“Mr. York is also an ordinary man, so don't make things difficult for him.” Jefferson smiled faintly. The lights in his eyes gradually dimmed as his voice softened. “I won't be able to live much longer even without suffering these two gunshots.”
“I beg you...” Rayna's hot tears dripped onto the back of his hand. “Please don't be so cruel...”
“Be good. Stop crying.” Jefferson wiped away her tears with much difficulty. “I won't leave. I'll always stay by your side.”
She didn't say a word.
Jefferson felt weak all over and extremely sleepy. He realized it was about time for him to go.
He mustered the last of his energy to look up at Jeremy, who was standing behind Rayna. At the sight of the child in Jeremy's arms, Jefferson flashed a contented smile.
He uttered softly, “Xareni Hamilton. Will you let Reni take my family name?”
Rayna nodded. “Okay. I'll name her Xareni Hamilton.”
“Thank you...” Regardless of how unwilling he was to leave, Jefferson took a final glance at Rayna before slowly shutting his eyes.
When he closed his eyes, he saw a man chasing after a streak of light in the dark. That man stretched out his hand, and just as he was about to reach the beam of light, it disappeared.
Ultimately, he failed to grab hold of the light, and his world remained pitch-black.
Rayna's lips shuddered as she witnessed Jefferson's hands falling to the snowy ground. “Jefferson? Jefferson?”
No matter how many times she called his name, he wouldn't respond. He lay peacefully in her embrace as if he was sound asleep.
Rayna lowered her head and bawled. She held him tightly while resting her forehead against his shoulder.
Curtis slowly walked over. His lips twitched when he saw Rayna kneeling on the ground, crying her eyes out, and Jefferson lying in her arms. Guilt surged within him at that instant.
He had thought he was quick enough to arrive. Unexpectedly, he was still too late.
Jeremy's friend noticed the bloodstain on Curtis' right shoulder and wanted to help him bandage the wound. However, Curtis shook his head to stop him. He crouched next to Rayna and held her shoulders without interrupting her.
After crying for a long time, she gazed up at Curtis with a sorrowful look. “He's dead. He wanted me to bury his ash in the garden and plant my favorite flowers there.”
“Okay.” Curtis placed his coat around her and wiped away the snowflakes on her head. “Let's go back.”
Rayna was engaged in strenuous activity and experienced grief right after giving birth, causing her wound to rupture. She stayed in a hospital in Pillere and was taken care of by Jeremy and his friend.
The child who was taken away by Arnaud was healthy and well, aside from the bruises on her neck. Jeremy deliberately monitored her condition for one week before letting the nanny care for her.
Curtis asked his subordinate to cremate Jefferson's body and stayed in Pillere to keep Rayna company.
Rayna appeared fine for the first few days after the incident. However, after she had a nightmare one night, she became taciturn upon waking up and seemed constantly dazed as if she lived in her own world.
Jeremy was worried she might have contracted postpartum depression. He advised Curtis to stay by her side at all times and prescribed her medicine as needed.
Curtis was more concerned than anyone else about Rayna's condition. He would ask the nanny to bring the children over and spent plenty of time accompanying her with their kids. He even brought her out to shop for their babies' clothes.
After Rayna's condition showed some slight improvements, Curtis brought her back to Norwal City.
James and Kristie kept Rayna company all the time. Even Roxanne, who was staying abroad, returned. Linda's heart ached for her daughter. She would prepare daily meals for Rayna.
While feeding Rayna soup, Linda uttered gently, “Belle, you have to eat something. I'm saddened by how skinny you've become.”
Rayna shook her head and reached out to hug her mother.
She sobbed, “Mom, he's dead. I owe him so much, and there's no way for me to repay him...”
Linda caressed Rayna's head. “Silly girl. There wouldn't be love between you two if you could repay him for everything he did for you. I know you're feeling sorrowful, but that is all the more reason for you to survive better. Don't keep him worrying about you even after he's gone. There are times we will feel utterly powerless when living in this world. You're worried about him, but you should also realize your children and husband are still waiting for you to pull yourself together. Sandy and Old Mr. Faymon are also worried sick about you, but Sandy doesn't dare to come here. You're also aware of Old Mr. Faymon's poor health. You're only in your twenties. Do you want to be illness-ridden like him at such a young age? Curtis has been in distress, keeping you company and not getting quality sleep for many days.” Linda patted Rayna's back. “He has done a lot of things for you. You shouldn't let him down further.”
Hugging her mother, Rayna wept uncontrollably.
Perhaps Linda managed to talk some sense into Rayna. Subsequently, Rayna smiled when she saw the others. She stepped forward to hug Curtis and kissed him. “I'm sorry for making you worry about me.”
Curtis stroked her face in relief. “I'm glad that you're fine.”
Two weeks later, he brought her to the mansion in Northville.
He led her into the spacious mansion and told her it would be their future home. After that, he arranged for their children, the nanny, and the housekeepers to stay in the house as well.
He ordered the gardener to remove the roses and tulips planted in the garden and plow the ground.
Curtis handed a small urn to Rayna. “He was the second son of the Terblanc family, so half of his ashes were sent back to his family. The other half is in here.”
Despite how light the urn was, Rayna felt it weighed a ton in her hands.
She pursed her lips as tears streamed down her cheeks in silence.
Curtis wiped away her tears and said, “We'll bury the urn here and plant your favorite flowers.”
She nodded.
They buried the urn in the deepest part of the garden before spreading camellia and green rose seeds all over the garden.
The garden would be filled with blossoming camellias and green roses a few months later.
There was still no news about Jessica, and Jasmine had yet to regain consciousness. Rayna didn't want to get married to Curtis under such circumstances. She didn't let him announce news about them to the public. Even their welcome baby party was done in a low-profiled manner.
The three kids' welcome baby party was held at the Faymon residence. Only the Faymon family's close friends and kin and friends of Curtis and Rayna were invited.
Curtis and Rayna had three children. Their eldest son, Yosef, and second daughter, Yelena, shared Curtis' family name, Faymon. Strangely, their youngest daughter was called Xareni Hamilton. Everyone was curious about the reason behind it, but no one dared to raise the question.
Rayna was entertaining the guests when she saw a familiar figure among the crowd. She hurriedly excused herself and advanced toward that person.
“Ringo.” Rayna came to a halt before Ringo.
A faint smile spread across Ringo's usually expressionless face when he noticed Rayna was doing well after glancing at her. “I was perturbed when I heard about your poor health previously. Now that I know you're in the pink of health, I can finally rest assured.”
Rayna grinned. Still, a hint of sadness crept into her heart. “I'm very sorry—”
He interjected, “Ms. Garland, I'm here to see the children today. May I see that child?”
Rayna collected herself and nodded. “Sure.”
She went and brought over the child personally. The baby, wrapped in the thin blanket, had large round eyes and adorable pink cheeks.
Ringo took a few more looks at the child before asking, “What's her name?”
Rayna answered, “Her name is Xareni Hamilton.”
“Xareni Hamilton...” Ringo instantaneously fathomed the significance behind the name. He was momentarily stumped as he gazed intently at the child Jefferson had protected with his life. Mr. Hamilton did nothing wrong for falling in love with a woman. His only mistake was being too devoted.
He placed an emerald pendant in the baby's arms. “Mr. Hamilton prepared gifts for the three children, but I wish to give this present to this child in person. I sincerely hope she'll live a happy life in the future.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Precious Love