Slowly, they all turned around as if they were two-year-old triplets being caught colouring on the wall.Behind them stood Theodore and his COO, Jerry. Abigail met Jerry once, but Cleo knew him quite well.“Theodore,” Abigail mumbled, clutching the dress to her chest.He ogled the dress with an approving glint in his eye, imagining how its soft silky-like texture would look on Abigail. And how he could almost run his hand under the--“What the hell are you doing here?” Cleo’s voice snapped him from his naughty thoughts, but every warmth disappeared from his eyes when he met Cleo’s.“I would ask you the same thing,” Theodore growled.Without taking his eyes from Cleo, he stalked towards Abigail and slipped the dress from her fingers before handing it to Sarah.“Get this ready for me, would you?”“Are--are you buying it, s-s-sir?” Sarah stumbled over her words. But the question yielded a glare from Theodore, which had her squirming. The dominance and power that radiated from him were a
California--the state of sunshine and beaches.Abigail had a considerable amount of time daydreaming about getting fresh air compared to New York’s busyness. And more times than she’d liked, Theodore was present in those daydreams too, either holding her hand along the beach or kissing her under the open moonlight.It was quite inappropriate to dream about, but she couldn’t help her wandering thoughts. Najay, having tried everything she could to stop Abigail from going, helped her pack and tried to shove the largest, most unattractive underwear in Abigail’s carry on. But Abigail noticed before Najay could close the zipper and packed some moderately decent underwear--not too sexy, but not too repulsive either. Not that it mattered. Theodore and Abigail wouldn’t even share a room. So that shouldn’t have been a concern.Theodore.Abigail hadn’t seen him since the day she went shopping, and they had talked but twice on the phone to arrange the time for pick up and departure. The way he le
Theodore’s smile had disappeared entirely as if it weren’t there in the first place.“I have no idea. And I don’t care.”“Oh,” Penny simply said, realising she had upset both Theodore and Abigail. “I didn’t... Not that I care. I didn’t much like her anyways.”“Mother, you loved Cleo,” Theodore said, calling her out. Penny seemed uncomfortable.“I did when she was younger. But I don’t quite think she was right for you. I just thought that when the break-up happens, you’d just remain friends.”Brad, evidently seeing Abigail’s discomfort, changed the topic. “Abigail, I hope you like lasagne.”“I love it,” Abigail said, forcing a smile.“Great!”Jessica gripped Abigail’s wrist and pulled her to the other side of the room, seeing that Penny was trying to apologise to Theodore for bluntly bringing up Cleo’s whereabouts.“You must come to my bachelorette party,” Jessica said, curling her palms under her neck with a huge smile.Abigail--who had initially planned to go to bed--stumbled over he
Abigail never fancied makeup, but she was utterly grateful for her tiny tube of foundation. She hadn’t realised that Theodore had gotten carried away with his love bites until she woke up this morning.She didn’t even go to Jessica’s bachelorette party. After they left the cellar, Theodore and Abigail showered and changed before heading to the dining room. Penny and Brad pretended that they didn’t notice the sudden change in attire. But Jessica was quite blunt with her remarks, even insisting that Abigail stay home, saying she “Must be tired from the long plane ride.”Abigail didn’t protest, and when Jessica returned home sometime after midnight, she spotted Theodore leaving Abigail’s room.Jessica took Abigail to the hotel to get ready, so Abigail hadn’t seen Theodore all morning or afternoon. She made a beautiful bride. Though they had to redo her makeup two times because her panic caused her to sweat and cry, smudging the lines of her eyeliners and making imbalances in her foundat
As the man and a woman, who Abigail assumed was his wife, approached, all she wanted to do was run for the hills. But Theodore smiled at him, too, showing that he knew the doctor quite well.“Doctor Danvers,” both Theodore and Abigail said simultaneously in two different tones, of course.Doctor Danvers beamed at the couple as his eyes settled on Abigail, Theodore’s hand around her waist, then on her stomach.Oh no.“How are you doing?” he asked, staring at Abigail.Abigail gulped. “I’m great. Never been better. I see you know Theodore?”“Ah yes,” Doctor Danvers said, sharing a quick smile with Theodore. “Our families go way back. I actually mentored Jessica when she wanted to be a doctor. Such a shame she gave it up. She had talent.”“Well, that’s Jessica,” Theodore concluded with a chuckle. A brief silence reigned, and Abigail tried to use it to her advantage to get away, but Theodore beat her to it as if just noticing that Doctor Danvers called Abigail’s name and not his.“Wait, ho
Song for final chapter:Like I'm Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor ft John Legend ***Theodore sat in his office--thoughts filled with Abigail. The last thing he wanted was to entertain thoughts of the tantalising woman who drove him crazy, which was why the first thing he did when they arrived was head straight to his office. But he couldn’t help it. She was a few rooms away, sleeping, and he couldn’t focus on his papers. The last thing he wanted to do was write something in the wrong place. That could be chaotic.He closed the folder and ran his fingers through his hair, exhausted. He’d only slept three hours on the plane, and that’s after Abigail finally fell asleep. He checked the time, seeing that it was minutes after ten a.m. Theodore replayed the past twelve hours in his head after learning about Abigail’s miscarriage.The very thought caused a stab in his heart that he had never felt before. It almost felt as bad as when he lost Abigail. But losing his baby--their baby... It w
