When Owen returned with the handbag, the lights in the train carriage had come back on. This time it was Monica's turn to comfort Beth. Her friends were there too—and now, there was one more stunning woman in the group.
The woman suggested, "Should we call the police? Maybe they can help recover the bag?"
"It's useless. The police won't do anything. They'll just record it and tell you to wait for updates."
That came from a train staff member. Everyone's hearts sank. These were people who spent their lives on the train. If they said the police wouldn't care, then it was probably true.
Lorna still wanted to try, but Owen knew the staff member wasn't lying. When he had caught the thief earlier and beat him down, a cop had stood nearby and watched the whole thing without intervening. No one could possibly think that cop didn't know the guy was a thief. But even as Owen roughed him up, the officer said nothing. The message was clear: your problem, not mine. Handle it yourself.
Owen was thoroughly disillusioned by Europe's law enforcement. He handed the bag back. "No need to report it. I got the bag back. Check if anything's missing."
The lighting had been too dim before—no one had noticed Owen run off. So now, when he returned with the handbag, everyone looked at him in surprise.
Beth checked the bag and thanked Owen and Monica profusely. "Thank you so much. Everything's here. My passport was inside—if I lost it, it would've been a nightmare."
Only now did she remember to ask after Owen. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you? How did you get the bag back?"
Owen didn't want to get into it. "I just caught up to him. He saw me chasing and threw the bag away and ran."
"Thank God! You're incredibly brave. Thank you again!"
Owen waved it off like it was nothing.
The beautiful woman nearby looked intrigued. "You're very brave. What do you do for a living?"
Not wanting to reveal his real identity, Owen said he was a Hollywood screenwriter—something he and Monica had agreed on earlier. Monica was supposedly a junior staffer at a film company.
With the bag retrieved and no one hurt, the conversation began to shift. The beautiful woman sat in Owen's seat, chatting animatedly with the others. Owen was left without a place to sit.
"Monica, your necklace is beautiful…"
The woman had just noticed the cornflower pendant around Monica's neck and was clearly taken with it.
She was a natural conversationalist and quickly bonded with the group. Everyone soon learned her name: Elikxil, a Slovak model living in Germany—no wonder she was so stunning. Owen found himself stealing a few extra glances.
The others chimed in, complimenting the unique design of Monica's pendant. Monica had bought it at a flea market near the Berlin Wall, and it had caught her eye at first glance.
She generously took it off and passed it around. It was a gorgeous piece—though not very high quality. Owen's matching pendant had already broken during their more intimate moments the night before, leaving Monica's as the only surviving piece.
"Wow, it's beautiful. I really want one too. Where can I buy it?"
Elikxil couldn't take her eyes off it.
Monica smiled. "We got it at a flea market near the Berlin Wall. It's handmade though, so it might be hard to find another exactly like it."
"That's a shame."
Elikxil handed it back reluctantly. The conversation then turned to skincare.
"Elikxil, your skin is amazing—so smooth and radiant, like milk. How do you take care of it?"
Whitney stared at her enviously.
With a gentle smile, Elikxil said, "It's thanks to the hot springs in my hometown. We have a very special one. I've been bathing in it since I was little."
"Wow, that sounds magical…"
"Where is it? I want to go!"
The girls were in awe—what woman doesn't care about her appearance?
Elikxil was very forthcoming. "Of course, you're all welcome. My hometown is a small town near Bratislava, Slovakia. It's not famous, but we've just started developing tourism. If you want to go, I can show you around."
The girls exchanged glances—clearly tempted.
Seeing this, Elikxil added more allure: "Come on, you should! The prices are really low. You can spend the whole day in the hot spring. And it won't disrupt your trip. There's a stop in Bratislava—we can just get off there. After the hot spring, you can continue on your journey as planned."
"Are you going, Monica?"
Beth, clearly the leader among her group, looked to Monica for input.
Monica turned to Owen. After spending so much time together, Owen could tell she wanted to go but wasn't sure if he'd be okay with it.
Owen nodded. Monica instantly beamed. "Of course! Let's go together!"
The girls squealed in excitement, chatting and laughing loudly. Owen quietly slipped away, ordered another drink at the bar, and found a booth to relax in.
Just then, he overheard a conversation at a nearby table—excited, hushed male voices.
"Iceland Guy, are you serious? There are really tons of beautiful women in that inn near Bratislava? And they're into foreigners?"
"Absolutely. A guy I know went and showed me photos—super hot. He said there aren't many men there, but loads of women. They love foreign guys, especially Americans. If you're not local, you can do whatever you want…"
"Oh my God, I can't wait…"
They all burst into knowing laughter. Owen chuckled too. This Slovakian town sure knew how to attract tourists. Anything to boost the local economy.
Honestly, it was a clever move. Lots of single men travel to Europe hoping for flings. And Europe's reputation for being open-minded was well known.
Owen didn't bother listening to the rest—it was just the usual nonsense. The men boasted about seducing hundreds of women once they got there. One of them even joked about racking up "a thousand conquests"—please. Unless you're Ip Man, taking ten guys at once, don't kid yourself.
After a while, the women ended their conversation. Elikxil said she'd come find them when they neared Bratislava.
Back in the sleeper car, Owen and Monica lay down to rest.
They were still alone in the cabin. Owen was tempted to get intimate, but thinking about all the shady stuff in Europe—who knew if the room had hidden cameras—he decided against it. The last thing he wanted was to end up on a livestream.
The train rolled on.
There was one more unexpected event: the Italian thief that Owen had beaten earlier somehow found out where Owen was staying and came back with a few buddies to cause trouble.
But they didn't expect they were walking into a hornet's nest.
Owen and Monica took them down in seconds. By the end of it, those guys would be lucky if they could even raise their right arms to eat for the next week.
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