Not One, But Two!

Chapter 155

Since young, Abigail wasn't close with Philip so now that she realized that they were in fact unrelated to each other, it was quite hard for her to put on an act and get close to him.

She looked at him and he seemed to be struggling to come up with the words to say, so she didn't rush him. Instead, she stood up and walked toward a display rack by the side.

She had actually noticed this rack since walking into the room.

There was some tea on display and some equipment to brew tea by the side.

In the past, she wasn't a fan of tea but after entering the workforce, she had learned to appreciate tea. After all, drinking tea could stimulate her senses and she wouldn't feel tired during operation procedures at night. Initially, she had started with drinking coffee, but that was quite strong on her stomach and she couldn't tolerate it. As such, she was converted into a tea drinker.

Just then, after all the rush, she felt slightly thirsty. Funnily enough, she had arrived for quite some time now, but the Kains didn't even serve her a glass of water. As such, she decided that she should take things into her own hands and make herself a pot of tea.

"Do you want to drink some tea?" Abigail calmly turned around and spoke to Philip. Meanwhile, Philip was momentarily stunned. It felt as if this scene could never appear between the two of them.

"What did you say?" Philip instinctively voiced out once again.

Meanwhile, Abigail took the tea in her hands and then she tipped some into the teapot as she spoke casually. "I'm thirsty, so I want to make some tea. Would you like to have some? If you do, then I'll add some more tea leaves into the pot."

It was beyond Philip's expectation that he would someday be able to sit down with Abigail and have a discussion so peacefully that he couldn't contain the flash of emotions in his eyes. Shortly after that, he replied calmly, "Yes, I'd like some."

"Okay." Abigail added some more tea leaves into the pot, and then she switched on the power plug to brew the tea.

The fragrance of the tea filled the room soon enough, instantly lifting one's mood.

Soon, she deftly took out the teacups, and then she rinsed them before pouring the tea into said teacups. She served Philip a cup first before pouring one for herself.

At that moment, Philip's eyes were half-shut as he reached out and took the cup in his hand before taking a sip. He felt that the taste of the tea was exceptionally fragrant and tasty. It didn't taste like his usual tea.

"How have you been while you were overseas all these years?" Philip asked casually.

Meanwhile, Abigail was slightly taken by surprise and subsequently, she responded calmly too, "I've been fine. I spent all of my time on my studies to survive this rat race, and I conducted countless operations. There were times when I merely slept two hours over three full days, but I've finally survived all that and came to where I am today."

Nobody's success came easy.

Abigail had managed to work her way to become a renowned surgeon internationally at such a young age. The efforts that she had to put into achieving that as well as the sufferings, though unspoken, was definitely imaginable.

Philip spoke in a low voice. "You're as resilient as your mom."

As soon as Philip brought up her mom, Abigail couldn't help it when her hands trembled.

She had thought that she would be able to maintain her composure and handle this well but as soon as she heard the news about that woman, she couldn't contain herself.

She was nervous, uneasy and for some reason unknown to her, slightly afraid too.

He noticed her reaction and finished off the tea in his teacup before commenting, "To be more accurate, you should address me as your uncle."

"Huh?!" Abigail suddenly lifted her head and she shot Philip a surprised look.

Meanwhile, Philip placed down the teacup in his hand and said softly, "I'm your father's biological brother."

This answer was evidently out of Abigail's expectations.

As soon as she had found out that she didn't have any blood ties to Philip, she heaved a sigh of relief. After all, she felt much at ease knowing that she was not related to such a cold and selfish man. However, right now, this man was telling her that they were actually related, so this was something that she found quite hard to take in.

"But that can't be true! If you are my uncle by birth, then the DNA report shouldn't have shown that we were not related by blood."

"That's because I had a blood exchange transfusion before and more than three-quarters of the blood in my body was replaced." At that point, Abigail was evidently stunned by his revelation.

Blood exchange transfusion? She was a doctor so she evidently knew the risk involved with a blood exchange transfusion. Besides, he wasn't the type to be so generous with his help, so he definitely wouldn't be the donor. As such…

"Do you have a medical condition? Or perhaps did you go through the blood exchange transfusion due to some extensive injuries?" This was the only logical explanation that she could figure out.

Philip was slightly surprised as he revealed a wry smile. "Am I so despicable in your eyes to the point where you don't think that I would have donated my blood for someone else?"

His question for her caused her to be at a loss for words, so she ended up remaining silent.

Subsequently, he poured himself another cup of tea and took a sip from it. However, he was scalded by the hot tea.

He placed down the teacup before saying, "Sometimes I do wonder whether I was out of my mind back then. I actually acceded to your mother, Adeline's, request. I willingly disregarded the risks involved and bravely came forward to donate blood for your father. However, I didn't end up losing out despite nearly sacrificing my life. In exchange, I managed to get your mother to marry me, and she became my wife."

At that point, Abigail was completely stunned. "You…"

She had a lot of questions, but all of her words remained lodged in her throat as she saw Philip's self- mocking look.

