Butler Lee furrowed his brows when he saw Abi working furiously on her laptop. She was gladly doing what the master would be angry to find out - she was really working from home. He cleared his throat after a minute of observing her. Abi turned her head towards the direction she heard the noise from and smiled.
"Hey," he greeted her with a small smile. "You should be resting, Miss Abi. You just returned from your antenatal," Butler Lee scolded her.
"I'm working," Abi replied, "and this will take me some hours because I need to make some money urgently."
"You should ask the master, Miss Abi. He won't be happy to hear that you're under a lot of stress," he persuaded her.
"What someone loves doing isn't stress," Abi corrected him with a frown.
"Are you fighting with the master?" Butler Lee paused to ask.
"What if I am? This is all his fault," Abi pouted and hissed.
"Master is actually-"
"No, I don't want to hear it," Abi hissed and stood up from the chair she was sitting in in the living room.
Butler Lee grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV. Abi was packing her things from the table, but she directed her gaze towards the television, and her eyes darkened immediately. Butler Lee's eyes narrowed when he saw the look in her eyes. He proceeded to explain immediately.
"Miss Abi, that is master's-"
"I don't care," Abi hissed and walked away.
**
Le Jardin des Sens
Julian rubbed his hands together and began to fidget with his fingers. He had asked Abi to come out to meet him at a restaurant because he wants them back again. He wants to use that opportunity to ask her out and make up for the previous years they've been apart from each other.
A waiter walked up to him with a menu book in his hand and asked, "Would you like to order now, sir? Time is running out for your reservation."
"Not yet. She'll be here soon," Julian hoped and smiled at the waiter.
"Very well, sir," the waiter replied and went back with the menu book.
Julian took out his phone and began to type a message to Abi. A small frown had settled on his face already. As he was typing, he noticed that Abi was typing too. He stopped typing and waited for her to send her message.
'Hey Julian! I won't be able to see you today because I've been in a mood for hours. I'm sorry to tell you this so late, but I'll make it up to you pretty soon."
Julian's frown became wider, and he got up in anger. He knew that it was all her husband's doing. He knew that her husband doesn't care for her at all and that he just married her for the sake of the pregnancy.
"Such a bastard," Julian thought angrily.
He collided with an angry woman on his way out of the restaurant.
"Oh my! Aren't you...," Ophelia swallowed the words that wanted to escape from her lips.
"Hi," Julian greeted her with a warm smile.
Ophelia then knew that he must have been waiting for Abi to show up. She wanted to know what was really happening between him and Abi. She was also curious to know the latest situation between her ex-fiancé and his wife, so she decided to ask a tricky question.
"What's delaying her? Doesn't she want to see me too?" Ophelia pouted.
"Ah! Abi is not like that. It seems like her husband punished her by not letting her out of the house," Julian replied.
It was then that Ophelia confirmed that it was really Abi who was the reason for the frown on his face.
"Won't your money go to waste since she didn't come?" Ophelia looked at his table and realized that he hasn't placed an order yet.
"What do you mean?" he asked her.
"This is a very expensive restaurant, so you must have made a reservation for weeks," Ophelia stated.
Julian just stared at her. He wanted her to continue what she was saying.
"What if we eat together?" she proposed with a gentle smile. "That way, your money won't go to waste at all. Besides, both of us are in a mood, so we could use the time to catch up and know each other more."
"Oh, sure!" Julian agreed to her reasoning. He didn't see a reason for refusing her offer.
He pulled out a chair for her while Ophelia sat down gracefully with her legs crossed. Julian returned to his seat and raised his hand in mid-air to place an order. He smiled when he saw the previous waiter coming to him with the menu book in his hand.
**
Dominic was trying out a new recipe Abi shared with him two days ago. He was really working hard because he wanted to get the exact same taste Abi had gotten on the first trial. He was repeating the process every time he failed. He held the aluminum bowl in his hand and looked at the turkey in it with a frown.
The turkey began to fall out of the bowl when he heard a bark behind his ears. He quickly turned around with a frightened expression on his face. He looked at the black dog in the hands of an excited young woman and hissed.
"Are you crazy, Alice?" Dominic roared in anger when he saw the wasted turkey on the floor.
