Ch. 31..40

Chapter 31

Chapter 31 Think Carefully

“Mr. Faymon, we’re beyond loyal to the company!”

The others quickly defended themselves, not forgetting to toss Meredith a glare.

Don’t speak if you do not know what to say!

“Meredith Jones, this is not the first time that you have intervened in the affairs of another department. Just because I’m always overseas doesn’t mean that I don’t know what has been going on in this office,” Curtis announced. “You also have no right to fire the new personnel who Faymon Group has recruited.”

Henry nodded in agreement.

Exactly. I have managed to convince Ms. Marsh to join our company after putting in so much effort to compete with other companies. How could she just fire Ms. Marsh so casually? How shameless!

Meredith clenched her fists. Just as she was about to speak up to defend herself, she caught Curtis’ dark gaze.

“Most importantly, you have ruined the image of our company. Not just you, Julian will be fired too.” Curtis turned to look at Gabriel beside him. “Make sure Ms. Jones completed the handover. I want her out of the office within three hours.”

“I’ll see to it myself,” replied Gabriel.

Curtis looked at the watch on his wrist. Realizing how much time he had spent resolving the situation, he left without saying another word.

Behind him, Rayna opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, she decided to swallow her words.

She had not expected Curtis to show up in the office, much less expected that he would intervene in issues like that. However, the fact that Curtis had fired Meredith and Julian was a huge favor on her end.

Does this mean that I owe him another favor?

Soon, the crowd dispersed, leaving nobody in the lobby. Rayna and Jessica, too, got into the elevator and returned to their respective departments.

“You’re brilliant, Rayna. The plan was awesome! You could be a secret agent!” Jessica was elated. “That’s exactly how a sc*mbag and a despicable woman should be treated. That way, they would never be able to get on their feet ever again!”

Rayna did not comment.

She was not stone-hearted. Besides, she had gotten married to Julian so that she could get rid of Jefferson and she also had a disorder. At the end of the day, she felt bad for Julian.

Nevertheless, Julian was ruthless.

If he had simply asked her for a divorce, she would have agreed to terminate their relationship without another word. However, the moment Julian teamed up with Meredith to wreck her reputation, Rayna could not tolerate him any longer.

After parting with Jessica, Rayna returned to the translation department. A few of her colleagues came forward to ask her about the situation. Rayna noticed the glee behind their eyes and immediately knew that they were not genuinely caring for her.

Therefore, Rayna answered all of their questions half-heartedly.

“Say, Rayna. I heard that Julian and Mr. Faymon are related. Does that mean Mr. Faymon is one of your in-laws?”

The atmosphere shifted the moment someone asked the question.

“I heard that Mr. Lawson would be transferred to the branch in Norham. We would be having a new director once Mr. Lawson leaves. You’re the best among all of us, and you’re the wife of Mr. Faymon’s nephew. Surely he would show you favor, wouldn’t he?”

“Ahaha! I was just about to ask that!”

“Your ears sure are sharp to have heard that Mr. Lawson would be sent to Norham. I haven’t even heard of the news.” Rayna peered at them with a tight-lipped smile. “Why don’t you guys go ask Mr. Lawson directly and see who he plans to choose?”

Her cold gaze fell on one of her colleagues, causing his expression to change. “We’re just asking. No hidden intentions. If Mr. Lawson chooses you, we just plan to congratulate you in advance.”

“Since you’re so free, why not clear off these two documents from Crusher?” Rayna’s gaze became even colder as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Mr. Lawson said that we must get it done by Thursday.”

The person shrugged and took a few steps back.

Scanning the rest of her colleagues, Rayna spoke up in a gentle voice. “Everyone, Julian and I are getting divorced soon. Please stop bringing up the fact that I’m the wife of Mr. Faymon’s nephew, all right? I believe that everyone is aware that Mr. Faymon does not like it when people speak without proof. I got into the translation department of Faymon Group through a few rounds of interviews and tests, just like the rest of you.”

Even though Rayna seemed to be easy to talk to, she would spare no one if she was enraged.

Smiling sheepishly, the crowd parted in the blink of an eye.

Rayna huffed in annoyance before furrowing her brows. She was not lying when she said that she had not even heard of the news of Mr. Lawson leaving. Why would her colleagues think that she would take over Mr. Lawson’s place? Who had been spreading rumors?

After a moment of pondering, she decided to send Curtis an email thanking him.

Even though she could have settled the issue without Curtis’ help, she would not have gotten Meredith fired so easily. After all, Meredith was really close to the few vice CEOs.

To her surprise, Curtis replied to her email almost instantly: Welcome.

Rayna read the email repeatedly for a few minutes to make sure Curtis did not mention anything about her owing him a favor. Hmm, this is not too bad. Otherwise, the favors I owe him would outnumber the stars.

In the afternoon, Julian had most likely seen the news. Therefore, he had been calling Rayna’s phone relentlessly.

When she finally picked up, he immediately shouted at her. “I can’t believe you’re so wicked, Rayna! Are you behind the car accident too? You’re making my life miserable, aren’t you? Just you wait, Rayna Garland! I will sue you for attempted manslaughter! Do you want to divorce me? In your dreams! You’ve got me fired from Faymon Group! I won’t let you have it easy!”

“All right. I’ll wait.” With that being said, Rayna hung up the phone. She was puzzled.

She had thought that Julian had unintentionally gotten into a car accident, but according to Julian, it sounded like someone was trying to harm him. However, it was not her that hired someone to do so. She would never do something like that.

So who was behind it? Not to mention the photos that Meredith somehow got her hands on. Where did she get them from?

According to the lawyer, Julian had ripped the divorce papers into shreds on the spot and threatened to hit the lawyer. Hence, Rayna brought the case directly to the court.

To her utmost surprise, Julian took the initiative to call her and invite her to the hospital. He said on the phone that he would sign the divorce papers.

Rayna was taken aback that he agreed to the divorce. Julian’s voice sounded amiss on the phone, but she did not think much of it. Picking up the divorce papers, she headed to the hospital to look for Julian.

Julian had been heavily injured in the accident. Half of his face was wrapped in bandages while both his legs were in casts. However, what stunned Rayna the most was the fact that he was not as arrogant as usual when it came to her. In fact, there was a sense of wariness when he saw her.

Stepping forward, Rayna handed him the divorce papers. “I’ll take back everything that’s mine. You can have the rest of the property. I don’t want them.”

“W-Whatever you say,” Julian stammered as he snatched the pen from her and signed the divorce papers without missing a beat. The whole process was done within five seconds.

“Julian Faymon, what on earth are you up to?” Rayna frowned as she interrogated him. She could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Julian had called her saying that he would not let her off the hook and would never divorce her. Why would he change his mind in a matter of one day?

“N-Nothing. I just wanted to divorce you.” Julian handed Rayna the divorce papers. “We’d have nothing to do with each other anymore once we’re divorced, right?”

Julian’s body started trembling when he recalled what had happened the day before.

When he was yelling at the lawyer on the phone, saying that he refused to divorce Rayna as well as suing her for attempted murder, the door flung open with a slam, and two men walked in.

The man in front wore dressed smartly. A pair of glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, giving him a sense of elegance, as though he was a university professor. The man asked, “I heard that you’re unwilling to divorce her?”

“Why should I divorce her?” Julian thought that the man was a new lawyer that Rayna had hired. “Not only do I refuse to divorce her, but I will also sue her!” he scolded.

“Mr. Faymon, think carefully. Do you really not plan to divorce her?”

“I don’t!” Julian was losing his patience. Even though he was lying in bed, his fist flew at the man. To his surprise, the man caught his fist and twisted his arm in an anti-clockwise direction.

A sharp pain shot from Julian’s arm. The pain was so unbearable that his features seemed to inch closer as he bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming. An overwhelming aura overpowered him.

A chill ran down his spine.

“Mr. Faymon, if I can get you into a car accident once, I can get you into a car accident twice.” The man smiled. “But next time, you won’t be seeing your legs anymore.”

 

Chapter 32 Who Is This Man

Although the man had an elegant demeanor and spoke in a gentle manner, Julian felt a strong sense of suffocation. It was as if the man was grabbing him by his neck. He was so terrified that he peed his pants.

So it wasn’t an accident after all! It was man-made!

Julian knew all of Rayna’s friends. However, that was a man whom he had never met before.

How is he related to Rayna?

“You… What’s your relationship with Rayna…?” Julian asked, his voice trembling in fear. He wanted to find out the relationship between the man and Rayna but was unable to get out a complete sentence.

The man smiled faintly before picking up the phone from the cabinet and passing it to Julian. “Call her now and tell her that you are agreeing to the divorce. Ask her to bring the divorce settlement agreement to the hospital. OK?”

Julian was in no position to protest under the man’s pressure. He took over the phone with trembling fingers and called Rayna, conveying the exact message to the woman.

“Well done. Thanks.” With a satisfied expression on his face, the man stood up before he reached out and patted Julian’s shoulder forcefully,

Shaking in fear, Julian said, “Please… Please speak your mind.”

“Did you touch her?”

“Yes,” Julian replied nervously before he felt the man pressing down harder on his shoulder. Bearing the pain, he quickly explained, “But it was only on our wedding night. Besides, we didn’t manage to do anything. I swear!”

Taking a pause, the man continued, “I didn’t expect her sexual disorder to be so serious. Not only did she resist my touch, but she also even scratched me. After that night, I didn’t touch her again as we slept in separate bedrooms.”

Julian could feel anger sweeping over him at the mention of that.

He had pursued Rayna for a long time. Back then, when Rayna agreed to marry him, he thought he had gotten lucky. However, he did not expect that the woman wouldn’t allow him to touch her, and that filled him with resentment.

If it wasn’t for the woman’s sexual disorder, Julian wouldn’t have had an affair outside!

“Thanks for not touching her,” Curtis replied with a smile. The man was looking visibly more relaxed compared to a moment ago. “If you have touched her, I wouldn’t have let you continue staying in the hospital. Mr. Faymon, am I right?”

Julian was so terrified that he dared not even move.

Before he left, the man reminded, “Mr. Faymon, this conversation shall stay between us. I don’t want her to know about it. Can you promise me that?”

“Yes. Of course!” Julian nodded.

He had a feeling that if he lied, the man would not hesitate to bury him alive.

