恶霸鲁尼 奖学金

[ At Country F: Night Time ]

Kathleen invited Nathan, Abigail, and Stephen to go out and have fun tonight. She didn\'t inform Veronica as she would just ruin the moment. The two were not getting along.

Furthermore, Veronica hadn\'t shown up to them for the whole day. She was still upset with Nathan. She thought Nathan would try to console her even though he already apologized to her.

The four of them arrived at a famous club of Country F in the City of Andromeda, named Royal Night Club. They could dance and drink to their hearts\' content. They could also sing inside a private booth on the second floor of the club.

Though Nathan was not in the mood, he couldn\'t understand why he still joined them. Was it because he wouldn\'t be at ease knowing that Abigail was having fun together with Stephen and Kathleen?

Aside from that, he wanted to divert his attention. He was getting stressed over Phantomflake\'s condition. The doctors said her health was improving as compared to before. However, they still couldn\'t give him an exact time when she would wake up.

As long as Phantomflake was in a coma, Nathan would not be able to move on from the past. That was what he thought. Especially now, Veronica was making him feel guilty for getting involved with another woman.

Abigail and Kathleen also noticed Nathan\'s sullen mood. He was just sitting in the corner, drinking his whiskey.

"What\'s wrong with Nathan? He is feeling so down tonight," Kathleen whispered to Abigail.

Abigail glanced in his direction. Stephen and Nathan were both sitting in the left corner of the bar counter, just quietly drinking their booze.

Abigail frowned as Nathan\'s mood this morning was different. He laughed numerous times in the pool area and was teasing her this morning. She wondered what happened that made him gloomy and downcast.

When she looked at his eyes, she could see melancholy in his two beautiful blue orbs. "I think we should ask Stephen. He might know the reason."

"Hmm. Abi, you should grab this opportunity to talk to Nathan and cheer him up," Kathleen encouraged her. They were standing on the dance floor as Kathleen pulled her to the center.

Abigail was not dancing at all. She was just standing there next to Kathleen as if she was her lady bodyguard. Kathleen was the most carefree among the four as she enjoyed the dance floor.

"Nathan will never open up with me. He doesn\'t like to share his feelings with anyone. He is a man. He prefers to drink than to talk to someone." Abigail would never expect Nathan to share his burden with her.

"Why don\'t you try? Sometimes, it is better to talk to strangers than to someone you are close with." Kathleen reasoned out. Then her eyes brightened up as an idea popped up in her mind. "I will drag Stephen here and you will sit there next to Nathan. Try to start a conversation."

Abigail remained standing in her spot while staring at Nathan. She was still contemplating what she should do. For some unknown reason, she was a little bit nervous to be alone with Nathan. He was acting strangely lately. And she couldn\'t control her heart from racing whenever she would get closer to him.

"If just talking to him will not work, bring him to the private booth and sing for him. I\'ve heard you have a nice singing voice too aside from being an actress." Kathleen kept on pushing Abigail. She wanted Abigail to tame that cold and aloof man, Nathan Sparks.

"Okay… I will try." Abigail took a deep sigh after agreeing to Kathleen\'s suggestion.

The two ladies immediately walked to join the two guys.

"Hello, Ladies! Are you having fun here?" Stephen greeted them right away. He even raised his glass for them. "Wanna have some?"

"Thanks, Steph. But I have to refuse. I need to enjoy the dance floor first before I get drunk. Come and join me first. Abigail is already tired so I don\'t have company any more."

Kathleen snatched the glass of beer in Stephen\'s hand and put it down on the bar counter. Then she grabbed his hand, pulling him up to follow her.

Stephen couldn\'t say no as Kathleen already succeeded in dragging him to the dance floor. Meanwhile, Abigail already sat next to Nathan and ordered her own lady\'s drink.

Nathan was slowly playing with his glass in his hand. He was lost in his thoughts. He was reminiscing about the past wherein Monica and he were still together, enjoying their moments like this. One time, they went out together with Aiden and Stephen in a nightclub just to drink and dance.

Their first night happened when they were both drunk. They ended up sleeping together in a hotel.

"A penny for your thoughts," Abigail softly said, snapping Nathan out of his wandering thoughts. When he glanced to his side, Stephen was no longer there. His best friend was replaced by this lovely maiden, Abigail.

