I Was Fated to Love You

by Abigail Barnabas

  “ You are now under arrest for drug trafficking. Place your hands in the air. Right now”

  “ I .. I don’t know what you are talking about…I was just using the toilet..”

  Just then, a group of reporters rushed into the toilet, each holding their microphones and there were the cameramen who were pointing their cameras in Abby’s direction.

  “ Just using the toilet? Let’ see what you have in your hands right now”

  The man leaned forward and grabbed the pregnancy kit from Abby. His face turned pale-white, as if he had seen a ghost, and he froze. The reporters gathered around the man, while the cameramen zoomed into the exclusive scope.

  “ We have got the wrong person…We were looking for a lady who had been involved in drug trafficking and who had taken illegal drugs. So sorry for that”

  After the drama of the day, Abby headed home when work had finished and she had enough. She was confused and overwhelmed by the things that have happened around her. What was she to do? An abortion had crossed her mind, but it seemed too cruel to do that. Yet, what else could she do? Was she ready to be a single mother?

  Abby could literally feel her hair stand when she watched the primetime news.

  She had been in the prime scope during the primetime news. The news clearly depicted the entire process of the detectives breaking into her cubicle, snatching the test kit from her, how the test kit was a positive sign, and how they cleared the misunderstanding with her. It had concluded with a “ Congratulations, you are pregnant!”

  Her heart palpitated against her ribcage and she could nearly feel it bursting out. The whole world now knows of the fact that she is pregnant. That includes her mother, her sisters, her colleagues and her neighbours, if they should be watching the news. Abby.. Abby.. what have you landed yourself into?

  Chapter 6

  Meeting Matthew

  Tiffany had finally given Darren a call and apologized for not being able to turn up for his birthday. She had been caught to her director’s office to explain for her conflict with her fellow dancer. It had taken ages to finally clear up the conflict and she had been summoned to be the lead dancer for the show that night. She couldn’t have declined to her director in his face, for her future had depended on him. Darren assured her that he understood, but he couldn’t help but feel so disappointed by how she had let him down again, and felt a tinge of guilt towards bedding that lady that night.

  By the end of the week, the rumors had circulated that Abby had been pregnant. The entire PR department had known of the fact but nobody knew how she got herself pregnant. They wondered where had Abby got herself pregnant, and who was the father of the baby. Her colleagues had been gossiping among themselves and Abby remained tight-lip around it, preferring to head to the pantry whenever the subject was broached. It was just too awkward and too embarrassing to be a single mother who had little idea who the identity of the father was.

  She had received a phone call from her mother a few days ago in which her mother had yelled at the other end of the phone, to severe ties with Abby, should she fail to find out the identity of the baby’s father. Abby had received calls from everyone- her sisters, her neighbours, her ex-classmates, random acquaintances and her colleagues as well. Abby had just explained that it was an accident, without bringing up the details.

  Her queasiness had taken a worse lately. Abby often felt the urge to throw up and she had little appetite. She was feeling so depressed, as if she had landed herself in some disastrous predicament, and didn’t know how to wriggle herself through it. She just didn’t know what to do about her baby.

  She had to visit the perfume factory that day. Her company had recently diversified into the perfume industry, and she had to collect a report. It was a grand building and at the first floor, there was a museum filled with an assortment of perfumes. The different smells overwhelmed Abby. Abby needed to go to the third floor. She was lost, so she asked the officer at the concierge.

  “Excuse me, where is Laboratory 3?”

  “It is located at the 7th floor which is where the laboratories are situated. Take the lift, and at the 7th floor, turn to the right”

  “ Oh I see. Thank you very much”

  Abby took the lift and headed to the 7th floor. She headed right to Laboratory 3 and there was a young man waiting for her inside.

  “Hi.. you must be Abby right?”

  “Yes.. I am Abby. I was sent here to collect a report from you”

  “Yes.. here it is. I am Matthew. Nice to meet you”

  The young man was tall and suave. He had nice brown eyes and ruffled hair. He had a charismatic smile and refined features. He was wearing a white laboratory coat and had a notebook in one of his pockets. Abby thought that he had looked so familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger as to whether she had seen him before. There were many Matthews she had known from grade school to college.

  “ Nice to meet you as well”

  “Is this your first time here at the factory?”

  “ Yes it is my first time! I am so excited to see all the different perfumes”

  Matthew took a quick glance at his watch.

  “ Well, since it is about to be lunchtime, I can bring you for a short round at the museum. Let’s go”

  Before Abby could even mutter a word, Matthew had switched off the lights in the small laboratory and ushered her to the door. They headed down to the museum floor.

  Matthew was so animated, as he introduced Abby to the range of perfumes. Abby was so excited. She had always loved scents, and ever since young, some had commented that she had a dog’s nose. She could pick out scents and match them to what they belonged to readily- a talent which her sisters had claimed was really useless. Abby picked up a perfume sample titled Vanilla Rosemary. It was her favourite scent as it was not too pungent. It was just right. Then, she picked up another scent titled Grapefruit Chocolate. She liked that one too, since she had loved chocolates. Matthew watched as Abby proceeded from perfume to perfume, making sure to spend time on every perfume sample. He had never seen anyone who would be so excited about scents, other than him. Due to the nature of his job, Matthew paid close attention to scents, and was especially sensitive to them. He often felt like the human version of a police dog- mixing and matching scents to create the perfect scent to please the gentlemen and the ladies.

