Cain does not plead with God, and neither does he ask for forgiveness (compare e.g., Moses’ reaction to God’s judgment in Exodus 32:1–35 and Exodus 33:1–23; and the difference in reaction between Judas Iscariot and Peter). If you know God, you know that you can always plead with him. That is what God is looking for—even when he judges, or does not give you his attention (see Genesis 4:4), or punishes you. He is not a person with whom it is impossible to talk.
16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.