章節 4: Next
Abigail was busy the entire day in the orphanage. However, that man, that mystifying, outrageously gorgeous Mr. Qinn's face still popped occasionally in her head. Strangely, she couldn't completely take him off her mind no matter busy she was.
The road home was pretty empty at this time, but ice had already covered the roads so she was driving cautiously. Their house was also located near a protected national park, so she was now travelling across a forested area.
Out of the blue, a deer run across the road in front of her. She instinctively stepped on the brake pedal but it seemed she was a little too late!
Tires squealed as she swerved and thankfully, she avoided hitting the deer. But then, she heard a loud deafening thud. Her car crashed into something – into another car.
The car she hit screeched towards the right and it hit the tree by the roadside.
Trembling, Abigail did her best to calm herself by taking deep breaths. Thankfully, she wasn't harmed.
When her breathing stabled, she rushed out of her car. Her mind was reeling, praying that the person inside the car she hit was safe.
As she approached, the car's door opened. An old man came out and relief washed over her as he didn't seem to be hurt. Thank god!
"Are you okay? I'm so sorry… I was trying to avoid hitting the deer and this happened." Abigail was panicking as she apologized.
The old man just sighed, creasing his brows upon seeing the damaged car. Abi somehow calmed down when she noticed that the old man seemed carefree and not that worried at all. But the moment she followed his line of sight and saw what kind of car was before her, Abigail's jaw dropped.
The car she had hit was a handsome black luxury car. Oh my god!
Abigail almost felt like her blood drained out of her.
The old man walked around the car and opened the door to the back passenger seat.
"Sir, what are we gonna do about this? The car is pretty damaged." he said.
Abigail quickly rushed towards him and when she saw a man's figure in the back seat, who was being addressed by the old man as 'sir', Abigail immediately apologized. "I'm so sorry. I was trying to avoid hitting a deer so…" she trailed off, recognizing the man's face. "M-mr Qinn?"
The man in the back passenger seat, who was lazily leaning his head on the headrest with his eyes closed, finally moved. He opened his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Yellow…" Mr. Qinn mumbled upon seeing her. He stepped out and when he saw the awful damage to his car, the man casually leaned on the car's door, as he returned his gaze to her. He was wearing a long black coat and he was simply breathtaking.
"U-uhm… M-mr. Qinn! I'm so sorry! I tried to –"
"Avoid hitting the deer." He took the words out of her mouth. His voice was as deep and pleasant to the ears as she remembered.
"Yes, that's right. I wasn't speeding, please believe me."
"Why are you always wearing yellow scarves?" he suddenly asked.
Aby blinked before she answered him. "Because I have many yellow scarves at home."
"Oh," The corner of his lips lifted. "You love the color yellow, huh?"
"Yes, and my mother loved the sight of yellow scarves on me so she made a lot of it."
"Hmm… indeed, your mother is right. A yellow scarf suits you."
Abigail didn't know why but her heart skipped a beat. But wait… are they really going to talk about her yellow scarf in this situation?!
"Uhm... I'm sure your luxurious car has insurance, right, Mr. Qinn?" she finally managed to ask.
"No. I don't do insurance." His nonchalant reply caused Abigail's mouth to drop open.
What? Was he serious? Could that even be possible?
She stared at him, anticipating a hint of jest, but he maintained his seriousness, sending her heart racing. Shifting her gaze nervously to the chauffeur, Abigail's body nearly turned catatonic as he too nodded solemnly at her. Oh god...
"Uhm… I… h-how much do you think the cost will be to repair the damage to your car?" she swallowed while Mr. Qinn just smirked, looking so amused as he watched her fidgeting due to her nervousness.
"Mr. Jones, how much do you think this will cost to fix?" he asked his chauffer.
"This damage might cost a hundred thousand dollars." the old man replied, and Abigail felt like her blood had instantly dried up. She was so shocked she couldn't speak for a long while.
"Uhm… Mr. Qinn, about this… I... I…" Abi was stammering. She really didn't know what to do with this.
"You really are amusing, Miss Lee. You didn't look this pale and troubled when you offered yourself to me. I think your sense of danger is pretty messed up, little lamb." He said, showing her his breathtaking, wicked smirk again.
Somehow, what he said seemed to have some truth to it. To her, this was indeed far scarier than what she did that night.
Just as she felt like her brain was about to burst, a thought suddenly popped in her head.
She moved closer to him and looked up at him with her big, clear eyes. "Mr. Qinn, do you pay your contracted girlfriends?" she asked innocently but firmly. She was so damn serious and extremely determined as she looked at him.