Rayna stared at Julian for a long while. Feeling uneasy, Julian urged her to leave. As such, she left with the divorce settlement agreement without asking any more questions.

Did he damage his brain in the accident and is suffering from some side effects?

Otherwise, why would he have such a sudden change in attitude?

Rayna was still trying to figure out the reason for Julian’s change of heart as she walked out of the hospital. Just then, she received a text from Roxanne, telling her that she was in the hospital as she happened to have some free time. Only then did Rayna suddenly remember that her mother was supposed to be discharged that day.

She turned around at once and headed toward the inpatient department. When she reached the ward, she saw someone packing up. Linda was standing by the side, wanting to help, but was being told off.

“Just stay there and stop doing anything. I can manage. I don’t want Rayna to nag at me for getting you to do work again.”

Rayna knocked on the door to inform the two people in the room that she was there.

“Oh, Rayna! You’re here.” Roxanne quickly stuffed her mother’s remaining belongings into the suitcase and said cheekily, “Everything was packed by me. How’s that?”

Linda said to Rayna with a satisfied smile, “Your sister has been here since eight a.m. She had specially come to fetch me home and had even brought breakfast. She’s such a good girl.”

Roxanne had a smug expression on her face and was waiting for Rayna to praise her.

However, Rayna scoffed and replied, “Good girl? Haha. Mom, you don’t even know what she’s like! This is just a pretense. I’m sure she is doing this because she has a favor to ask of me!”

Rayna simply knew her sister too well!

“C’mon, Rayna! I’m genuinely good to Mom,” Roxanne said while swinging Rayna’s arm. Pouting, she continued, “I know I haven’t been very mature, but isn’t it all part of growing up? Besides, I’m so much better than James. At least I visit Mom occasionally, but he has been staying at school all this while. I think he has already forgotten about us.”

“He studies in a boarding school and can’t leave as and when he wishes.” Rayna slapped Roxanne’s head before continuing, “At least he doesn’t spend too much of my money. But you? You just spend everything I give you!”

“Rayna!” Roxanne clutched her head, feeling aggrieved. She was sure that the reason she was not that smart was that her sister kept hitting her. Given the frequency of her sister’s attacks, even a genius would become an idiot.

“Stop fooling around, girls. Let’s leave,” Linda said.

Rayna suggested that they eat at a restaurant to save them the trouble of cooking, but Linda insisted on buying groceries to cook at home as both her daughters finally got the time to return home. As such, the three of them headed to the mall.

Roxanne was wearing shades and a mask. She was covered up so well that she was afraid that passersby would recognize her.

Rayna couldn’t help but comment, “Have you already risen to fame?”

“Almost! I am already contracted to take part in a few productions and have gotten a few endorsements as well,” Roxanne replied smugly before continuing, “Well, I am actually quite brilliant. I’m sure I’ll be the most popular star this year!”

Rayna smirked when she heard that.

She had still not forgotten how foolish Roxanne was when she went to look for Curtis previously.

“Rayna, look! That’s me!” Roxanne pointed to a gigantic poster some distance away and exclaimed excitedly. Rayna looked toward the direction where her sister was pointing and got a shock.

She could not believe that Roxanne had become the international brand ambassador of the famous brand, Encounter!

“Seems like your new agency is investing a lot of resources in you,” Rayna said, looking surprised. Remembering that Roxanne had joined a new agency and had a new manager, the woman asked, “Is your manager very capable?”

“Needless to say! She had groomed three actresses who had won the Best Actress Award previously. In fact, she was already planning to retire.” Roxanne chuckled.

It was Jefferson who had made the arrangement for her to have such a heavyweight manager.

A week ago, a man who appeared to be Jefferson’s assistant had shown up at the filming site and told Roxanne that a Mr. Hamilton wanted to meet her. The woman was puzzled as she did not seem to know any Mr. Hamilton. It was only after she reached the restaurant that she realized it was actually Jefferson.

When Rayna and Jefferson were still dating, Roxanne caught a glimpse of the man when he accidentally appeared in the background during her video call with Rayna. It had been a few years since they broke up, and Roxanne could not help but feel shocked to see Jefferson in Hawen.

According to Jefferson, he was in Hawen because he had something to settle. It was also Jefferson who told Roxanne about Julian’s affair. He had even found a place to stay and had asked her to convince Rayna to move in with him.

However, Roxanne did not understand why they had broken up back then.

She was also unclear as to why the man did not inform Rayna of his arrival.

“Because your sister is still angry with me,” Jefferson replied with a smile. He was a very refined man with a mellow personality. It seemed almost impossible to anger him. “That’s why I need you to be the middle person,” he continued.

“Oh. I understand now.” Roxanne nodded. Truth be told, out of Rayna’s two ex-boyfriends, Roxanne liked Jefferson better. Not only was he good-looking, but he was also very wealthy!

Besides, Jefferson was also very nice to her. Knowing that Roxanne did not have any backing in the entertainment industry, the man had helped her switch to a new production company and had even given her the best manager in the industry. As a matter of fact, he had spent almost five million on her.

Previously, Roxanne was rather upset when she got the news that Kristie was after the role of brand ambassador. She had only mentioned it to Jefferson briefly, but she did not expect that she would end up landing the deal with his help.

As such, the woman was very happy to have Jefferson as her brother-in-law.

Roxanne wouldn’t even hesitate to kidnap Rayna to the church to get married to Jefferson, not to mention such a simple matter of asking her to move in with the man.

 

Chapter 33 Worry

“Just say it. Why are you staring at me?” Roxanne’s intent gaze crept Rayna out. The latter could not stand it and slapped her. “We’ve arrived.”

Roxanne pouted angrily and snapped, “Stop hitting me!”

If she continues, I’d be beaten silly.

Rayna wanted to buy some clothes for Linda. When they visited a shop, Roxanne offered to choose for Linda and even fought to pay for it. That was very uncharacteristic of Roxanne as she was one who usually complained of feeling tired when shopping.

“I’ll get it, Rayna. I have money!”

After that, they went to the underground supermarket to get groceries before heading to Linda’s house.

Linda still lived in the old residential area where she had brought the siblings up. It took them about an hour to get there from the city center. Rayna had always wanted Linda to move to another place, but the latter refused, insisting that she liked her current neighborhood.

When they got home, Linda started cooking in the kitchen, whereas Roxanne and Rayna chatted while watching television. A few minutes into their conversation, Roxanne showed her true colors. “Are you free this Saturday night, Rayna?”

“I knew it! You must have an ulterior motive for being nice to me today.” Rayna tossed a pillow at her sister and grinned. “Spill! Why did you ask?”

Roxanne inched closer and began to coax her, “There’s a cocktail reception at Dame Estate on Saturday night. Many famous directors from abroad will be there. Why don’t you come with me?”

Rayna rejected right away, “Nope. I’m not interested.”

Usually, she never liked those events. She would only attend such events only if her job required her to be present.

“Rayna, my sweet Rayna…” Roxanne showed her puppy dog eyes. “A director I admire will be going, and he’s searching for Chanaeans to star in his new movie. I want to have a chat with him. Who knows I might get an acting role successfully! However, you know I’m not good at speaking Anglandurn. Therefore, I was hoping that you could be my temporary translator.”

Rayna cast a disappointing glance at her. “Your sister is a translator, but you are terrible in Anglandurn. How embarrassing is that? Even primary school children speak better Anglandurn than you.”

“Oh well, we all have different interests. Your calling is to be a translator, whereas mine is to act.” Roxanne twisted the context skillfully. “You’re probably worse than me if you were to become an actress.”

Her remark rendered Rayna speechless.

Roxanne kept persuading Rayna, and the latter said yes in the end. How can I not lend a hand when my biological sister is trying to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry?

“You’re the best, Rayna!” Roxanne hugged and kissed her repeatedly. She even took a selfie with her sister out of excitement. Rayna could not stand her antics and pushed her away.

Soon, Linda finished cooking and invited the sisters to the table. Just when Rayna was getting up, the phone screen lit up, and she accidentally saw an incoming message from a person named “Brother-in- law”.

Frowning, she took up the phone and questioned Roxanne, “Did you add Julian?” Since Rayna was Roxanne’s only elder sister, the former was certain that the message was from Julian.

Roxanne hurried over to snatch her phone back from Rayna. Then, she rolled her eyes and said, “Am I so free to stay in touch with that sc*mbag? Whatever for? After all, you two are divorced.”

“I just saw someone by the name of ‘Brother-in-law’ sent you a text message.”

“That’s my stylist,” Roxanne clarified without turning a hair. “I saved his contact on WhatsApp as ‘Brother-in-law’ and forgot to rename it. All right, Rayna, can we eat now?”

Rayna believed her explanation totally.

Nowadays, youngsters use many strange and crazy profile names. A colleague of mind even called himself “Daddy”.

It had been several months since Rayna last tasted homecooked food. Hence, she requested extra helping. Roxanne, on the other hand, was a picky eater. Rayna threw her an icy-cold gaze as she reminded Roxanne about the cocktail reception and made sure the latter finish her food.

There’s no such thing as a fussy eater. All she needs is someone to discipline her.

In the afternoon, Rayna needed to return to the office while Roxanne had a commercial to shoot. So, Linda packed some sweet soup for both of them.

“Mom, stop working as a housekeeper.” Rayna told her mother before leaving. “Tell me when you need money, okay? I can take good care of you.”

Linda nodded. “I got it. Henceforth, I’ll only help out in the library.”

Rayna heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing her response. “You should have done that a long time ago. When you feel bored, you can consider going to the square and do line dancing with the others. Oh, by the way, Julian and I are divorced, so please don’t visit the Faymon family anymore.”

“What happened? I thought you guys were happy together?” Linda could not wrap her head around it. “T-Then, what is your plan after the divorce? Who will want you?”

Rayna was bereft of words.

“You don’t understand, Mom. Rayna has made the right decision to divorce that kind of man. She won’t have a future with him!” Roxanne interrupted. “Rayna is so talented, and she has lots of suitors. Your worry of not having a son-in-law is unfounded.”

“I think Julian is a nice guy. Whenever he comes over, he will address me politely and buy me gifts,” Linda added.

Roxanne rolled her eyes at Linda and left with Rayna without saying anything further.

