A young woman, Abigail, moves to a small town in the Midwest to start a new life after a painful breakup. She quickly finds a job as a secretary l and starts to make friends in the community. When she meets a handsome stranger, Ryan, at a farmers market, she is immediately drawn to him. As their friendship blossoms, Abigail finds herself falling for Ryan. But she soon discovers that he is the son of a wealthy family, and that his parents have arranged a marriage for him with a woman from their social circle. Abigail must decide whether to pursue her own feelings for Ryan or let him go and move on with her life.
Chapter 1 Love at first sight
It was a typical day at the office for Abigail – the same old routine of checking emails, attending meetings, and trying to make her way up the corporate ladder. Abigail had been working at the company for two years, and had recently been promoted to a managerial position. She was proud of her accomplishments and was determined to make a name for herself in the business world. Today she sat in her office looking out the window when she noticed a handsome man standing close to the bus stop . She couldn’t help but gawk at him in admiration, he had the perfect body .
She was lost in thoughts when she heard a knock at the door . “Come in “ she ordered. The door opened to revel a woman in her mid twenties, she wore a red satin gown , a pair of heels and a black bag to match . She was the acting CEO of the company. “Good day ma’am “ Abigail greeted . “Good day , when is my meeting with mr Charles to hold ?” She asked. “By 2pm ma’am “ she replied almost immediately. She remained quiet waiting for the next command . “Really? “ she asked ; and without waiting for a response she said , “ reschedule the meeting , I have an event tonight and I need to get a few things from the mall “. “Yes ma’am “ she replied . “Good “ she said before walking out of the office . She let out a loud sigh and said “I’m a manager not a secretary, gosh !”. She hurriedly sent a message to Mr Charles secretary informing him about the change of plans . He didn’t seem too happy about it but he had no choice . At about 5pm; Abigail arranged her desk and headed out of the office ; she decided to go to the farm market and get some ingredients for a dish she had seen online , she walked to the woman who sold fish at the market and said ; “Hello ma’am , how much for the fish ?” She spoke politely. “It’s 20 bucks ma’am “. She looked at her purse and saw that it wouldn’t be enough for the fish ; which was the last item on her list . “I’ll give 150 ma’am “ she said maintaining a polite and smiling face . “Okay dear , I’ll wrap it “ she brought out the money from her bag as the seller proceeded with wrapping it ; just as she took the fish , a man bumped into her making her spill her fish to the ground . “I’m so sorry , I’ll pay for that “ he said taking off his glasses . —it’s him , the guy I saw earlier today — she looked at him and suddenly her anger seemed to have disappeared. She was jolted back to reality by the sound of the seller urging her to take the newly wrapped fish he had bought . “Thank you “ she said “but you didn’t have to trouble yourself “ she added ; all the while lost in his eyes . “It’s fine , just my way of saying sorry “ he added with a smile on his face . “Thanks though “ she said . “You can thank me by grabbing coffee with me later , my treat “ he said , maintaining his smile . “Ummm …. Yeah sure I’d love to , but that would be some other time “ she added , it was getting late and she needed to make dinner and rest after the day’s work. “Tomorrow then ?” He asked . “Sounds good “ she replied with a smile before heading to the bus station to board a bus back home . While in the bus, she couldn’t help but peek through the window to stare at him , she stared till he was out of sight —he’s a nice guy — she thought to herself. The night was unbelievably long as she woke up almost every minute to check the time ; she finally fell asleep at about 2am and finally her alarm woke her by 6am . She got up and rushed to have her bath , she danced as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror , she opened her closet and picked out a black knee-length gown ; she danced back to the mirror as she struggled to put on the dress ; she proceeded to apply a little makeup , wore a pair of red heels and a red bag to match ; she smiled at herself and walked out of the house . “You look stunning “ she heard a familiar voice behind her , she turned and it was him ; the guy from the market . “We’ll , thank you “ she said with a smile . “I’ve gotta ask , do you dress like this to work everyday or is today special “ he asked and she blushed . “Well, let’s just say I’m in a happy mood “she said with a chuckle. “Really ?” She nodded “well I hope you are always happy so I can keep seeing you like this “ he brushed her hair to the back with his hand — her heart skipped