisfaction. They looked at each other and as if some secret communication passed between them, they both laughed out loud while the men looked at them with curiosity. Abi just shook her head and offered no explanation.

After some time, they all rose and headed to the large living room. Alex and Abi sat next to each other on the largest couch while Little Betty, Xavier and Kai sat on the couch across them. Zeke, ever the outsider, sat on the furthest single chair from the rest.

“Do you have any toys or games here?” Little Betty piped up.

The two men immediately looked at Alex, as if they were about to ask him this question, but then they looked at each other and shook their head. ‘What were they thinking? Of course he wouldn’t have any kids toys or games in this house.’

“Sorry, Betty, but we don’t have toys or games,” Xavier said sadly.

“Oh ok… Do you have any paper? We could play rubbish ball. Do you know how to play rubbish ball?” Little Betty asked the two men, who just looked very confused.

“Rubbish ball? What kind of game is that?” Xavier asked.

“It’s when you crumple pieces of paper into a ball and try to shoot them inside the rubbish bin!” Little Betty explained.

“Oh. That sounds like fun!” Xavier said while Kai just nodded. The two then went in search of paper and a rubbish bin. It didn’t take them long to find the items needed for the game and so within minutes, the quiet house became very noisy as the three of them played their game.

There were shrieks and claps and hoorays as it went on and Abi, who could never just sit and watch while kids played games, got up to join them.

Alex and Zeke stayed where they were as they looked on with boredom written on their faces. They definitely did not have any intention of joining in.

After some time, the game finally slowed down. It seemed like everyone was finally starting to run out of gas.

“Abigail, come over,” Alex ordered and Abi immediately walked towards him. He pulled her beside him and whispered in her ear.

“It’s time for your punishment, Abigail.” he uttered and Abi swallowed. She thought that Alex would let her go tonight.

“But… Alex, B-betty is here.”

“She looks like she is ready to go to sleep,” he simply said. As Abi looked at the little girl who was rubbing her eyes and yawning, she knew he was right. “I’m sure one of the boys can handle putting her to bed,” he then continued.

“O-okay,” she agreed but Abi worriedly tugged Alex’s shirt. “Alex, she needs someone to read a book to her for her to go to sleep,” Abi said.

“Charles, get me a book, a pillow and a blanket,” he ordered and after a while, Charles came back holding a pillow, a blanket and an old book of Grimm’s fairy tales.

Alex took the book and walked towards the little girl. He squatted before her and said, “Little Betty, Abigail and I have an important matter to settle so one of these three will put to bed, okay?” Alex told her and the little girl looked at Abi before she just nodded.

He then showed the book to her. “Little Betty, you can choose one person to read this book to you,” he told her and Little Betty just blinked. “Who will you choose?”

Hellbound With You Chapter 72 – Classroom rules

Little Betty looked at Kai and Xavier. Xavier was miming at her to choose him but Betty’s gaze just passed through him until her eyes fell on the lone man sitting at the far end of the room. She pointed her finger towards Ezekiel Qin, surprising everyone except Alex. Even Ezekiel himself was a little taken aback, although his face remained blank.

“Nice choice, Little Betty,” Alex seemed satisfied with her choice. He looked at Zeke with a taunting smile and before Abi could protest, Alex was already walking towards Zeke. He held Betty’s hand in one hand and the book with the other. Once they stood before the quiet Zeke,

Alex looked down at him with a smile on his face. He bent down and put the book on Zeke’s lap, almost with a flourish, before he straightened up. “Take care of Little Betty for a while, Zeke.”

Without even waiting for the man’s response, Alex patted the girl’s head as he asked Charles to give Zeke the blanket and the pillow. Little Betty smiled and voluntarily jumped on the space next to Zeke. She took the pillow and positioned it as close to Zeke as possible and she quietly settled down as she stared at the man, waiting expectantly for him to start reading to her.

Alexander smiled at the girl’s behavior before he looked at Zeke with a mischievous yet stern look in his eyes. “I’ll leave her to you then, Zeke. Start reading to her now because it’s already quite late,” he said before turning to walk away.

He walked straight towards Abi and grabbed her wrist, dragging her up the stairs. Abi kept looking back at the duo as she was still a bit worried.

