Matters Of The Heart ✔

Chapter Nineteen

Abigail felt him wrap his arms around her, placing a tender kiss on her temple as she got into bed besides him. She felt she needed to explain what happened earlier on that day to him. It didn't seem to bother Ian when they were around Austin, but secretly, he was intimidated. Austin was slowly worming his way into their lives and a part of him didn't like it.

Things were going to change, not only between him and Emily but also between him and Abigail. Things were a lot easier when Austin wasn't in the picture, now that he was, Ian was uncertain what the future holds for all of them. Sure, Austin was married to another woman, but he saw how the other man still looked at his fiancée. Maybe he was overthinking, but it was clear he still loved her. Even he could see it.

“Ian-”

“It's okay Abbie. There's no need to explain”.

It's like he was reading her mind. Both of them seemed content with everything that had happened, but they both were worried. This was a challenge he wasn't ready for while she was uncertain now that the other man was back in her life, demanding answers to questions she could never answer. They would make him despise his own mother, and she didn't want that.

He gave her a gentle squeeze as they reminded each other just how much they meant to one another. But they knew they would be there for each other, no matter what happened.

Austin's grip on the steering wheel tightened. His late drive around the city wasn't as the way he was used to it. He needed to blow of some steam. He had just had an argument with his wife. It wasn't their first argument throughout their relationship, but the one they had that evening, they surely needed some time apart from each other for a while, just until they both calmed down and ready to talk things through like adults.

“Mira, I need to tell you something”, he took her hand and lead her to the couch, where they faced each other

“It sounds serious”, he watched as she adjusted herself in her seat when she noticed the firmness in his voice

“It is”, he took a deep breath. She looked forward to what he was going to say to her, but she could sense that whatever it was, it was clearly going to play a part in their lives.

“There's no easy way to tell you this, but, “, he rose his eyes to look at her as she gave him a short nod, motioning him to continue

“I have a daughter”, he watched as her face turn pale in a split second and her lips parted from shock

“What?”, her voice broke, she couldn't suppress her emotions, tears pricked her eyes, but she wouldn't show it. When he explained to her what had happened, she felt tears stream down her face. When they met, he was still recovering from the heartache of Abigail leaving him. He never mentioned that she was pregnant with their baby and was planning to give the baby up for adoption. He had given all hope for seeing the both of them ever again.

The thought of another woman and a child being a part of their lives didn't sit well with her. It meant she had to share him and that was one thing she wouldn't do. He was hers and hers alone. It took her long enough to make him forget about Abigail and fall in love with her, she wasn't going to risk them developing a relationship again. Who knows what would happen?

It was then they started arguing

“So you expect me to accept another woman's child into my house?”

“I know you were not expecting this, but there's absolutely no reason to be rude. Emily is my daughter, and Abigail is her mother. I expect you to accept that both of them are now a part of my life, they always had been”.

“Never. I don't even want to see them here. I will never accept them Austin”.

He couldn't stand her anymore, so to avoid saying things he'll later regret, he took his car keys and stormed out. He was angry, not only because of how Mira reacted when he told her about Emily, but also with Abigail's relationship with the new man in her life. He couldn't help but avoid the tinge of jealousy that went through him when he thought about the other man being a part of his daughters life all along.

His mind was clouded with thoughts. He was battling with his feelings so much that he didn't even see the robot turn red at a distance as he was speeding down the road. The last thing he heard, was the horn of the truck before it collided with his car on the passenger's side. Everything happened so fast, but to him everything happened so fast and yet so slow as Abigail and Emily's faces flashed before his eyes.

“Ian?”, she called out to him as she closed the door behind her and switched on the lights. His apartment was dark which was unusual because he didn't like staying in the dark.

She took out her phone and dialed his number. She could hear his phone ringing upstairs as she followed the sound of the ringtone. She walked inside the bedroom, to find him sprawled on the bed, sleeping soundly. He still had his office attire on, with his phone next to him. She laughed to herself as she walked towards him, took his shoes off and covered him with a fleece blanket. He stirred in his sleep, startling her as she didn't want to wake him up. He was always working the entire time, it was good to see him resting.

She breathed a sigh of relief as his breathing returned to normal again. She placed a kiss on his cheek before she turned on her feet to leave. The breath was knocked out of her body as she felt him grab her hand suddenly, pulling her onto the bed with him.

“Don't do that to me”, she lightly hit him on his chest as she recovered from the shock, and he laughed uncontrollably

“I'm sorry, it's just that you look so cute when you're spooked, I can't resist it”

“It's not funny”, she pouted her lip

“I'm sorry”, he rose a hand in surrender. He took a minute to look at her besides him, “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn't reach you, so I called the office. Zoe told me you left early because you weren't feeling well. I came to check up on you. Are you okay?”

“I had a headache, but I'm fine now”

“You haven't been yourself lately. I want us to talk about it”.

“It's nothing Abbie. I'm okay”, he put on a smile, but she saw it wasn't like his ordinary one, the one that would reach his eyes and contagious. He was bothered, the real reason why he left work early was because his mind was all over the place, he couldn't even think straight. The thought of Austin winning Abigail back again haunted him. He could have access to her whenever he wanted through Emily. His troubles had just begun.

“Ian”, she cupped his face in one hand. “Talk to me”

Her eyes searched for his. He didn't want to tell her. It would make him seem insecure and petty. But they made a pact to always be honest to each other, no matter how hard it would be to express their feelings and pour their hearts out to one other.

Silence filled the room for a while, with the pair laying besides each other, staring into each other's eyes. He drew a sharp breath.

“I'm scared Abbie”

“Scared of what?”

“I'm scared of seeing you chose him over me”, his words pierced through her like a sharp sword. She never thought he felt that way. She sat up straight, so did he and they faced each other. She took his hands in hers.

“I choose you”, she said softly. “If anything happens. I'll always choose you”.

“I don't know what would happen to me if I lost you”, he felt her arms wrapping around him

“You won't. I'm promise”.