The man raised a brow upon seeing the intensity in her eyes. "And why are you asking?"
Abigail fell silent for a moment. When she opened her mouth to answer, someone spoke first.
"You already know what she's trying to say. I don't understand why you're refusing such an offer from a cute lady like her."
When Abi turned to look at the source of the voice, she saw Mr. Black Leather Jacket standing on the other side of the black car. He was resting his chin on his palm as he watched them.
The moment Abi met his eyes, the man smiled. "Hello, Miss Lee. Actually, you're right. He compensates his contracted girlfriends… by a LOT." He grinned and Abigail immediately snapped towards the gorgeous man right in front of her.
For a moment, she saw Mr. Qinn throwing deathly glares towards Mr. Black Leather Jacket but it immediately disappeared, like it was just an illusion, the moment he stared back at her.
"Mr. Qinn, I want to be your next contracted girlfriend." She declared. Her voice was as decisive as ever. There was no hesitation in her eyes at all.
A smirk carved on Mr. Qinn's face.
Reaching out, he lifted her chin with his cool finger as he spoke. "So that you can pay for the damage to my car?" he asked, his voice sounding dangerous again, chilly even.
Before she could respond, he added, "If I tell you that I forgive you and you don't need to pay for anything, you won't offer yourself again like this?"
Abigail blinked. Stunned. But she was quick to realize that this was just a 'what if' scenario he was describing. Could he be testing her resolve? Abigail tried to search for something in his eyes, trying to see if he was serious or just kidding, but it was just so impossible to decipher his expressions that all she could rely on was her gut feeling. She didn't know why, but she just felt like there was both interest and disapproval coming from him as he look to her.
"If you forgive me, I'd really really appreciate it. But I'd still want to be your girlfriend." Abigail didn't falter and still insisted on what she wanted.
The man was speechless for a while.
"Tell me, little lamb, why do you want to be my girlfriend that badly?" he asked, his eyes probing.
She shrugged innocently and questioned him instead of answering. "Tell me, Mr. Qinn, why are you resisting me that badly?"
A laughter echoed. "Nice comeback, Miss Lee!" Mr. Black Leather Jacket exclaimed, grinning widely as he watched them with great interest. But the two were so focused on each other that they didn't even seem to hear the third wheel's voice.
"I don't understand why you are refusing to try me, Mr. Qinn." Abigail bravely said. She was speaking to him so confidently, even though deep within her, she was the one being surprised by herself the most. Perhaps, the almost outrageous praises she was always receiving from her family and Kelly about her beauty was boosting her confidence? She didn't know. She really had no idea that she could even talk like this. Since meeting this man, she just kept on doing things she had never done before.
Mr. Qinn just stared at her, his eyes unreadable as he continued to gaze at her with probing intensity. Bu then, a soft, seemingly enchanting chuckle erupted from him. But it didn't escape her that his laughter didn't reach his eyes.
He leaned towards her, not breaking their eye contact. His enchanting face loomed closer, so close that his breath drifted over her face, causing her to hold her breath.
"Abigail Lee…" he uttered her complete name. "I remember when you said you'll show me how attractive you can be. So I might as well give you a chance to at least prove yourself." His smirk was wicked as his fingers played with her yellow scarf again. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't read anything from him at all; his wicked smirks, his enchanting chuckles, his beautiful icy eyes—they were not giving anything away, not even a tiny glimpse of his thoughts.
"Yes. I'll show you." she said, her chin up confidently, showing him all her intensity and determination, causing the man to sigh in surrender.
"Alright, you go back in your car now, daredevil little lamb, or you'll cause another accident by leaving your car in the middle of the road like that." He finally released her from the force of his gaze before shifting his eyes towards Abi's car.
"Oops!" she gasped and immediately rushed towards her car. But before she opened her car door, she paused and looked over her shoulder.
"Uhm wait, how about…" Abigail trailed off. It was because the luxurious car was already back on the road with Mr. Black Leather Jacket behind the wheel this time.
"Are you sure your car can manage to send you home?" she asked, and Mr. Black Leather Jacket smiled at her.
"Don't worry, Miss, this car is tough." he said loudly.
Shifting her gaze towards Mr. Qinn, Abi strode back to him. "Wait, please give me your number."
When the man raised his hand, silently signaling for her phone, Abigail promptly handed it over.
"I'll send you a message with the specifics of where and when," he informed her, returning her phone.
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