Chapter 3 LOST AND FOUND

The man's gaze was still fixed in the direction Auria and her sister had disappeared into, his eyes still burning with anger and embarrassment.

"Hello, sir." The cashier's voice broke the spell, calling out to him. "Are you ready to pay, sir?"

He turned back to the lady with a nod,, as she began to ring up his purchases, which was just a soda, a cookie and the chocolate bar he'd snatched up from Auria.

As he waited, he spotted something that caught his attention. It was a portable, black purse lying on the ground, as he bent down, picking it up.

He asked the people nearby if it belonged to them, but no one claimed it.

"Then it must be for that crazy lady!" He grumbled to himself, exhaling sharply as something within him made him decide to return it to her, despite his lingering anger.

And that is, if she hadn't gone to far, which he felt as well.

The cashier finished processing his purchases as he made his payment. "Sir, what about the 30 pesos the lady gave you?" The woman asked, as he glared with a dangerous glint that made her tremble slightly under his gaze. "You take it." He then replied, as the lady nervously laughed. "But.."

"It's not a charity issue. " He cut her off. "Please don't mind what the lady said earlier. She's just.. crazy."

"Alright, sir." The cashier smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

She handed him his items as he headed for the elevator in the distance.

Meanwhile.

Auria and her sister stepped out of the store, as her phone rang in the grocery bag. She reached for it, answering, "Hello?"

"Hey, girls." Her mom's voice was on the other end. "What's taking you so long? It's getting late. 5 PM already, and you know how traffic can be? Plus, it seems like it's going to rain."

"Mom, relax, we'll be fine. It was quite eventful here. "Auria replied shortly. "But we're on our way."

"Alright, darling." Her mom said. "Just update me, and take care. We're waiting for you guys."

"Sure."

The call ended and she slipped the phone back into the grocery bag, when she suddenly realized she couldn't find her purse.

"I'll go get the driver. " Penny then said, turning to Auria. "He just told me he's parked a little far away."

"Okay, I'll wait here." Auria nodded, still searching for her purse. "What is it, Aurie?" Penny asked, noticing her sister's frantic search. "My purse, I'm just looking for it. But go ahead and get the driver here." She urged and Penny left.

Just as she kept searching every cranny of the bag, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder as she turned around to see the man from earlier. Her expression instantly turned sour as she felt a surge of annoyance overwhelm her.

"What are you doing here? Want to argue some more?"

The man held up his finger on his lips. "Shh!" He said calmly. "You complain too much."

"You-" Auria frowned, wanting to argue more with him when he interrupted her.

"Listen..." He began, presenting the purse in front of her. "This is yours, right?"

Auria glanced at the purse and instantly shook her head without taking a proper look. "No, it's not mine. Stop bothering me." She said, turning her face away.

"You sure?" He asked, looking at her seriously as she didn't respond, not turned to him either. "Are you sure?!" He asked once more, this time parading the purse close to her face as she slapped his hands off, glaring at him. "What's your problem?!"

"Just making sure you're sure it's yours." He said, a taunting smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"Would you just get out of my face!" Was her reply, taking a few steps forward and away from him. The man only nodded and walked back into the building.

When he was finally gone, Auria's conscience started to bother her and next, it dawned on her that she was just looking for her purse a moment ago before he came.

Oh, she'd been so consumed by her anger, she forgot the most important thing, her purse. She checked her grocery bag once more, and was reminded her purse was indeed missing as she turned around, but the man was already gone.

Just then, Penny returned. "The car's ready, Aurie." She said, then paused when she noticed the same frantic look on her face. "What happened?"

"Like I expected, my purse was missing and that annoying man is with it!" Auria explained, pouting.

**

"Antony gifted you that purse, Auria. How could you be careless?" Penny scolded as the sisters headed for the elevator when they returned back to the store.

"I know, but I just couldn't help myself." Auria sighed, as she vented. "Seeing that man's face again was so annoying!"

"That's not an excuse, Aurie, and it's still your purse. "Penny retaliated, her tone still very much reprimanding. "Also, he clearly asked if you owned it, so you should've checked properly!"

"Alright, alright, Penny, I know I did wrong. Please stop scolding me." Auria turned to her pleadingly as Penny sighed, nodding her head. "Alright, I'll let you go this time. So how did you lose it?"

"It perhaps fell off the grocery bag." Auria replied, when she recognised the tall figure from the distance as soon as they left the lift. "That's him." She screamed, pointing in his direction.

"Heading for the 'Lost and Found'." Penny added as they ran towards him.

The man had gone further into the hall just when the ladies finally reached the 'Lost and Found'. Penny suggested they split ways in case any of them bumped into him, as Auria nodded.

The Lost and Found section filled with shelves upon shelves of misplaced items. Forsaken umbrellas leaning against the walls, and baskets overflowed with single earrings, phone chargers, and even forgotten snacks.

Auria's eyes searched around the space as she turned a corner, her eyes finally landing on the broad back of the man in front of her.

She took a deep breath, walking towards him.

"Hey!!" She exclaimed, but managed to keep her voice low and even. "Okay so, that purse is actually mine."

"So?" The man, however, stood casually, his hands tucked into his pockets, and a smug smile played on his lips. "Oh well, too late." He replied, his tone annoyingly lighthearted that it seemed like a friendly conversation.

Noticing the purse in his hand, Auria tried to reach for it. "Please just give me my purse."

"I said it's too late now." His smile widened as he suddenly held it up high, taunting her with it, with eyes glinting in amusement.

"Besides, you clearly said it wasn't yours after asking you a few times, right?"

"I didn't think it was mine. I thought it was somebody else's." Auria tried to defend herself but he shook his head adamantly. "No matter what you say, woman, to me it's not yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll drop this with the attendant over there." He said, turning around to leave but she blocked him. "That's unnecessary when I'm already here!"

"Not unnecessary to me. If you really are the owner of this purse, then you should do well and not be careless."

"But you really don't have to do this!" Auria tried negotiating calmly with him. "You could just hand it over to me and get it over with."

"Well, it would come with a price." The man smugly replied.

"A price?!" Auria exclaimed, earning a firm nod from him.