Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?

Sherilyn swiped her phone awake, her eyes landing on Edgar's message first.

"Sherilyn, I'll sort things out at home. It's okay if you don't want to talk to me right now. I'll prove to you that I'm not giving up on you." NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.

After reading, Sherilyn closed her eyes for a moment. She was touched by Edgar's persistence yet saddened by it.

What did she have that made her worth such effort?

She exited the chat with Edgar without replying. Not getting a response might make Edgar give up. Ending it now would be the least painful for him.

Then, she opened Gilbert's chat.

"Sherilyn, I saw Edgar. Are you okay?"

Her brows furrowed after reading. How had he seen Edgar? Hadn't he left? Did he go back? Why would he go back? There was more than one message from him.

"I found your hair tie in my car. I'll bring it back to you."

So that was it. Sherilyn touched her wrist, noticing her hair tie was indeed missing. She typed a response.

"It's just a hair tie. You can throw it away."

At that moment, Gilbert was sitting in his car, parked at the entrance of Twilight Trail, holding a burgundy hair tie adorned with a few faux pearl beads in his hand. Seeing Sherilyn's reply, he glanced at the hair tie and muttered, "Throw it away?"

He picked up his phone, replying, "I'm at the trailhead. I can drop it off, no trouble."

Sherilyn quickly replied, "It's fine. Besides, I'm not at Serenity Street right now."

Not at Serenity Street? Gilbert's heart skipped, realizing Sherilyn might be avoiding Edgar. Was that why she wasn't home?

A small smile appeared on his lips, accompanied by an unexpected surge of excitement.

"Where are you then?"

"At a friend's."

That was all she said, no further details. Gilbert pondered if asking more would annoy Sherilyn. Better not to push. Even if he knew where she was, what then?

"Alright, got it."

He put down his phone, rolled down the car window, and reached out, holding the hair tie. There was a trash bin right by the road; a simple flick would dispose of it. Yet, after a two-second pause, Gilbert pulled back, caressing the hair tie gently, ultimately unable to part with it.

He drove off, stopping when he reached TeeMall. Gilbert got out and headed straight for the women's boutique.

The staff at TeeMall lit up at the sight of Mr. Johnson. The big boss himself had graced them with his presence! They quickly summoned the manager to assist him.

"Mr. Johnson, what brings you here today?"

The manager greeted him with a broad smile. "Anything you need?"

"Just the right time." Gilbert rubbed his temples, overwhelmed by the vast array of women's accessories. He held out the hair tie, "Do you have anything like this?"

"Let's see..." The manager examined the hair tie closely, "We have similar ones, but not an exact match."

"Let me see them."

"Right away." The manager quickly had an assortment brought to Gilbert. Laid out before him was a selection to choose from.

"Hmm." Gilbert nodded, inspecting each one carefully, eventually choosing the closest match.

"I'll take this one."

"Would you like it gift-wrapped?"

"No need." he replied.

Wrapping it would make it seem too formal. How would he even present it? Sherilyn would probably refuse it.

"Just like this is fine."