Chapter 14

The rain outside made it hard for Abigail to hear what the lecturer was talking about. It also evoked fatigue, which made her want to curl up in her chair and fall asleep.

With nothing but the doodling on her page to keep her awake, Abigail allowed her mind to drift towards Theodore and how supportive he had been for the past week. He barely left her side when neither of them was busy, and though that wasn’t regular, it warmed her heart how much he really cared for her.

They still had their dance sessions, but before or after, Theodore would engage her in deep conversation about anything random, even the weather. A smile pulled on her lips as her eyes drifted to the dark skies outside, and she imagined what he would’ve said to her if he had been there. It oddly made Abigail yearn to be near him again, even though today was the busiest for them both.

She had no idea why Mondays were always considered busy days. Was it being punished for being directly behind Sunday, which, for most people, is a resting day? Or perhaps, it was its nature that made people more productive. Abigail shrugged as she dismissed the thought.

It wasn’t that important.

“Ms Turner?” Abigail was snapped from her thoughts by the lecturer’s voice, and she quickly whipped her head in his direction.

“Yes, Mr Whisley?” She adjusted the glasses on the bridge of her nose and straightened her back as the entire class gazed at her. Luckily, this wasn’t high school, so they only stared for two seconds before minding their own businesses again.

“You are usually more focused in my class,” the old man pointed out. “Is everything okay?”

Abigail nodded with a fake smile plastered on her face. “Everything is fine, Professor Whisley. Thank you.” Everything only seemed fine because Theodore ensured that she was okay. Najay had been coming around less in fear that Nicholas would follow her, and so he was all she had for now.

Within the span of a week, she had been to three different hotels on Theodore’s terms, as he believed it was safer for her that way. He still didn’t know the entire story behind Nicholas, but he had been supportive nonetheless.

Professor Whisley didn’t seem too convinced with Abigail’s reply but decided against taking up more of the class’s time. Abigail was relieved, of course, since she hated being the centre of any attention unless she was Kitten.

It was the effect of living three lives.

The next half hour went by quicker than Abigail anticipated. Still, she was grateful considering how desperate she was to get home, or to the hotel, rather, and fall asleep.

It was a few minutes past eight p.m. when the class ended. Professor Whisley announced the dates for the exams and the pages for revision as they filed out one by one. Abigail was the last to leave as she slowly strolled through the door with her bag perched on her shoulder, scrolling through her messages from Najay, her aunt and, of course, Theodore.

But as she moved down the dimly lit corridor, a message popped up on her screen from an unknown number; Abigail’s heart slammed against her chest as she read it.

*Hey, Beautiful. I finally found you,* it read, and Abigail instantly knew who it was.

Panic gnawed at her chest as she glanced around the hall in paranoia. The rain was still beating furiously against the roof, and a few people lingered around, either catching up or walking just like her.

Her fingers trembled as she scrolled through her contacts. Her feet moved faster on instinct until she didn’t even know she was in the rain dashing for the exit. She had been trying to find Theodore’s number. But even after scrolling past his name five times, her mind was far too unstable to focus on a single number.

Then, out of nowhere, large hands grabbed onto her shoulders, halting her from moving any further into the dark night. She screamed and fought furiously, believing that it was Nicholas who had grabbed onto her. It was only when her captor spoke that Abigail finally calmed down.

“Abigail! It’s me. Take it easy,” Theodore shouted over the rain, but his voice was still soft and soothing. Abigail instantly froze as she whipped her head towards him. Without thinking, she flung herself into his arms and snaked hers around his waist.

The gesture took Theodore by shock. Over the week, she had gotten quite comfortable with him touching her, like holding her hand or rubbing her shoulder. But this was probably the first she had openly embraced him like this.

He instantly knew something was wrong, and he grew defensive. First, she was dashing through the rain like someone was chasing her, and now, she was holding onto him for dear life while shaking like a leaf. It could be the rain that made her cold and caused the shiver. But Theodore believed it was something else.

“What’s wrong?” he finally asked as he slowly led her to his car. Luckily, he drove his BMW with leather warming seat cushions.

Abigail wrung the water from her hair as Theodore rounded the car to join her on the other side. She felt awful for ruining his car with water like this, but her mind was completely gone when she ran out into the rain.

“What happened?” Theodore asked again. He instantly switched on the engine and got all the warmers running before grabbing his jacket from the back seat to hand to her.

Abigail sniffled. She hadn’t even realised she was crying until then. “I… um. I was leaving class when I got a message from Nicholas.”

“What?” Theodore didn’t know what he was expecting, but he surely wasn’t expecting this. “Are you sure it was him?”

Abigail nodded. “He said he found me, so I panicked. I didn’t know you were here.”

“Well.” He sighed as he reached over to brush the tears and raindrops from her face. “I knew you were tired as you always are on Mondays. So I decided to pick you up. I sent you a message.”

“Oh, I didn’t see it,” Abigail admitted. She was too busy running for what she believed was her life.

“That’s okay. You’re safe now. You’re coming home with me tonight,” Theodore decided as he backed out of the parking lot.

However, this only caused Abigail to panic. “What if he’s here at the school? He’ll follow us, and then he’ll know that where you are, I’ll be there too, and then I’ll lose your company like how I lost Najay—”

Abigail stopped talking instantly as she was otherwise occupied by trying to keep herself from hitting the dashboard since Theodore made a sudden stop. She glared at him as her already budding headache increased because of the jerk-up.

