Chapter 18: A Trap?

"Should I call her?"

Abigail hesitates to make the call. However, when she pictures Milan’s innocent face, she can’t help but curse Ryland.

"Ryland Wood, you are so evil! How could you involve innocent people in your mess? Are you even a man?"

As Abigail enters the dark apartment, she doesn’t bother to turn on the light and places her burger on the table.

She sits on the couch by the window, gazing at the street below while thinking about Milan’s text. Various thoughts swirl in her mind.

"Is this a trap?"

Abigail doubts Milan’s text. Because, in her eyes and mind, anything related to Ryland is no longer believable to her. That man is full of lies and deceit.

"Sigh."

Abigail gazes at Milan’s phone number for a while. After another few more seconds, she unblocks Milan’s number and calls her.

"Oh, my lord!! Miss Abigail, is that you? You finally called me," Milan’s voice echoed loudly from the other end. The volume made Abigail pull the phone away from her ear and turn on the speaker.

"Yes," Abigail faintly replied as a smile slowly appeared on her lips.

"O Heaven’s Lord! Thank you so much for calling me back, Miss Abigail."

"Milan, you texted me and said Ryland fired you? Why did he fire you?" Abigail asked.

No words could be heard from the other end, only a deep, long sigh. Abigail felt even more sorry for Milan. Her resentment toward Ryland grew stronger.

"Miss Abigail—"

"Just call me Abigail. I no longer work there, and I’m not your boss anymore."

"Well, alright. Indeed, Mr. Wood did fire me. But it’s fine. This is all for the best because I no longer tolerate his attitude and have no respect for him. So I can’t work for him anymore."

Abigail felt sorry for Milan. She didn’t expect Ryland to fire her; this girl had done a fantastic job supporting him as his secretary.

"Milan, I’m sorry to hear that," Abigail said faintly. "What really happened there? Why did he suddenly do that?"

"It’s fine. Don’t be sorry." Milan chuckled before continuing her words. "Abigail, did you read my text yesterday? And my text this morning?"

Abigail paused, feeling bad because she had blocked Milan’s phone number.

"Sorry, Milan... Please don’t be mad at me. But I blocked everyone in the office. My mind still can’t handle anything related to Ryland. So, I didn’t receive all your texts. What happened there?"

Milan laughed instead of answering, causing Abigail to be even more confused.

"I knew it! You must have blocked us," Milan finally said after her laugh subsided. "I should not have texted you using my real number," she chuckled.

"I’m sorry, Milan."

"It’s fine. I can understand why you did that. You must be in a big fight with him. Well, Ryland Wood turned into Evil Ryland Wood since you were gone. He is so mad because you blocked him and ignored his texts. And in the end, he put all the blame on me..."

Milan told Abigail everything about the million-dollar project. The homeowner insisted on meeting her to discuss the design revision. But when Ryland told the owner they would change the designer, the homeowner couldn’t accept it and said he wouldn’t sign the contract if the designer were altered.

Abigail was shocked. She didn’t expect their new client to make such a bold move. Knowing that the homeowner appreciated her design swelled her heart, making her feel good.

"I’m sorry, Milan. Because of my issues with him, you had to lose your job," Abigail sincerely apologized. She wanted to help her, but how could she do that when she was also facing significant financial challenges?

"I’m not blaming you, Abigail. Not even to the slightest." A soft chuckle could be heard from the other end. "But seriously, may I know why you fought with your fiancé?"

"I called off the engagement. I’m no longer his fiancée." Abigail didn’t want to talk about Ryland anymore, but Milan had a right to know because she had become a victim.

"What? Seriously? How could that be? You guys are getting married in a few months?" Milan was shocked.

"Milan, since you worked for Ryland, did you notice anything unusual in his office in the past few weeks or months?"

"Unusual things?" Milan repeated Abigail’s question, puzzled, trying to remember anything about her ex-boss.

"Yep, I believe you must have noticed something. You are his secretary," a sour smile emerged from Abigail’s lips. She imagined how Ryland and Vanessa were doing nasty things in his office.

"Ugh, well, I don’t know if this is appropriate for me to talk about..." Milan hesitated about what she had seen a few days ago.

"Spill the tea, Milan," Abigail could guess what Milan would say. As Ryland’s secretary, there was no way she wouldn’t be suspicious of why Vanessa often entered Ryland’s office even after hours, right?

Milan was conflicted, but knowing that Abigail and Ryland were no longer engaged, she finally decided to be honest with Abigail.

"I saw Vanessa and Ryland kissing," Milan’s voice sounded awkward. "I’m sorry, Abigail. I didn’t tell you sooner because I was worried—"

"It’s okay. That jackass is my past now. I no longer have a relationship with him, nor do I want to do anything related to him. And thank you for not telling me because I wouldn’t have believed it if you had. I was so stupid and naive. So, I’m glad I saw them making out in his office myself."

"I’m sorry to hear that, Abigail. I hope you’re okay now."

"Hmm, yeah. Things are hard now, but I’ll survive. Thanks..." Abigail said casually, but the wound in her heart slowly opened, and the pain began hurting her again.

"Milan, I can’t help him with anything related to the office. And I sincerely apologize to you, Milan, because you were dragged into our problems."

"It’s fine. Well, Abigail, honestly, Ryland said if I could bring you back to the office, he would hire me back and raise my salary."

Abigail was shocked.

’So this is a trap—’ Abigail could only laugh inwardly.

"But hearing how much of a jerk he has been to you, I will never return to that company and work with a lowly person like Ryland Wood! I would rather be unemployed."

Hearing Milan’s words, Abigail’s heart swelled in gladness again. She felt like Milan was her true little sister; she had a kind and beautiful heart.

"I won’t bother you anymore, Abigail. But, I hope we can meet again someday."

"Sure. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything, Milan. Even though I’m jobless like you, I will try to help if you need something in any way I can."

"Thanks, Abigail."

After the call with Milan ended, Abigail sat on the sofa for a few more minutes, trying to calm her anger toward Ryland.