It was Abigail's graduation day. She had graduated top of her class and Ian threw her a surprise graduation dinner to celebrate her success with only close friends and family present. The pair had been dating for quite some time now, and he felt it was time to do right by her. He intended on showing just how serious he was about her and their relationship that night.
He stood up to make a toast at the dinner table, gaining everyone's attention by clicking his glass with a spoon and cleared his throat to speak. He made a heartfelt speech that left Abigail close to tears.
“Thank you”, she stood up to engulf him in a hug, thanking him for everything he's done for her from the word go. He had been supportive towards her with her studies, pushed and encouraged her to study hard. He always stayed up with her all night when she had to study for exams and used that time to also catch up on some work.
She knew she could lean on him whenever she had to, because he was happily willing to do anything for her. He loved her, just as much as she loved him. They made each other happy, to them, it was all that mattered the most.
“I love you Abbie”, he breathed as they broke away from the hug. “From the first time I saw you, I just knew that I had to get to know you. There was something about you. You were-”
“Intriguing”, she finished his sentence for him laughing lightly
“Yes, intriguing”, he chuckled softly. “But once I got to spend more time with you, I learned that you are that and so much more. You're good for me. You make me a better person. I love being around you so much that when I'm not, I feel like I can't do well without you by my side. You've really grown on me Ms Haines and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, making you happy. I really do love you”, he watched as her features softened.
“I love you too”, she cupped his face in her hands, her lips curving into a smile before it faded a little when she noticed him going down on one knee. Everyone at the table grasped as he revealed a diamond engagement ring to her.
She was lost for words as it placed her hands over her mouth, tears pricking her eyes. She was overwhelmed with emotion as he held the box with the ring in it across her.
“Ian-”
“Will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to my wife, Ms Haines?”
“I don't know what to say”, she said quietly before their mothers chipped in
“Say yes. Say yes”, Ruby and Lucy stood to their feet, holding hands and almost jumping up and down. The two women quickly got along from the first day they were introduced to each other and the possibility that they could become family sparked something else in them. They were happy their children found love in each other again, the two of them deserved each other, they could see it.
“Marry me”, he smiled at her. She really hadn't thought about marriage, she and Ian hadn't talked that far. He always talked about making her his wife one day, but she always took it lightly, like he was joking. She never knew he would actually go ahead with it and propose to her.
But even so, she knew that there was nothing she would love more than spending the rest of her life with him. He accepted her with all her imperfections and flaws. He loved her for who she was. She was comfortable around him. She was safe and secure. He did really make her happy and was always there for her. There was no denying it, she loved him too, very much.
“Yes”, she nodded her head as a half-sob, half chuckle left her lips. He let out a breath he didn't even realize was holding in as he chuckled with relief before he quickly stood to his feet to claim his lips with hers before slipping the ring onto her finger. They engulfed each other in a tight bear hug before they faced their family and friends, who were clapping and cheering for them.
Stephanie was the first to jump to congratulate her, before her mother, Ruby, Stella and Alexa each exchanged hugs with her
“You finally did the right thing”, Christian bumped shoulders with his brother, before Paul pulled him in a hug and messed up his hair, to his annoyance
“I'm proud of your son. The two of you deserve all the happiness in the world”.
“Thanks Pops”
“Here's to my soon-to-be brother-in-law”, Calvin offered his hand for a handshake, which Ian slapped away and pulled him for a hug
“Get out of here”, they all laughed
The rest of the night went by smoothly, conversations kept on flowing, everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. Abigail couldn't peel her eyes off the ring on her finger. It made the feeling feel so real. She never imagined the night ending on such a note. She was engaged to the man she loved. She was going to be Mrs Ian Parker one day, and she was definitely looking forward to that.
“It does look on you, don't you think?”, his voice pierced through her thoughts as he whispered to her ear
“It's beautiful, I love it”, she exclaimed as he bought her hand closer to her face, the diamonds sparkling in her eyes
“You're beautiful”, he kissed her hand. “And I love you”
“I love you too”
Ian leaned on his car door as he waited for her outside her workplace. A smile grew on his face as he watched her exist the building and walked towards him, taking her white coat off. Abigail recently got recruited at a Medical and Clinical Laboratory. With her good grades, she was high in demand therefore it didn't take long before she quit her waitressing job to work as a Microbiology technician.
“Hey sweetheart”, he cupped her face and kissed her on the forehead before she threw herself tirelessly in his arms and he let out a soft chuckle
“Hey”
“Did you miss me?” , he ran his hand up and down her back and gently squeezed her before they withdrew from each other
“Of course I did”, her lips curved into a smile that reached her eyes even though she was extremely exhausted. He opened the door for her, and she got inside.
