Chapter 141

Sebastian opened his eyes and looked at her calmly. "What did they say that’s making you so jumpy?"

'He's way too perceptive,' Abigail thought. "Nothing important. Just nonsense," she said quietly.

When she didn't elaborate, Sebastian smiled faintly, "We haven't seen each other for a few days, and now you're being distant with me!"

Abigail unconsciously looked away toward the airplane window.

"What I told you before–won't you at least think about it?" Sebastian asked.

His words made Abigail's body tense up involuntarily. Her heart started beating faster, and she couldn't control it. She told herself she didn't have feelings for Sebastian, but she couldn't explain why she still blushed whenever he said things like that.

"I thought I made myself pretty clear," Abigail said.

"You really won't consider it?" Sebastian pressed.

"I don't date players," Abigail said bluntly.

Sebastian laughed out loud, "What if I could explain?"

"Go ahead. I'm listening." Abigail wasn't really buying it, but she was curious.

When Sebastian heard her casual tone, he cleared his throat. "I doubt you'd believe me even if I told you."

"How can I believe you if you don't even try?" Abigail asked.

Sebastian leaned back in his seat and stayed quiet for a moment before speaking. "What if I told you it's all an act to deal with my family? They're always trying to set me up with women I can't stand, pushing me toward arranged marriages."

"The only way to get them off my back is to trash my reputation so badly that none of their precious society daughters would want me."

That explanation actually made sense to Abigail. Families like his needed strategic marriages to stay powerful and wealthy. But knowing Sebastian's personality, he'd never go along with something like that.

"I guess I could maybe believe that," Abigail said reluctantly.

Sebastian's lips curved into a smile. "So, can you maybe give dating me a shot?"

The moment he brought it up again, Abigail's face started burning. "I need to think about it more."

She put on her eye mask and pretended to fall asleep. But Sebastian wouldn't let it go. "If you have any other questions, just ask. Don't hold back–I won't hide anything from you."

Abigail didn't answer right away. After a long silence, she suddenly said, "Do me a favor. Help me find Clark. I'll give you my answer after I see him."

"Why do you need to find him before you can answer me?" Sebastian studied Abigail's face, but half of it was hidden behind her eye mask. He couldn't figure out why she was making such a strange request.

"He's someone from my past. I need to see him about something," Abigail said calmly.

Sebastian didn't respond. The silence stretched between them, and Abigail had no idea whether he'd agreed or not.

They arrived in Silverdale, Norwick late that night and checked into their reserved hotel.

After getting her room assignment, Abigail realized she wasn't very tired since she'd slept on the plane during the day. Unfortunately, this wasn't back home where they could safely go out and explore at night, so she decided to take a shower instead.

"Let me check the room for surveillance equipment first," Sebastian said, holding up a detection device.

Abigail followed him as he swept the bathroom with the device, making sure there were no hidden cameras. After checking the shower area thoroughly, he told her, "All clear. You can use it safely. I’m going to check your bedroom now."

"Okay." Abigail nodded.

She grabbed her clothes and turned around to see Sebastian carefully checking the corners of the room with a UV light, scanning the bed sheets too. The room was spacious, so Abigail headed to the bathroom first.

While Abigail showered, she wondered if Sebastian was trying to impress her by being so thorough. But he still hadn’t agreed to her request yet.

After her shower, Abigail came out of the bathroom and saw him still checking the room for hidden cameras. She toweled her hair dry and asked, "Still not done?"

"What's wrong, getting tired?" Sebastian asked.

Abigail shook her head and sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked at Sebastian's face and said, "That thing I asked you about on the plane–will you do it?"

"Why do you need to find him? Does it really have to be him?" Sebastian asked calmly.

"Yes." Abigail's expression was determined. "I keep feeling like he's avoiding me, and I don't understand why he'd do that."

Sebastian kept his head down, focused on what he was doing. "Maybe he has good reasons for keeping things from you. If he doesn't want to see you, just pretend you never knew him."

"He's like a teacher to me. I've always wanted to thank him properly, so I can't just pretend I don't know him." Abigail's tone was stubborn.