Chapter 2 The black car blocked the road ahead . The window rolled down , revealing half of the man's face . To Abigail , that face was all too familiar . Ralph's voice was indifferent . " You won't get to Gibson Villa going this way . Are you planning to walk all the way there ? " Abigail looked at him , unsure how to respond . What she wanted was just to get far enough from the prison to find a ride home . Ralph said , " Cobridge has changed a lot in the past three years . You won't make it on foot . I'm heading to Gibson Villa . " Abigail didn't understand . She thought , ' Is he offering me a ride ? ' She stood there for a moment in a daze . Ralph looked more mature and composed now , no longer as unruly and arrogant as he had been three years ago . For a second , Abigail drifted into old memories and didn't know how to answer . Ralph , however , had run out of patience . He got out of the car with a cold expression and stepped in front of her . " Get in . I'll take you back . How much longer are you planning to stand here ? " His words made Abigail fall silent . She didn't know why Ralph was here , and she didn't got into the car . want to know . Thinking of her grandfather Wyatt , she turned and Inside , there was an unfamiliar , floral scent that made Abigail feel disoriented . She had sat in Ralph's car before . Back then , he'd always kept candy in the car , and it'd always had a sweet smell . The candy had been for her . Because of that candy , Abigail had once believed she was special to Ralph . She had once been happy , thinking the feelings between them were mutual . But the truth was , she had once heard him with her own ears , speaking about her to his friends with nothing but disdain . Ralph had said , " It's just some cheap candy . That's all it took to get her wrapped around my finger . I only gave it to her because I felt bad for her . " That engagement ? It was just some joke between our grandfathers . Besides , the Gibson family has more than one heiress . " The people around him had all agreed . In their eyes , Daniella , who had grown up with a wealthy upbringing , was a much better match for Ralph than Abigail . And Abigail , to them , was nothing more than someone Ralph humored because he happened to pity her . Abigail thought about how the gifts Ralph gave Daniella were nothing like the candy he used to give her . Now that Abigail looked back , it was clear how much - or how little - Ralph ever cared about her . Abigail never liked to force anything , not even an engagement that had originally belonged to her . She had brought up ending it with Wyatt . Wyatt loved her and thought she'd been and asked for his agreement instead . wronged , and wanted to go confront Ralph about it . She stopped him Wyatt agreed , but before the engagement could be called off, she ended up taking Daniella's place and going to prison . It was only then that Abigail realized she was never that important to them . To be honest , aside from Wyatt , everyone else in the Gibson family - and Ralph - never truly welcomed her . She was like an intruder who had disturbed their perfect little family . They never said it outright , but everything they did made it clear they wanted her gone . And yet it wasn't like she had done anything wrong . Abigail had grown up struggling to survive in an orphanage . Even after being adopted , she lived cautiously . She once thought her birth parents must have really loved her to go through all that effort to find her . But reality hit her hard . They already had an adopted daughter they adored , showered her with affection . Abigail wasn't like that - she'd grown up scraping by with nothing . They looked down on Abigail , treated her like she didn't belong . If it hadn't been for the blood tie , they wouldn't have wanted her at all . 1/2 12/25 Wed 18 Jun 4 00 Chapter 2 Back then , only Ralph had paid attention to Abigail's mood when she was feeling down . He'd offer her candy to cheer her up . To her , Ralph was like the light of her life . But that light only touched her for a brief moment . Three years in prison was enough to repay whatever debt she owed the Gibsons for bringing her into this world . As for that so - called family , she didn't want it anymore . She didn't want Ralph either . The car pulled into Gibson Villa . As it came to a stop , a girl in a white dress walked over with a bright smile on her pretty face . " Ralphic , what took you so long ? Stevie and I have been waiting for you forever ." Stephen followed right behind , draping a coat over her shoulders . Daniella's smile froze the moment she saw Abigail . Her eyes turned slightly red , like she had been wronged . " Abigail ? Why are you in Ralph's car ? " Stephen questioned ri away , his brows furrowed in what looked like obvious displeasure . " I ran into her on my way here . Didn't you send someone to pick her up ? " Ralph asked . His words made Stephen fall silent . Stephen thought , ' What am I supposed to say ? That I did go but left because I was pissed off by her attitude ? ' " Stevie must've forgotten ," Daniella said lightly . " Abby , why didn't you call us ? Good thing Ralphie ran into you . " To anyone listening , Daniella sounded kind and considerate . Abigail had thought the same when she first returned to the Gibson family . But after being falsely accused by Daniella again and again , she finally saw it clearly . Some people were just good at pretending to be nice , always appearing soft and understanding . And the Gibson family fell for it every time . To them , Daniella was exactly the kind of daughter and sister they wanted . " Abby , it's so good to have you back . I'm really happy , and so are Mom , Dad , and all our brothers , " Daniella said with a radiant smile . Stephen looked at her with obvious affection in his eyes . Abigail didn't know and didn't care whether the Gibson family was happy . The only person she cared about was Wyatt . She knew Wyatt would be thrilled to see her . A hint of urgency started to build in Abigail's chest . " Abigail , Dani's talking to you . Didn't you hear her ? " Stephen snapped , glaring at her like she was his enemy . Daniella bit her lip and tugged on Stephen's sleeve . " Stevie , don't be like that . Abby never liked me . It's normal for her to ignore me . I'm used to it . " Stephen got even angrier and shouted at Abigail , " Dani doesn't owe you anything . " Abigail just found it ridiculous . " She doesn't owe me anything , so you think I owe her instead ? "