“Rayna, don’t bring this up to Mom again. She won’t understand one bit. Mom wouldn’t have rejected the money when she and Dad separated if she was slightly more self-centered,” urged Roxanne.

“She’s still your mom, no matter how silly she is.” Rayna stared daggers at Roxanne and pinched her ear. “Don’t raise your voice or yell but talk to her privately. Have I made myself clear?”

“Okay, I know.”

The place where Roxanne was heading was along the way to Rayna’s office. Thus, they shared a cab. Upon arrival, Roxanne informed Rayna that someone would deliver a gown to her.

“I have dresses to wear. Don’t spend your money unnecessarily,” advised Rayna.

“Don’t worry. It’s all sponsored.” Roxanne waved at her before entering the building.

Rayna smiled resignedly.

Though Roxanne would act rather silly and spoilt most of the time, Rayna was glad that her sister remained filial and lived with integrity. She was unlike some girls who lost themselves upon joining the entertainment industry.

When Rayna got back to the office, she ran into Gabriel.

“Mr. Tylinski,” she greeted him. “Did you come over for work matters?” She noticed the documents in his hands.

“Yup, Mr. Faymon is here to work on something.”

His response piqued Rayna’s interest.

This isn’t the first time Curtis visited the office. Usually, the few vice CEOs are the ones who manage all of the company affairs, and Curtis is never hands-on. Is the company in trouble?

After entering the private elevator, Gabriel pressed the open button, assuming Rayna was waiting to get on one.

“Come on in, Ms. Garland.”

“Okay, thank you.” Apart from the upper management, employees from the translation and planning departments were also allowed to use the private elevator. However, they usually avoid being in the same space as the management staff.

Rayna was surprised that Gabriel, whom he had barely met, would invite her to take the elevator together. After all, they had only spoken a few times with each other.

Why do I feel something’s wrong?

As Rayna gazed at her thermos, an idea suddenly dawned on her. She thought for a while and offered it to Gabriel. “I heard that Mr. Faymon likes something sweet. Could you please pass this to him, please? Just a little token of appreciation from me.”

If Curtis did not lend a helping hand, the worst that could probably happen to Meredith was a demotion.

Gabriel did not ask further. He accepted the thermos and said, “Thank you, Ms. Garland. I’ll pass Mr. Faymon the message.”

“You’re welcome.”

After sending Rayna to the translation department, Gabriel headed to the top floor. He strode toward the CEO’s office with a thermos in one hand and some documents in another.

“B*stard!”

The moment Gabriel walked into the office, he was hit by a stack of papers which then dropped onto the ground. Curtis was standing in front of the windows with his hands on his hips, looking sullen.

Even though the room was filled with average air-conditioning temperature, it felt like an ice cellar.

Without saying a word, Gabriel shut the door behind him and proceeded to pick the papers up. Then, he placed all the items in his hands on the solid mahogany desk.

“Everyone’s eager to showcase themselves, but their presentations are appalling!” Curtis grew impatient and pulled his tie off his neck. “Do they think I’m blind?”

“Well, Mr. Faymon, you’ve been concentrating your efforts on expanding the global markets. The staff here feared no one since there wasn’t a head figure in the company.” Gabriel added, “Moreover, Mr.

Julian isn’t very bright, to begin with.”

Curtis sneered, “He even had the cheek to pay Dad a visit at the Fayman residence. Just look at his character! If not for Meredith, he wouldn’t be able to become the vice CEO.”

“Mr. Julian’s father passed away when he was very young. Both Mr. Julian and his mother aren’t the greedy type either.” Gabriel paused for a moment before continuing, “Well, we will never know who might get them into trouble. Fortunately, he carries the last name ‘Faymon’ though he’s a relative.”

Curtis pinched between his furrowed brows and asked, “Has he filed a divorce with Rayna?”

Gabriel nodded. “I asked Mr. Julian about it, and he told me he has signed the papers. However, something seems amiss. Several days ago, he was adamant about getting a divorce and even wanted to sue Ms. Garland. Anyhow, he signed it.”

“As long as they are divorced legally.” Curtis could not care less about the process. “Please book the flight tickets and throw Julian to the branch in Horington. Don’t let him roam around.”

“Noted. I’ll make all the necessary arrangements soon,” replied Gabriel. “Oh, Mr. Faymon, Mr. Johnson is holding a cocktail reception at Dame Estate this Saturday. He would like you to bring Ms. Kristie along.”

Cocktail reception?

Curtis knew exactly what the other party was up to. After mulling it over, he agreed to attend the event. “Tell Mr. Johnson I’ll be there. Also, give the person in charge at Chanel a call and place an order on the latest haute couture.”

“Duly noted.”

Suddenly, Curtis felt thirsty after talking and wanted a cup of coffee. As he turned around, he spotted a thermos on his desk. “Wow, you made me an herbal drink?” he teased Gabriel.

Chapter 34 This Cocktail Reception Is So Posh

As Gabriel spoke, he uncapped the thermos flask.

Inside the flask was the sweet soup. Its fragrance wafted through the air, and Gabriel also caught a whiff of it. He explained, “It’s from Ms. Garland. She said it’s a thank-you gift.”

“Sweet soup as a gift? How practical.” Gazing at the pink thermos flask, Curtis had trouble containing a smile. He pulled his empty coffee cup toward him and poured the soup into it.

Then, he took a sip. It was warm and sweet.

Taking in the aroma, Gabriel could not help saying, “Mr. Faymon, that’s too sweet for you. Would you like me to take it away and order something else for you?”

Curtis shot him a frosty look. “No need for that. Get back to work.”

Gabriel fell silent immediately.

At a little after four o’clock in the afternoon, Gabriel made a trip to the translation department to return the clean thermos flask to Rayna. “Here you go, Ms. Garland.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have. You could’ve told me to go and get it. There was no need for you to return it personally,” Rayna replied, smiling.

“I happened to have to go downstairs and get something.” He reassured her that it was no trouble and was about to leave when he hesitated for a while. Finally, he walked back to Rayna and asked, “Ms. Garland, could you make some for me next time?”

“Oh, do you like to eat sweet things too? Of course. The next time my mother makes it, I’ll bring some for you,” Rayna replied. She had thought Gabriel would not have a sweet tooth.

“Your mother is great at cooking,” Gabriel complimented.

“She used to cook for others.”

“Ah, no wonder.”

For some reason, Gabriel and Rayna fell into a conversation. The longer they chatted, the more the pair got along like a house on fire.

She discovered that despite his aloof demeanor and usually serious expression due to the nature of his job, he was actually a big softie. He even had a cat and a dog as pets.

After talking for a while, she asked him cautiously, “Mr. Faymon has been coming to the office rather often recently. Is everything okay?”

Gabriel knew she was discreetly enquiring about the company’s matters. “Everything is fine. You only have to focus on your job. Even if something does happen, the upper management will handle it. It won’t affect the rest of you.”

Hearing that, Rayna refrained from asking more questions.

He has a point. Even if there’s a problem, it’s the higher-ups’ business and has nothing to do with us.

Bright and early on Saturday morning, Rayna went to City Hall.

After waiting for a while, she got back two invalidated marriage certificates. She felt relieved but also a little wistful.

I thought it’d be a marriage where we’d live happily ever after. Alas, it ended after only a year.

However, the feeling only lasted for about half a minute. She soon headed to the shopping mall to buy groceries, and she was even in such a good mood that she purchased several pots of flowers. Then, she arrived home just as a deliveryman came to deliver a package.

She put away the groceries in the kitchen before opening the big box. Upon lifting the thin layer of paper, she found a neatly-folded, champagne-colored gown nestling inside the box. It was incredibly gorgeous, and the sight of it made her gasp.

I was fortunate enough to have attended Valentino’s pre-spring show a few months ago and saw this gown on the catwalk. At the time, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the model, and I kept gushing over how gorgeous it was. However, it was way too expensive. I never imagined I’d end up owning it!

“Is she so well-connected that she even managed to secure an endorsement deal from Valentino?” Rayna murmured. She stared at the logo on the box, still feeling that everything was too surreal.

Jefferson seemed partial to this brand as he used to love giving me various haute couture pieces and bags from Valentino. Could it be from him?

Nonetheless, Rayne quickly dismissed that thought. I’ve never introduced him to my family, and there’s no way he’d get to know that silly sister of mine. I’m overthinking this.

When noon rolled around, she had a quick and simple lunch.

Dame Estate was quite some distance away, and Rayna still had to get her hair and makeup done. Hence, she only stayed home for a short while that afternoon before heading out, and it was past four o’clock when she finally exited the salon.

Roxanne sent a message saying she had a few scenes to reshoot and told Rayna to go ahead to Dame Estate first.

Having no other choice, Rayna hailed a taxi and headed over there.

She was not very familiar with Dame Estate and had only heard it was a private manor situated near beautiful lakes and mountains. Thanks to its breathtaking surroundings, the wealthy often used it as the venue for cocktail receptions, parties, and such.

The sky gradually darkened, and after the taxi drove uphill, she spotted the manor’s open-air parking lot from afar. Many luxury cars were parked there, and most of them were limited editions.

The entire manor was aglow with lights, looking as though it were a large luminous pearl under the night sky. Two rows of attendants stood by the manor’s arched doors, and all the guests who walked in were lavishly dressed and exuded an elegant air.

Although Rayna had only gotten out of the taxi for a minute, she had already spotted quite a few familiar faces. They were all business magnates whom one could hardly find on the pages of a financial magazine, and she could not help feeling slightly shocked.

This cocktail reception is even grander than what Roxanne made it out to be!

When she approached the entrance, an attendant stopped her. “Could you please show me your invite, miss?”

Rayna gave him a barcode to scan, but after the attendant checked his phone, he said to her apologetically, “I’m so sorry. The invitee is Roxanne Griffith, so you’ll need to wait for her to arrive before you can go in. You can’t enter on your own.”

She was dumbstruck.

What’s with this admission procedure? It’s ridiculous!

She hesitated for a while before asking, “Could you make an exception? Look, it’s so hot outside. I’ll go and sit where you can see me. Is that okay?”

“The areas around the manor, including this doorway, are equipped so that heat dissipates quickly. Hence, it won’t be hot.”

Rayna was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, she heard a low chuckle behind her. The familiar voice sent a chill down her spine.

