The light chatter of happy friends, drunk buddies and men trying to snatch a one-night stand filled the tiny pub. Abigail sat at the bar, staring at the untouched glass of liquor. She thought she’d be able to drink her sorrows away like hundreds of people. Still, drinking was never quite her way of coping, and alcohol reminded her of Theodore. The bartender eyed her from the second Abigail stepped inside with a duffle bag on her arm and tear-streaked cheeks. It wasn’t anything new to see, but the young woman sympathized with whatever Abigail was going through more than she would normally. Abigail only uttered one sentence since she arrived, asking for the glass of Brandy--neat. The bartender, whose nametag read &lsq

“Theodore Adams! Come out here right this instant!”Theodore perked in his chair at the female's voice but instantly rolled his eyes when he realised it wasn’t the person he wanted to see.Huffing, he dropped his pen and slammed his laptop shut as he exited his office towards the lounge room. And there she was: hands akimbo and eyebrows perfectly arched as if she freaking owned the place.“What are you doing here, Cleo?” he asked, his voice much softer than he intended. Theodore had no energy for another fight with her.“What do you mean, Theo? I gave you two weeks to come to your senses! Two! Now it’s just getting ridiculous.”“Cleo, just leave, please.” Theodore pi

The sound of a baby’s laughter never hurt so much before.Abigail had wholly forgotten that her cousin, Elizabeth, had twins a few months ago. So, when Abigail visited her aunt, she was surprised to see Elizabeth staying in her childhood room with her two sons. Apparently, the father ran off when he learnt she was pregnant--let alone with twins. Elizabeth had no choice but to live with her mom for the extra help.Usually, Abigail didn’t mind Elizabeth. They were never close as kids, but they didn’t resent each other either. So, when Elizabeth heard of Abigail’s arrival, she was more than thrilled to have the extra ‘help’. But as bad as it sounded, little did she know that Abigail wanted nothing to do with babies anytime soon. Still, she would’ve never told Elizabeth or her aunt what happened, leaving her with no choice but to smile at the toddlers and be a sweet big cousin to them both.“Do you like the pink one or the blue one?” Abigail asked in an effortless baby voice, holding up t

“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

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