The Spare Wife by Nadia Gordon

Chapter 29

Abigail had just gotten out of the car when Ana lise arrived.

Seeing Ana lise getting safely out of the cab, Abigail finally calmed her

worried heart.

“Grandma, you could’ve just given me a call if you wanted to visit, and I

would’ve gone to pick you up. If not, I’ll be very worried to see you traveling so

far all alone.” She went forward and paid the fare, then turned around and

supported Ana lise. With one hand, she took the old woman’s bag and said,

“Take your time. Let’s go home first.”

Ana lise, however, stood there and refused to budge. She shook her head and

said, “It’s okay, I won’t be intruding. I’m filthy right now. I’m here to give Sean

the locust flowers.”

With that, Ana lise shakily opened her bag and showed its contents to Abigail.

Packs of dried locust flowers were wrapped neatly in plastic bags.

Chapter 29 Just Peachy

“When you brought Sean home a few years ago, he said that he liked the

locust flower tea I made for him. The locust flowers were in bloom sometime

ago, so I asked Tom from next door to gather them. I then laid them out to dry

before delivering them here.” At the mention of her grandson-in-law, Ana lise

looked very content, and she had a warm smile on her face.

“Don’t worry, it’s all clean. I rinsed them multiple times, and I covered them

with gauze when I dried them in the sun.”

Abigail never thought Ana lise would travel such a long distance and tire

herself out just to send dried locust flowers to Sean. The sour feeling in her

heart almost manifested itself.

Back then, she didn’t want to bring Sean home. Instead, Colby felt that since

Ana lise was getting old, she probably couldn’t travel that far to the city to

attend the couple’s wedding. However, the couple couldn’t sk ip out on visiting

Ana lise, so that was why Sean visited Abigail’s old home.

Back in the day, Abigail felt nervous when she saw him standing in the

farmyard, looking out of place. He frowned at everything he saw.

He accepted the tea Ana lise had brought over to him, saying that he liked it

because it was simply the way he was brought up in the Graham Family. It

had nothing to do with his actual preferences.

However, Ana lise took it to heart and remembered it all this while.

Unbeknownst to her, Abigail would be getting divorced from Sean soon.

Abigail turned around and tried blinking away the tears in her eyes. Then, she

held Ana lise’s arms and said playfully, “Look how biased you are! Outsiders

would think that he’s your biological grandson. You came here to give him

this, but what about me?”

Ana lise smiled as she patted Abigail. “Silly child, what are you saying? I care

about him because I care about you.”

She was nice to Sean only because she wished that Sean would be nicer to

Abigail on her account.

Abigail pouted. “If that’s the case, why won’t you agree to stay here for a few

days? Who are you trying to fool? You won’t even know if Sean’s been bullying

me.”

Ana lise was so mad that she moved to hit Abigail, then reprimanded, “Don’t

jinx it! Sean is a good boy, so why would he bully you?!”

She said that, but she still followed Abigail into the community. She asked in

uncertainty, “Sean hasn’t been bullying you, has he?”

Abigail bit her lip. In the end, she didn’t tell Ana lise about her eventual divorce

from Sean. She just smiled and said, “Don’t worry. With you around, he

wouldn’t dare to.”

On more than one occasion, Abigail wanted Ana lise to live with her, but her

relationship with Sean wasn’t exactly great. Fearing that Ana lise might catch

on, she couldn’t bring herself to mention it.

Moreover, Ana lise always said that she wasn’t used to living in the city.

Now that Abigail was about to get divorced from Sean, Ana lise had come to

visit instead.

If Ana lise knew about Abigail’s life with the Graham Family, her heart would

probably ache.

Fortunately, when Luna bought a house for Abigail, she feared for the latter’s

safety, so she also bought some men’s clothes, slippers, and the like.

Every time she came over, she would wear the men’s slippers, so the slippers

looked worn in their position at the entrance of the house.

When Ana lise saw the slippers, she assumed they belonged to Sean, so she

didn’t suspect anything. She said happily, “You should get to work. I’ll be fine

here all by myself. You shouldn’t stay behind just to accompany me.”

Abigail would have none of it, and she explained that she had asked Luna for

some time off before Ana lise relaxed. Then, the latter started tidying up the

things in the room. “Look at how lonely this place looks! How are you going to

get a child if there isn’t anything here that makes children happy?”

Chapter 29 Just Peachy

As she spoke, she took out a charm and fumbled for Abigail’s hand before

placing it in her palm. “Put this up.”

Abigail felt that Ana lise’s actions were hinting that the latter couldn’t see

clearly. “What happened to your eyes?”

Ana lise looked at Abigail. “Don’t change the topic! What can happen to my

eyes, anyway? I don’t have my glasses with me, that’s all. Are you not going

to hang this up?”

Abigail hastily shrugged, feeling that this charm won’t make her pregnant

anyway, but it would be worth the effort if it could make Ana lise happy.

She quickly found some tape and got ready to hang the charm in the living

room.

Ana lise patted Abigail’s hand. “Don’t you know anything? What use is this

thing in the living room? You have to put it in the bedroom!”

“Oh!” Abigail held the charm and put it up in the bedroom.

When she came back, she saw Ana lise taking out various things from her

bag. There were children’s shoes, toy drums, and much more. An alise

proceeded to place them on the TV cabinet and the shoe rack at the

entrance. She also placed another lucky charm for fertility on a table.

Abigail pursed her lips. She had the urge to tell Ana lise that she would be

getting a divorce from Sean soon, so they would never have any children.

ත However, her phone rang before she could speak.

It was from Tom.

7/8

She had tasked Tom to take care of Ana lise in the village, so he had probably

called to ask about Ana lise’s health. Abigail went to the bathroom and

answered the call. “Hi, Tom.”

The young man’s voice, however, sounded panicky as it rang over the phone.

“Abigail! Your grandma ran out of the hospital!”

Abigail froze. “The hospital?”

Chapter 29 Just Peachy

Ana lise looked quite sprightly today, though!

Tom let out a sigh. “She didn’t want me to tell you, but I took her to the

hospital for a check-up yesterday. T-The doctor said that she has a serious

case of d-diabetes, and she m-might lose her vision.”

Abigail froze on the spot.

She felt like something had hit her head, and her mind went blank