“She’s my friend,” Jefferson said as he approached Rayna, his voice as warm and pleasant as a spring breeze. He wore a black tuxedo and held a golden invitation card between his fingers, which he handed to the attendant.

The attendant immediately became very respectful when he saw the golden invitation card.

“Oh, it’s you, Mr. Hamilton. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

“Thank you.”

Turning around and seeing Rayna standing rooted to the spot, Jefferson’s smile widened. “Are you here for the cocktail reception with friends? I’ll take you in.”

“N-No, thanks.” Rayna shifted a few steps further from him, avoiding him as though he were a venomous snake. Every time she was near him, she would have trouble breathing, and a sense of fear would surge within her.

“I have no other intentions. I merely want to bring you inside.”

Rayna looked away. “I’m fine with standing here. The person I’m waiting for will arrive very soon.”

“Very well. I’ll be going, then.” Jefferson did not press her further and left swiftly. However, just as he approached the door, he turned and looked back at her as she stood at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes twinkling with laughter.

I made the right choice. She looks stunning in that dress.

After watching Jefferson go in, Rayna immediately had the urge to leave. However, before she even took a step, she thought of Roxanne and desisted.

Jefferson’s company is a player in the Epean market. Although he doesn’t have businesses in Hawen, he’s still quite well-known. Hence, it’s definitely no surprise that he’d be able to attend a reception of this scale. Roxanne finally joined the entertainment industry but still hasn’t gotten a firm foothold. She lacks resources and investors, and a cocktail reception like this would benefit her in those aspects. Since she’s my sister, I’ve no choice but to help her.

Rayna did not have to wait long at the entrance before a minivan drove in. As soon as its door opened, Roxanne rushed toward her while lifting the hem of her dress.

“Didn’t I give you the barcode? Why are you just standing out here foolishly?”

Rayne shot Roxanne an annoyed glare after getting called foolish. “Do you think I want to stand here? That person said you’re the one who got invited and that I can only go in after you’ve arrived.”

Roxanne’s expression darkened. “Who was it that was so unaccommodating?”

“Forget about it. Let’s head in.”

The manor’s first floor was the size of five basketball courts and done up in an exotic style. It was majestic and resplendent. The wealthy and influential guests were decked in their finest, mingling and chatting away happily.

There were locals and foreigners with various skin tones and hair colors. They were elegant and sophisticated, and they looked as though they were all there to talk business.

Rayna was barely inside the hall for more than three minutes before she had already scanned the entire area.

This cocktail reception is so posh!

However, Roxanne was not as discreet as Rayna. She shouted a greeting at everyone she passed, regardless of whether she knew them or not. It doesn’t matter since I have my “brother-in-law” backing me up. There’s nothing to fear!

“Where’s the director you were talking about?” Rayna asked.

“Huh? L-Let me see if I can find him…” Roxanne could not help feeling a little guilty as that was merely a story she had made up to get Rayna to attend the cocktail reception with her. I’m in trouble now.

Fortunately, there were many guests from Epea. Roxanne spotted a familiar-looking man, and upon recalling that he was the director of some movie, she exclaimed immediately, “That’s him!”

 

Chapter 35 Why Are You Wearing A Mask

“Orville? Are you sure?” Rayna was astounded after getting a good look at the man. She was a fan of a few popular thriller films directed by the man.

“Yeah! It’s him.” While dragging Rayna along toward him, Roxanne lowered her voice and reminded her, “Rayna, don’t talk recklessly later, okay? After all, I’m only an obscure actress.”

Rayna was utterly speechless. I reckon she’s the only obscure actress chosen as a spokesperson for luxury brands like Dior and Valentino!

Soon, Rayna and Roxanne stood face-to-face with Orville. Knowing that Orville was from Ferropene and disliked Anglandurn, Rayna greeted him in Ferropenian, “Good evening, Mr. Orville. It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

Impressed with Rayna’s high fluency in Ferropenian, Orville began chatting with her enthusiastically.

After making small talk with Orville, Rayna introduced Roxanne to him. She emphasized that Roxanne was not only her younger sister but also a new actress who liked his films very much. Meanwhile, Roxanne could only beam sweetly at him as she did not understand Ferropenian.

Evidently, Orville was relatively pleased with Roxanne’s looks. He gave Rayna his business card and asked her to tell Roxanne about the date and venue for the audition. Rayna smiled and took the card from him.

After they walked away from Orville, Rayna handed the business card to Roxanne before bending down to massage her ankles which had started to feel sore.

This pair of heels are pretty, but too bad it pinches my feet.

“Wow, Rayna, you’re awesome!” Gawking at the business card, Roxanne was in disbelief. “It never crossed my mind that you’ll be able to obtain Mr. Orville’s business card!”

“Don’t build castles in the air. It’s just an audition. Don’t you know that you might be competing with several dozens of people for one particular character?”

Roxanne giggled. “No problem. After all, I have plenty of time now. Who knows, I might be shortlisted after the audition. As long as I have the opportunity to act in his film, I’ll have the chance to gain popularity even if I only get to appear for a few seconds!”

Pursing her lips, Rayna stated resignedly, “Fine. Whatever floats your boat. Anyway, since I’ve helped introduce you to the director, can we go back now?”

Thinking that Jefferson was somewhere at the cocktail reception as well, Rayna had her heart in her mouth. She was worried stiff that she might run across him at any moment. Regardless of how posh the cocktail reception was, she was no longer in the mood.

“Rayna, we’re only here for scarcely half an hour. It’s too early to leave now,” Roxanne grumbled as she scanned the surroundings.

Where is he? If I leave right away with Rayna now, I would’ve failed to accomplish my mission!

As Rayna took note of how Roxanne was glancing around, she couldn’t help asking, “Didn’t you say you only needed me to be your interpreter for a while? What are you looking at? What’s on your mind?”

Thinking she should find an excuse so she could give Jefferson a call and ask where he was, she covered her stomach with her hands. “Ouch! Rayna, I need to go to the restroom. My stomach hurts.”

Rayna was rendered speechless. While waiting for Roxanne, she had to look for a place to sit down as her feet were aching.

Moments later, the lighting in the banquet hall turned dim gradually. The music was also switched to waltz, implying it was almost time for the guests to dance. As soon as Rayna sat down on a bench near the entrance, a duo arrived and caught her attention.

They were none other than Curtis and Kristie.

Curtis looked devastatingly stunning with his slender body clad in a black suit. He didn’t even have to do anything, and his eye-catching unique vibe already made it impossible for people to ignore.

Meanwhile, Kristie, holding onto his arm, had her nose in the air as usual. Dressed in a red bare-back fishtail dress, she was exceptionally gorgeous. She lifted her head slightly, looking like a well-pampered princess.

Since Rayna was seated barely one meter from them, she had no choice but to stand up and greet Curtis, “Mr. Faymon.”

“Ms. Garland.” When Curtis caught sight of Rayna, who was holding a diamond handbag, he was stunned. He had to admit that the gown suited her attractive figure perfectly well.

Rayna was wearing a gown with a deep V-neckline. Even though there was a layer of chiffon fabric in between, it could barely shield her cleavage. Subsequently, Curtis’ breathing almost stopped when he caught a glimpse.

He could not help recalling how alluring she looked when they indulged themselves in intimacy in the hotel room that night. To him, the beautiful moment was indeed beyond description.

On the other hand, Kristie’s countenance was a stark contrast to Curtis’ when she saw Rayna. It was as though her penetrating gaze could pierce through Rayna’s body.

Isn’t she Roxanne Griffith’s elder sister? She was the one who made Curt lash out at me. Not only that, her sister must have gotten in one of the bigwigs’ good books and snatched my opportunities and resources in this industry!

The more Kristie thought about that, the more she got infuriated. She mocked, “Hey! You’re only an interpreter. By right, someone like you isn’t qualified to attend such a high-standard cocktail reception. Or did you curry favor with some bigwig like your sister did?”

Rayna was not irked by her mockery and flashed her a smile instead. “Ms. Winton, undeniably, I’m only an interpreter and not as popular as you. But, the host of this cocktail reception is known for his great hospitality and doesn’t mind inviting some other people.”

Kristie was riled up by her words. “What do you mean? Do you mean to say that I was randomly invited by him? Mind your words. Don’t you know that Mr. Johnson is Curt’s best friend? He even gave us an invitation card himself.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“You!” Kristie was displeased with Rayna’s placidness. Just as she was about to unleash her wrath, Curtis cleared his throat in displeasure and uttered grimly, “Kristie, mind your manners.”

Kristie could only snort in displeasure and zip her mouth. She even turned to give Rayna a fierce glare before walking away.

As Curtis made his way through the crowd with Kristie, he reprimanded coldly, “I hope what happened previously will not happen again. Do you get me?”

Kristie’s heart skipped a beat as she refuted, “I’ve been behaving myself and focusing on shooting lately. I did not stir up any trouble. I wonder who Roxanne Griffith curried favors with. She snatched my international endorsement deals with several luxury brands!”

“I’m talking about the photos.” Curtis halted in his tracks and cut to the chase. “You don’t know Rayna, and that’s her business. Why did you meddle in it?”

Kristie bit her lip.

Initially, she only assigned someone to dig out something, hoping to teach Rayna a lesson. To her surprise, she found out Curtis took Rayna to the hotel and even spent the night with her there.

Coincidentally, Kristie was well aware of the dispute between Rayna and Julian. Blinded by her fury, she sent the photos to Meredith and made use of the latter to tarnish Rayna’s reputation. Nonetheless, it never crossed her mind that Meredith would screw things up!

Curtis stretched out his hand to stroke Kristie’s hair, but no words could describe how authoritative he sounded when he emphasized, “Kristie, with your current status, those endorsement deals mean nothing to you. Bear in mind that you have Faymon Group backing you up. I can give you everything you request and grant your wishes. However, you can’t stir up trouble. Most importantly, don’t ever lay a finger on Rayna. Regardless of who is currently backing her sister up, you shouldn’t provoke her again.”

“How could you expect me to not do anything when she has snatched my opportunities?” Kristie snorted in exasperation. “Curt, why do you keep siding with Rayna Garland? Have you fallen for her?”

“I only warned you not to lay a finger on her. Stop making wild guesses.”

