Jefferson frowned in displeasure and hesitated for a few seconds but shook Curtis' hand anyway. “You are the father of her babies, but that doesn't necessarily make you her man. It's only natural for me to look after her.”
Curtis nodded. “That may be true, but I would suggest you not dwell on such thoughts.”
“Well, you know what they say about the law of attraction. I believe that thinking about it will help make it a reality,” Jefferson retorted.
“The law of attraction doesn't work like that.”
Jeremy couldn't help but find their behavior childish.
Seriously? These two have been fighting each other over a woman, and now, they're forced to work together because of her.
“You know, you two do look quite alike from the side. I suppose you two truly are brothers with different fathers!”
Jefferson's expression grew cold as he said, “I was planning to go for plastic surgery, but Belle told me that she likes my face.”
“Really? I didn't know Rayna was this shallow. Is your face the only thing she likes about you? I'm curious. You and Rayna knew each other a long time ago and used to date each other in the past, so how did she end up falling for Curtis?” Jeremy asked.
Oblivious to Curtis' expression, which was slowly turning gloomy, Jeremy continued, “Does she see Curtis as a replacement for you because of how similar you two look? Is that why she fell in love with him?”
Jefferson glanced at Curtis before replying with a faint smile, “I never thought of it that way, but it does seem possible.”
“Jeremy...” Curtis placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze as he continued menacingly, “Are you bored? If you are, I can give you something to work on.”
Despite frowning from the pain, Jeremy refused to admit defeat. “What, are you jealous?”
Curtis simply increased the amount of force without saying a word.
“I'm kidding! I was just kidding! You'd better think twice for I need both my arms in order to look after Ms. Garland, so please let go of me!” Jeremy pleaded.
Curtis shot Jeremy a menacing gaze before releasing his grip on him.
Jeremy quickly stepped aside while rubbing his aching shoulder. “By the way, Jefferson, Curtis gave you the medication a while back, didn't he? Have you taken it?”
Jefferson nodded in response.
“For how long have you been taking it? You're not experiencing any more pain in your chest, are you?” Jeremy pressed on.
“I've been taking the medication for a long while now. It would hurt every once in a while, but not anymore.”
Jeremy's eyes lit up with joy when he heard that the medication was successful.
“I brought my devices with me. Let me give you a thorough examination to see if there are any other issues with your health.”
“Aren't you a researcher?” Jefferson asked in confusion.
“I am, but my medical knowledge is just as good!” Eager to see the results of his research, Jeremy quickly dragged Jefferson out of there, leaving Curtis all by himself.
Curtis let out a chuckle and made his way toward Rayna's ward.
Rayna was lying on the bed with her wounded leg suspended when Curtis arrived. She tried to get off the bed upon seeing him come in, but Curtis was quicker.
With a stern look on his face, he ran forward and pushed her down on the bed. “You need to rest, so don't move around that much.”
“I'm fine, though!” Rayna was about to protest further, but complied out of fear. “Why are you the only one here? Where's Jefferson?”
“He went to get a physical examination.” Curtis felt a little unhappy when he recalled what Jeremy said earlier. “You're just injured in the leg, so why would you want that many people looking after you?”
Rayna fell speechless when she heard that.
Says the guy who just forced me to lie down...
Figuring that Curtis was probably just feeling grumpy again, she changed the topic by asking, “How is Carl doing?”
“He's fine. The doctors are treating him as we speak, so you have nothing to worry about,” Curtis replied as he adjusted her bed into a more upright position.
Rayna obediently drank half the glass of water in one go.
Curtis then handed her a container filled with oatmeal, but Rayna shook her head and said with a frown, “I don't have the appetite for anything right now.”
“You have to eat something. The babies are competing with you for nutrients, so you need to eat, or you will collapse,” Curtis insisted as he poured the oatmeal into a bowl.
Rayna rubbed her tummy upon hearing that. Thank goodness my babies are all right...
Since Curtis was already holding a spoonful of oatmeal next to her mouth, she ate some and told him what happened that day. “Selena told Carl what happened. I don't know if he can handle the truth...”
“You did what you could. There's no way we can keep hiding the truth from him. Theodore is still unconscious, and we don't know when he'll wake up, so Carl needs to know the truth sooner or later,” Curtis reassured her while wiping the water off the corner of her mouth.
Rayna was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice how intimate Curtis' action was.
“I know how much Mr. Nicholson loves his daughter. If he were to find out about Selena's death... You don't have a lot of connections in the military, right? What if Mr. Nicholson comes after you for revenge?” she asked worriedly.
Curtis let out a chuckle. “What? Are you worried about me?”
Rayna tried her best to remain calm as she said, “I'm just worried about myself and my babies. Mr. Nicholson will likely target me along with you.”
Of course, Curtis saw right through that little lie of hers.
She must still love me if she's worried about me!
Whatever unpleasant feelings Curtis had up to that point were gone in an instant.
Feeling a lot better, he flashed her a smile and said, “You don't need to worry about that. For now, all you have to do is eat your oatmeal and rest well.”
He then looked her in the eye and promised solemnly, “Such incidents won't happen again.”
Rayna couldn't help but feel like there was more to his promise than meets the eye.
“Well, I couldn't care less about you. If I had to pick between you and my babies, I'd pick my babies any day!” she said coldly while rubbing her tummy.
This woman...
Curtis couldn't help but laugh when he saw how hard she was trying to play it cool.
Rayna shot him a fierce glare and exclaimed in frustration, “Hey, I'm being serious here! Why are you laughing?”
“Yeah, I know.”
As Curtis held her hand tightly and gave it a kiss, he realized it was incredibly skinny.
“All you have to do is keep yourself and your babies safe.”
Rayna shuddered when she felt his scorching kiss on the back of her hand.
Before she could even respond, however, the door to the ward was opened.
“Ms. Rayna!” Carl called out to her as he came running in with a cervical collar around his neck.
His eyes went wide when he noticed them holding hands in an intimate position.
“Should I step outside for a moment?” he asked while taking a few steps back.
Rayna's face was burning bright red when she pulled her hand out of Curtis'.
“Does your neck hurt?”
Carl pointed at the cervical collar and said, “A little. I can't turn my neck with this thing on, so I can't even aim when I'm peeing.”
Rayna chuckled in amusement. “It's fine. You only need to keep it on for a few days.”
Carl then climbed onto Rayna's bed and asked, “Ms. Rayna, was what that woman said true?”
Rayna felt Carl was simply too young to know the truth.
Unsure what to tell him, she turned toward Curtis and waited for him to say something.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Precious Love