Abigail leaned into the kiss, pressing her entire body against Mark's, as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him.She wasn't sure how long they remained in that embrace, but she knew she needed to hold on for as long as he would allow her.Finally, breathless, they both pulled away from the kiss."You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that for," Mark whispered, so close against her she could feel his breath ghosting against her lips."Oh, yeah?" Abigail teased, "How long? Since I came and tripped over all your equipment?"Mark laughed, and pressed so close together, Abigail felt it echo through him. A loud rumbling, like a drum beating steadily.Abigail laughed for a moment, and then everything came back to her. Last night and this morning, and she sobered. She wanted to tell Mark everything, she desperately needed to, but she knew that here wasn't the place."What's wrong?" Mark asked her, tilting her face to him."Are you very busy right now

Abigail woke up and stretched. This morning was a milestone for her. It had been two weeks since she'd gotten the job at her father's company, and if she was perfectly honest with herself, she was really starting to love it.Olivia had driven her everyday for the two weeks, and though Abigail wouldn't exactly call them having bonded, Olivia did open up more to Abigail. She spoke about some of her hopes for the company, some of her hopes for herself.As much as Olivia was driven, she also had hoped to start her own family one day. She told Abigail she'd always imagined a home of her own, like their father's, but with four or five kids. She imagined being able to work from home sometimes, and going into the office at her leisure.Abigail shared in equal amounts that Olivia shared with her. And though Abigail hadn't really thought of a family yet, she didn't entirely discount the idea. She confessed to Olivia that while she really enjoyed working in the company, she was still trying to

Abigail lay basking in the afterglow of the moment she had just shared with Mark. She lay naked on his chest, his arms wrapped securely around her, and she felt like every difficult load had been lifted off of her shoulders.They had been laying like this for a while, speaking intermittently, about everything and anything and nothing. Abigail had lost track of how long they had been laying together.A comfortable silence had also stretched between them from time to time, a quiet lull that sometimes Abigail thought she was falling asleep in.Then they would speak again for a bit, and Abigail wasn't entirely sure which parts of it were dreams and which parts were reality."Maybe," Mark told her after a period of silence. "Maybe marrying a business mogul wouldn't be such a bad thing."Abigail felt ice pull all through her, and that serene silence was broken immediately. She wished beyond anything those words were just part of a nightmare, but she knew they were both awake."What?" S

Abigail walked back through the grand doors of the Mansion, and almost ran straight into her stepmother and half-sister."Ugh," Charlotte groaned. "You couldn't stay away for longer than a day?""Oh, no," Abigail told her stepmother, "How could I allow you that satisfaction?""So you admit it!" Charlotte pointed an accusatory finger at Abigail, "You're just here to make my life Hell.""Actually," Abigail corrected her. "You do a good job of making your own life Hell, but I'm happy to help where needed.""How dare you!" Charlotte began."Stop," Abigail told her clearly. "I would really stop whatever you were going to say if I were you. I just want to remind you both of one thing. I am going to inherit the company, this Mansion and everything else my father has by way of inheritance. You heard him. You know how he's set up both mine and Charlotte's inheritance."Charlotte glowered as Abigail spoke, but didn't dare interrupt her."We each have our own account," Abigail continued,

The next day though, as soon as Abigail came home from an eventful but tiring day at work, she found Lyall sitting in their living room. She started to make a beeline towards her room, but Charlotte stopped her."Abigail!" Charlotte screamed at her retreating back, and Abigail closed her eyes and sighed.Slowly, she turned around, "Yes, Charlotte.""You must come in and say hi to Mark, and relieve Olivia here so she can go elsewhere," Charlotte said pointedly, looking at her daughter. "She's been keeping Lyall company all afternoon."Abigail stared at Olivia and Lyall sitting quite comfortably on the sofa together.Why weren't they at work? Did they not work for the same company she worked for? Was there a holiday today that she was unaware of?Olivia and Lyall looked far too happy in each other's company to bother with looking up at Charlotte.So, her father passing on the news of the rejected proposal hadn't seemed to phase Lyall in the least, then. Abigail was both grateful a