“If you refuse to make things clear now, it implies that you like her!” The moment Kristie thought about those photos, she demanded, “If you really do care about me, stay away from her.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Curtis turned to cast a look at her with petrifying grimness in his eyes. He hated it the most when someone threatened him.

“I-I’m sorry, okay?” At the sight of Curtis’ intimidating expression, Kristie relented by apologizing immediately. “I just don’t like her, that’s all. I’ll stay away from her in the future. So, please don’t get mad, Curt.”

The look of somberness on Curtis’ face finally faded. He then spotted the host of the cocktail reception among the crowd and approached him with Kristie.

In the meantime, Rayna had waited for quite a while, but Roxanne still didn’t return.

Is she hooking up with some handsome man she bumped into on her way back from the restroom? As the thought struck Rayna, she called Roxanne, but nobody answered.

The dancing session commenced at that moment.

Pairs of men and women advanced toward the center of the banquet hall and began waltzing elegantly while those who weren’t interested in dancing either chatted at the side or watched the others waltz quietly.

Needless to say, the invited guests of the cocktail reception were all socialites from upper-class society, so naturally, many of them were good at ballroom dancing.

As Rayna sat there and watched, she could barely take her eyes off them as they danced gracefully. It was a treat for her eyes.

At that moment, a man wearing a mask with feathers walked over to Rayna. He dressed smartly in a white suit that happened to match Rayna’s gown perfectly.

The next second, he bent down and stretched his hand to Rayna as if inviting her for a dance.

“I’m sorry. You should find someone else to be your dance partner,” said Rayna, turning him down. Since the man was wearing a mask and the light in the banquet hall was dim, she could only tell he had a strapping figure. At the same time, she could not fathom why she felt a sense of familiarity from him.

Nonetheless, the man refused to budge as though he did not hear her. He stood there and maintained the same posture instead of leaving.

Rayna was bereft of speech.

Is he a lunatic?

The stalemate went on for one minute, and Rayna felt bad for rejecting him. Ah, it’s just a dance, after all. It’ll be over soon.

The moment their skins came into contact after she placed her hand in his palm, she felt an instant tingling sensation on her fingertip. The man quickly gripped her hand and dragged her along as he strode toward the center of the hall.

Soon, they danced gracefully to the music. The man behaved chivalrously. Rayna gradually relaxed as he only placed his hands lightly on her shoulders without crossing the line.

“This is not a costume party. Why are you wearing a mask?” After a while, Rayna could not restrain herself from voicing her doubts. Other than the man, she did not come across anyone wearing a mask in the ballroom.

Nevertheless, the man remained silent.

When a flash of light illuminated them, Rayna caught a glimpse of his lips that were curled up slightly. Inevitably, the sense of familiarity she felt earlier intensified when she saw the faint smile on his face.

 

Chapter 36 You Have Not Left

Looking intently into the man’s obsidian eyes, she froze and stammered, “J-Jefferson Hamilton?”

Is he wearing brown contact lenses?

“Ah! It seems that my disguise is a failure. Belle, I’m impressed. You still managed to recognize me.” After a spin, Jefferson leaned closer to her and chuckled beside her ear. “It’s been a while since I last danced with you.”

The moment Rayna recognized him, her whole body stiffened as she froze on the spot. However, Jefferson was still able to effortlessly guide her to keep up with his pace.

When the waltz music was gradually replaced by sentimental music, the other couples embraced each other and swayed lightly.

Jefferson took off the mask to reveal his stunning face. Leaning his head against Rayna’s neck, he could smell her faint fragrance. It turned him on instantly, and he could barely refrain from wrapping his arms around her.

Unable to retract her hand from his grasp, Rayna snarled, “Jefferson Hamilton, why on earth did you come to Hawen?”

She had had enough of the man tailing her throughout the years.

Turning a deaf ear to her question, Jefferson stated solemnly, “Belle, Curtis Faymon is not a man of virtue. He’s taking advantage of you.”

“What about you?” Unequivocally, she was fully aware that Curtis helped her numerous times only because he needed her help as well. Moreover, she thought Curtis was a lot more decent than

Jefferson.

The trauma that Jefferson elicited from her would continue to haunt her for a lifetime.

“You are my Belle, the most precious treasure in my life.” Jefferson kissed her hair and mumbled, “I’ll never lie to you even if I lied to the whole world.”

It was nothing more than a light kiss, but it rendered Rayna’s entire body stiff.

“Belle, Curtis Faymon is aiming to gain a great benefit by providing you a small favor. Don’t you know you’ll only place yourself in a precarious position by assisting him with the collaboration? You should stay by my side instead. I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”

The collaboration again! I had no choice but to help Curtis with the collaboration after he set me up. And now, Jefferson comes to me for the same purpose!

“Jefferson, you’re no different from him.” Rayna snickered as she looked into his eyes. “If I had a choice, I would rather help him.”

Jefferson’s lips formed a smile. “Belle, don’t be silly. You know my temper, don’t you?”

No doubt, Rayna knew it too well. Otherwise, she would not have nightmares after sending him to jail years ago. She even fled to her hometown, changed her name, and got married. Nonetheless, it never occurred to her that he would still be able to track her down.

“Belle, don’t collaborate with a despicable man like him. You’ll be at a disadvantage. I’m the only one who can protect you.” Jefferson stretched out his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear affectionately.

Rayna twitched her lips. “How are you going to protect me? By killing me?”

In an instant, complex emotions flitted across Jefferson’s eyes but disappeared almost immediately. He continued to gaze at Rayna with sheer affection amid gentleness in his eyes.

“Belle, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Things could be far more complicated than what you think.”

With that, he lowered his head and brushed his lips against Rayna’s cheek. The sensation sent a shiver down her spine, and she struggled frantically to break free from his grasp but to no avail.

In the meantime, Curtis and Kristie were dancing somewhere in the center of the hall as well.

Only a few couples were dancing at the moment. As Curtis looked around, he caught sight of Rayna engaged in a conversation with a man. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but their posture looked quite intimate.

Initially, he merely smiled to himself, thinking some random man was hitting on Rayna after getting attracted to her beauty. However, when the light flashed across her face, he realized something was wrong. Why is she wearing such an odd expression? The man next to her looks familiar too. Wait… it’s Jefferson Hamilton! I reckon he came to Hawen and tried to get close to Rayna for the sake of the collaboration, too.

Within a few seconds, different thoughts flashed past Curtis’ mind. He gestured for one of the waiters to come over before leaning over to whisper into the waiter’s ear.

The latter nodded before disappearing into the crowd.

Soon, the sentimental music was replaced by a lively one. All the other couples in the dance hall changed their tempo accordingly at once and did swift spins with their partners. Meanwhile, Curtis grabbed the opportunity to lead Kristie toward Jefferson and Rayna.

Seizing the moment of another spin, Curtis pushed the back of Kristie’s waist lightly with his palm, sending her into Jefferson’s arms while pulling Rayna over to him.

Everything happened in less than three seconds. When Jefferson came to his senses, Kristie was already in his arms. He turned to stare at Curtis grimly while Kristie almost blew a blood vessel.

How could Curt swap me for Rayna Garland? That’s too much!

“M-Mr. Faymon?” Rayna stared at Curtis in shock.

What just happened?

Curtis hummed a reply and discreetly led her away from the center of the hall. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you within this one month. After all, you’re my employee.”

“Thank you,” Rayna thanked him softly.

Curtis still had some matters to tend to, so he let go of Rayna’s hand as soon as they left the hall. He didn’t expect that Kristie, who was following right behind them, to shove Rayna from the back out of fury.

Rayna stumbled and crashed into the table next to her. Consequently, the stack of wine glasses on the table tumbled, and the champagne spilled all over Rayna’s dress.

Curtis had barely walked away before he was alerted by the noise and immediately turned around to hold Rayna’s arm, supporting her.

After getting drenched in champagne, Rayna’s body-hugging gown became transparent, revealing her fair skin beneath it. Curtis’ expression darkened as he swiftly took off his suit jacket to cover her with it.

“Kristie.” The moment he spotted Kristie in the crowd, he turned crimson with fury.

Kristie shrank away from him and pursed her rosy lips. “I couldn’t see clearly as it was too dark. I didn’t do it on purpose. Anyway, that’s not a big deal. I can make it up to her by buying her a new gown.”

“Gabriel is waiting for you outside. Go back with him now. You’re grounded for three days.” There was sheer frigidness in Curtis’ tone.

“Curt, I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear!”

“Six days.”

Kristie was so pissed off that she almost burst into tears. However, she dared not resist Curtis’ order. To vent her anger, she bumped into Rayna’s shoulder on purpose when she stormed past the latter. It’s all her fault!

Rayna felt a throbbing pain in her shoulder from the impact. Curtis took the initiative to apologize to her, “Sorry about that. She’s spoiled. If nobody can send you home, please wait for me outside. I can give you a lift after settling some matters.”

“It’s all right. I’ll call my sister now.” Rayna politely rejected his offer.

When she walked out of the venue with Curtis’ jacket still on her, she happened to see Kristie strike Gabriel twice with her handbag before hopping into the backseat of the car. Rayna’s lips twitched at the sight.

She’s not only spoiled. She’s spoiled rotten!

Rayna gave Roxanne another call. This time, the latter answered it very soon.

“Rayna, I’m sorry. I left earlier because something came up. You can seek help from the staff there. They’ll assign someone to send you home.”

Hearing that, Rayna flipped out. “Roxanne Griffith! How could you leave me here after requesting my help?”

“Rayna, there’s really something I need to tend to. Please don’t be mad. I’ll apologize to you in person next time, okay? I’m busy, so I’ll be hanging up. Watch out for your safety, all right?”

Rayna stared at her phone and almost smashed it at the peak of fury.

D*mn it! Roxanne Griffith, how could you do this to your own sister?

Rayna had no choice but to try seeking help from the staff members in the manor. However, they were all too busy to tend to her. She stood on the staircases and waited for ages before someone quietly approached her.

“Ms. Garland, you haven’t left?”

Just as Jefferson was about to make his way toward Rayna, Curtis stepped out from the hall. Hence, the former swiftly turned on his heels and hid behind a pillar.

“Oh, Mr. Faymon. Yeah, my sister left without me. I might need someone from the manor to send me home.” Rayna could not help but feel awkward. After all, she had just turned him down earlier.

