Malcolm burst into laughter. "I've never heard a woman use such a wildly inventive reason to turn me down before."Abigail grinned. "Well then, should I feel honored?""The more you act like this, the more I'm drawn to you." Malcolm admitted playfully."And the more you act like that, the more repulsed I am." Abigail's grin vanished as she replied with a serious tone, "Mr. Cobain, I have zero interest in you, now or ever. Don't waste your energy on me."Malcolm found her candidness amusing. "Abigail, you really remind me of your boss, Mr. Zane. You both reject people without any regard for their feelings, leaving them absolutely mortified."Abigail shot back. "But I don't see Mr. Cobain losing face at all."Malcolm was speechless. 'Dang! I lost a verbal battle to a woman.'"Why are you hiding here chatting with my assistant instead of attending to your guests as the host?"Xander's rich voice suddenly sounded behind them. Abigail turned around and saw him standing a few steps a
Only a select few were privy to the secret of Xander's whirlwind marriage – his family and a tight-knit circle of friends, including Malcolm and Max. When Malcolm would inquire about it over the phone, Xander would always laugh it off, saying, "When I get back to the country, I'll bring her home." But after experiencing the gut-wrenching betrayal, the mere thought of that woman filled Xander with disgust, making him unwilling to even mention her to anyone. "What do you think?" he replied."Xander, come on, satisfy my curiosity, will you?" Malcolm begged."Malcolm, you know Xander's personality, right? If he doesn't want to talk, it probably isn't good," Max answered casually, trying to figure out the true state of Xander's marriage. Abigail was also dying to know what was going on between the CEO and his wife, since Xander had not mentioned her in ages.Xander saw right through Max's little scheme. His mood spoiled, he turned to Abigail. "We're out of here.""Already?" Malcolm aske
"Abigail, money can't replace your health, you know." Felix and Melody were all too aware of the immense pressure Abigail faced since becoming the CEO's right-hand woman. Many nights, they would wake up to her talking in her sleep, negotiating work deals even in her dreams. Time and time again, they had urged her to ease up; their comic studio was thriving, so she did not need that demanding job to live comfortably. But Abigail was scared to hit the brakes, dreading that too much downtime would lead her to dwell on her past traumas. The only way she could find a little peace of mind was by working nonstop, earning money, and watching her bank account grow.Wiping away her tears, Abigail muttered, "Man, I just can't handle alcohol; it turns on the waterworks."Felix playfully ruffled her hair. "Go ahead and cry. There's no shame in that."Abigail retched. "Ugh..."Felix patted her back. "How much did you drink, you goofball?"Having hardly eaten that night, Abigail felt a burning s
[Abigail appears so innocent, but beneath the surface, her life is a chaotic mess.][No one knows how many men she has been sleeping with, and some think she has manipulated her way into a position at headquarters.][As the executive assistant, she is the face of the company, and someone like her shouldn't be allowed to stay.]What happened right now eerily mirrored one from years ago. Back then, some people wanted to destroy an ambitious and attractive young woman by spreading rumors about her wild personal life and subjecting her to public humiliation. As the accusations piled up, everyone turned against her.A wave of déjà vu washed over Abigail as she recalled that group of people cornering her at home. They had pulled her hair and struck her while hurling vicious insults."You look just like a seductive vixen with that face of yours, doing such shameless things at such a young age." "Get out of here, and never come back."She had tried to explain, but no one would listen. Th
Keith's words sent shockwaves through Abigail's heart. She had assumed that Xander, like everyone else, doubted her personal life's integrity. His apparent heartlessness when she confronted him seemed to confirm her fears. Little did she know that Xander had believed in her innocence all along and had given her the opportunity to gather evidence to dispel the rumor. When the scandal had broken years earlier, only her grandmother, Felix, and Melody had trusted her unconditionally. Despite her being his subordinate for just over a month, Xander, the powerful mogul of a massive conglomerate, believed in her as fiercely as her own family. For this, she vowed to be Xander's most loyal and dependable aide, even if it meant forsaking a high salary.As they returned to the dining table, Xander sipped his soup gracefully, making Abigail admire him even more. When it came to poise, no one could hold a candle to her boss, Mr. Zane. Even the simple act of sipping soup was as elegant and captivati
Abigail screamed in her heart. 'I'm so dead!'She would normally not bring her phone along, and this was the only time she pocketed it since it was almost time to get off work, yet she was already caught. Not wanting to create a scene, she secretly muted her phone, only to notice it was a call from her long-lost husband when she accidentally peeked at the phone screen.Abigail dared not peek further as she put her phone away and silently stood at the side.Luckily Xander did not put her on the spot as he said, "All of you may leave now."Abigail and Keith muttered a "Yes" and quickly scuttled off from the director's office.Due to the delay at Xander's office, she did not bother about checking her phone before speeding toward the airport. Felix and Melody had already helped check-in the baggage before she arrived. Once Abigail arrived, the trio rushed through the safety checkpoint. There were only a few minutes left before the boarding gate closed when they finally got through it.
The second message was more recent: [Where are you? Why aren't you replying?]Felix and Melody were beside Abigail. They saw the request for divorce from the sender, and immediately hugged her. "Caterpie..."They wanted to comfort her but did not know what to say. Her husband had disappeared without a trace, only to find her one year later to discuss divorce, and it was during the same time she was slandered. It was doubtfully just a coincidence that these two situations are not interrelated.It was still clear in their minds when that lowlife said he would protect and cherish her forever the year Abigail was met with an accident, yet was cold and decisive when he wanted to break up with her. That incident created a huge fiasco throughout North Florivera. Abigail had wanted to use the law to protect herself, but the other party was well-connected. Someone had even brought up the issue in her school which almost got her kicked out.In order to continue her studies, she had no choice
As both sides were satisfied with the negotiated price, the other minute details were effortlessly gone through and they soon signed the agreement. Once the deposit has been transferred, mortgaging a house will no longer pose a problem to them. As there was still some time left after the meeting, the trio fully enjoyed themselves by sightseeing around Hayshiport for the whole day before touching down at Florivera on Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Nevertheless, Melody and Felix were unable to sense if Abigail was truly alright as she had learned to hide her emotions well since then.Abigail playfully punched the both of them and said, "What are the both of you worrying about? I'm fine. Once the royalty is transferred over, we can look for a house that we can stay together in."Following the same train of thought, Felix and Melody replied, "That's right. Let's work hard to earn money for the house so we can truly call ourselves Floriverans."Abigail yawned and wanted to sleep. "It's late and I'