Abigail was starting to lose count of how many times this man had surprised her. None of her guesses about his next move were correct.
She was taken aback when Sawyer offered her his cell phone, which many consider a private item. And it gets even more unusual, thinking they had only met once, very briefly, and were still strangers to each other.
"Miss Abigail, would you mind stop overthinking and just taking it? I need to move my car—" Sawyer urged, and she reflexively took his phone as the traffic light turned green and the car started moving.
"Alright. Thank you, sir," she said, smiling at him. However, his following words caught her off guard.
"You seem to forget my name, Miss Abigail," Sawyer remarked, feeling old when she referred to him as 'sir' or 'mister.'
"Ah, sorry. Thank you, Mr. Sawyer," she apologized, turning her attention to his latest iPhone. She was completely unaware of his sour smile. But the phone wouldn't open. She looked at him again, "I need to scan your face, sir…"
Sawyer didn't respond immediately as he drove through the busy road. After a few more minutes, he finally glanced at her.
"Okay, now—" Sawyer began, turning to her, and she promptly held the phone up to his face. She had to do it twice, as she almost hit Sawyer's face the first time.
"Thank you, sir—" Abigail said, casually forgetting to call his name again.
Sawyer simply shook his head and ignored her.
Abigail quickly checked the train schedule. A few minutes later, her face darkened as she discovered the next train was scheduled to depart at 12:10 PM and arrive in the city at nearly 1:00 PM.
She was in trouble now. Her cell phone battery was dead, and she couldn't contact Lana to inform her about the delay.
Sawyer was curious about the outcome of her train schedule browsing. Still, Abigail said nothing and did not return his phone. He glanced at her quickly and was surprised to see the worry reflected in her expression.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Abigail turned to him and said, "You are right, Mr. Sawyer. No trains are available now. The closest one departs at twelve-ten."
A faint smile graced her worried face before she continued, "It looks like my luck had been entirely drained today. I likely will lose my opportunity to get a new job."
Abigail shrugged, showing despair.
Her words made Sawyer feel bad, especially when he remembered what had happened to her yesterday on the rooftop. Her fiancé had betrayed her, and now that he was meeting her again, he noticed she was still wearing the same clothes. Did this mean she didn't have a place to go?
'Abigail, what happened to you? Do I need to ask Ethan to investigate your life further?' He wondered.
Once more, his curiosity and excitement about her kicked in hard. Still, he also worried he might've gone too far and become her stalker. He was puzzled.
***
The train station was just a few meters ahead. Sawyer felt guilty if he didn't help her again.
Tightening his grip on the steering wheel, he glanced at her.
"If you want, instead of riding the train and late, you can ride with me, Miss Abigail. I'm heading to the city anyway."
Abigail was no longer surprised to hear his offer. This man never failed to amaze her with his unpredictable offer. She immediately nodded to accept it.
"Yes, thank you so much, Mr. Sawyer," Abigail said. How could she refuse his offer? Even though it would take three hours to arrive, it would still be faster than taking the next train.
Sawyer said nothing. His mind was still busy thinking about what had happened to her.
"Your phone, Mr. Sawyer," Abigail handed over his phone. But Sawyer didn't accept it, confusing her.
"Would you mind typing your cell phone number and saving it in my phone's contact?" he calmly asked.
Abigail slightly frowned but didn't ask further. This man had already helped her three times, and his gentleness made her not feel anxious being around him. So, she accepted his request, typed her number, and saved it immediately.
"Do you still remember your vow? That you owe me your life?"
"Y-Yes…" Abigail muttered, puzzled by his question. Did he want to claim it now?
He glanced at her briefly before saying, "That's why I asked you if I may save your number. So I could call you if I need to collect your debt."
Abigail was lost for words; she could only silently nod. He was indeed correct. How could he collect the debt if they didn't connect through a phone number?
"Thank you, Mr. Sawyer. Thank you for all your help," Abigail expressed her gratitude. However, this time, she didn't make any vow to repay his kindness.
Abigail learned from her mistakes; she would not make those vows again. Her previous debt was already hard to repay.
Now, she could only blame a specific person in the capital because her anger at him made her mind not work correctly, and she ignorantly made such a vow.
Before long, the car was speeding on the freeway. No one spoke. As the vehicle was soundproof, the quiet grew thicker.
Abigail sank with her Grandma's condition. She felt worried now because her cell phone was not active. What if there was bad news from the hospital? And Nurse Rosa couldn't contact her?
She glanced at her watch several times to check their estimated arrival. However, they were still far from the destination, and knowing they were not even halfway there worried her.
When she was still sinking into her thoughts, Sawyer's voice suddenly brought her back.
"Miss Abigail, earlier you asked me why I'm in town?"
Abigail glanced at him with a thin frown on her forehead. She remembered her suspicious question at the bus stop—she thought this man was stalking her.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, Mr. Sawyer. I don't mean being too nosy about your business," she felt terrible.
Sawyer chuckled for the first time as he turned his gaze back to the street.
"I'm not offended. I just wanted to let you know I came here yesterday for work. I was supposed to return in the evening but was too tired to drive back three hours to the city," Sawyer explained calmly.
However, inwardly, he found it unbelievable. Why did he need to explain this to her?