Curtis smiled. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. I can give you a lift on my way back.”

 

Chapter 37 The Unexpected Explosion

“Thanks.”

They then got downstairs together and headed toward the open-air parking lot. Just when they were about to step into the parking lot, a black Bentley near them exploded all of a sudden.

Curtis instantly leaped forward and protected Rayna from the blast.

Since he was wearing only a thin white shirt, a shard of glass pierced his arm. He could not help but groan in pain when blood began to gush from his wound.

Rayna realized Curtis was injured when she felt the warm liquid on his arm. Her face turned pallid instantly. “Mr. Faymon…”

“I’m fine.” Curtis pulled her up and examined her. “Are you injured?”

Rayna shook her head.

Despite the explosion, the Bentley was not caught on fire, so it did not affect the cars around it. Nonetheless, a waiter still ran over after hearing the loud noise.

Curtis explained to the waiter about what happened.

The waiter promised to investigate the matter and update Curtis about it, but since the manor did not have a medical kit, the waiter could only temporarily bandage his wound. He then arranged for a driver to take Curtis and Rayna to the hospital.

Jefferson walked out from behind the pillar and looked at the people who were conversing in the parking lot before turning his attention to the exploded Bentley. He pursed his lips as his expression

turned grim.

“Sir.” Ringo, too, walked out from a hidden corner.

“I wonder if she’ll end up like that Bentley had she gotten into it?” Jefferson pressed his hand against the pillar and glared at the remnants from the explosion.

Suddenly, he punched the pillar and gritted his teeth as he said, “How dare he do this? How dare he touch my woman?”

“Don’t worry, Sir. Mr. Terblanc doesn’t know much about it,” Ringo said. “He probably felt that this occasion was the perfect opportunity to claim someone’s life. I believe he’s only targeting you.”

He added, “Mr. Terblanc believed what he saw. And all these years, you only had Dorothy by your side. You’ve not done anything that would arouse his suspicion.”

Jefferson let out a cold snort and spoke disdainfully. “You have no idea how suspicious the man is! Anything can trigger him easily! Did he really think he can keep me in the dark when he sent a Jetroinian to me?”

“So what should we do now, Sir?”

“Call Dorothy and ask her to come over.” Jefferson clenched his fists as he watched Rayna leave the manor in another car. “Give her a new identity and place her in Faymon Group.”

Ringo could not help but ask, “Is that appropriate? Ms. Garland is working in Faymon Group as an interpreter, though.”

“The most dangerous place is also the safest,” Jefferson said, “Calbert wants to know what I’m doing, right? I’ll show him. Besides, I need someone to keep an eye on Curtis.”

He had never thought of going head-on with Curtis because he knew it wouldn’t end well for both of them. But Rayna is mine. I might have distanced myself from her due to some reasons, but that doesn’t mean someone else can take advantage of her!

Meanwhile, Curtis and Rayna soon arrived at the hospital.

Rayna decided to accompany Curtis. After all, he got injured for trying to protect her from the explosion. She could not help but shudder upon seeing how terrible the wound on his arm was. He must be in a lot of pain. I owe him a huge favor this time.

Once the doctor cleared and bandaged the wound, Rayna told Curtis to sit and rest before she headed downstairs to collect his medicines at the dispensary. When she returned a few minutes later, the man had fallen asleep on the chair with his head tilted.

Upon noticing the exhaustion on Curtis’ face and the dark circles under his eyes, Rayna walked over quietly. He must be exhausted.

After pursing her lips, she removed her coat and gently placed it on the man.

Suddenly, Curtis frowned as he slowly started breaking out in a cold sweat. His breathing had also become irregular, as if he had breathing difficulties.

“U-Uncle Curtis?” Panicking, Rayna patted his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

Curtis, who continued to sweat profusely, gripped her wrist to stop her from pulling it away. His grip was so tight that the ashen-faced Rayna gasped in pain.

“Uncle Curtis, please let go of my hand.” She thought her wrist was about to snap. While trying to break free from his clutch, Rayna could not help but notice the muscular chest beneath his drenched shirt.

Her heart started pounding rapidly, and her ears turned red.

She immediately looked away. Is Uncle Curtis having a nightmare?

Worried that he might be in discomfort, she wanted to call the doctor to check on him. That was when Curtis began to loosen his grip. Thus, she quickly retracted her hand and massaged it when the man had seemingly returned to normal.

Rayna cautiously called him, “Mr. Faymon?”

Curtis gradually opened his eyes, tilted his head, and glanced at her. “Did I fall asleep?”

Rayna chuckled in her heart. Not only did you fall asleep, but you also nearly broke my wrist!

Meanwhile, Gabriel rushed over to the hospital when he received news about the explosion. He was so thoughtful that he even brought Rayna a set of clean clothes. “You can change into these since your gown is dirty, Ms. Garland.”

“Thank you.” After glancing at her wet gown, Rayna took over the clothes from Gabriel and darted to the restroom. I should get changed.

Gabriel then sent Rayna back to Cerulean Bay. Before alighting from the car, she expressed her gratitude to Curtis again. “Thank you, Uncle Curtis. I’ll cover all your medical expenses.”

Curtis flashed her a faint smile. “No worries, it’s just a small sum.”

After leaving Cerulean Bay, Curtis’ expression turned grim. He asked Gabriel, “Have you investigated the people at the manor?”

“Yes. The car exploded on its own. I don’t think it’s anyone’s doing.”

“Who owns the Bentley?” Curtis asked.

Gabriel replied, “Jefferson.”

Curtis scoffed. “If that’s his Bentley, I’m pretty sure someone orchestrated the explosion. Someone must have done something to his car. It just so happened that Rayna and I passed by it and ended up getting affected.”

Gabriel raised his doubt in confusion. “But he wouldn’t have made any rivals here because all his businesses are in Epea. Based on my findings, he didn’t even establish a single company in Hawen or Jetroina.”

“It could be someone from Epea who wanted to finish him off here,” Curtis said with a smirk. “After all, if something bad happened to Jefferson in another country, no one would suspect them to be behind it.”

After giving it some thought, Curtis said to Gabriel, “Jefferson came here to look for Rayna. Find someone to keep an eye on him. I don’t want that guy to take advantage of her.”

“I’ll see to it,” Gabriel replied.

Curtis did not report for duty at office in the next two days.

Rayna was worried that the wound had taken a toll on him but dared not ask him directly. Instead, she told Linda to make a pot of sweet soup so that she could bring it to the office, hand it to Gabriel, and ask him about Curtis’ condition.

Gabriel replied, “Don’t worry, Ms. Garland. Mr. Faymon is recuperating well.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? Like meeting his clients for him or what.” Rayna felt bad. “I can cook for him too. I’m quite a good cook.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I learned cooking from my mom.”

Gabriel thought about it and agreed to her suggestions since he was planning to hire a part-time caretaker to look after Curtis anyway.

After completing all her tasks at work, Rayna left with Gabriel and departed to Curtis’ residence. During their journey there, she asked Gabriel about Kristie and was relieved to learn that the latter was not staying with Curtis.

Kristie had always viewed Rayna as her arch-enemy, and the latter could tell how Kristie wished to skin her alive. I better stay away from her.

Curtis was staying somewhere near Cerulean Bay. His mansion was a quiet standalone building in the residential area.

He raised his brows in surprise when he opened the door and saw Rayna standing next to Gabriel.

 

Chapter 38 Not Spoiling The Picky Eaters

“What’s going on?”

“Good morning, Mr. Faymon,” Rayna shyly greeted the man. “I heard that you needed someone to take care of you, so I came uninvited. I hope you don’t mind.”

Despite forcibly maintaining the bright smile on her face, Rayna’s thoughts were running wild deep down. Did you really think I wanted to come? It’s because I owed you too many favors and I wanted to clear them off as quickly as I can. How terrible it’ll be to work for Faymon Group for the rest of my life!

Curtis then turned to look at Gabriel. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, “Hm? Did I need someone to take care of me?”

A chill ran down Gabriel’s spine as his employer stared at him. Nevertheless, as he pushed his glasses higher up his nose bridge, he said without any changes to his expression, “Yes, Mr. Faymon. The part- time lady has said that something has cropped up at home, so she won’t be able to come for the next few days. I have many things to deal with, so I’m afraid that I might miss out on some of the tasks you’ll assign to me. Moreover, Ms. Garland is a good cook, and she’s an efficient young woman. That’s why I’ve brought her here.”

Rayna quickly nodded in agreement. “I don’t know how to make sweet soup, but I’m good at cooking. Don’t worry, Mr. Faymon. I’ll take good care of you until you recover.”

Curtis was no fool, so he knew that Rayna was there to return the favor.

Still, he said nothing about it. After all, the only person he trusted in the country was Gabriel, and Gabriel was a busy man. Indeed, he needed someone to help him with the documents.

“I understand. Carry on with your work, then,” Curtis said to Gabriel. “Ms. Garland will be here to help me out these few days. If there isn’t as much work, do clean up the secretarial department. It’s too dirty there.”

“I’ll deal with it,” Gabriel replied, understanding what Curtis meant.

Before Gabriel left, he said to Rayna, “Ms. Garland, I’ll leave Mr. Faymon’s daily tasks to you.”

Rayna hummed in response but was confused deep down.

This is such a huge mansion, and there are robot vacuums around. There’s no need for me to clean this place up at all. I’m only in charge of cooking, right? What else should I do?

Nevertheless, Rayna’s thoughts were soon proven to be wrong, for the cooking part was challenging.

Before going to the mansion, she and Gabriel had gone to the supermarket for a grocery trip. They had bought meat that was good for wound healing, but Curtis was exceptionally picky. He did not eat fish, he did not eat pork, and he did not eat cauliflower.

Furthermore, he was a little allergic to peanuts and did not like peanut butter.

His coffee had to be made with manually-grounded beans, and it also had to be freshly brewed. When he was going through his documents, he needed to have a cup of coffee.

“Mr. Faymon, you’re so…” The corner of Rayna’s lips twitched as she looked at her list of reminders. “Don’t you think you’re too picky?”

It’s a miracle that an insanely picky man like him is a hundred and eighty-eight centimeters tall and isn’t as skinny as a stick. Not even Roxanne’s this picky!