"My mother got flowers today--the loveliest she's ever got. Too bad she won't be able to see them this time. She'd smile at them and rest them on the lounge table as a reminder that she was loved."To everyone else, the speech was lovely, but to Abigail, she knew there was nothing but fervent mockery of the whole situation. She eyed the closed box with nothing but contempt. How could one woman be so foolish? So implicitly blind?"I placed them beside her casket because that's where she would want them. Open and bold for everyone to see so that she could have a reason to love him." She said 'him' with so much venom, but the congregation only nodded in blind sympathy, as they knew not what was really in Abigail's heart.Ever since her mother met Mark four yea
"From the top again, Jerry. Tell me the issue." Theodore pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the hint of a familiar friend coming to visit. His headache.Jerry, Theodore's COO and oldest friend, held the document firmly in his hand that Theodore refused to take."I just finished processing the reports from the Italian winery. Apparently, the reason why the production has been so slow, is because 2000 acres of the vineyard is infected with Grapevine Trunk Disease," Jerry explained as he glanced over the report.It had been appalling news to him too when he first read over the file only an hour ago. But it surely explained the production, or lack of, rather, with the Italian vineyard.This upset Theodore even more. In the wine business, that was probably one of the worst things that could've happened. "For how long?"Jerry gulped as he eyed the file again, even though he knew. "Uh-six months, sir." T
Song for final chapter:Like I'm Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor ft John Legend ***Theodore sat in his office--thoughts filled with Abigail. The last thing he wanted was to entertain thoughts of the tantalising woman who drove him crazy, which was why the first thing he did when they arrived was head straight to his office. But he couldn’t help it. She was a few rooms away, sleeping, and he couldn’t focus on his papers. The last thing he wanted to do was write something in the wrong place. That could be chaotic.He closed the folder and ran his fingers through his hair, exhausted. He’d only slept three hours on the plane, and that’s after Abigail finally fell asleep. He checked the time, seeing that it was minutes after ten a.m. Theodore replayed the past twelve hours in his head after learning about Abigail’s miscarriage.The very thought caused a stab in his heart that he had never felt before. It almost felt as bad as when he lost Abigail. But losing his baby--their baby... It w
As the man and a woman, who Abigail assumed was his wife, approached, all she wanted to do was run for the hills. But Theodore smiled at him, too, showing that he knew the doctor quite well.“Doctor Danvers,” both Theodore and Abigail said simultaneously in two different tones, of course.Doctor Danvers beamed at the couple as his eyes settled on Abigail, Theodore’s hand around her waist, then on her stomach.Oh no.“How are you doing?” he asked, staring at Abigail.Abigail gulped. “I’m great. Never been better. I see you know Theodore?”“Ah yes,” Doctor Danvers said, sharing a quick smile with Theodore. “Our families go way back. I actually mentored Jessica when she wanted to be a doctor. Such a shame she gave it up. She had talent.”“Well, that’s Jessica,” Theodore concluded with a chuckle. A brief silence reigned, and Abigail tried to use it to her advantage to get away, but Theodore beat her to it as if just noticing that Doctor Danvers called Abigail’s name and not his.“Wait, ho
Abigail never fancied makeup, but she was utterly grateful for her tiny tube of foundation. She hadn’t realised that Theodore had gotten carried away with his love bites until she woke up this morning.She didn’t even go to Jessica’s bachelorette party. After they left the cellar, Theodore and Abigail showered and changed before heading to the dining room. Penny and Brad pretended that they didn’t notice the sudden change in attire. But Jessica was quite blunt with her remarks, even insisting that Abigail stay home, saying she “Must be tired from the long plane ride.”Abigail didn’t protest, and when Jessica returned home sometime after midnight, she spotted Theodore leaving Abigail’s room.Jessica took Abigail to the hotel to get ready, so Abigail hadn’t seen Theodore all morning or afternoon. She made a beautiful bride. Though they had to redo her makeup two times because her panic caused her to sweat and cry, smudging the lines of her eyeliners and making imbalances in her foundat