a beat — she smiled “maybe I will “. They got to a nearby coffee shop and they took their seats . “How do you like your coffee ?” He asked as soon as the waiter arrived. “Capuchino and lots of milk and a little sugar “ she said . “I’ll take black coffee , no milk but a little sugar “ the waiter nodded and disappeared into the kitchen to get their orders . “Black coffee is kinda strong you know “ she said , he smiled and said “you’ve never had black coffee ?” “I have , but it’s only twice , when I lost my parents , i had it everyday for weeks “ she laughed “ but it did a whole lot of harm to me though “ she said . “I’m so sorry about your parents “ he said looking at her compassionately. “It’s fine , I’m okay now , besides it’s being five years already, it’s no big deal “ she said and laughed nervously. “I’m here for you “ he said out of the blue “anytime , any day, I’m here okay ? “ he squeezed her hand a little bit as he spoke . “Thank you “ she smiled . —such a gentle man —. The waiter arrived with their orders and they both had their coffee in silence . She peeked at her watch — she was almost late . “I’m really sorry but I have to go , I’m late for work “ she said as she got up . “It was nice spending time with you today , can we do this some other time ? Miss…” “Abigail , miss Abigail “ she laughed “and you are ?” “Ryan “ he responded . “Okay , so I’ll see you tomorrow Ryan “ she smiled; they exchanged contacts and she hurried to work . ************************ She walked into her office and slammed the door , she couldn’t help but dance in excitement. She felt so happy . “Miss Abigail “ a voice called from behind her . She turned to find her secretary at the door . “Yes dear , how May I help you “ she replied with a smile . “The boss wants to know the time for her meeting with Mr Charles “ “Ohh “ she quickly checked the files and said “tell her it’s by 12pm at Hotel Du’Mort “. “Yes ma’am “ she turned to leave . It was a usual day for Abigail; the same routine of emails and messages ; she couldn’t wait for the day to end , she began to smile to herself as she recalled the events of this morning .” —Ryan ;what a nice guy —“ she said aloud . It was almost 12 and she had to prepare for the meeting ; she arranged the needed documents and headed for the boss’s office . !knock!knock! “Come in “ a voice answered from inside the office . She walked into the office and dropped the documents on the desk . “Ma’am it’s almost time for your meeting with Mr Charles “ she said . “Okay , prepare the car , I’ll be down soon “ she said without lifting her eyes from her phone . “Yes ma’am “ she walked out of the door . Inside the office, Stephanie the acting CEO of Lee’s Oil and gas company; looked worried — her father wants her to Marry the son of Mr Charles the owner of Hotel Du’Mort and other chains of hotels , she didn’t want to marry just anyone ; besides she’s heard lots of rumors about him saying that he is incapacitated, she didn’t want to end up with someone like that . Her father wanted to form an alliance with the Charles family ; the meeting she was attending was to discuss the alliance between the two companies. She had never seen her so called betrothed. She sighed and made her way towards the car . “Let’s go “ she ordered the driver. After driving for some time they arrived at the destination . She took a deep breath before walking into the conference hall , she ordered Abigail to wait outside while she went in . “Good day Mr Charles “ she gave a slight bow as she greeted . “Good day to you too my child “ he responded. “Have a seat” he gestured to a seat beside him . “You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman, Ryan would be excited to meet you “ Thank you sir" she said . "Ryan would be coming home this weekend, perhaps we could officially sign the documents after your engagement with my son " he said smiling . "Okay then ,sir ; till then " she got up "I beg to take my leave now ; I've got other meetings to attend to " she said as bowed her head a little. He nodded ; and she walked out of the hall . She let out a loud sigh , the moment she got into the car ." Why do you have to do this to me dad" she said out loud . No one dared to speak all through the ride and driver was so scared he couldn't play his favorite song — he didn't want to get fired . "Make a turn at the traffic light " she ordered from the back seat . "Yes boss ". She brought out her phone to call Daniel — her lover ; "Hey baby " she said as soon as the call connected . "Hey , missing me ?" He asked from the other end. "Yes love " she said pouting her lips like a baby . "I'll be with you soon okay ? Just hang on " he said . "Okay baby , love you " "Love you too , bye babe " "Byeeeeeee" she said and ended the call . !!phew!! She let out a sigh of relief. They arrived at her destination and she ordered the driver and Abigail to take a taxi back to the office ; she wanted to be alone .