"Sorry, Dominic. I didn't know you'd be scared," Alice apologized.
"Does Roman know that you're here?" Dominic asked her.
"Of course...not. We had a fight," Alice hissed inwardly.
Dominic stared at her and let out a gentle laugh.
"Why are you laughing? Is it funny?" Alice asked him.
"Oh yes, it is," Dominic replied and explained, "Abi is fighting with Leo. Cedric is having issues with that criminal, and here you are now, having a big fight with the baddest doctor."
"You don't know what caused our fight, so shut the fuck up, Dom," Alice glared at him.
"In my house?" Dominic raised his brows.
"Get out," Alice pushed him aside and opened his refrigerator.
"This is why I love you," she took out a cab of her favorite juice and opened it.
"That one is twenty dollars," Dominic told her seriously.
"I'll be in the living room with little Rome, so you should hurry up with what you're cooking," Alice said and patted his shoulder.
"I don't want to come in between your fight, so leave, Alice," Dominic instructed her.
"When I'm done eating. I'm famished too," Alice frowned and looked at him with puppy eyes.
"That would never work on me, so quit the nonsense. I'm not cooking anything. I'm trying out a new recipe Abi shared with me," he told her.
"Oh! Abigail!! That's Leo's wife," Alice shrieked and added, "Bring her here. I'm dying to meet her because Roman told me she's the only one that can handle that ice."
"So?" Dominic placed his hands on his hip. He knew that she loved talking, and there was always more coming.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alice asked him.
"Like?" Dominic raised his brow.
"I really want to meet her and that other girl - the one Cedric is interested in. I would ask Darcy, but that guy is so coded that he doesn't share anything with me," she hissed.
"You too?" Dominic dropped the turkey back into the bowl.
"Tell me everything, Dominic," Alice had a wide smile on her face because she knew that her plan had finally worked. Bringing up Darcy had solved the problem. She knew that she would hear everything she wanted to hear very soon.
**
Leo had a dark expression on his face as he began to read his chat with Abi from the very beginning. He was beginning to think that he had feelings for her because she was the only one who had been occupying his thoughts for some weeks. He knew that she was still fighting with him because she had been ignoring him for over a week. She didn't reply to his messages, and she had been ignoring his calls, no matter the time or day.
He had asked Butler Lee to keep an eye on her since he wasn't around. Butler Lee had reported back to him that she was working online. Leo didn't like that, but Roman advised him to let her do what would make her happy. Leo decided to let her work online after making inquiries.
His long fingers began to type a message to her. It was a simple and concise message. He was glad that she was online and also thankful that she hadn't added him to her list of blacklisted people yet.
"What are you sorry for?" Abi's message popped up immediately.
A frown settled on Leo's face immediately. What was he really sorry for? He didn't know what to say to her, so he just apologized.
"I'm sorry for what happened between us," Leo typed back.
"What happened between us?" Abi typed back after a five-minute delay.
Leo found himself expecting her next text eagerly. He had a smirk on his face as he read her message.
"Why are you still mad at me?" he asked her with a sticker.
He noticed that she went offline.
"Women," he muttered under his breath and threw his phone onto the sofa.
"What's wrong? What did she say?" a tall woman walked into the area with a smile on her face.
Leo ignored her and picked up his phone from the sofa.
"I'm going home tomorrow," Leo announced.
"What about me?" the woman asked as she looked at him in awe.
"You promised to help me with my business," she pouted and shot him an angry look.
"Yeah, Leah. I have a perfect person to help you with that, but there's no way you're following me home. I don't want to add more misunderstanding to what's on the ground," Leo replied.
"So you have a home now, Leo, huh?" Leah teased him as she played with her long hair.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked her with a cold look.
"You don't use the word 'house' anymore, but 'home'. Why is that? Because you want to be in the arms of your beloved wife once again, but tell me, what if she doesn't want to be in your arms at all?" Leah began to laugh hysterically.
"Mind your fucking business, Leah," Leo glared at her.
"To be honest, Leo, how can you make her fall for you when you both stay in separate rooms?" Leah laughed.
"Your wife is such a lucky woman to be keeping up with your nonchalant attitude all the time, but I'm going to your house whether you like it or not," Leah laughed.