“Alex, are you sure? I think it might be better if we leave her with Kai,” she said and Alex halted on the stairs.

“Stop worrying, little fruit. Trust me, Zeke is the best choice for babysitting her. I don’t actually trust those two that much. They’ll make her cry or treat her like a doll. She won’t be able to sleep early if she’s with them.”

“But…”

“Shh… look at her. She likes Zeke. Don’t worry, Zeke will never harm even a single strand of her hair,” he said and Abi just blinked. Alex’s absolute trust in Zeke was not something she expected, especially regarding this matter.

Abi looked at Betty and when she saw that the girl was smiling as she looked up at the cold man. She looked around and saw the butler and maids were also standing by so she felt at ease.

However, her ease only lasted for a minute because as soon as the two arrived on the third floor, Abi’s heart began to thump. She began to feel nervous.

Was he really going to punish her?

Abi’s steps began to slow. She walked like a turtle while Alex just walked elegantly in front of her, like always, as she followed behind him. When the man finally stopped in front of her room, Abi was a few steps behind him.

He glanced at her before he pushed her room’s door open and entered like it was his own.

Abigail took a deep breath, not once but thrice, before she entered. Alex was already sitting on her bed, loosening his neck tie and unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt. He was doing that in an outrageously, devastatingly s.e.xy and alluring way. His eyes smoldered as he looked at her as he moved gracefully like a magnificent beast.

“Come over, Abigail,” he ordered and his deep voice made Abi swallow as she moved slowly towards him.

“Uhm Alex, I can explain. I…” before Abi could continue, Alexander pulled her close. His large hand easily gripped both of her hands while his free hand grabbed her chin.

“Rules are rules, Abigail. You broke one of the rules so you’ll need to be punished. No excuses,” he whispered and Abi felt chills run down her spine. “I have to teach you a lesson, Abigail. I can see you’re not taking my simple rules seriously. Did you think I was going to just let it go because this was your first offense?

If that’s what you think, then you’re wrong, little lamb. I’ll have to show you now or else you will think that my rules are nothing but words of bluff.”

The words that resonated in her ears sent small shivers through her body. Abigail swallowed again.

“A-are you going to hurt me?” she asked and her lips trembled a little.

Alexander’s lips twisted to a faint smile before it abruptly faded. His eyes blazed with ice cold fire, so deadly and dangerous, but at the same time filled with something different that Abi couldn’t fathom.

“Do you want me to hurt you?” he asked and Abi’s throat dried up.

“No, Alex.” She shook her head. Her voice was barely a whisper. The little lamb finally showed a little hint of fear.

“Are you scared?” he asked again as his vivid eyes pierced hers. Nonetheless, Abi looked at him back straight on; her gaze was even deeper than ever.

“A little,” she replied and Alex’s eyes squinted.

“A little, huh… But you’re already expecting me to hurt you, right?”

She nodded. “A little.”

“What do you mean by a little, huh, Abigail?”

“I think your punishment will hurt me a little.”

A throaty chuckle left Alex’s lips as he grabbed her chin and rubbed her lips gently, not taking his eyes off hers even for a second.

“Tell me, what kind of punishment were you expecting?” he asked and a short silence followed.

Abi straightened her tensed shoulders, took one deep breath before she calmly opened her lips and told him what was running through her mind.

“That… you will have me stand there facing the wall for a long time, or, have me run a lap or two or three outside, or, lock me in my room for a couple of hours, or, have me write pages and pages of an apology letter, or, have me go clean the backyard…”

Alexander’s smirk had long faded since she uttered her first phrase. This girl… was she trying to distract him? Did she think that his rules were some kind of classroom rules and now he became a teacher in her eyes?

Despite being rendered speechless once again because of another weird surprise in the middle of this situation, Alexander didn’t let this naïve little fruit take the better of him.

“Abigail, how about spanking? Did that ever come to your mind?” his voice was damn deep and alluring, like the voice of a devil in disguise, luring people to their demise.

“Spanking?”

Hellbound With You Chapter 73 – What happened?

Abigail’s eyes widened a little. She was shocked but the reason behind her surprise was actually because she didn’t expect Alex to say that word.

“Alex, I’m already an a.d.u.l.t. I’m not a child that needs to be spanked,” she argued. She looked like she couldn’t believe him.