  “ I see that you really love scents”

  “Yes..I do indeed! I have always been attracted to scents. I can pick out scents easily”

  Abby broke into a cherubic grin. Matthew suddenly felt attracted to her. He found her cute. She was cute even with her black-rimmed specs, in a nerdy sort of way. Like a plain jane, but an adorable one. He kind of thought that she would look mesmerizing if she would ditch her specs.

  As the most popular boy in school, Matthew had always had much attention from the ladies. He excelled in his studies. He was good at sports. He had represented his school in floorball and archery. He was a gifted artist too where he had won several national competitions. Who wouldn’t love Matthew? He was so gifted. Abby gave him a different feeling, a plain simple happy kind of feeling, but he shrugged it off, thinking that he was just being silly.

  “ I really like all these perfumes! Thank you for introducing me to them! I have to go now. I have a meeting in the late afternoon”

  Abby smiled and she smiled with her heart. That made Matthew happy. Most people were not too interested in the perfume gallery whenever Matthew showed them around. Abby was so different!

  “Hold on-before you leave, here is a small gift for you”

  He took out the keys from his pocket and opened a drawer where there was a small gift box in it. Inside the gift box, there was a perfume bottle in it. He took out the perfume bottle and showed it to Abby.

  “ See- it is apple flavoured. I did not come up with this perfume though. It is our CEO who had produced this himself, while I guided him. It is his first time producing perfumes and this is the perfume he created
. It is a rather basic apple flavoured one. I am giving this to you, because I want to show you that anyone can make perfumes! Our CEO had no knowledge at all regarding perfumes. I just had to guide him a little while he did most of the work. I can teach you how to make perfumes, if you like. We will have a perfume-making class every Saturday morning. It is free for employees like you. For a perfume enthusiast like you, you should totally go for it”

  Matthew then placed the perfume bottle back into the gift box, and placed it in Abby’s hands.

  “ Thank you so much! It smells great~ Ahhhh! I will consider about the perfume-making class! I will definitely go if I have enough time!”

  Abby thought that Matthew was such a friendly and cheerful guy. She wished that she had a boyfriend like him. He appeared so caring and attentive. The pair bid their goodbyes and went back to their work. When Abby was home, she kept the Apple scented perfume in the first drawer in her room. She was happy that day. It was a temporary break from her hectic life. Still, as she lay on bed, she wondered what was she going to do about her baby? The future seemed so gloomy and uncertain.

  A week later, the company had organized for a company chalet at a resort located at the Great Smoky Mountains. World renowned, the Great Smoky Mountains sits upon ridge upon ridge of forest, straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. Everyone from the PR department, as well as the Product Development department, was required to attend. Abby and her colleagues from her department had taken the early plane to North Carolina where they had checked into the spacious and beautiful chalet.

  Then, Abby saw someone familiar. It was Matthew. The man whom she had met at the factory and who had given her the Apple scented perfume. Their eyes met and Matthew broke into a smile.

  “ Oh it’s you Abby!”

  “ Hi Matthew! You are here for the chalet as well”

  They made some casual chit-chat and that was when Abby realized that she had been schoolmates with Matthew. They were from Prince Middleton High School and were in the same batch. No wonder he had looked so familiar to her. She remembered Matthew from high school. The boy, whom the girls in her class had eyes for, and she had remembered how they would prepare breakfast for him, although he seemed to show much interest. They had been from different classes but had taken part in a school project together for a short period of time. She remembered that he had been kind then. Once when she had fallen down, Matthew had rushed to First Aid Room and grabbed some medicine, though it was only a small graze. It was such coincidence that they would meet again- working for the same company.

  They shared jokes from high school and seemed to feel more bonded to each other after the realization. Matthew asked if she remembered how they had set-up the entire school for fright night, and she nodded. Those memories. Abby mentioned that Matthew had grew more handsome over the years, and that she couldn’t recognize me instantly at first sight. Matthew also mentioned that Abby had grown more beautiful over the years, that she was no longer having those baby fats and was now a mature and beautiful young lady. Abby blushed because no one had mentioned to her before that she was beautiful. Even if he was just trying to be polite, it still made her happy.

  At the barbeque, Matthew told Abby that their company had planned to acquisition over a hidden nature park for development purposes, and that as it was where he had often visited where he was a young child, he had always wanted to intervene in the plans. The acquisition would be the week after where huge trucks would come and dig up the land. It would destroy the entire beauty remnant there.

  “Abby, they will be tearing down the place. I must stop them. The only way is by proving that the flora and fauna belongs to those which the government has to conserve. Would you like to go with me?”

  Abby felt slightly hesitant, but since she had never done anything great in her life, she decided to go for it. It would be significant, and mark an exciting chapter to her life. Matthew seemed to appear so charismatic, just like he did in high school.

