Chapter 28- Lost control
Abigail’s smile froze, and she dropped her hands instantly. She turned around to look back at him, utterly bewildered.
“What?” Her eyebrows pulled together while staring at him suspiciously.
Charles cracked a smile and approached her one step at a time. “Your face was flushed, and you looked tipsy. I thought you would feel refreshed if you get some fresh air. So I bring you here.”
His tone was gentle, and it sounded like a melodious tune to her. She could hear him speaking all the time. He brought her here with this intention. She was happy to know that he cared about her. But still, a few questions arose in her mind. Why did he care for her? Was it because she was his boss’s fiancee or was there something else? She stared at him with confusion. She was eager to know what was in his mind.
He stood very close to her. Although the light on the terrace was dim, she was able to see his eyes. There was something in his eyes tonight. It was more than care. His intense gaze was making her heart race wild. Abigail got lost in his eyes.
He came closer to her. Now she could feel his warm breath on her face. All of a sudden, he cupped her face and called her name affectionately, “Abigail…”
She stopped breathing. His gentle touch, his soft voice, and his intoxicated eyes sending shivers throughout her body. Several knots began to form inside her stomach. She subconsciously clasped her dress tight on her sides. He lowered his head. She knew he was going to kiss her. Her heart was ready to jump out of her mouth. Her breathing was uneven. She closed her eyes and waited for his kiss happily.
Charles paused for a while to look at her. She was not pushing him away. This encouraged him to go further. He lowered his head to kiss her.
Abigail skipped a beat when she felt his lips on hers. His lips touched her lips so gently as if a butterfly flapped its wings. But the joy in her heart started fading away when she sensed his hesitation. He was kissing her, but that was not a proper kiss. He was dithering if he should kiss her or not. Why was he not able to kiss her? Was it because she was not his girlfriend? If he missed his girlfriend, why did he try to kiss her? Abigail was confused. These thoughts hurt her heart and brought tears to her eyes.
Charles, on the other end, was waiting for her response. But she didn’t respond to his kiss. He felt her body becoming stiff. He pulled back and looked at her, only to see tears in her eyes. His eyebrows knitted tight gradually. He felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Did she cry because he kissed her? This was the first question that emerged in his mind.
He became very restless. He regretted his action. With the flow of his emotion, he crossed the line. He didn’t know why he couldn’t control himself. Perhaps because he was optimistic that he could expose Aidan’s schemes in front of her, and he would have a chance to get close to her. But he forgot that she was always in love with Aidan. She was not ready for his closeness.
He retreated and apologized, “I… I…am sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I…”
He licked his lips and looked at her apologetically. He couldn’t find proper words to say.
Abigail’s agony increased even more. This was their first kiss, and he was apologizing for it. She lost her all hopes. Her eyes stung as fresh tears welled up. She sprinted away from there immediately.
Charles was caught off guard. He was agitated as well. He wiped his face with his palm. His hands were shaking. He turned his head to look at her and saw her getting into the elevator. He came to his senses and chased her after.
“Abigail… Wait…”
He exclaimed. But the door of the elevator closed before he could reach it. He ran towards the stairs without delay.
Abigail burst into tears the moment the door closed. She kept on wiping her tears, inhaling and exhaling deeply. She didn’t want to cry, but the tears never stopped falling from her eyes.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry…” She kept chanting this while fanning her face with her hands. Her entire body was trembling.
The lift didn’t stop anywhere, and Charles kept running down the stairs. He didn’t forget to check on the elevator on each floor. He ran down from the 25th to the 10th floor, but the elevator didn’t stop. Although he was exhausted and panting heavily, he didn’t stop running.
Finally, the elevator stopped in the underground parking area. She rushed to her car.
The driver was dumbfounded to see Abigail. Judging by her appearance, he doubted that something was wrong. He wanted to ask her, but after thinking that he might offend her, he kept his mouth shut. He opened the door for her, bowing his head slightly. She got into the car and ordered, “Take me home.”
The driver nodded and got into the car.
By the time Charles came to the basement, her car was already gone. He saw the car running out of the parking area. He bent down, placing his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He kept staring in the direction from where the car disappeared from his line of sight. His eyebrows creased tightly, and his nose wrinkled. His lungs hurt while trying to catch his breath. His back was drenched in sweat. Sweat beads slid down from his forehead too.
He stayed in this position for a while. When his breathing came to normal, only then did he straighten his body. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number, but she disconnected the call.
Charles was certain that she was mad at him. But he was also persistent. He had to apologize. He called her again. This time also she cut the call. When he dialed her number for the third time, he found her number off.
“Fuck,” He cursed loudly, running his fingers through his hair.
In the meantime, his phone rang. He subconsciously thought that it was Abigail’s call, but he was disappointed to see Lara’s number on the screen. Only then did he remember that he left her alone at the party. He felt guilty immediately, but he didn’t want to go back to the party either.
He answered the call, “Lara, I am sorry to leave you alone. I am not feeling quite well. I am going home.” He didn’t wait for her response and hung up the phone.
Lara was dumbfounded and stared at the phone with disbelief, her mouth slightly open.
When Abigail reached the mansion, she rushed to her room and locked herself up. She slid against the door and started crying again. She was holding herself with great difficulty on the way back home as she didn’t want to break down in front of the driver. She cried out of her eyes. She swore she would never go in front of Charles. She would never contact him or respond to his call. She had enough of him. From now on, she would never let him hurt her again. Wiping her tears off her face, she stood up and went to the washroom.
Charles collapsed onto the couch the moment he entered his apartment. He leaned over the couch, with his fist on his forehead, his eyes shut tight. The scene of her running away from him was playing in the back of his mind. The complicated emotions in her teary eyes were still vivid in his mind.
The regret and anger filled his mind, making him increasingly restless. What made him feel like kissing her? Why couldn’t he control himself? He was devastated by these thoughts.
He knew that she was in love with Aidan. He also knew that she was not ready for him, yet, he kissed her. All those days he was controlling himself because he was afraid that she would hate him if he expressed his feelings to her. And now, his fear came true. She ran away from him. She would never contact him again. His anxiety piqued the moment this thought went through his mind.
He opened his eyes and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He dialed her number again, but the result was the same as before. Now he was more than sure that she would never keep up with him. Because of his recklessness, he lost her. Untying the tie and removing the blazer, he hurled them down on the floor with frustration.
He strode to the room and laid on the bed dejectedly. He tried calling her a few more times, but she never turned her phone on.
Eventually, he started typing a message, ‘I am sorry. I know I have done wrong. I don’t know what happened to me in that nick of time that I lost my composure. Perhaps I was a little drunk. Will you please forgive me? I swear I will never do that again.’
After typing this, he sent it to her. He stared at the ceiling blankly, his expression was pensive. Many things were going on in his mind.
After thinking for some time, he typed again, ‘Abigail, please don’t be mad at me. I am sorry. I have been calling you a few times, but you turned your phone off. Will you please talk to me?’ He sent it too.
He kept sending one after other messages, apologizing to her. That was a sleepless night for him. He didn’t know when the dawn break. He was still lying on the bed on his back, staring at the ceiling. He came to his senses when the alarm rang on his phone at 7 in the morning.
Sighing deeply, he got up from the bed. He was dizzy, but he avoided the discomfort and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Another busy day was ahead of him. Although he was in pain, he couldn’t abandon his work. He needed to reach the office in time.