“Everyone has foods they don’t like,” Curtis said as he worked away on the laptop he had placed on the coffee table. “It’s normal and has nothing to do with being picky with food.”

Rayna was speechless as she gritted her teeth. She hated accommodating others the most.

Furthermore, bringing all those groceries back had been tiring, and it would be so wasteful to throw the food she bought just because he was picky. After all, food prices were getting higher and higher.

After a moment of contemplation, she darted into the kitchen and called her mother. “Mom, what do I do if someone is picky with their food and refuses to eat pork?”

“Is your sister picky with her food again?”

Rayna scoffed. “No. Rayna’s much better than him.”

“Then mince the pork and marinate it before making meatballs. You know how to do it, right?” Linda was a chef in the past, and she soon came up with an idea. “If you have eggplants, you can make stuffed eggplants.”

“What if he can tell it’s pork?”

“Use condiments. The meat will be tender, and he won’t be able to figure it out.”

Rayna then searched through the bottles and cans before finding the condiment that her mother had told her about. Then, she noted down the steps for marinating meat before asking Linda how she should cook the fish. As it turned out, she should make them into meatballs or stuff the fish meat into steamed eggs.

After that, Rayna put on her apron and began her work in the kitchen.

She used every method her mother taught her, and soon, she was done with the pork and the fish. Subsequently, she made a beef dish and two other vegetable dishes. Once all those dishes were cooked, lunch was ready.

Rayna even taste-tested it and made sure it didn’t taste like pork before bringing it out of the kitchen.

“Mr. Faymon, lunch is ready.”

Curtis closed his laptop and went to the dining room to take a seat. When he saw the scrumptious dishes on the table, he curled his lips in satisfaction.

It seems like she’s good at cooking.

However, when he saw the patties, he frowned and said, “Didn’t I tell you I don’t eat pork?”

“It’s not pork. It’s beef.” Rayna put some spaghetti on his plate before taking a seat at the side. She then lied without batting an eyelash, “I’ve already ‘dealt’ with the pork. You can try it out if you don’t believe me, Mr. Faymon.”

At the sight of Curtis’ reluctance and dubious gaze, Rayna swore, “Mr. Faymon, it definitely isn’t pork. If you taste pork in it, I’ll leave right away.”

At that, the man gave her a glimpse and finally took a piece of the patty after a few seconds. Then, he took a big bite of it.

It was soft and fragrant and didn’t taste like pork.

“It’s tough to make beef taste like this. You’re indeed good at cooking,” Curtis remarked as he stared at the patty. If she was unskilled, the beef would not have tasted as tender and smooth.

Rayna let out a sigh of relief inwardly, thinking about how she had made the right decision to call her mother.

The soup she had made was mushroom soup, and the dishes had bits of pork and fish in them. When Rayna saw that Curtis had finished them all without complaint, she felt accomplished.

So what if you’re picky? There are always ways for me to deal with you!

There was a dishwasher in the kitchen, so Rayna didn’t have to do the dishes manually. She only needed to toss the plates and utensils into the machine.

In the afternoon, Curtis moved his work to the study. Occasionally, he would hold video calls to deal with matters regarding his company overseas. Rayna would then quietly sort the documents beside him after serving him coffee.

Rayna was used to working on challenging tasks in the translation department, so she easily skimmed through the documents Curtis handed her and noted down all of the difficult terms. In other words, she only needed around five minutes for each document.

Both busied away—one behind the desk, and one in front of the desk.

“That’s all for today. Dismissed.”

Curtis took off the microphone clipped on his shirt. The one-and-a-half-hour meeting had tired him out, and it was only then he realized there was a steaming cup of coffee by his side, along with documents that were sorted out.

When he raised his head, he saw Rayna, who had thrown herself into her work. She was fully focused, and whenever she encountered words she couldn’t recall the meaning for, she would bite the tip of her pen and cock her head in contemplation. Curtis had to admit that she looked a little cute.

He smiled.

No wonder Mr. Lawson always compliments Rayna. She’s indeed efficient, and when she works for others, she knows what they want and will be able to deliver it on time. I underestimated her ability when I thought that she was merely a translator.

“Rayna.” Curtis tapped his fingers on the table and asked, “If the opportunity arises, would you like to go to the Norham branch? The company will prep a house for you.”

“The Norham branch?” Rayna was not expecting that question, so she had to take a while to register it.

Curtis nodded. “That’s right.”

He knew that Rayna would shine if he were to provide her with a stage. The branch at Norham would be perfect for her.

He would not suffer a loss by giving her this opportunity if she could settle that collaboration for him.

“Thank you for considering me, Mr. Faymon, but I don’t need it,” Rayna rejected in the end. “I still like the headquarters better. I might not be able to adapt to working at the Norham branch.”

Rayna had her own plans as well.

Even though she had been in Faymon Group for a while and was thriving in the translation department, she did not have many achievements and was not old enough.

 

Chapter 39 A Fantastic Job

Not just anyone was qualified to head to the Norham branch.

Furthermore, Rayna did not wish to be alone and far from home. It would be tough for her. She was neither ambitious nor in any urgent need of money. Moreover, her family was close by, and everything she had in life right now was more than enough for her.

Curtis knew Rayna was determined to stay, so he did not insist.

After all, he had no right to intervene in her choice.

For the rest of the afternoon, the study was quiet. Both were busy dealing with their own matters. By the time Rayna lifted her head after completing her last document, she realized that the sky was already dark.

Before she knew it, she had stayed in Curtis’ house for an entire day.

When Rayna saw that Curtis was still lost in his pile of work, she decided not to disturb him and discreetly left the study, thinking of preparing dinner before heading back. While she was on her way downstairs, she received a call from Jessica.

“Rayna, are you still out working?”

“I’m at Mr. Faymon’s place.” Rayna had told Jessica about what happened during the cocktail reception, and she even roasted Jessica for her inaccurate fortune-telling—Rayna met no soulmates there.

“Oh? You’re in Mr. Faymon’s house? Are you staying the night there?” Jessica said in a sing-song voice.

“What are you thinking about? I’m only here to return the favor.” Rayna was speechless when Jessica leaped to conclusions. “Weren’t you talking about how indecent Mr. Faymon is a while ago?”

“I only said that Mr. Faymon will be marrying later in life; I didn’t say he was indecent,” Jessica refuted with an innocent-sounding voice. “Moreover, it’s not as if I’m asking you to marry him. If you click with him, why don’t you try dating him?”

Rayna huffed in exasperation. “No thank you. I’m not interested. Didn’t you see what happened the last time? Look at how fierce Kristie was. Any woman who gets together with Mr. Faymon won’t have an easy time.”

There was clearly nothing special about Rayna’s relationship with Curtis, but Kristie still bore a grudge against her.

Things would become worse if something really did bloom between them.

When Rayna noticed how late it was, she hastily prepped dinner after telling Jessica not to buy takeout, for she was going to bring food back. At that, Jessica kissed the receiver of her phone in gratitude.

As it was dinner, Rayna made blander food for easier digestion. The soup she had left boiling on the stove since the afternoon was done, so she took the pot off the stove. All of a sudden, her vision turned dark, and she nearly jumped in fright.

A power outage?

Nevertheless, it seemed like Curtis’ house was the only place affected as the street lights outside were still lit. Thus, Rayna guessed that the circuit breaker had tripped, so she turned on the torch on her phone and went upstairs to the study to look for Curtis.

“Mr. Faymon, did the circuit breaker trip?” Rayna asked as she knocked on the study door. “Do you know where the fuse box is?”

“Mr. Faymon?”

Rayna knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered it. When she entered the room, she found no signs of Curtis around. She tensed up in the dark.

But Curtis was still in the study when I went downstairs to prep the meal.

The corridor on the second floor was a long one, and there were seven to eight rooms there. It was such a huge space, but it was silent, and the only light source was the miserable, dim light in front of her. In fact, Rayna could even hear her own breathing.

“U-U-U-Uncle Curtis…” Rayna walked along the walls as her legs quaked. “Where are you? Can you answer me?”

She simply could not wrap her mind around why someone who stayed alone had to live in a gigantic house like that. What’s the point?

Rayna was so slow she was almost crawling at this point, for she was afraid that something might pop out all of a sudden. As she walked down the corridor, she would shine both the floor in front of her and the floor behind her from time to time. Upon hearing noises coming from the bedroom, she dashed over.

“Uncle Curtis, is that you inside?” Rayna patted the bedroom door.

“This is my house. Who can possibly be here if not me?” Curtis sounded muffled. “The bathroom door is stuck, so come in with a torch and open it.”

“Okay, wait for me.” Rayna opened the door and went in.

The interior of the bedroom was simple, so Rayna found the bathroom right after she illuminated the room with her phone torch. It was then she realized that the mat’s corner was stuck under the door, which made it difficult for the man inside to swing the door open.

“Uncle Curtis, the mat’s the reason the door is stuck,” she said to him before reaching out to pull the mat out. However, it was rather stuck, and she failed to do so after several attempts. “Why don’t you move aside? I’ll kick the door open.”

“Is your kick that powerful?” Curtis dubiously asked.

Rayna glanced at the lock and noted that it was a normal one. “It should work. I can try it.”

“All right.”

Once Curtis informed her that he had moved aside, Rayna took a step back and sucked in a deep breath. Then, she lifted her leg and kicked the lock.

The first time did not work.

Rayna swung her leg against the door again, and she succeeded on her second try.

“Mr. Faymon.” Rayna entered to see that Curtis’ sleeves were stained red by blood. Evidently, his injury was torn. “You’re bleeding. Are you okay?”

She was too anxious about Curtis’ wound and didn’t expect the bathroom floor to be wet. The moment she stepped into the small space, she slipped and fell to the floor, her phone soaring out of her hand.

Curtis managed to grab her arm reflexively.

Rayna flailed her arms around desperately, and she ended up grabbing his wound. Losing balance, Curtis took quick steps back and hit the faucet as Rayna crashed into his arms.

The shower turned on, and water splashed and soaked them.

Right then, the lights came back on.

Rayna was shivering from the cold water. Once the lights were back on, she quickly turned off the faucet. When she turned back around, she realized Curtis was as disheveled as she was. His short damp hair was sticking on his forehead, and he was scowling.

