Abby and the man with a thick mustache and a brown leather coat wrapped around his body are now sitting in the same place as a few days earlier. The man suddenly asked to meet again, even though it was only two days ago that Abby received the results of his work.
Especially after Abby's defeat in the business war some time ago, the man happened to follow the news as well, making him impatient to convey the results of his investigation. A smile spread across the side of Abby's face. The bright red lipstick on her lips added a dominant and perhaps antagonistic impression to most people who did not know her background. The meeting didn't last long. The information she got from the detective was enough to point her in the right direction. All that was left was to plan the next step. After the detective left, Abby picked up her cell phone, dialed a line of numbers, and waited for a response from the other side. She justified sitting down, folding her legs gracefully, as if she was about to come face-to-face with the other person. Her every move attracted the attention of the several pairs of eyes in the room looking at her unblinkingly. "Hi, Zac. I just wanted to let you know that I accepted your invitation," Abby said with a faint smile. "Wait, what? After all this time? Abby, you had me on edge, thinking you might be upset about my invitation. But thank God you accepted it. By the way, wait, what did you call me earlier? Zac? I think I like it," Zac joked, which managed to make Abby laugh. "Come on... don't tease me," Abigail said, and this time she really blushed. However, she quickly brushed off the feelings that momentarily appeared to disturb her focus. "Alright, sorry, I was just happy to see your flushed face. Well, I'll tidy up the apartment so that it won't be embarrassing when I have special guests." Abigail closed the conversation with a short laugh, then left her place to prepare to fulfill Zac's invitation. *** Zachary opened the door at the sound of the doorbell to find Abby standing in a cocktail dress with a bottle of champagne in her hand. A smile spread across his face as his eyes met the blue eyes of the woman before him. He pecked Abby's cheek and then invited her in. Letting his special guest scan the room and wander around, he lit the candles arranged on the dining table. Abby slowly stepped closer to him, who was busy preparing everything. "Hmm... did you prepare all this yourself?" Abby asked, which was met with laughter by the dimpled man standing next to her. "Are you sure I'm a man who usually prepares everything himself, Abby? Of course not. The servants do all this." Abigail looked at the man with one eyebrow raised. "Why is your face like that? Sorry if I couldn't impress you at our first dinner," he joked to Abby's crisp laughter. "You're right. Your good looks have suddenly gone down a notch, Zac, really." Abby covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her white teeth as she laughed. "Ouch! You're too honest, and it hurts, you know?" Zac said, clutching his chest, then joined in the laughter. Zac didn't want to linger and waste Abby's time, who, he was sure, didn't like long-winded things. So, he pulled out a chair and invited her to sit down and enjoy the dinner they had interspersed with some non-work related small talk. He would always bring the conversation back to something more casual whenever, unintentionally, Abby brought up business and the company. They ended the dinner by relaxing on the balcony of Zac's apartment. The two chatted some more while looking up at the city from high and the stars in the night sky. "I can't believe a girl as beautiful as you don't have a boyfriend. You must have been an idol since childhood," Zac said as he sipped the champagne in his hand. His eyes couldn't escape looking at the beautiful figure before him. Although he tried to keep his lover in mind, Abby's current charm was hard for him to resist. Just looking at her beauty doesn't hurt, right? "Nah, I'm serious, Zac. No man has ever come close, let alone become my lover. I'm very picky." Abby took another sip of her drink. "After all, they must be afraid to see me look like the antagonist in the detective series," she added Zac laughed and was still unable to take his eyes off Abby until finally, her beady eyes returned his gaze. She seemed to predict where their conversation was going, as well as what would happen next. However, she deliberately did not avoid the events that would happen a few seconds from now because that was the purpose of fulfilling Zac's invitation. And sure enough, it happened anyway. Zac slowly brought his face closer and then gently touched his lips to her luscious lips. It wasn't her first kiss, but it was a momentary shock to her because she hadn't experienced it in a long time after her first kiss with a boy in her past. And what Zac gave her made her lulled for a moment. Meanwhile, Zac, who already had a girlfriend, couldn't resist his attraction to Abby and, for a few minutes, let himself get lost in her charms and the moment between them. He was not the type of man who liked to change lovers. He and his girlfriend had been together since they were in college. However, being around Abby made him forget the girl he had been dating for several years. The kiss between him and Abby became more intense. Zac, who really didn't want to let the moment pass