Adjusting his glasses, his voice was mild but tinged with a hint of forcefulness. “Faymon Group’s PR department isn’t for show, and I’m no easy prey either.”
Stella’s expression changed slightly, but she immediately replied with a chuckle, “I heard that from someone else. Since I happened to run into you today, Mr. Hamilton, I brought it up casually.”
“Sometimes, a casual comment might only lead to disaster. What do you think, Ms. Zink?” Jefferson shot her a sidelong glance.
Stella went silent, stunned for a moment at the man’s blatant jibe.
By the time she snapped back to her senses, he had already brushed past her.
She turned around and glowered at his back, her hands slowly balling into fists.
He loves Rayna beyond words, so he can’t possibly be unaffected by my remark earlier. Why was he still calm and unruffled? Could it be that he was feigning indifference before me? But if so, he’s overly good at it.
Afraid that he would discern her motive, she quickly retracted her gaze. Pushing open the door, she entered the coffee shop. All the while, she inwardly wondered whether Jefferson was truly unperturbed by those news reports or merely feigning nonchalance.
Boniel is coming to Norwal City soon. For the plan to proceed smoothly, I must sever Curtis and Jefferson’s relationship. As a matter of fact, it’d be even better if I can get them to turn on each other. If my words today hadn’t worked on the latter, I’ve got to figure out another way.
Meanwhile, Rayna had stayed in the hospital for over two weeks. With sufficient time to recuperate, her gunshot wound had healed ages ago.
Not even a scar remained, what with her having used the salve from Jeremy’s laboratory.
She noticed that Jefferson stopped coming over to visit her after the day Sandy came to the hospital to meet him and ask him to walk her out.
Worried that Sandy had said something hurtful to him when he saw her out, Rayna pestered him about his absence through WhatsApp. Nonetheless, Jefferson merely claimed that he was busy with work and had no time to drop by.
As she had been keeping an eye on the company and the development within the industry, she knew that they were preparing a new product and were indeed swamped. Hence, she didn’t fret anymore.
She had been eating well while hospitalized, thus gaining quite a lot of weight. The most substantial change was the size of her belly.
In the past, she could still conceal her pregnancy if she wore loose clothing, but after recuperating for two weeks, her belly swelled by the day, ending up like a watermelon. Verily, she was terrified that her stomach might explode.
Early in the morning, Rayna woke up to pack. That was the day Jeremy said she could be discharged from the hospital.
There wasn’t much to put away, merely some clothes and skincare products.
She only bent for a while as she packed, but her stomach felt so heavy that it felt like it was going to fall to the ground.
Propping a hand at the back of her waist, she had just straightened and planned to phone Kristie when a hand shot out from beside her and snagged the small bag in front of her.
“Is this all? Here, I’ll help you.” Curtis placed a hand at her waist, his voice low and deep.
Rayna turned, only to see that the man, who had never once visited her since she was admitted to the hospital, had finally put in an appearance. He looked exceedingly cool in a suit, but he had dark circles under his eyes and seemed dead on his feet.
“Have you not been resting well recently? What have you been doing?” As she was overly concerned for his well-being, Rayna momentarily forgot that he was acting too intimate with her while placing his palm on her waist. They walked out of the hospital room together.
Smiling, Curtis answered airily, “It’s time for the semi-annual report, so it’s rather busy at the office. Why…”
He proceeded to turn and study her intently. “You’re mad that I was so wrapped up in work that I didn’t come and visit you at the hospital?”
Abruptly realizing that she had shown him too much concern, Rayna put on a cold expression and scoffed, “I don’t need you to visit me! I just thought that Mr. Nicholson had been making things difficult for Faymon Group and was afraid that I’d be his next target.”
“That won’t happen. He has too much on his plate to make trouble for Faymon Group.” Curtis’ voice was placid, but the look in his eyes was chilly.
Her pupils constricting, Rayna stopped in her tracks. “C-Curtis…”
Panic inundated her, and she grabbed the man’s sleeve. She couldn’t even speak properly anymore. “Don’t tell me that was why you were so busy previously? Are you sick of living? Don’t fight with him.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Dear sweetheart novel (Rayna and Julian)