I Was Fated to Love You (6 page)

 
“ Let me make this clear that it is not
my will to want to marry you. My grandmother wants me to be married and she
wants a grandchild badly. If I don’t marry you, she won’t let me run the
company any longer. I am the only son. The baby will inherit much of the
company’s shares when he grows up. He will have a much brighter future than
when if he stays under your care . Your meagre income as an office girl..
 
I will make our baby someone special.”

 
“ I .. I need some time.. to think about
this…”

After
saying his peace, the pair then left the café.

 
Darren flagged a cab down for Abby.

“ I don’t
need a cab. I can take the bus from here”

He shoved
a 50 dollar note into her hands and once she was in the cab, he told her to
contact him once she had made a decision, shut the door and waved goodbye to
her.

 
Abby felt so confused. She didn’t even
know Darren well. He was only marrying her to be able to continue running his
company as CEO. She looked herself in the mirror. She knew that she wasn’t
fashionable or pretty. Which guy would want her? Darren was far better than
her. He was handsome, suave, tall and wealthy. He was the young CEO of the
company she was working for. Which girl wouldn’t want to marry him? Could she
consider herself to be lucky? He had been so nice to pay for her cab. She was
starting to find that Darren was not as bad as he looked.

Chapter 9

Together For Now

The wedding
ceremony was a very basic and homely affair. Darren’s grandmother had not
understood why Darren was so against a wedding ceremony. So to please her, he
had compromised and reluctantly agreed to a small wedding lunch.

 
Abby wore
a simple white wedding gown, clad in her geeky black specs and with basic
make-up. The crowd cheered when Abby entered the room. Darren looked at his
bride. She was quite acceptable-looking, he guessed. Then, he nearly wanted to
hit himself. He only loved Tiffany.

 
The crowd
had urged Darren to give his young bride a kiss. His face flushed and he felt
like digging a hole to bury himself. He didn’t know why he was feeling so
embarrassed. Probably because he had always been used to kissing Tiffany. And
only Tiffany.

 
He stole a
look at Abby who looked equally embarrassed. Her face was flushed in hot pink
and her eyes were so wide as if she had just seen a ghost. He chuckled at how
comical she looked. It was kind of cute in an annoying way.

 
“ Just do
this for the crowd”

 
Darren
whispered in her ears.

 
Then, he
bent forward and gave a light kiss on the pinkish lips of Abby.

Abby wondered why her heart skipped a beat and she
struggled to compose herself. Darren wondered why he was feeling a little
nervous.

 
Darren led
Abby to meet his grandmother who was a strong elderly woman who bore a homely
smile on her face.

“ This is my grandmother, Ellen. I call her Grandma
Ellen. So you can call her that too”

“ Grandma Ellen…”

“ Good girl..good girl..your bride looks like such a
caring lady! I like this daughter-in-law very much”

 
Abby was
happy. She had finally got herself off the shelf of the unmarried and forever
alone. At least she had married herself to a decent man though he didn’t love
her.

 
Month 2

 
Abby’s
belongings had already been transported to Darren’s residence. After the
wedding reception, Darren beckoned Abby to get onto his car and he drove her to
this residence.

 
Abby was
stunned by the size of his mansion. It was huge alright, from the looks of it
on the outside.

 
“ Why are
you still standing there? Come in”

 
Abby
nodded her head obediently, as if she had returned to her senses.

 
His house
had a huge living room which was filled with famous art paintings and some
antique collections. It had a spiral staircase at the side and another
staircase leading to what seemed like the basement.

 
“ So this
is my house!”

 
“It is so
beautiful!”

 
“Yeah..you
are lucky, aren’t you? Come on upstairs. I will show you to my room”

 
Abby
followed Darren upstairs. His room was in an earth tone where there was a
built-in cabinet, a King-size bed and a solid wooden table. The floorings were
parquet and it looked very cozy indeed.

Abby felt
her heart sink a little when she saw that he had placed photos of him and
Tiffany on his table. She didn’t know why she felt that way. He had explained
that he would never love her. So why was she feeling the way she felt?

 
“ The
toilet is beside my room. You can go get ready for bed.”

“ Bed?”

 
Abby
gasped.

The warm
currents in the shower rejuvenated Abby. She had been so weary from the
activity of the night. She was feeling excited about her new life, as if it
were a new glimpse of light for her.

Darren
lay on his soft silky bed. He missed Tiffany.

Abby came
out from the shower and she walked nervously towards his bed. He was already
lying there.

“Where
shall I sleep?”

“On this
bed of course”

Abby sat
on the big bed and she positioned herself a hand away from him.

“Okay
Abby. I will put a bolster in between us, if that makes you feel safe”

 
There was a momentary silence as the pair
lay on the bed, partitioned by a bolster, and with their backs facing each
other. Their first night as a married couple had been so awkward and so
uncomfortable. Abby tried to fall asleep, and so did Darren. They weren’t used
to sharing a bed with each other at all. Coupled with their complicated
relationship, it just made the awkwardness more pronounced.