“What if I told you that a.d.u.l.ts could be spanked too?”

His words made Abi’s jaw instantly fall.

“R-really?” she gasped, looking at him with disbelief. Alex s.e.xily nodded at her and waited in anticipation for her next reaction.

However, Abigail suddenly pressed her lips tightly as if she was trying very hard not to grin. Well, now that she thought about it, a.d.u.l.ts could also be spanked. She never saw it happen before her eyes but what came into her imagination was the comedy movie she watched before where an old man was being playfully slapped on his butt by his wife because he was fooling around. Imagining an a.d.u.l.t being slapped on the butt was a comedic scene to her.

Alexander was speechless. He didn’t know why the girl was suddenly looking like she was enjoying a private joke.

“What’s so funny, Abigail?” he asked, as his eyes narrowed and Abi cleared her throat before seriously staring back at him.

“I just imagined a couple spanking each other and I found it amusing. I watched a movie where one grandma slaps her husband’s butt and then he covers them up and runs away from her like he was running on hot coals,” she told him and Alexander lost it.

He couldn’t believe this. No matter how serious the situation was, how could this girl just turn everything around like this? From the moment she was alone with him, she should have been at his mercy, knowing that she was about to get punished. She was supposed to step back in fear upon hearing the word ‘

spanking’ and yet, here she was, smiling so innocently as if this wasn’t a serious matter. Even more annoying was the fact that she was even telling him about a comedy show she watched, saying that spanking was amusing. Was this the way her survival instincts were wired? It if was, then she had evolved to a higher level because it did a hella good job killing the vibes!

“C-could it be that you’re planning to spank me? I-is that my punishment?” her eyes looked at him with surprise. She even looked relieved. “If that’s so, please go ahead,” she said, thinking that it would be like the funny scenes in the movies.

The old grandma didn’t seem to smack the grandpa that hard so of course she didn’t mind being spanked like that. So she positioned herself in front of him, sideways and even bent down a little to give him access to her cute little behind.

Alexander couldn’t help but pinch the skin between his brows. This was utterly different. This was not even close to the ideal punishment scenario. She was supposed to be begging him not to spank her, and yet, here she was, suddenly offering herself like this. How the hell could he even… could he even…

Alexander had never been in a situation like this before. This girl was a whole different species of the human race and he couldn’t figure how to handle her. She was just so…

Now his mind was also messed up. He didn’t know why but he suddenly thought of a little poor literal fluffy lamb being spanked by him.

This was simply outrageous and ridiculously over the top. She exuded such a kind of innocence and purity that made anyone desire to take advantage of her vulnerabilities and weaknesses,

but she wasn’t actually as easy as that. She had her very own strange and weird way of fighting back against the predators that want to eat her. And she was doing that so smoothly, almost without even trying.

This girl was just becoming more and more unbelievable by the day and it never ceased to render him speechless.

Alexander could only curse inwardly and in the next second, he suddenly yanked her and pinned her down on the bed. He finally realized that this girl wasn’t someone he could treat the way he treated others. He couldn’t even make himself imagine spanking this little lamb anymore.

“Abigail, I’m not going to spank you like those old damned movies with old grandmas and grandpas. That wasn’t the kind of…” he stopped mid sentence, almost groaning in frustration.

His mood had become cold again. This man was so quick to change his colours, it was hard to keep up with him.

“Never mind that. I’ve prepared an interesting punishment for you,” he then smiled wickedly. “Don’t worry, little lamb. I will make sure that you won’t feel any pain. I will make sure you will regret breaking my rules and that you will never want to do it again. I will make you beg me to punish you more,” he whispered as his breath caressed her face.

Abi was so confused with the words he was saying. She did not understand what he was saying at all. It was like he was suddenly talking in a different language she didn’t understand. Why on Earth would she want to beg for more punishment? That just didn’t make any sense!

She could see the look in his eyes had changed yet again. He had become a dangerous beast. He always looked dangerous but this time, Abi felt really nervous with him being like this. Her heart wouldn’t stop beating like crazy even as she tried to convince herself that everything was just fine.

Alex took her hand and kissed her finger before he moved both her hands above her head.

He was about to kiss her when he noticed her wince the moment he intertwined his hand on hers.