  Abby waited at the railway for Matthew to arrive. He was dressed in a white t-shirt and black pants. He held a large suitcase which looked like it was about to explode. It felt awkward that she would be going on a trip with him, but since she had promised him, then she had to fulfil it. Or was there a fragment of her who had some affection?

  “ I am sorry that I am so late, Abby. I was caught in a jam”

  “ Oh no no.. It is okay, Matthew! Why are you carrying such a huge suitcase?”

  “ I have brought close to 20 books, if the authorities should need proof that the flora and fauna there have to be conserved”

  “ Oh.. that is so smart of you!”

  The railway ride was so beautiful as Abby caught sight of all the old towns and the beautiful greenery. Thankfully, the pair had much to talk about, since they both loved perfumes and had common friends in high school.

  When they had arrived, they saw people hard at work, digging up the ground with their cranes and filling with cement.

  “ Hey stop what you are doing right now! I have got proof that this area has species of flowers and trees which are under the conservation act! Look at this! This species is called the Meza. That alone is enough to prove that you have to stop what you are doing right now!”

  The workers looked around puzzled, unsure as to what to do next. Who was this stranger who was making such a commotion? One of them dialled a number and within minutes, they heard footsteps approaching them from behind.

  Abby spun around. She was shocked. So shocked that her heart skipped a beat. And she gasped.

  It was.. that man..

  That man.. whom she had mistakenly slept with during that fateful cruise trip..

  It was the father of her baby.

  Plans to develop the land had been stalled. Matthew and Abby’s efforts had been successful.

  The father of her baby had totally ignored her presence. He didn’t really want to have anything to do with her. He merely went over to Matthew, shook his hand and congratulated him for stalling the company’s efforts, using words dripping with sarcasm. When the construction workers had left, Abby nudged Matthew and asked him for the identity of that man whom he had a handshake with. Matthew chuckled and replied that it was the CEO of their own company and that his name had been Darren Bell.

  Abby just did not know what to do. Should she walk up to him and tell him that she had been pregnant with his child? She knew it wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t really have to be responsible for her own mistake but she felt so helpless and felt that the father of the child should at least have the right to know of the child’s existence.

  She couldn’t bear it anymore. That night, she spilled the truth to Matthew and poured out her heart to him. She had been feeling so alone and helpless. She had told him that she had been pregnant with Darren Bell’s child.

  “ I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to interfere in his life like that. I feel so guilty. Oh I feel so bad. I know he has a girlfriend and that he seems to love her so much.. I never wanted to be a third party.. Oh Matthew! Tell me what to do…”

  Abby was caught in between her sobs. The moonlight had cast a glow onto her tear-striken face as she wept miserably.

  “ I don’t want to destroy their relationship, Matthew! Please tell me what should I do? I don’t know what to do about the baby…”

  Matthew felt for her. Abby was so kind-hearted. It would be hard to tell her what to do.

  “ You should definitely inform Darren about this. He is the father afterall. He deserves the right to know”

  “ Tomorrow… is the first day… of February.. I.. I .. I have a check-up for the foetus tomorrow morning. I will think about it more in the morning.. Thank you so much, Matthew”

  Chapter 7

  Letting him know

  Through the cardiotocography, Abby could hear the rhythmic heartbeats of her very own baby. It was then when she first experienced the sheer joy of motherhood. It was a very strange and inexplicable sensat
ion. She had been feeling so worried over her baby, but the sounds of the baby’s heartbeat seemed to have a surreal calming effect on Abby.

  “ Your baby’s heartbeat sounds healthy.”

  The young obstetrician smiled assuredly.

  “As you can see from the ultrasound, your baby looks like a healthy one. Congratulations!”

  Abby left the clinic, holding on to an ultrasound photo which showed her little baby curling up like a ball. She was so adorable, Abby thought. She felt an instant connection to the baby.

  It was as if her baby had guided her to the place she had been brooding over whether she should visit. Within much realization, Abby had walked to the office of the CEO. She hesitated entering. Everyone was staring at her. She wondered if she should even communicate the news to him. Afterall, they were strangers. Would he care about the baby at all? Would he be upset at her for being pregnant?

  She lifted her hand up and knocked on the door timidly.

  “Come in”

  Abby took in a deep breath and she walked into his office. Regardless of the outcome, she felt that she had a need to inform him about it.

  “It’s you”

  His voice was cold, with a tinge of perplexity and uneasiness.

  “I.. came to tell you.. something”

  “What is it?”

  There was a rising element of concern in his tone, and he felt embarrassed by it.

  She didn’t know how to break it to him. How was she to break the news to him? It was so difficult. Abby opened her purse and she placed the ultrasound photo onto his desk. She looked away ashamed, avoiding his eyes all the while.

  Darren reached out for the photo, his hands quivering albeit. He had sensed that something ominous had happened, and couldn’t shake the bad feelings off him.

  When he laid his eyes on the ultrasound photo, his eyes widened, his face turned pale white, his body stiffened and he felt goosebumps. An icy sensation hit him.