She Quit Her Family and Found Herself novel Chapter 115

The next day, following the address Caspian had texted her, Hulda arrived at the seaside resort right on time.

"We're here, aren't we?" In the passenger seat, Abby stared out the window at the breathtaking scenery, though she lacked any real enthusiasm.

Yes, Hulda had dragged Abby along.

Since she was footing the bill anyway, bringing a plus-one didn't matter.

More importantly, she absolutely refused to be left alone with Caspian. The thought alone made her skin crawl.

Because her entire life had revolved around her domestic duties for the past few years, her friend group was practically nonexistent. She had considered inviting Sienna, but the girl was in her senior year of high school and swamped with weekend tutoring. So, Abby was the default choice.

They were close in age, shared the same workplace, and had plenty to talk about. Plus, Abby had been pulling back-to-back all-nighters at the lab with her lately and was dangerously exhausted.

"I heard some of the senior researchers talking about this place," Abby noted, shaking her head as she took in the sheer opulence of the resort's massive gates. "They said it's insanely expensive. Built exclusively for the ultra-rich. Normal people can't even get past the driveway. A product of ruthless capitalism."

"Exactly. Vile capitalists," Hulda agreed smoothly, Caspian's arrogant face flashing in her mind.

Vile capitalists. Vile Caspian!

"Do we really have to waste our weekend at a place like this? Let's just go back to the institute. I have so many data sets I want to ask you about," Abby pleaded, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes.

Hulda looked at the dark circles under Abby's eyes and the tension in her brow, and shook her head. "You're wound too tight, Abby. An overloaded brain slows down. You need to decompress."

A sponge can only hold so much water, let alone a human brain. Lately, Abby's mind had been a sponge drowning in a bucket. She needed to be wrung out.

Abby knew she was right and knew Hulda was doing this for her own good. She nodded in defeat. "I know."

Hulda smiled gently. "It's the weekend, and we're here to have fun. We're practically the same age—drop the formal titles for the next two days."

"Then what do I call you?"

"I call you Abby, you call me Hulda." Hulda reached over and smoothed out a messy strand of the girl's hair.

Abby blinked, stunned. "Director... I mean, Hulda... we might be the same age, but you're so much more grounded and mature than I am. How do you do it? You're brilliant, but your emotional core is like steel. Honestly, sometimes you don't even seem human... wait, that came out wrong. I'm not insulting you."

Sitting in the cart, looking effortlessly sharp in casual resort wear, was Caspian. His long legs were crossed gracefully. When he saw Hulda in her breezy sundress, his eyes flickered with a brief flash of warmth—until he noticed Abby standing next to her. His expression instantly darkened.

Hulda led Abby toward the cart. Before they even reached it, resort staff had already materialized to take their bags.

"I told you to treat me to a weekend. Why did you bring someone else?" Caspian's cold gaze swept over Abby dismissively. "What, can just anyone come see me now?"

At the dripping condescension, Abby—who already held a grudge against the ultra-rich—scowled.

"Hulda, I'm going home."

Hulda quickly grabbed her friend's arm and shot a lethal glare at the man. "Mr. Sterling, you told me to cover your expenses for the weekend. You never specified I couldn't bring a friend. If that's a problem, then I'm afraid I cannot accept your terms!"

She had made her boundaries clear. She would repay him within reason, but only on her terms.

Seeing the standoff, Dylan scrambled to defuse the bomb. "No, no! Ms. Atherton, the boss didn't mean anything by it. He just takes a minute to warm up to new people."