It was the night of the gala. Abigail was applying a dark shade red matte lipstick that accommodated her dress when Stephanie walked into her room and paraded in front of her. Her jaw dropped as she admired how beautiful her friend looked in her navy blue V-neck lace mermaid evening dress that she looked absolutely gorgeous in. She had styled her long brunette hair in a wavy ponytail. Her make-up was also well done as Tanya, their neighbor offered to do their makeup for them and to also look after Emily for the night.

“You look beautiful Steph”, tears welled up in Abigail's eyes before her friend walked towards her, laughing at her as they waved some air into her eyes to stop the tears from falling down her cheek. She also tilted her head up and laughed.

“You're going to ruin your make-up”

“I know. I know”, she composed herself before taking a deep breath again. “I'm fine now”

“Now, take off this off. I want to see how you look”, Stephnie demanded as she undid the knot of her friend's gown and helped her out of it. She grasped at the sight of the woman standing opposite her.

“Oh my God Abbie”, she exclaimed as she swirled her around. When they went last minute shopping for those outfits, none of them actually thought they would look so good in them.

Abigail was wearing a red satin sweetheart neckline with straps tea ankle length dress. Her hair was styled in a short wavy lob with her brownish blond hair accommodating her entire look.

“You look breathtaking”, Stephanie took her in with her eyes. “You sure look good in red”, she complimented and Abigail gave a little bow.

“Tonight, you're definitely going to find yourself a man looking this hot”, Abigail added as the two women stood in front of a mirror, she felt Stephanie pinch her arm and she winced in pain

“Shut up”, she hissed playfully before they laughed together

“Wow”, they heard Tanya exclaim as she stood at the doorway. “You guys look stunning”, she grasped and the two ladies thanked her.

“Ian is here”, she announced before Emily stood in front of her

“Hurry up Mommy. You can't keep Ian waiting”, they all laughed at how serious she looked.

“We're going”, they chorused together before Abigail picked her clutch bag from the bed. They both kissed Emily on the cheek before they walked to the lounge.

“Be good okay?”, Stephanie smiled at her, and she nodded her head. “We love you”

“I love you too”

“Thanks again Tanya for looking after her”, Abigail hugged her

“Sure thing Abbie. Be sure to have fun and don't worry about us. We'll be okay”.

“If there's anything you nee-”

“You'll be the first person I call”

Ian and Luther were standing in the center of the lounge, arguing about sports before their gaze fell upon the two women walking towards them, both their lips slightly parted as they admired their infinite beauty

“Wow you two, you look amazing”, Ian wolf whistled as he took a step towards them before they could reach where they're standing. They thanked him whilst smiling.

“Ms Haines”, Ian took her in his arms as he took her in with his eyes again. “You literally just knocked all the air from my lungs. You're breathtaking”, he kissed her cheek and she giggled.

“You don't look so bad”, she joked as she adjusted his bow tie for him. Both men were wearing black tuxedos, looking as handsome as they had ever been.

Abigail looked over Ian's shoulder, to see Luther complete mesmerized by Stephanie, he couldn't take his eyes off her

“Hi Luther”, she greeted, but it took a minute before he realized she was saying something

“Oh, Hi Abbie. Great to see you again”, he said, almost stuttering as he kept his eyes on Stephanie.

“Where are my manners?”, Ian said in remembrance that their friends hadn't met yet. “Luther, this Abigail's best friend and apartment mate, Stephanie. Steph, this is my best friend, Luther”, they two shook hands in acknowledgment of each other before Luther bought Stephanie's hand to his lips and kissed it

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Stephanie”

“The pleasure is all mine”, the pair locked eyes for a second before Ian interrupted on their moment

“I think we should go. We wouldn't want to be late”, he guided Abigail out the door, same as Luther did with Stephanie before bidding goodbye to Tanya and Emily.

Her idea of a gala was clearly not she was seeing that night. She thought it was going to be a simple get together where they'll get to enjoy dinner and hopefully mingle with some people over drinks. People had used this night to put all stops to dress up.
There were so many people she wondered how they would fit in the main dinning hall in time for dinner

“Stay close to me”, she heard Ian whisper to her ear as he circled his arm around her waist as they had interactions with well known people in the city. Businessmen, politicians, entrepreneurs and so forth. It seemed like a great idea to always be by his side, or else she would easily get lost in this huge room filled with well known people she only saw on television and read about.

She looked over her shoulder to quickly spot Luther and Stephanie together at the far corner of the room, whispering into each other's ears and laughing. They seemed to get along just fine on the way there. Stephanie was safe with him, she thought as she turned her gaze to her man standing beside her. He looked so sexy when he talked about business since he was so passionately about it. She would have been bored to death any other day because she had no clue what was talked about most of the time, but he didn't make her feel left out. She wasn't into the corporate industry, but she easily blended in when Ian let her voice out her opinions and suggestions on some topics been discussed. She couldn't help but smile when he introduced her as his girlfriend, the woman who's keeping him together.

“Are you still okay?” , he whisked her away from the crowd to quite a hallway somewhere in an enormous building

“I am”, she entwined their arms together. “Why are we here?”

“I just needed to get away from all those people for a minute”, he let out a soft chuckle. “And I wanted to just be alone with you for a while”, he pushed her onto a wall on her back and leaned to kiss her on the lips. The fact that she was in heels worked to her advantage a little because she almost met his height.

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

“You might have, once or twice”, she giggled before he pecked her fully on the lips

“I'm going to say it again. You're really beautiful tonight Ms Haines. I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands to myself tonight”, he whispered his last statement seductively to her ear, causing shivers to travel her spine. She flushed red as he bought his face up again, and they locked eyes.

He felt his phone vibrate against his leg and he took it out to see a message from his mother

“There is someone I want you to meet”, he smiled before replying to her message, telling her that they're on their way

“Who?”