“Thanks for picking me up”, she said the moment he got inside and turned the ignition on. Her car needed to be serviced that week, he picked her up every day for that week, he even arrived thirty minutes early. A part of her knew he didn't want history to repeat itself, since it took him so long to move on from what happened to Bianca. A part of him knew it too, he wasn't prepared to lose another woman he loved ever again.
“Anytime baby”
“Were you able to clear your schedule for Friday afternoon?. Cleo manages to book us four venues for viewing for the wedding”, she could see his eyes lurk left and right before he twisted his lips to the side. She knew it completely slipped his mind. Cleo was their wedding planner. With the wedding less than five months away, Abigail left everything in her capable hands. Alexa recommended her to them as she planned her and Christian's wedding. Abigail saw their wedding photos and was clearly impressed.
When Cleo showed her presentation portfolio, she knew she'll have that fairy tale wedding she had always dreamed about ever since she was still a child. Even though she once saw herself walking down the aisle to be given away to Austin, that was one fantasy that was never going to happen.
“I had back to back meetings all day today sweetheart. I'll make sure I clear my schedule for Friday afternoon”, he gave her a weak nervous smile before turning to look at the road again.
“I know I'll have to remind you later on today, again”, she stared at him and he laughed
“You won't. I promise”.
“I can't believe we won't be grocery shopping together soon”, Stephanie leaned on her shoulder, pouting as her friend pushed the trolley
“You're making it seem like I'm moving to another country Steph. I'm just getting married,
I'll still be around”, she rolled her eyes before Stephanie fake cried, and she laughed.
“I'm really going to miss you”
“I'm going to miss you too, but hey at least I'm leaving you in Luther's safe hands”, she wiggled her eyebrows at her after saying her last statement, earning a quick playfully shove from the woman walking besides her as they laughed. She and Luther had been dating for a couple of months, but Abigail knew that their relationship started way before then. The night of the gala it was quite obvious that there was something happening between the two of them.
“You like provoking me, don't you?”, Stephanie asked as they moved into another aisle for some baking essentials, her friend playfully stuck her tounge out in response. They wanted to bake bran muffins that weekend. They were carried away by chatting and laughing at Stephanie's ridiculous antics they didn't even realize their trolley would accidentally collide with someone, causing the other person to drop their wheat bran packet on the floor.
“Oh, I'm so sorry”, Stephanie and the other person both knelt to grab the packet
“It's fine”, the person said as he took the packet firmly into his hands. “I should look where I'm going next time”, he gave a weak smile at the woman standing in front of him. His mind had been racing the whole day, and it didn't make things any easier now that he was at the grocery store to buy his wife the ingredients to bake him muffins she thought were his favorite again.
Then, he caught a glimpse of the blond haired woman standing behind the one in front of him with her eyes already widened at the sight of him.
He was now convinced that he wasn't seeing things the night of the gala, it was definitely her. He felt his throat run dry even before he got the chance to speak, his heart pounding hard against his chest he stared into the chocolate eyes he once found comfort getting lost in.
Abigail couldn't move, she froze there as she looked into his dark eyes. Anxiety, panic, shock, surprise....she was experiencing them all at once. She didn't know what to do with herself, or what to say in that moment. She couldn't be looking into the eyes of the man she once loved.
Stephanie kept looking at both of them simultaneously, as she noticed something was wrong but couldn't pinpoint what
“Abbie, I think we have everything. We can go pay at the till”, she reached for her friends hand to notice she wasn't moving at all.
“Abbie?”, she called to her attention before she saw her friend take two steps backwards and quickly turned on her feet and sped towards the exit. Stephanie was really confused this time as she tried running after her, without causing an even more seen as eyes darted to the young woman making a ran for it out of the grocery store.
By the time she got outside, Abigail had just gotten into a cab she immediately hailed at the sight of it. Stephanie's shoulders slumped down in disappointment as she watched the car drive away.
“What just happened?”, she ran her hand through her hair before placing both her hands on her hips, trying to figure out why Abigail ran off like that after the encounter with the man in the store, who clearly was equally shocked and surprised to see her too
She decided to walk to her car to drive back home, hopefully she will find the other woman home already so that she could explain what was going on
Austin watched the other woman as she walked to her car. He knew she was definitely going to lead her to the woman who just ran out of the grocery store as fast as she could just to get away from him.
He was going to get to the bottom of all this, once and for all