“Abigail… I haven’t even started yet and you already look like you’re in pain?” he whispered and he was about to continue when the girl’s face twisted the moment he squeezed her hands tighter.

His eyes narrowed and when he looked at her hand, he saw the scratches.

The l.u.s.t in his eyes slowly dimmed and was replaced by dark coldness.

“What happened? Where and how did you get these scratches?”

Hellbound With You Chapter 74 – A cat and a mouse

Meanwhile in the living room on the ground floor, Little Betty was still wide awake. She was lying there, waiting patiently for Uncle Zeke to start reading to her.

Not only did Ezekiel not start reading the book to the little girl, he also ignored her as if she wasn’t there. He just kept scanning the book that Alex gave him without a word.

He didn’t know why this girl had picked him to read her a bedtime story when the other two were obviously more willing. He didn’t understand why this little girl wasn’t scared of him when children always hid behind their mothers at the sight of him. Was this kid the same as that fearless Abigail girl?

“Uncle, uncle, why are you not talking to me?”

“Uncle, you don’t like talking don’t you?”

“Can you read the story out loud so I can hear?”

“Uncle, please?”

Little Betty continued talking until Ezekiel Qin’s hand that was flipping the pages finally halted.

“Stop calling me, uncle. I’m not your uncle,” he told her, his voice a little chilly.

“Then, what should I call you?” she innocently asked. “Big brother?”

“I’m not your brother.”

“Then, shall I call you Zeke, too?” she smiled and the man silently let out a sigh. He didn’t have any tolerance for this kind of thing. He knew that Alex did this on purpose. That man just wanted to torture him.

“Sleep, kid. You’re not a baby to still be lulled to sleep by a bedtime story,” he said blankly and Little Betty’s face became gloomy.

She didn’t speak anymore as she laid there next to him.

Zeke glanced at her again when the girl didn’t move or make sound, thinking that she finally fell asleep but to his surprise, the girl’s eyes were still wide open.

She was staring at the ceiling and blinking occasionally.

Seeing that there was no sign of her going to sleep, Ezekiel pressed his temples and opened the book again.

“I will only read this once, kid. Listen carefully and sleep,” he suddenly said and the girl looked up at him with big round, excited eyes.

The man then started, “Once upon a time, a princess…” he trailed off. For some reason, he couldn’t continue. His expressionless face seemed to have hardened in frustration. However, he still remained calm.

The girl looked at him with anticipation, waiting for what was coming next even though the man’s voice was so painfully lifeless and toneless.

“A cat and mouse decide to live together and buy a pot of fat to get them through the winter. They decide to keep the pot under an altar at the church and to only use it if necessary. The cat makes up a story and says she’s becoming a godmother in order to secretly visit the church,

so she asks the mouse to stay and watch their place. The cat comes home and eventually becomes the godmother two more times. Each time, the mouse asks the name of the godchildren and the cats responses are top off, half done, and all-gone. The mouse doesn’t catch on until they go to the church and sees the empty pot. The cat turns and eats the mouse. The end.”

Ezekiel closed the book and looked at the girl but the girl’s lips were parted and her big eyes were still wide open.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet?” he frowned.

“Uncle… I mean Mr. Zeke, that’s not nice. You just summarized the story.” She rose and took the book in his hand. “You should do it like this, okay?”

She started reading the story so skillfully and it suddenly looked like Little Betty was the one lulling the big man to sleep.

The man pressed his temples once again like an old man with the world’s burden on his shoulders and took the book from her hand.

“Fine, I’ll read it like that so sleep now,” he commanded and the girl at least listened to him. However, before she laid down she took the book and opened it to the page titled ‘Cinderella’.

Ezekiel then started reading but he was nowhere near the same level as little girl’s skills. His storytelling skill was, in fact, not even on the scale and could even be considered as being below zero. But despite his monotone and bored voice, Betty still slowly fell asleep.

Back in Abi’s room, the atmosphere had become below freezing as the cold statue waited for Abi’s reply.

“Ah, t-this is nothing. I just tripped on the sidewalk.” Technically, Abi told him the truth because she did trip on the sidewalk but she knew full well that a half truth was still a lie. She was not trying to hide what had happened but for some reason she didn’t know why but she didn’t want to mention that a car almost hit her.