“You are not losing me, Abigail. I promised to keep you safe, and that is exactly what I am going to do, you hear me? Every day until we figure this out.”

Abigail stared at him speechless.

“And I have known Nicholas for years. Not personally, but we’ve talked. I am not afraid of him. So, you’re staying with me tonight. I’ll call the hotel and cancel the reservation.”

“Okay,” Abigail mumbled, defeated. “I still have to check out of Holiday Inn Express and collect my stuff.”

“I already arranged to get your things; they’re in the back,” Theodore said as if it was nothing.

Stunned, Abigail glanced behind her seat to the back, and indeed, her bags and books were safely sitting there. She stared at him with no words as he drove onto the main road. He was always thinking one step ahead. He was always thinking about her and her safety.

A horrible thought invaded her mind for a quick second, suggesting that Theodore was probably working with Nicholas. They are both wealthy, influential people, after all. But with another glance in his direction, Abigail knew not to feed her paranoia.

Theodore was the first man to gain her trust in so long. What she felt for him couldn’t be wrong.

What did she feel? The question was suddenly flashing before her eyes like a banner. Did she feel anything for him? The thought both excited and scared her. Yes, at times when he made her laugh or made her feel safe, she considered the possibility. However, it was the first time she thought about it deeply.

As if it wasn’t bad enough, her jumbled mind only caused her headache to worsen, but it helped stir her thoughts away from her ex, too, so she was grateful for the distraction.

Before she noticed, they were in the parking lot of Theodore’s home. It was still raining cats and dogs out there, but it wasn’t as hard as when they left the university. Theodore grabbed an umbrella from under his seat and collected Abigail’s bags from the back before going for her.

They rushed towards the entrance together , but Abigail still glanced around for any familiar faces—such as Nicholas’s.

The lobby was warm and welcoming. Abigail almost moaned as the hot air welcomed them. She was dying to get out of the wet clothes, and so was Theodore.

He nodded at the doorman as he led Abigail through the lobby. But as they took the corner that led to the elevator, Abigail spotted a man with dirty-blonde hair sitting in a chair with a newspaper covering his face, and her heart stopped.

She gasped in fright and halted Theodore’s walking as she pointed at the man with shaky hands.

“It’s… It’s him,” she cried. “He found us. We have to go.” With that, she spun on her heels, ready to dash for the exit, but Theodore held her put.

“Who, Nicholas?” Theodore whispered as he glanced between her and the man she was pointed at. He squinted his eyes at the man. Indeed, he looked like Nicholas Brown.

Abigail couldn’t find her voice, so she simply nodded.

“Wait here,” Theodore mumbled before moving towards the man. Abigail’s heart slammed against her chest as she peered around her, thinking that he might’ve brought backup.

Theodore towered over the man and grabbed the paper that was covering his face. But he instantly sighed in relief and frustration when he recognised the face behind the paper, and Abigail stood awestruck as well.

“I’m sorry, Owen. My friend thought you were someone else,” Theodore explained to the stunned and insulted man. He handed Owen back his paper as Abigail shuffled towards Theodore, feeling stupid and paranoid.

Being the understanding man he was, Owen took one glance at Abigail and saw how scared she was and simply nodded.

“Say hi to Amy for me,” Theodore added as he dismissed the awkward moment.

Owen went back to reading his paper, and Theodore led Abigail to the elevator.

They rode in silence all the way up until they were once again in the warm comfort of Theodore’s penthouse. Theodore knew that Angela had already left after doing the laundry, so they were all alone.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of the wet clothes,” he simply said.

Abigail followed him towards the guest room, where he checked if she had everything she needed before leaving, but Abigail grabbed onto his hand before he stepped out.

“I’m sorry. I caused you to be rude to that man you obviously know, which was humiliating. I’m just so…” Her lips quivered again, and she hated that she had cried so many times in one night.

She was stronger than this—at least she thought she was. But obviously, she was still very much terrified of Nicholas. The entire situation even caused her to consider going back to therapy.

Theodore sighed as he stared at the broken, beautiful woman in front of him. She misunderstood his mood entirely, and he wanted to make himself clear. “Abigail, I’m not upset with you. Owen is a resident here. He has a beautiful family and a wife who makes the best apple pie.” He chuckled a little in hopes to lighten her spirit. “But he’s cool. You don’t have to feel embarrassed for being scared. I’m sorry for making you feel like I was mad at you. I’m mad, but at that bastard Nicholas who caused this in the first place. But as long as you’re with me, you’re safe, okay?”

Abigail kept her eyes on the floor until Theodore tilted her head upwards.

“Okay?” he repeated, at which she nodded. “Good. Now please get rid of these wet clothes. I’ll do the same and make us some coffee, okay?”

She nodded again without saying anything.

As Abigail took a warm shower, she thought about everything Theodore had done and how supportive and patient he had been towards her. She decided that it was probably time to get the truth out. Maybe then, he’d be better able to help her. She told him only a portion of the story when Najay brought her to the hotel. But he had no idea of the depths that this all went, and as much as he didn’t ask, Abigail could tell that he was dying to know more.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make. Only Najay knew the whole story, and that’s because she lived through half of it with Abigail. But now, to relive it all through a story was just about the same torture. But Theodore had done so much for her and will obviously continue doing so. The least she could do was be honest with him.

And with that thought, Abigail wrapped the robe around her pyjamas and pulled her hair in a bed bun before leaving the room to find Theodore.

Her mind was made up.