Chapter 143

Abigail cleared her throat and sat down in a nearby chair. She took a couple more bites and washed them down with water before asking Sebastian, “You still haven’t answered my question from yesterday.”

“Why don’t you ask him if he’s willing to meet with you first? If I just approach him out of nowhere, I might offend him,” Sebastian said, leaning back on the couch with a perfectly serious expression.

Abigail stared at him while chewing her bread. After a moment, she said, “If he was willing to meet me, why would I need your help?”

“That won’t work. He’s in the computer field too, so if I dig around, he’ll spot it right away.”

Sebastian looked into her eyes. “You’re perfectly capable of finding him yourself. Why don’t you just do it?”

“He taught me how to code, so he knows me too well. I think you’d be better suited for this.” Abigail took another sip of water.

“Sorry, but I can’t help you there. Investigating someone who knows this stuff could get me sued. I work in this industry, and if I get dragged into a lawsuit, I could end up in prison.”

Sebastian didn’t want to keep dancing around the subject. Avoiding the topic wasn’t a long–term solution and would only make her more suspicious. Better to just refuse outright.

“Oh, okay,” Abigail said, dropping the subject.

Sebastian caught the disappointment in her eyes and asked casually, “Do you have feelings for him?”

“Not at all. Like I said, I’ve never even met him. Hard to have feelings for someone you’ve never seen.” Abigail explained that she just wanted to meet the person who had helped her.

Clark hadn’t just taught her coding. During the darkest period of her life, he’d been like a lifeline. When she’d nearly died, Clark had arranged for her medical treatment and later got her moved to a different cell.

After that, she was finally able to study. Clark had the supervisor bring her lots of books and let her get hands–on experience with real projects. He seemed to get along really well with everyone in the prison, and because of that, her life gradually got easier.

During Abigail’s last year inside, she worked on tons of different projects. Without that experience, she would have had no idea what the outside world was like–she would have been completely out of touch.

“Then don’t see him,” Sebastian said.

Abigail snapped back to the present when she heard his voice. She turned to look at him, speaking calmly, “If it wasn’t for him, I never would have heard of Halden Group. I never could have worked with you.”

“So you’re saying he’s my matchmaker?” Sebastian looked at her with a slight smile.

“I haven’t said yes to you yet,” Abigail replied seriously.

“Right, so he’s my matchmaker, not yours.” Sebastian nodded matter–of–factly.

Abigail got the feeling he wasn’t really listening to her. Since they were alone anyway, she decided to be completely honest with him. “Ever since I got out of prison, I’ve been awkward and withdrawn. I can write some code, but that’s pretty much all I’m good at.”

She felt like handling relationships was her biggest weakness. “The Gibson family doesn’t like me, and there has to be a reason because I have a terrible personality.”

Sebastian caught the meaning behind her words. It was a polite rejection.

“You blame yourself for other people’s cruelty–is that fair to everything you’ve been through?” Sebastian leaned back against the couch with a mocking smile.

He added, “Even parents who don’t love their biological children might not have emotional bonds because they didn’t raise them, but they wouldn’t send their own flesh and blood to prison.”

Abigail fell silent at that. This was something she could never forgive the Gibson family for.

Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh. “Abigail, the Gibsons are selfish, cruel people with no morals. That has nothing to do with who you are. Even if they’d gotten back a different daughter–someone absolutely perfect–without the right connections, they would have made her take the fall for Daniella too.”

Abigail was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke. “But I… I don’t have feelings for you.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut. Sebastian wasn’t conceited, but hearing that from someone he cared about was brutal. He almost laughed from sheer frustration.

“Look at my face.” Sebastian stared at Abigail, anger creeping into his voice.

Abigail looked up at him, blinking with a completely serious expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Say what you just said again.” Sebastian’s eyes darkened and his face turned serious.

Abigail stared at his earnest expression and her mind wandered for a moment. She had to admit he was incredibly good–looking. Back when she used to follow celebrities, she thought Sebastian had that same classic leading man quality.

He had this rich boy vibe, but when he wore his wire–rimmed glasses and suits, there was something almost dangerously attractive about him.