 
Darren couldn’t help but think of
Tiffany. He wondered what was Tiffany doing. He wondered..wondered..if Tiffany
was thinking of him at this very moment. He wondered if she had missed him at
all.

Most of
all, he wondered how his life was about to change, from this moment onwards.

Chapter 10

The Agreement

 
The next morning, Abby woke up to find
that Darren was no longer on his bed. She quickly washed up and headed
downstairs.
 

 
The aromatic scent of waffles filled the
air and Darren sat at the dining table, enjoying his waffle and cereals.

 
“Good morning”

 
He greeted her.

“Good
morning Darren”

“ Sit
down. Have breakfast.”

 
Abby took
a seat and quietly ate her breakfast.

“My grandma is not in today. I have something to let
you sign”

“What is it?”

He handed
her an envelope which Abby found a long document inside.

“Sign it. It is an agreement between you and me. You
will stay in this residence where I will provide for you, until the baby is
born. Once our baby is born, we will divorce and you will leave the residence,
where the baby will stay with me. I will take good care of our baby, don’t you
worry.
     
During your stay, you are not to develop any feelings of that sort for
me.

She felt
aggrieved. She didn’t know that there had been an agreement to the marriage.
She thought that she had found someone who wanted to take care of her.

“ I am
sorry for being such a bastard. I am sorry…I still love Tiffany”

He looked ashamed. He knew that he had tricked her
into marrying him. He knew that he had hurt her.

 
Abby took
the pen and she signed the paper, trying to swallow the tears which had been
forming at the brim of her eyes. She had no choice. She had already married
him.

 
9 months
later and I would marry Tiffany, he thought. He just needed her understanding
at this point.

Darren
kept the papers and hurriedly went upstairs. He slumped onto the sofa in his
study room and he switched on his labtop. Tiffany was online and he made a
video call request to her on Skype.

 
Tiffany
was excited to see Darren making a request as well, and she quickly accepted.

 
“Darren!
Sorry I have been so busy lately. I haven’t had the time to talk to you here”

“ It is okay, Tiffany. I love you so much”

“ Are you okay, Darling? You look like you have
something on your mind..”

“ Nah I am fine.. I just wanted to check how you have
been and what you have been up to you lately..”

“Haha.. I have been preparing for a new concert. Life
is so busy as usual. How is Grandma?”

“Grandma’s fine. Her health is good and she is very
active for her age.. She has been attending frequent yoga lessons”

“That’s great! How is my little Prissy doing?”

“ Oh! Little Prissy is a little sad after she has not
seen you in ages. I am going to pick her up from the pet hotel later.”

“Pet hotel? Why did you leave her there?”

Darren gulped. He had left her there because the
domestic helpers had left for their hometowns for a short while and that his
family had attended him and Abby’s wedding.

“The pet hotel has a great salon service! I sent her
there to trim her long coat”

“Oh I see! Yeah you should! Little Prissy’s coat gets
long really quickly. Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did! You know I want you back more than anything….When are you
coming back?”

“I will be back in April! I know it is not very soon
but I am trying!”

The pair exchanged sweet nothings with each other
until Abby was called by her director.

 
He
switched off his laptop and saw Abby by the door.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to eavesdrop! I just wanted to
ask you what you
 
want for lunch. So
I could make you some food…”

 
He smiled.
Abby was a really kind and sweet girl. She was a good wife, alright. But he
loved Tiffany.
“ I am fine with anything…okay..hmm..just make me a sandwich”

 
The
next morning. Grandma had returned home. She had purchased so many things! It
was a busy morning for Abby since she had to prepare to go for her check-up.
Grandma urged Darren to go along with Abby.

“But
she’s old enough to go on her own!”

 
He retorted.

 
“ It is okay, Grandma..I can go on my
own..”

 
“ NO! Darren, go along with her. My word
is final!”

 
Darren shrugged and he nodded his head
reluctantly. He gave Abby an irritated look and picked up the car keys. Abby
felt bad that he was being forced to accompany her. Somehow, he looked good
even when he was throwing a tantrum.

Chapter 11

The Search

At
the clinic, Abby had to lift her dress upwards, which exposed her pink
underwear. Darren flushed and she flushed too, since he had never seen her in
her underwear before in the light.

 
“ So nice of your husband to accompany
you for your check-up. You must love your wife very much right?”

 
Darren hesitated for a moment, staring at
the embarrassed Abby, and he nodded his head forcefully.

 
“ Alright. That is all for today!
Everything is fine! See you next month!”

 
Outside the clinic, Darren told Abby that
he was going to pick up Little Prissy from the pet hotel and that if she liked,
she could go with him. Otherwise, she could go shop around, as long as she returned
home in one peace. Abby followed Darren to the pet hotel where they picked up a
white Persian cat which meowed at Abby when it saw her.

 
“ Awww so cute!”

 
Abby went forward and cradled the cat in
her hands.

“
Yeah it’s Tiffany’s”

 
Abby paused for a thought and she nodded.

“
I see..”

“
Let’s go home”

Back
at home, there was a sumptuous dinner awaiting them. The domestic helpers were
back and Grandma had instructed them to cook a hearty meal as their first
dinner together as a family.