But of course, the cold statue saw it because she was very, very bad at lying. Her face gave her straight away so he just said curtly, “You just tripped, huh?” his voice was cold as steel.

Alex’s eyes squinted at her. He then got up and grabbed the first aid kit. He sat down next to her and started cleaning her wounds.

Abi was surprised as she looked at him. She didn’t expect him to act this way. It almost looked like the beastly man was suddenly tamed as soon as she saw her scratches.

This cold man being like this towards her made Abi’s heart flutter. She couldn’t believe that just a moment ago, this was the same man who looked like he was going to eat her alive.; the same man who was just about to punish her.

However, just as when Abi was thinking that the ice was starting to melt, Alex suddenly pressed on her wound using the cotton ball he was holding.

“Ouch!” she winced. “Alex, it hurts,” she pleaded but the man didn’t release the pressure.

“Abigail, are you really not going to tell me the truth?” he asked and Abi’s eyes widened. She looked at him and she was surprised at the darkness lurking in his eyes.

Hellbound With You Chapter 75 – Somewhere

He pressed on her scratches a little harder as Abi gaped at him and she winced again.

“Ahh… Alex, stop! I’ll tell you…” She finally gave in and the man let go.

“Good,” he said before he lifted her hand and gently blew on the wound as if he was trying to soothe the pain he inflicted. Abigail was speechless. This jellyfish was truly unpredictable. Why was he like this? “Now speak, little fruit,” his tone was extremely demanding.

With a sigh, she told him the truth; that she was about to cross the road when a random fast car drove past so close to her that it nearly hit her. She fell down and that was how she got the scratches.

Abi saw his jaws clench and something flashed in his eyes, so quick that Abi almost missed it. He looked down and focused his attention on her palm.

“I-I am fine, though. These scratches are nothing,” she immediately tried to reassure him, but the man continued his interrogation without looking at her face.

“What about the driver? Did you see his face?” His voice was emotionless, as if he was a detective trying to get information from the victim.

Abi found his way of questioning strange to her. She also didn’t understand why he was asking so seriously but his overbearing aura was forcing her to cooperate with him.

“He didn’t stop and it happened so fast I didn’t get a look at his face.”

“You didn’t see the plate number?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t see it but I think the car looks the same as that black car in the garage.”

Alex fell silent after that, as if he had found his answer or as if he had finished taking all the necessary information. Still, there was something in his silence that made Abi feel like he was hiding something about this matter.

“Why were you trying to hide it from me?” he asked again after a long while of silence.

“I wasn’t trying to hide it. I just thought that this wasn’t something important that you needed to know,” she replied and Alex paused. He looked at her with a sharp gaze before he grabbed her chin.

“Listen carefully, little lamb. While you are here living with me, I am the one responsible for you, you understand? From today onwards, while you are staying in my house, don’t hide this kind of thing from me, you get it?”

Abi blinked at him and eventually nodded.

He finished tending to her wounds and he put the first aid kit back. “Sleep now, Abigail. You now owe me 12 sessions and one punishment. That is your debt currently,

little fruit. You need to heal these hands of yours quickly or else…” he grabbed her chin and stared into her eyes with an aura of both danger and mischief. “Or else, I can’t guarantee if this little fragile body of yours will be able to handle it if you keep acc.u.mulating debts you can’t pay.”

He walked towards the door and before he left, he said, “I’ll go get the kid.”

Downstairs.

Alexander saw that the girl was already asleep next to Zeke.

Alex walked towards the couch and as he drew closer, he gave Zeke one long, hard stare. It was as if there were many unspoken words conveyed with that one look.

Without a word, he took the girl and brought him upstairs. Abigail was still awake when Alex entered her room with little Betty in his arms.

He laid the little girl beside Abi before he left without a word.

“Goodnight, Alex,” Abi said and the man halted for a moment, before he closed the door.

Abi let out a sigh and finally closed her eyes. Her thoughts were full of Alex and his ever changing moods until she finally fell asleep.

She began to dream. In her dream, a certain mischievous demon was tickling her ear. She kept pushing the bully demon’s hand away but he was persistent. He even started to tease her cheeks, poking them as if he was picking a fight. The demon in her dream looked like Alex. Suddenly,

Abi smelled something sweet hovering over her face so she bit the air as she imagined chomping on the delicious food before her.