“You'll see”, he held her hand before returning to the crowded room full of people again. He politely pushed his way out of the crowd to the main dinning area where a few people have begun taking their seats for dinner.

He caught a glimpse of Ruby and Stella waving at him to grab his attention and he realized the table they were at was the same table he and Abigail were reserved at

“Who are those people?”, Abigail asked quietly as they approached the table with the people it was clear they were waiting for them

“They're my family”, Ian said quickly she didn't have the time to stop in her tracks to process everything. She suddenly turned into a bundle of nerves as she realized he wanted to introduce her to his family.

An older looking woman stood up from her seat to meet them halfway before she kissed Ian on the cheek and engulfed her in a hug. She looked so happy to see her, it was almost unbelievable it was the first time they've met.

“Abigail, this is my mother, Ruby Parker. Mother this is Abigail Haines, my girlfriend”, he introduced them together, and they shook hands.

“Pleasure to meet you Mrs Parker”, she tried to keep her voice as calm as she possibly could, but she was freaking out inside

“The pleasure is all mine Abigail, and please, call me Ruby”, she smiled before they broke their contact, as Abigail gave a short nod at her request. Ian took her to where Stella was sitting, who was already up on her feet to also hug Abigail.

“This is my nosey little sister, Stella”, he introduced before Stella threw him a glare

“Pleasure to meet you Abbie. You don't mind if I call you Abbie, right?”

“Not at all”, she smiled at her before she reciprocated her smile. She and Ian took their seats, and they started chatting with his family.

“I was wondering when you'll show up”, a voice said behind Ian and laughed before he quicky stood up to hug her

“Alexa, it's so good to see you”, he complimented the dark haired woman before him before engulfing her in a hug again

“You look great”, she cupped his face in her hands

“I feel great”, he smiled before they chatted for a minute before Alexa noticed the woman sitting beside him

“You must be Abigail”, Alexa prompted, and she nodded her head. “I've heard so much about you”, the woman said as they shook hands.

“This is Alexa, Christian's wife”, Ian introduced, easing Abigail's heart cause for a moment she was convinced that Alexa was probably one of his ex's or something. Ian often told her about Alexa, that they were close. He could talk to her about anything that bothered him, and she was the only one that didn't judge him for his past decision. He gained way more than a sister in her, he also gained a friend.

“Nice to meet you”, Abigail gave a polite smile which made Alexa nudge Ian on the arm

“She's beautiful”, she gave him an approving nod, to which Abigail flushed red and dropped her eyes

“Where's Christian?” , Ian asked her as they sat down. Seeing his older brother would mean a lot to him. He wanted to mend things with him now that his life was back on track. He really missed talking to him. Things weren't easy for him after he cut all ties with him. He had been his biggest supporter, but he eventually managed to screw that up the night he pitched up drunk at the last gala he attended three years prior. After being a recovering alcoholic for about six months, that night he had a relapse.

He'll never forget the disappointment in Christian face the moment he saw him stumbling in, almost tripping on his own feet

“Ian, are you drunk?”, he asked as he noticed barely able to keep his balance. He was wearing dark shades so that no one should see his blood shot eyes, but the way he was behaving, it quickly gave it away.

“No”, he tried to keep his voice firm, but eventually slurred his next few words. “I'm okay man, stop stressing”

“You can't even stand straight”, he pulled him to the quietest corner in the room to scowl at him. “What is the fucking matter with you? Do you enjoy making a complete fool of yourself?”

“Christian, just mind your fucking business okay?”

“You pitching up at a social event drunk like this, you're making this my fucking business”

“Why do you have to always burst my you-know-what every time like this?”, he was tired of his older brother treating him like he was a child. It was his life, he could do however he pleases. That day was just one of those days he just needed to be immune to how he was feeling.

“Ian, I know today happens to be one of the hardest days of your life, but you drinking like this, it won't bring Bianca back, she's gone”, the moment her name left the other man's lips, he felt a piercing pain slicing through him. He was drinking to forget, not to remember.

“Stay away from me”, he warned as he tried to walk away from his brother into the crowd of people, struggling to keep his balance. “Where are this goddamn waiters?”, he slurred at the top of his voice. “I need a fucking drin-”, he was interrupted by Christian grabbing his arm, turning him around to face him again.

“You again?”, he rolled his eyes. “Would you just leave me alone?”

“Is that what you want?”, Christian dared him, and Ian nodded his head

“Fine. Do you Ian. But I won't be around to clean your mess this time. I'm done with you”, he let got of his arm before turning to disappear amongst the crowd.

The last thing Ian remembered was when he tripped on something before he collapsed onto the floor, hitting his head in the process and woke up a few days later in the hospital

“He and Paul are taking a stroll outside, you know how they are”, Alexa shrugged before she stirred the conversation in a different direction, making it about him and Abigail instead

Ian couldn't sit still in his seat as he felt nervous for seeing his brother after such a long time. Minutes later, he saw him walk into the hall alongside their father. Christian stood in his tracks as his eyes landed on his younger brother for a second. Ian noticed his father whisper something to his brother's ear before he hesitated for a while before nodding his head and approached the table again.

He walked directly towards his younger brother, their table kept quiet as they all wanted to see what happened next between the two brothers. Christian stood beside Ian, looking down at him without saying anything and watched the other man stand up to meet his gaze. There was clearly tension as they stood opposite each other.

“Christian”, his voice was croaked out a little, then he saw as his brother's lips curve into a smile before he pulled him in for a heartfelt hug. There were sighs of relief from the family members as the brothers reunited once more. Ian felt tears build up into his eyes as it's been a while since Christian had embraced him, he gave him a pat on the back before finally opening his mouth to speak.

“It's good to have you back, bro”