Because his mind was preoccupied a while ago, Nathan didn\'t even notice that Stephen already left and Abigail was there beside him. Their eyes met for a moment, no one tried to break their eye contact.

From the back of his mind, someone was telling him to avoid Abigail for Monica\'s sake. Veronica\'s words were engraved in his mind after their argument.

For the past two years, if he was not busy with work, all he could think of was his revenge against Phantomflake. But something changed when he met Abigail. His attention was suddenly divided because of Abigail\'s existence. He felt like he had become distracted because of her.

Nathan didn\'t utter a word. He just looked away and drank his whiskey. He was not in the mood to speak.

Abigail could only sigh. She already expected this. Nathan would refuse to talk. He was just a man of a few words. However, Abigail would not give up easily. Kathleen encouraged her and gave her this opportunity to get closer to Nathan so she had to do her part.

"Why did you come here? You said it was not because of Veronica… but someone else." Abigail asked Nathan as she was also curious as to why Nathan went to Country F.

Abigail looked at her glass, waiting for Nathan\'s response. He was silent for ten seconds. She thought Nathan would never give her an answer. But to her surprise, Nathan finally spoke up.

"There is someone whom I need to collect a big debt. I came here because of that person." A cold glint flashed through Nathan\'s eyes.

Abigail sensed the chilly aura emanating from him. She saw him tightening his grip on his glass. When she looked at him, she saw Nathan\'s dark expression, his jaw clenched. He was furious at that person.

\'Don\'t tell me… it was because of me.\' Abigail recalled that Stephen and Nathan visited a patient in the same hospital where she had her eye check-up. \'Did he bring my original body here to be treated?\'

Abigail was able to connect the dots since Veronica was the doctor-in-charge of her original body. The hatred in Nathan\'s eyes was only directed to her real self– Phantomflake.

\'Though you hate me as much as I hate you… I have to make you fall for me. This is the only way for me to survive miraculously.\'

Bam-Bam already explained to her that her body could only hold out for another one hundred days. If she failed to accomplish her mission and her soul couldn\'t return to her original body, she would eventually die. So far, she only had 87 Days left.

Without further ado, Abigail finished her drink in one go and put her glass down. She stood up and grabbed Nathan\'s hand. Nathan just looked at her confusedly.

"Come with me. I will help you lighten your mood." Abigail mumbled with so much determination in her eyes.

Nathan blinked his eyes in amusement. He didn\'t know what Abigail was thinking. He just obediently followed as he was curious about how she would be able to lighten his mood.

Nathan thought Abigail was planning to dance with him on the dance floor but they were walking in the opposite direction. They went to the second floor where they could find a private booth. (KTV: Karaoke Booth)

"What are we doing here?" Nathan asked Abigail as soon as they entered. The booth was spacious enough for five to eight people.

Abigail smiled and replied confidently, "I\'m gonna sing for you."

Nathan gave her a \'you-got-to-be-kidding\' look. Singing for him? He found it silly and corny. Abigail just ignored his sour expression. She guided him to the couch and let him sit.

Abigail looked for a certain song she would sing for him… a song with a lively beat that would soothe and lighten Nathan\'s mood. Of course, a song with a nice message.

Nathan just sat there quietly while watching Abigail as she continued to search for the right song. \'Is she serious? This is the first time someone is singing for me.\'

After a few seconds, Abigail finally encoded the song code and grabbed the microphone. She chose her favorite song… a song that could make her lighten her mood when she was feeling gloomy.

Abigail stood up at the center and faced Nathan when the background music started to play. Abigail began to sing the song and Nathan was just staring at her intently, his eyes not leaving her face.

*Author\'s Note: Song Lyrics credit to the artist and composer. You can listen to this song while reading this chapter Special by Lizzo*

​ [ I\'m used to feeling alone, oh ]

[ So I thought that I\'d let you know (oh) ]

[ In case nobody told you today ]

[ You\'re special (special) ]

[ In case nobody made you believe ]

[ You\'re special (special) ]

[ Well, I will always love you the same ]

[ You\'re special ]

[ I\'m so glad that you\'re still with us ]

[ Broken, but damn, you\'re still perfect (perfect) ]

[ I know that I\'m not alone, oh ]

[ So I thought that I\'d let you know (oh) ]

[ Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah (yeah, yeah) ]