Theodore’s smile had disappeared entirely as if it weren’t there in the first place.“I have no idea. And I don’t care.”“Oh,” Penny simply said, realising she had upset both Theodore and Abigail. “I didn’t... Not that I care. I didn’t much like her anyways.”“Mother, you loved Cleo,” Theodore said, calling her out. Penny seemed uncomfortable.“I did when she was younger. But I don’t quite think she was right for you. I just thought that when the break-up happens, you’d just remain friends.”Brad, evidently seeing Abigail’s discomfort, changed the topic. “Abigail, I hope you like lasagne.”“I love it,” Abigail said, forcing a smile.“Great!”Jessica gripped Abigail’s wrist and pulled her to the other side of the room, seeing that Penny was trying to apologise to Theodore for bluntly bringing up Cleo’s whereabouts.“You must come to my bachelorette party,” Jessica said, curling her palms under her neck with a huge smile.Abigail--who had initially planned to go to bed--stumbled over he
California--the state of sunshine and beaches.Abigail had a considerable amount of time daydreaming about getting fresh air compared to New York’s busyness. And more times than she’d liked, Theodore was present in those daydreams too, either holding her hand along the beach or kissing her under the open moonlight.It was quite inappropriate to dream about, but she couldn’t help her wandering thoughts. Najay, having tried everything she could to stop Abigail from going, helped her pack and tried to shove the largest, most unattractive underwear in Abigail’s carry on. But Abigail noticed before Najay could close the zipper and packed some moderately decent underwear--not too sexy, but not too repulsive either. Not that it mattered. Theodore and Abigail wouldn’t even share a room. So that shouldn’t have been a concern.Theodore.Abigail hadn’t seen him since the day she went shopping, and they had talked but twice on the phone to arrange the time for pick up and departure. The way he le
Slowly, they all turned around as if they were two-year-old triplets being caught colouring on the wall.Behind them stood Theodore and his COO, Jerry. Abigail met Jerry once, but Cleo knew him quite well.“Theodore,” Abigail mumbled, clutching the dress to her chest.He ogled the dress with an approving glint in his eye, imagining how its soft silky-like texture would look on Abigail. And how he could almost run his hand under the--“What the hell are you doing here?” Cleo’s voice snapped him from his naughty thoughts, but every warmth disappeared from his eyes when he met Cleo’s.“I would ask you the same thing,” Theodore growled.Without taking his eyes from Cleo, he stalked towards Abigail and slipped the dress from her fingers before handing it to Sarah.“Get this ready for me, would you?”“Are--are you buying it, s-s-sir?” Sarah stumbled over her words. But the question yielded a glare from Theodore, which had her squirming. The dominance and power that radiated from him were a
“I don’t like it.” Najay had made it abundantly clear five times already that she didn’t like the idea of Theodore and Abigail becoming... acquainted again.Najay believed Abigail would just end up hurt and fall into a cycle of Theodore and heartbreak all over again.When she learned that Abigail had lost her baby, Najay didn’t blame Theodore. No one did. But she believed it would be too hard on Abigail to be around him--especially since he didn’t know.“I know you don’t like it,” Abigail said, “but I think this is good for me. I need a vacation.”“Not with him. And won’t a wedding make you feel all... I don’t know...woozy?” Najay said, throwing her arms in the air. Abigail chuckled as they stopped in front of the salon.“Woozy?” Abigail snorted.“I don’t know, okay? Just be careful.”“Najay, I’ll be fine. I’m keeping him at arm’s length. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”“Well--”“That was rhetorical.” Abigail quickly cut her off before dashing across the street. “I’ll se
“Yes!”The email Abigail had been dreading over the past week had finally arrived, and thankfully, it bore good news.Abigail jumped from the couch, throwing her arms in the air as she performed a mini dance in front of Najay. Najay couldn’t contain her laughter, happy that Abigail seemed to be getting back to her old self.“Yes what?” Najay asked, though she already knew.“I just got the confirmation email about my special request. I am officially done with grad school. I made it bitches!”Chuckling, Najay grabbed the beer bottle from her friend’s hand and closed Abigail’s laptop. “Okay. Take it easy, tiger.”“I’m easy,” Abigail grinned. “I’m really, really easy.”“Okay, let’s get you to bed.”Abigail darted away from Najay’s hand, dashing towards her bedroom.“No! I have to go to Vanx Club, remember?”“Like this?” Najay asked, following behind Abigail. “You’re not in the right mind space to go out tonight. It’s almost ten.”After grabbing a mini dress from her packed box on the grou
She sat in the single armchair, knowing it was the safest choice considering the other was a loveseat. Theodore and Najay sat across from her only seconds later. They all waited for someone to start speaking first. Ultimately, it was Najay.“We have one fight, and you leave the city without telling me.”“Najay...” Abigail sighed, knowing it would lead to this.In truth, Abigail was just as surprised to see Najay as she was to see Theodore.“No, Abigail. I was pissed, yes. You accused me of something not just awful but disgusting and heart-breaking. I spent days wondering what I could’ve done to make you doubt my loyalty. I admit I kept a few details away from you because I didn’t want you to freak out. But when I invited Nicholas inside my apartment, it was only to threaten his sorry ass in a place where no one would hear.”“I know, Najay. I was stupid and scared and hurt, and I should’ve never accused you of something like that.”“No, you shouldn’t have.” Najay had always been bare-f