He didn't mind the look in her eyes as he continued, "Back then, your mother was pregnant with you and your father had gotten into trouble. In order to save your father, she located me and asked for my help. I've always been a cold-blooded person and I hardly felt anything even though he was my elder brother. After all, he'd gone out and joined the gangs when he was in his teens, and I was the only one left to support our family. It should have been his responsibility as the older son to support the family, but he left. In the end, I was stuck with a paralyzed mother and a crippled father, so I had to juggle several jobs to make ends meet. Later on, my mother felt that life was too difficult for me, so she killed herself by drinking some pesticide. I couldn't even come up with the money to cremate her. Where was my darling brother back then?"

Philip mentioned this part of his past, and his lips curved into a cold sneer while a sinister vibe enveloped him. Property © 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.

Meanwhile, Abigail didn't know what to think and she was at a loss, so she kept her mouth shut and listened.

Philip continued, "After my mother's death, I went to beg my uncles for help. I even sought help from our neighbors with the hopes that they would lend me some money to cremate my mother. However, they reckoned that I was too young and they didn't think that our family could succeed in life, so even if they gave me twenty years to prove myself, there was no way that I would be able to repay the money they lent to our family. Mother died during the summer and her body started to decay in three days. I had planned to bury my mother in the earth by digging a grave for her, but they refused to allow me to bury her as they claimed that it was not allowed. Resigned to fate, my father contacted someone on the dark market and he sold off his organs to get money. He lost his life in the operation theater in the dark market and left a huge sum of money behind. With that money, I managed to cremate both of my parents. Back then, where was my darling brother, huh?"

"I know that those who joined the gangs do not generally know where their future lies. He did send money back home in the past and the most he sent back was a few thousands. At times when he sent less money, there were still a couple of hundreds. However, each time after sending us money, he would be uncontactable for at least a year or so. Even during our parents' funeral, I was the only one who sorted out everything, and I cremated my parents single-handedly with my arms around two cremation urns. My brother only found out about this a year after they'd passed away. Tell me then, why should I save an older brother like him?!" There was an ugly look on Philip's face at that point.

Meanwhile, Abigail listened to all of this with a complicated feeling in her heart.

That explained why Philip was generally so aloof and cold. It was because he had experienced so much in humanity, be it coldness or warmth.

She wasn't quite sure whether to continue asking him any other questions, but she heard him say, "I left my hometown with the money from my father's sacrifice and came to Harrion. Initially, I started my business by setting up a little stall and I slowly amassed my fortune. Twenty years ago, I was just a businessman selling my wares on the street. Back then, your mother found me and she came along with an identification token from my brother. She wanted me to help save my brother's life. There was no way I was going to save him. However, I fell in love at first sight with your mother."

Philip's expression softened as he spoke of Adeline.

He said in a soft voice, "Your mother was the kind of woman who could attract everyone's attention. She had a gentle and quiet demeanor, and she generally spoke in a very soft voice. She resembled my mother when my mother was younger. At that point, I knew that I wanted this woman for myself. I didn't care that she was my brother's woman—I wanted her for myself. As such, I told her that I would only save my brother if she agreed to marry me."

"So, she agreed to that?" For some inexplicable reason, Abigail suddenly felt sadness rise up within her.

However, Philip shook his head and responded, "No, she scolded me quite badly. She said that I was even worse than an animal and that I was cold-blooded. I couldn't care less about that, though. I built up everything that I had by putting in all of my efforts. Back then, I didn't even think about getting married and starting a family; it was a luxury for me to even buy my own property. I knew that I would succeed in life but how long was that going to take me? I had no idea at all. Perhaps once I succeeded in life, then I would no longer encounter someone that I liked, so I was intent on possessing Adeline back then. I didn't care about how much it would take to get that. My only request was that she marry me."

Abigail couldn't see eye to eye with Philip in regard to his way of thought, but she didn't say a word.

As for Philip, he lowered his head and there was a flash of sadness in his eyes.

"Two days later, she came back to see me and she agreed to my request. However, she wanted me to save my brother first. That definitely wasn't possible for me. If I agreed so easily to save my brother, then surely she wouldn't honor her side of the deal. So I insisted on signing the marriage papers first. Once our marriage was official, then she was now legally my woman and I would go and save him after that."

"She agreed and went with me to the Civil's Affair Bureau to sign the marriage papers. After keeping the marriage certificate in a safe place, I then went along with her to see my elder brother. Upon arrival, I realized that he had been lethally poisoned and needed to undergo a blood exchange transfusion. The most reliable way was to use the blood of a family member. At that point, I knew that there was a high chance that I wouldn't survive this, but as I saw Adeline sobbing hard, I couldn't contain my impulsiveness. I lay there and allowed the medical personnel to draw the blood from my body and then I received the replacement blood from the hospital. I looked at Adeline, who was my wife on papers, sobbing hard as she stood vigil by my brother. I didn't even know how I managed to persevere and survive all that but once I woke up, I was in the hospital while she was nowhere to be found. I ran around like a madman trying to find her and as soon as I found her at my brother's side taking care of him, I forcefully dragged her back to my rental property and I forced myself on her."

As soon as Philip mentioned this, suddenly, there was a flash of pain in his eyes.

He continued, "At that point, she lost consciousness after a lot of bleeding. I had thought that it was due to it being her first time and I was secretly very pleased. However, as the blood pooled around her knees, it frightened me to the point where I quickly sent her to the hospital. The shocking news revealed by the doctor nearly caused me to kill her there and then."