It was then that Leo knew his plan had failed. That crazy girl would follow him home!
**
Matilda was dressed in very sexy clothes as she paced back and forth in the living room with a small fancy purse in her hand. It was obvious that she was waiting for Cedric to return from work. She began to think of what to say to appease his mind if he actually refused her permission to leave the house.
After some minutes, the door was opened with a small creak. Matilda's eyes caught sight of his infamous bag before she saw his long legs. As she stared at him, the words she wanted to say escaped from her memory.
"Where are you going?" Cedric's voice jolted her back to reality.
"Huh?" Matilda asked him. She hadn't heard the question he had asked.
"I asked where you were going," Cedric repeated.
"Abi invited me over for a girl's night, so I won't be coming back tonight," Matilda answered.
"Abi?" Cedric asked.
"Yeah. Don't you trust me?" Matilda asked.
"Why would Abi ask you to come over in such clothes?" Cedric queried.
"We're having an occasion," Matilda blurted. Actually, it would be a wild night, but she can't risk telling him that, or he might not let her leave.
"Only you and Abi?" Cedric wanted to know more about the occasion.
"She said three other girls are coming. I guess two of them are Riley and Jessica. I met them at the club already, but I don't know the last girl yet," Matilda responded.
"What time would you - oh! You're sleeping over," Cedric scratched his head.
"Thanks," Matilda followed immediately with a small smile on her face.
"Make sure you call me when you want to come home," Cedric instructed.
"Okay," Matilda responded.
**
SpeedLine Express (SLE-20)
Riley hit the horn alarm in anger as she looked at the SUV in front of her furiously. It was a busy highway, but for some reason, the SUV in front of her couldn't move forward again but remained stuck on the spot.
She slammed her hand hard on the horn alarm again and got out of her jeep. She walked towards the SUV and knocked on the window of the driver's seat.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. You need to switch to the other lane," the driver spoke humbly.
The anger that Riley had subsided when she heard him speak. She knew that she had to find a way to switch to the next lane, even though it would be a little difficult.
"But why are you telling me this now? I've been honking for half an hour!" Riley hissed.
"You've been honking for three minutes, Miss Riley. I don't like a naughty little liar, but I apologize for the simple delay we might have caused you," Silas spoke from the back.
Riley scoffed when she managed to get a closer look at Silas' face.
"Are you going to the club dressed like that?" he queried.
"That's none of your business," Riley replied rudely and turned her back around to leave.
She stretched forth her hand as she stood in the middle of the road to beg the drivers to hold on for her to join their lane.
"We've arrived, master," Silas' driver announced to him.
"Give me a second. I'm busy here, as you can see," Silas hissed in annoyance.
"Sorry, master," the driver apologized and followed his master's gaze on the wine jeep that sped through.
Whitney yelled for her daughter from her room. She was smelling burnt toast. She called for her daughter four times, but there was no response. She switched off the iron and walked to the kitchen.
She frowned deeply and took out the overly burnt bread from the toasting machine. The kitchen was in a huge mess. Her fingers moved towards the air purifier, and she turned it on.
Ava walked into the kitchen with a hand over her mouth in shock. She shared a look with her mother, and her eyes began to tell stories of apologies immediately. She dropped the phone on one of the slabs in the kitchen and proceeded to take over from where her mother had stopped.
"What were you so busy with?" Whitney asked.
"I was on a call," Ava replied, biting her lip.
"With whom? Your boyfriend?" Whitney asked with a hiss.
"Not Michael, Mom," Ava blushed silently.
Whitney cast a look at her daughter and shook her head. "I'm still pleased with your latest performance; otherwise, I would have asked you to break up with him," she retorted.
"Why, Mom?" Ava asked curiously. She knew her mom was one to talk, but her advice was always meant to be taken seriously, no matter how ridiculous it may sound.
"He seems like a big flirt," Whitney answered honestly, to her daughter's dismay.
"A word is enough for the wise. Most girls become wise after a terrible trial," her mother added and left the kitchen.
Ava thought about her mother's advice for a few seconds before waving it off. "Everything's good," she shrugged and continued what she was doing.