At that moment, Abi woke up and to her surprise, she felt something fleshy between her teeth. Her eyes widened as she saw Alex’s face, looking at her in disbelief. Was she still dreaming?

She slowly unclamped her teeth from Alex’s hand and she finally noticed that it was already dawn.

“G-good morning, Alex,” she greeted and she tried to rise up. The man finally moved to give her room as he looked at the hand she just bit and he chuckled noisily as he shook his head.

“Little lamb, I really don’t know what kind of creature you are anymore,” he said and Abi blinked at him. “You even bite during your sleep, huh? Do you eat people too while you’re asleep?” he asked meaningfully, but of course, the little lamb took his words literally.

“No, I don’t!” she immediately argued and Alex finally laughed.

“Ahh… never mind that. Get up and get changed. It’s time for you to exercise. I’ll wait for you outside. Make it quick,” he said and he left without even waiting for her response.

Without a choice, Abi quickly changed into exercising clothes. Little Betty was still asleep and Abi knew she wouldn’t wake up for another hour or so, so she left her on the bed.

Outside on the road, Abi was bent over, hand on top of her knees, panting and sweating from the exercise. The man was as unforgiving as he was the day before, acting like her strict coach. While she rested on that same bench from yesterday, Alex suddenly told her something she never expected to hear from him.

“Don’t stay here tonight, Abigail,” he said with all seriousness and Abi looked at him with confusion. “Go home for now and come back tomorrow.”

“Why?” she asked, still surprised and confused.

“Because I’m not going to be home tonight. I’m going somewhere.”

“Can’t I stay here and wait?”

“No, Abigail. I won’t allow you to stay here when I’m not around.”

Abi’s brows creased and she was about to say something but the man put his finger over her mouth and stopped her from speaking.

“Ah, it might also be better if I fetch you from your work tomorrow, now that I think about it,” he said before he stood up. “Let’s go back. That kid might be looking for you now.”

Alex was about to take a step when Abi tugged his shirt. “Wait, Alex. Uhm, are you leaving soon?”

“Yes. I will drop you two at the orphanage on my way out.”

“So you won’t be able to fulfill my request today,” she said sadly. “Wait! That means this will become your debt to me, right?”

Hellbound With You Chapter 76 – Awkward

Alex was stunned. He couldn’t believe that this girl turned around and used his own words against him. He just looked at her with disbelief written on his face while she looked up expectantly at him. Her eyes were full of so much hope that the stern words that he was about to say became stuck in his throat.

“You should be grateful that I am giving you time to heal your wounds,” was all he said. He didn’t deny nor did he agree, leaving it open for interpretation. So Abi, being the hopeful, innocent person that she was, looked on the bright side and inwardly celebrated that he didn’t deny her words.

“Okay,” she said cheerfully as she hopped up. She did her exercise routine on the way back home. She felt a little bit energised after that conversation but as they got closer to the mansion, Abi started to feel sad and her heart felt heavy, as if it was being weighed down by a ton of bricks. Abi didn’t know why but she suddenly felt incredibly sad.

Meanwhile, back in the mansion.

Betty woke up to find herself alone in the room. She blinked and looked around as she remembered that she was sleeping in the magical castle that Abi was living in.

She slowly got up and called out Abi’s name but she got no response. She wondered where Abi was so she got off the bed and headed towards the door. She left the room and headed down the stairs, still calling out Abi’s name.

Luckily, Charles heard her and found the little girl before she became lost in the huge mansion. He told her that Abi had gone out to exercise and led the little girl to the dining hall instead so that she could eat breakfast.

She followed the nice old grandpa to the dining hall and her eyes immediately lit up when she saw Mr. Zeke sitting at the table. She quickly gave him a big wave as she ran towards him.

“Mr. Zeke! Good morning, Mr. Zeke,” she greeted as she dragged back the massive chair next to him so that she could climb up on it.

Once she was on it, she faced Zeke and started asking him questions.

“Are you having breakfast, Mr. Zeke? What are you eating? Is it yummy? Can I have some too?” Little Betty looked at Zeke with enthusiasm but Zeke didn’t utter a word. It seemed like he had tuned her out. Little Betty’s face fell a bit when she got no reaction from Mr. Zeke so she turned her attention to breakfast.

