The men’s faces were swollen and covered in bruises, and Rayna deduced that Curtis’ subordinates must have shown no mercy.
“Sorry you had to go through this.”
She paid them double and told them they could leave before departing, returning to the company to deal with some matters.
When it was five in the evening, she drove to the residential area Curtis lived in, but instead of going in, she called Carl. “Pack your things. I’m waiting for you at the entrance of the residential area.”
“Sure,” said Carl without asking her why. A few minutes later, Rayna saw him coming out with a suitcase. Lucky was trailing behind the little boy, wagging its tail.
Rayna got out of her car and placed his suitcase in the trunk. Then, she looked at the dog. “He can’t come with us.”
“Why?” Carl really wanted to bring the dog with him, so he pleaded, “Please, Ms. Rayna. Let him come with us. Mr. Curtis never takes him around for walks. That’s just sad.”
For a moment, Rayna wanted to relent, but she gritted her teeth and said with determination, “No. He belongs to Curtis. Take him back.”
“But Ms. Rayna—”
“One more word and I’m leaving you behind as well.”
Taking note of Rayna’s cold expression and her non-negotiable tone, Carl lowered his head and despondently brought the dog back. A moment later, he came back looking dejected.
Rayna took him back to the condominium. She had informed Jessica about Carl staying temporarily in the room next to hers, and Jessica agreed to the arrangement.
After the boy settled down, Rayna was about to take him to Kristie’s place.
Larissa had just returned from her grocery run and was about to make dinner. The first thing she saw upon opening the door was a boy standing next to Rayna. Stunned, she asked, “Ms. Garland, who is this?”
“My friend’s kid. He’ll be staying with me for a while. He might come here a lot, so you probably have a bit of extra work ahead of you.”
Carl greeted Larissa politely, “Hi, ma’am. I’m Carl.”
“Oh, you’re a good boy, Carl.” Larissa patted his head. “Come in. So what would you like for dinner?”
“It’s okay. I’ll make dinner tonight. You can go back now.”
“All right. I’ll be heading back.”
Larissa had expected Rayna to make dinner, so she left after telling the latter there was chicken soup in the kitchen. Rayna would often come to visit, and every time she came, she would insist on cooking for Kristie and everyone else.
Jessica, who heard some noise outside, emerged from her chambers. “Nana? Are you done with your work?”
The change of environment did wonders for Jessica. Her mood improved, her morning sickness had subsided, and she even gained a little weight. After just a short period of time, she looked much better than she was before.
“Yep, and I took Carl with me.” Rayna pulled Carl over to her and introduced, “This is Ms. Jessica. She’s pregnant, and she’s currently staying here to recuperate. This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone.”
“Got it.” Carl nodded. He greeted Jessica with a juvenile voice and asked, “Aunt Kristie is staying here, isn’t she? But I don’t see her anywhere.”
Jessica chuckled. “She’s still sleeping. You’ll see her once she wakes up.”
Rayna asked worriedly, “She’s still sleeping? Is she not feeling well?”
With an amused tone, Jessica explained, “She insisted that I watch a scary movie with her last night, and she got so spooked that she couldn’t sleep the whole night. I saw her still scrolling Twitter when I woke up in the middle of the night. She went to catch some sleep after we had lunch.”
Speechless, Rayna asked, “You should’ve stopped her. Why did you join her? Jess, you’re pregnant. You should at least take good care of yourself. Do you think horror movies are good for your pregnancy? Aren’t you scared?”
“She insisted on it, and she wouldn’t let me sleep either.” Jessica shrugged. “And it was a zombie movie. It wasn’t that scary anyway.”
Words eluded Rayna.
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