him, let himself get caught up in the current romance while Abby began to realize what they were doing was too much. It was too soon for her to let him get many things from her. Not that easy—not now. Abby slowly pushed Zac's body away from her, glanced at the clock on her wrist, and realized that it was too late for her. "Uhm, sorry, I think I should go home now. It's too late." Zachary smiled slightly in response to Abby's words, and all his nerves still couldn't react properly after the kiss. "One more thing I'm starting to know about you: you're a modern-day Cinderella," he joked, making Abby couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, you can think of it that way. But for one thing, my father is very strict. He'd lock me in my room if he knew I was coming home too late." "Really? That's amazing. That means he really cares about you." Zac rounded his eyes, which made Abby giggle even more. "I'm kidding, Zac. He cares about me, but he doesn't strict. Not in that way. Well, I have to go. Thanks for the dinner." Abby got up from her seat and waited for Zac, who seemed to say something. But he didn't do that. He just nodded and walked her out to the elevator. "Thank you for your time." Zac once again kissed Abigail's lips, then brushed her lips with his thumb. Abby noticed the blush on her cheeks, so she looked down for a moment and then lifted her face to see Zac still smiling. She waved her hand, then walked away and disappeared behind the closing elevator doors. *** Abby opened the brown envelope in her hand, reading the list of names again. The name of the highest power holder of the Emerson family was one of her father's mortal enemies. She began trying to go back in time to remember what the man who came with the woman eighteen years ago looked like. His face was different from Zac's father, who appeared on stage. So, who was the man who beat her father into paralysis? What was his relationship with Zac's father, and was he also listed as her father's enemy? Unfortunately, Zachary Emerson's name was not on the list. Of course, it was. Zac was probably the same age as her and didn't know what crimes his mother and father had committed. Abby wondered how he would react if he knew that his parents were criminals who had destroyed the lives of other children. Would Zac still worship and be proud of his father? Or would he think the same as Abby, that the man was nothing more than a demon in human form who had the heart to take something by dirty means? Abby opened the safe, taking out a pen and paper on which a chart had been drawn. Several names were written on it. She scratched the ink and wrote down Zachary Emerson's name, then added the number one and put the file back in the safe. She smiled wryly, remembering the night Zac stole a kiss from her. "Zachary Emerson, the game starts with you, my dear...""Adelaide, what happened to Papa?" Abby asked her household assistant. Adelaide, the 45-year-old woman, hugged her tightly to protect her. Abby stared at her father's body lying on the bed with various support equipment. His eyes were still closed, not knowing when he would wake up. She always prayed for the recovery of her favorite man. Seeing what the man went through, she felt her father's pain. "He'll be fine, dear. I promise." Adelaide tried to comfort little Abby, who did not respond other than a glare and a weak nod. However, the woman could not fulfill that promise. Because then, James, Abby's father, was never the same again. He became a different person, no longer able to do everything he used to do. He just lay there, sometimes with his eyes closed; other times, he opened his eyes but never spoke a word. Abby visited him at the hospital every weekend, hoping that her father would wake up and hug her again. Or at least call her 'Abby Bear' like he used to. But he didn'
While they were chatting, Zac's cell phone suddenly rang. He moved away from Abby and received the calls with a happy face. Several times she could hear him calling the caller 'honey', and that it made her curious.When Zac returned to his seat, Abby immediately bombarded him with questions, but she didn't show her curiosity as much as possible."From your girlfriend?" Abby shot without a preamble. Zac smiled but tried to hide the feelings in front of her."Yeah, she's coming this weekend. Hell!" Zac tapped his forehead. "We have dinner plans this weekend, right?"Abby nodded vaguely while flashing a disappointed smile. However, she quickly faded it and replaced it with another one before Zac noticed."It's fine, we'll rearrange it later," she replied, waving a hand in the air as a sign that it was no big deal to her, even though she was deeply disappointed."Are you sure? I feel bad for you."Abby nodded as she sipped her americano, which was not good. It was better for her to swallo
Alice walked steadily along the hallway of Mount Avery Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, the tapping sound of her heels against the white tiles creating a regular rhythm. Her eyes wandered to the right and left, where there was a green lawn where some of the patients sat and enjoyed the cool afternoon breeze. Their conditions looked good and stable, not like people with mental disorders. They looked very normal except for one woman who seemed to be silent, staring blankly at the grass spread out before her. Alice stopped her steps right where she was, focusing on the woman whose beauty seemed not to be eroded by age. Still as beautiful as she remembered. Not long after, a doctor stopped beside her, looking in the same direction as her. "Are you her family?" the handsome doctor asked. Alice turned to him, a smile playing at the corners of her maroon-colored lipstick-polished lips. "No, I'm not. However, I know one of her family. A fan of their family, to be precise. Oh, can I