Little Betty then tried to reach for the food but she was too small to reach anything on the big table. She glanced at him as her little hand tugged his sleeve softly to try and get his attention and it worked. Zeke finally looked at the little girl before him.

Without wasting the opportunity, she quickly asked him, “Mr. Zeke, can you please put a pancake on my plate? I can’t reach it…”

She then stretched out her hands to show him that her arms were nowhere near long enough to reach the food on the table. In fact, they barely made it past the plate laid out in front of her, even though she was sitting on her knees.

Sighing like he was having to do a tedious chore, Zeke reached out for a pancake and placed it on her plate.

“Thank you, Mr. Zeke.” Little Betty then picked up her cutlery and started to eat the pancake but it seemed that she ate too fast and choked a little on a piece. She started coughing hard and Zeke immediately looked up to see the choking child in front of him. He immediately patted her on the back and then poured out a glass of water for her.

His heartbeat accelerated as a slight sense of panic washed over him, mainly at the thought of having to explain to Alex if something happened to the child while he was around, but there might also be a slight hint of worry for this little girl who didn’t seem to want to run away in fear of him.

“Here, drink this,” he told her as he held out the glass of water to her. Little Betty took it and gulped the whole glass of water down in one go.

Once Little Betty put the glass down, the blockage was gone and she could breathe again. However, in the next second, big fat tears started rolling down her cheeks and she leapt into Zeke’s arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as she sobbed and sobbed. That experience was terrifying for the little girl.

Zeke sat frozen on his chair, his arms hanging in mid air, as if he was unsure of what to do with them. The girl’s sobs were loud in his ear and he felt his shirt getting wet from her tears but he didn’t know what to do to calm her down. He had never spent time with any children before let alone crying ones!

What was he supposed to do?! His eyes met Charles’ gaze and Charles mimed to Zeke to hug the child and pat her back gently. Zeke followed his actions without thinking about it.

He wrapped his arms around the child and patted her back. This action, although it looked very awkward to whoever was watching, seemed to have worked because Little Betty’s sobs slowed and quieted down. After another minute, she had completely stopped crying.

This was the scene that greeted Abi and Alex when they finally got back to the mansion. Abi’s eyes were wide with shock while Alex’s expression was again filled with mischief as he smirked at Zeke with a taunting smile. Alex didn’t stay around and he headed up to shower and change while Abi walked towards the little girl and took her from Zeke’s arms.

He gladly let Abi take the little girl before he too, immediately left the scene, as if he was a robber that was about to be caught on the scene by the cops.

Hellbound With You Chapter 77 – A different kind of happiness

Alex, Abigail and Little Betty were all sitting in Alex’s car, with Abi in the passenger seat and Little Betty in the back seat, as they headed towards the orphanage.

Little Betty had told Abi what happened during breakfast and Abi was glad that the little girl was alright. She felt bad for leaving her alone that morning and promised herself that she wouldn’t do that again.

The car ride wasn’t as silent as Alex would have liked because little Betty regaled them with this story and that story during the whole trip. Abi was attentive to her but she was also aware that these would be the last moments she would get to spend with Alex before he left.

She kept glancing at the man but she also knew that she couldn’t disturb him while driving.

Finally, they arrived at the orphanage. Abi watched Betty enter the gate before she turned and looked at Alex. She was standing by the car’s window, looking down at him.

“Take care, Alex,” she said as she reluctantly raised her hand to wave him goodbye.

Alexander smiled seeing her meek actions and he gestured at her to move her face closer.

“Little lamb, what should a good girlfriend do when her boyfriend is about to leave?” he asked softly and Abi blinked.

There was only one answer that appeared in her mind. And thus, the next moment, she landed a soft, sweet kiss on his cheek.

Alex stared at her quietly for a few seconds as soon as she pulled away. He looked like he wanted to say something but he changed his mind.

“Never mind… I’ll teach you more about this once I return,” he told her and his eyes became serious. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m away, okay, little fruit?” he added and without waiting for her response, he accelerated and left.

Abi faced her day as usual. She was doing fine and she enjoyed the children’s play that morning. However, she couldn’t stop thinking about Alex. The thought that she was not going to see him at the end of the day made her feel a little depressed. She already wanted him to come back.

