Chapter 33: You Can’t Speak?

Chapter 33: You Can’t Speak? Abigail barely registered the impact of the collision until she felt herself stumbling backward. Her breath hitched as a strong hand instinctively reached out to steady her. Heart pounded as she lifted her head, ready to apologize. Then she saw him. The world seemed to freeze as time stopped. Jamal. Her eyes widened in shock, disbelief flooding her system like ice. Was she seeing things? Was this a trick of her exhausted mind? Her gaze darted over his face— sharp jawline, familiar warm brown eyes, the shape of his lips— everything was the same, yet... different. His hair had changed. It wasn’t blonde like before. She almost convinced herself she was mistaken. Maybe she was just desperately clinging to memories that refused to fade. But then he spoke. "Are you alright?" His voice was gentle, just as she remembered. A sharp breath escaped her lips. That voice. She would recognize it anywhere. It had been years, but it still had the same effect on her—soothing yet overwhelming, like an old song she had once loved but hadn’t been able to listen to for too long. How could she be running into him this way in Husla of all places? She had just thought about him as she always did less than two hours ago and here she was standing in front of him. What manner of coincidence was this? "Miss? Are you alright?" Stefan questioned when she didn’t say anything and merely stared at Jamal with a shocked expression. Her gaze darted to Stefan, still dazed but she nodded, still unable to believe she was standing in front of him. "You need to be more careful," Stefan’s voice cut in, his tone firm. Jamal glanced between them before shaking his head slightly. "It’s fine, Stef," he said to Stefan. "Let her be. She was probably in haste to catch a flight and I was on her way." "Still you could have gotten hurt. Are you alright?" Stefan asked with concern. Jamal gave him a pointed look to drop it. "I’m alright. Let’s go." Then, before Abigail could process what was happening, Jamal turned to leave. Abigail’s heart pounded in her ears. No. She couldn’t just let him walk away. Not now. Not after she had found him again. What were the chances of this happening? If she let him go now, would she ever find him again? The least she could do was know who the father of her son was. She wondered if she should speak to him or sign. She looked around the place, wanting to see if any of Ryan’s spies were around. Not wanting to take any chances she decided to sign or use her phone to be on the safe side. Then, before she could change her mind or lose sight of him, she ran after him. Jamal was already some steps away when she reached out and tapped his arm. He stopped abruptly, looking back in surprise to see that she had followed him. Hadn’t she been in a hurry? He mused. "What’s wrong?" Stefan’s voice was sharp with confusion but Jamal raised a hand to stop him. She shook her head quickly, her throat tightening. Jamal studied her for a moment, frowning. "You..." He hesitated, then asked, "You can’t speak?" She nodded. His expression softened, but just a little, but there was something else in his eyes— something unreadable. When he first saw her just now he had thought she seemed familiar in a way and now that he knew she couldn’t speak the feeling of familiarity sort of increased or rather made sense. Did he sort of have a muteness detector now? Perhaps he had felt she seemed familiar because she was mute and reminded him of Abigail in a way. "If you can’t speak, you can sign. Do you need something?" he asked, and she stared at him, stunned. He could sign now? He learned? Pushing the thought aside, she quickly lifted her hands. [Can you understand sign language?] She signed since the first time they met she knew he couldn’t. Stefan watched the exchange between them with a frown, wondering why the girl was interrupting when they should be getting on the plane. Jamal nodded. "Yes. I learned," he said, and her breath caught. For a brief second, something flickered inside her chest. She wondered— had he learned it because of her? Something warm settled in her chest, but she forced herself to focus. [That’s nice,] she signed, then hesitated before adding, [Can I... have your number?] Jamal stared at her, eyes narrowing slightly, as if he were trying to figure her out. "Why?" He asked, and Stefan raised a brow. "What does she want?" He asked, but Jamal’s attention was focused on Abigail. Why? Abigail asked herself as her gaze flickered to his fingers, wondering what the best response to that question would be. She wasn’t sure if he was married or in a relationship so she couldn’t outrightly say she wanted to text him or talk to him or even reveal anything until she knew if he was still single. The last thing she wanted was to cause any problems in his relationship. He deserved better. [Are you married or in a relationship?] she asked instead. What sort of question was that? Was she always this bold? Were mute girls always this confident? Jamal pondered. His lips pressed together as memories of the past with Abigail came rushing through him like an uninvited storm. The way she had treated him. The way she had shut him out after he had thought what they shared that night was special. His jaw tightened. "I don’t give out personal information about myself to random people. I can’t answer your question or give you my number," he said abruptly. His voice was cold and final, startling Abigail. Her fingers twitched, but she couldn’t move them. She couldn’t sign anything. "If you don’t mind, I’m in a hurry," he said, and before she could react, his phone rang. Jamal took it out and glanced at the screen. Brenda, one of Lucy’s daughters. His expression softened instantly. He answered the call, his voice warm in a way that sent a sharp pang through Abigail’s chest. She watched as his lips curled into a small smile, as he chuckled at something Brenda said on the other end. "Hey, baby," he said, and without another glance at her, he walked away, still talking on the phone. Stefan gave Abigail a long questioning look. "You didn’t bump into us on purpose because you know who he is, right?" He asked, taking out his wallet, "Do you want money?" Abigail didn’t spare Stefan a glance. She merely stood there, unmoving, her heart sinking as she watched Jamal go. She had found him. And lost him all over again.