Swiftly, Rayna grabbed the towel on the rack and handed it to him with trembling hands. “Mr. Faymon, your towel.”

“I’ve only asked you to open the door. Look at how fantastically you’ve done it,” Curtis coldly uttered. “Am I bound in ropes? Did I need you to rescue me?”

I’ve never seen a woman as stupid as her.

“I was just worried when I saw you bleeding,” Rayna said with a flustered chuckle, knowing that she had made a mistake.

“Out. I’m going to change.”

Rayna was about to suggest dealing with the wound first, but when she saw the icy look on Curtis’ face, she kept her mouth shut and hastily left the bathroom.

“Seriously? It’s not like I meant to do it anyway. Uncle Curtis is too harsh,” Rayna muttered under her breath after heading downstairs. She was glad that she was wearing a thick sleeveless top underneath, so it was fine even if she took off her short sleeve shirt.

Furthermore, Rayna was too embarrassed to head back upstairs and ask Curtis where he kept his dry towels, so she just squeezed out as much water as she could from her clothes, planning to deal with it

after she reached home.

Right as she opened the door, she bumped into Kristie.

“Curt, I—” Kristie had a cake box in her hand as she beamed and was about to say something. However, when she saw Rayna, the rest of the words died in her throat as her eyes widened.

Why is she here?

Kristie was upset to see Rayna. When her eyes flitted toward the latter’s minimum garments, the cake box in her hand fell to the ground, and the cake splattered everywhere.

Rayna never expected Kristie to come to Curtis’ house. At Kristie’s reaction, she lowered her head and realized things seemed to be hard to explain.

“Ahhh! Rayna Garland, I’m going to kill you!” Just as Rayna parted her lips to speak, Kristie screeched and swung her hand to slap her. “You pretentious shameless b*tch!”

Rayna promptly grabbed her hand and hissed, “Are you an uncivilized woman? Didn’t your parents teach you not to slap others without a good reason? Are you addicted to violence?”

Rayna did not want to get into Kristie’s bad books because she was afraid that the latter would make things difficult for Roxanne in the entertainment industry.

Nevertheless, she was not just going to sit on her hands and let someone slap her.

“What did you just say? I’m an uncivilized woman?” Kristie’s eyes widened even bigger. As her temper flared, she swung her hand to try to slap Rayna again.

Rayna grabbed both of her hands.

Kristie could not retract her hands, so she began screaming at the top of her lungs, “You’re just a pretending b*tch who set up your ex-husband! You ruined his reputation, and you made him lose his job!”

 

Chapter 40 Spoiled By Him

“It’s true that Julian cheated on you, but haven’t you done the same? And you still have the cheek to act all righteous in front of the reporters. That night, Curt carried you into the hotel and both of you spent the night there!”

Rayna was shocked to hear those words. She did not expect Kristie to know about that. However, she quickly composed herself and said in realization, “So, you were the one who sent those pictures to Meredith?”

If that was the case, it would make sense that those photos only showed Curtis’ back.

“So what if I did it? Women like you are the worst!” Kristie did not bother to deny. “Do you think using underhand methods like sleeping with Curt would make him fall for you?”

Rayna felt a jolt of anger when she heard that.

That night, after catching Julian with his mistress, Rayna had gone to the bar in a fit of rage, intending to take revenge by sleeping with a random attractive man. However, she happened to bump into Julian’s uncle, Curtis.

Under the influence of alcohol, she picked up the courage to seduce Curtis and ended up sleeping with him. However, she regretted it immediately when she woke up the next day and did not want to have anything to do with the man. She did not expect Curtis to approach her for help subsequently and create multiple situations for them to interact with each other.

I might have taken the first step that night, but Curtis is definitely not an innocent party!

“You don’t have anything to say because you know that I’m right, isn’t it?” Seeing that Rayna did not refute her allegation, Kristie continued in an even haughtier tone, “You’re not the only one. Your sister is

also another shameless b*tch!”

Taking a pause, she continued, “I don’t know who your sister had hooked up with. Not only did she snatch my resources and endorsement deal away, but she even challenged me! I’m just choosing to stay away from trouble so that Curt wouldn’t be upset with me. Otherwise, I’ll make sure your sister’s career in the entertainment industry is ruined!”

A cold glint appeared in Rayna’s eyes before she let go of Kristie’s hand and gave the woman a tight slap across her cheek.

Feeling dumbstruck by Rayna’s sudden action, Kristie touched her cheek which was slightly numb while looking at Rayna with widened eyes. “You… Did you just hit me?”

“Yup. You asked for it,” Rayna replied expressionlessly before saying coldly, “Even though you’re capable enough to gain the backing of Faymon Group, you can’t deny the fact that others might also have worked hard for their achievements.”

“Even Curt couldn’t bear to hit me. How dare you slap me!” Rayna’s words fell on deaf ears as Kristie was simply too enraged after being slapped.

The next moment, Kristie charged toward Rayna who fell to the ground as she was unable to dodge in time. Kristie continued to shriek hysterically while tugging at the other woman’s hair and pinching her face. Meanwhile, Rayna refused to be outdone, and the two women started scuffling on the floor.

The commotion in the living room attracted Curtis’ attention.

After putting on his bathrobe, the man quickly headed downstairs and saw the two women entangled in a fight. Kristie’s piercing high-pitched screams were reverberating in the air.

With a darkened expression, Curtis bellowed, “What are both of you doing!”

“Curt!” When Kristie saw Curtis, she scrambled to stand up and pointed to the side of her face that was hit by Rayna. “This woman slapped me just now! Even you can’t bear to hit me! How can she do that?”

Tears started streaming down the woman’s face as she spoke.

As Kristie was in a disheveled state with half of her face swollen, Curtis wiped her tears away before looking toward Rayna.

“Ms. Garland, care to explain what happened?”

Rayna stood on the spot and replied calmly, “Ms. Winton was unable to control her mouth and scolded both me and my sister. Besides, she was the one who attacked me first. I had only hit her to defend myself.”

“You’re lying! I didn’t hit you!” Given that Curtis did not see it, there was no way Kristie would admit to that. “You’re the one who slapped me. How can you be so shameless?”

“Kristie!” Curtis chided. With a solemn expression, he continued, “Is what she said true?”

“Of course not!” Kristie stomped her feet and replied. Noticing that the man was wearing a bathrobe, the woman tried to change the topic. “Curt, didn’t you say you don’t like her? If that’s the case, why is she here? And she’s dressed so skimpily!”

“Ms. Winton, open your eyes wide and look carefully. How is this skimpy?” Rayna pointed to the tank top she was wearing before continuing, “Look at how thick this material is. Other than my two arms, which other parts of my body are exposed?”

She then paused and continued, “Ms. Winton, aren’t you the one who’s dressed skimpily instead? The crop top you’re wearing barely covers your belly button. And look at how short your hot pants are! How can my ankle pants be compared to that?”

Kristie glared at the woman while saying, “Shut up! You have no right to speak here!”

“Since this is Mr. Faymon’s house, it’s up to him to decide if I have the right to speak,” Rayna replied with a smile while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“You!”

“That’s enough!” Curtis said with a darkened expression, breaking off the argument between the two women.

Kristie stomped her feet and grabbed Curtis’ arms. Swinging the man’s arms, Kristie said coquettishly, “Curt, I didn’t bully her. She was the one who slapped me. You have to do me justice!”

“She wouldn’t have hit you if you didn’t bully her or say anything harsh.” Although Curtis did not see what had happened, he knew Kristie’s personality very well. “Stop making a big fuss over it. This matter is over.”

“Curt!”

Curtis shot Kristie a sharp glance. Seeing that, Kristie kept quiet at once and pouted in frustration.

“She is an employee of Faymon Group and she’s just here to help me with some work,” Curtis said before noticing the mess at the door. “Was it you who brought the cake here? Clean it up.”

“No! I’m not doing it!” Looking extremely displeased, Kristie replied, “She should be the one cleaning up instead. If she didn’t open the door, I wouldn’t have dropped the cake out of fright.”

The corners of Rayna’s lips twitched when she heard that.

Ha! More like you were the one who gave me a shock.

“Kristie, I’m not going to repeat myself.” With his expression darkening, Curtis continued, “You’re not supposed to be here given that you’re still grounded. I’ll deal with you later.”

“All right. I’ll clean up, okay?” Kristie no longer dared to talk back and started clearing the mess reluctantly.

Rayna patted her chest and let out a silent sigh of relief.

In fact, she was so nervous earlier that her heart was thumping wildly. She knew that Curtis doted on Kristie and was worried that he would punish her for hitting the woman. As such, she was relieved that he did not defend Kristie blindly.

Rayna headed to the kitchen and packed some food before saying goodbye to Curtis. “Mr. Faymon, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Kristie, who was wiping the floor near the door, glared at the woman and said, “You don’t have to come. Get Gabriel to come here instead!”

She truly detested Rayna.

“Kristie, stop this nonsense,” Curtis chided before he turned toward Rayna and nodded. “Be careful on the road.”

Rayna nodded in response.

After walking down the stairs, Rayna could not help but look back. Kristie was kneeling at the door while wiping the floor. Feeling aggrieved, she was crying, complaining that Curtis no longer loved her. A moment later, Curtis appeared.

After wiping away Kristie’s tears, the man told her to wash her hands while he rang the cleaner.

Suddenly, Rayna felt envious of Kristie.

She could tell that Curtis genuinely doted on the woman. Even though Kristie was rather unreasonable, the man had only reprimanded her slightly. Moreover, when he saw her tears, he asked her to stop cleaning at once.

How lucky she is to be spoiled by such a man, in addition to having Faymon Group’s support.

The next morning, Rayna went to the office to settle some work before heading to Curtis’ place at around ten in the morning. She did not expect to see Kristie sitting on the stairs, playing with her phone.

Isn’t she a celebrity? Why is she here? Doesn’t she need to work?

Rayna pretended not to see Kristie as she walked past her. Then, she took out her keycard and tapped on the card reader at the door.

“Hey, where did you get the card from?” Kristie kept her phone and stood up before saying rudely to Rayna, “Mr. Tylinski is the only one who has the card. Curt did not even give one to me. Did you steal it?”

Kristie could not help but feel sour about it.

She had begged Curtis many times to let her have a keycard, but the man had rejected her every single time. Why does this woman get to have one?