“So? How far did you two go as of now?” Kelly started her interrogation. The two were sitting in their favorite café because Kelly had come to the orphanage a while ago to see her and of course, to chit chat with her about her life with that Mr. Qin guy.

“He kissed me,” she replied, blushing while Kelly’s mouth dropped.

“Ohh… he kissed you. Okay, and?”

“And it was so wonderful, Kelly. He gave me a magical first kiss.”

Kelly was confused.

“Wait, Abi… what I’m asking is… You guys already went further than kissing, right?”

Abi blinked at her and just seeing that look made Kelly feel like bumping her head on the table.

“Like?” she even asked and Kelly lost it.

“Like s-s.e.x, Abi!” She blurted out with some frustration and gladly, no one heard her.

Abi’s face immediately burned red. Kelly had already subtly warned her about this on the day she decided to live in Alex’s house but she couldn’t believe that her friend was asking her this.

“Ahem… have you two already gone that far?” Kelly whispered but to her shocked surprise, Abi shook her head.

“You haven’t? A-abi, are you sure?” Kelly looked like she couldn’t believe it.

“I am sure, Kelly. Uhm, can we not talk about that? I wanna tell you about my first kiss, Kelly.” She beamed and before Kelly could recover from the shocking news – that they actually still haven’t done the deed despite living together – Abi started narrating her magical experience, with a smile as blinding as the sun.

“H-he did that?!!! That man? Inside the house?!!” Kelly exclaimed.

“Yes.”

When Abi confirmed it, Kelly looked like she was a plant that suddenly withered. Her head fell and bumped on the table. She couldn’t believe it. She knew that her friend wasn’t lying but, she couldn’t believe that there was still men like that Mr. Qin out there in this world. How could he be so romantic?!

“Ahh… my poor single heart!! T^T” Kelly could only cry without tears. “I’m so happy for you! I think you found the right guy. I apologize for thinking that he’s a demon. It looks like he is far from the cold hearted man I envisioned. You’re so lucky, Abi. I think the heavens gave you that guy to make you happy.”

Kelly hugged her friend tightly. She felt a little jealous because Abi just experienced something that only seemed to happen in movies, but she was genuinely happy for her. No one in this world deserved that kind of experience but this innocent and lovely girl. She deserved all the goodness that this world could offer.

“Thank you, Kelly.” Abi felt a little bit emotional about Kelly’s reaction. She knew that Kelly was a true friend who cared about her and wanted to see her happy so Abi was very thankful to have such a great friend by her side.

“So, are you going back home tonight?” Kelly asked and Abi nodded.

“Mm. I miss my dad and my grandma and grandpa,” she answered with a smile.

The two stayed at the cafe for a while longer and chatted about other things before Kelly sent Abi back home.

Her family was overjoyed that Abi came back prior to the day that she told them. They missed their princess and now that she was here, everyone was happy.

Abi was also very happy to be back because she really missed them a lot.

They enjoyed their dinner and after that, as Abi was washing the dishes, her grandmother came and talked to her while helping her dry the plates.

“You look lovely, Abigail. I can tell that you’re enjoying your life in the city,” her grandma told her and Abi looked at her in surprise.

“Honey, did you find someone you like?” she asked again and Abi didn’t know but her heart suddenly accelerated. She even blushed as Alex’s face immediately appeared in her head.

Looking at her with loving eyes, her grandmother smiled.

“I can see it in your eyes, my girl. You were always a happy child but I can see a different kind of happiness in your eyes now.” She caressed Abi’s back and Abi became speechless. She couldn’t believe that her grandmother saw right through her just like that.

“It’s okay… I know you’ve always been scared, that’s why I’m happy to see you enjoying yourself. If it makes you happy, then, don’t hesitate and go for it. Remove the shackles around your heart, and don’t hold back. There’s no need to be scared. Face the world and live the way you want, okay?” her grandmother said and Abi instantly felt emotional.

She hugged her dear grandmother and she felt her immense support. It was as if she had sent her some fighting spirit and bravery and strength to keep going and Abi was so thankful for having a grandmother like her.

“Thank you, grandma. I love you.” she whispered and they both smiled at each other.

Hellbound With You Chapter 78 – Danger