Sunday seemed to pass slowly for Abby. She felt bored just staying at home without friends. She had always avoided making friends with anyone. She didn't want the image she had formed from the beginning to be destroyed because people nearby recognized the real her.That's why Abby preferred to spend time in the school or college library. Just by herself and immersed in what she's reading. And that was what people knew her for: a cold, introverted bookworm.However, at thirty, she began to find her life boring. She remembered her childhood—having a male friend, the only one she could trust. Unfortunately, their friendship was short-lived because the next thing she knew, he was no longer in Estern Shore, their hometown.She thought back to Zac, as well as the dinner plans that he had to cancel because of his girlfriend's arrival. It was unfortunate; they should have talked about anything this evening or even more than that.Unfortunately, it was all ruined by the girlfriend's arrival.A
Abby walked alone on the sandy beach. Her feet kicked at the foam of the water moving to the shore. She enjoyed being alone like this; it made her feel calm. Although being between her uncle and aunt made her feel like she had a family again, she still needed a time when she could recall memories of her family.She lay down on the sand, washed by the waves, letting her body get wet and slowly dragged into the middle of the ocean. She didn't want to end her life but wanted to feel the sensation of being between life and death. The thought came suddenly.Her brain didn't even want to prevent whatever she was doing now. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sweeping and cool waves of the warm spring day. Abby felt sleepy because of the rays of the sun above her.Suddenly, a voice called her name."Abigail!"Abby let the voice come closer, confirming that it was real. She wasn't dead and was still on earth."Abby!"She remained still, savoring the warmth and cold of the sunlight and waves th
Sidney and Zac were in the car after their dinner. What had been an intimate and warm atmosphere changed instantly when Zac suddenly looked pensive. His eyes stared straight at the paved road before him, but several times, he almost grazed other vehicles, even nearly colliding. Sidney knew Zac well. He wouldn't be as distracted as he was now if he didn't have something on his mind. "What's wrong with you, honey? It's like you're not really concentrating on the road in front of you." Sidney opened the conversation, knowing Zac wouldn't start if she didn't. He refused to answer at first. He remained silent, not saying a word. Pretending to be focused on the crowded street in front of him when, in fact, his mind was not where it should be. "Zac, you didn't answer my question." Sidney began to look impatient. She turned her body slightly so she could ascertain the look on her lover's face. "Is there a problem at the office? Shouldn't you be happy you won the stock match the other d
Abby stopped the car when she saw who was sitting on the side of the road with a woman. Unmistakably, it was Zac and a familiar-looking girl. Maybe it was the girl named Sidney, Zac's girlfriend. She pulled the car over, rushed out, and approached the two. "Zac? What are you doing here?" Abby asked, and she didn't need to repeat the question when her eyes fell on the reddish bruise on Zac's forehead. Sidney got up and approached her. The two looked like a pair of enemies about to destroy each other. A look of displeasure could be seen in Sidney's eyes, while Abby, who stood before her, looked calm. "Hi, I'm Abigail, Zac's rival and potential business partner. You must be..." Abby reached out to shake Sidney's hand but was quickly brushed off by the girl. "No need for small talk; what do you want to come here for?" asked Sidney sternly. Abby just smiled and then threw her gaze at Zac, who was preparing to get up, just in case of a commotion between the two women in front of
Abby sat on the front porch as her uncle and aunt searched for her. She enjoyed the humid breeze and the warm morning sun. Slowly, Alex and Alona sat down next to her on the gently swaying swing. Alona touched Abby's fingers, making her realize the arrival of her two loved ones. She slowly opened her eyes to stare at her adoptive parents. "Dear Abby, Today I will meet a lawyer appointed by your father to take care of all the assets he left for you. Are you ready to meet him today? If you want to buy some time, I'll tell him," Alex said carefully, worried about disturbing the teenage girl's peace. Abby could have been disturbed because she wanted to live a quiet life without any interference from her father's businesses. However, with her goal of avenging her father, she might want to know how much of an asset she has. Abby turned to Alex, who was still waiting for her answer. "What time do we leave? What should I prepare?" she asked. "Uhm, Abby, if you're not ready to di