Ch. 601..610

Chapter 601

The manager was still confused after leading Jessica to the private room. He was curious about who the woman was. Why would a pregnant woman come to look for Mr. Lopez?

He was not aware of the relationship Wyatt had with Jessica, as he had just started working in the club about three months.

Despite his curiosity, the manager did not pay much attention to it.

As night fell, the neon lights above the club were switched on. It was buzzing with activities as guests walked in and out of the premises.

At about nine-thirty in the late evening, a few luxury cars stopped in front of the building.

Wyatt was the first to get down. He was all smiles when he led a group of big shots into the club.

Wyatt, who had been following up with the business with Integrity Group for four months, finally signed a contract with them at a golf club in the afternoon. That was why he brought them to the club for dinner.

Nonetheless, Wyatt handed the task to the club manager as he did not intend to keep them company. He instructed the manager to entertain the guests in the private room after dinner and send them to the hotel he had booked in advance.

The manager glanced at Wyatt for a few minutes. He wanted to speak but hesitated.

“What’s with that look?” Wyatt got confused. “Can’t you understand the Anglandurn I just spoke?”

“Everything is fine, Sir. I’ll see to it right now,” the manager replied.

After shrugging his shoulder to show he was unbothered by the manager’s reaction, Wyatt went to his friend’s private room.

The moment he stepped into the room, he was greeted with party crackers. A few of the people went up and hung ribbons over him.

Jacob went over and wrapped his arm around Wyatt’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you scored a contract with Integrity Group! You’re awesome, Wyatt!”

“What a bootlicker.” Wyatt shoved his hand away. “The commission has been transferred to your account.”

Jacob chuckled. “Got it. I knew you won’t disappoint me!”

Wyatt never fancied celebrations that involved a large crowd. Besides entertaining business associates to strengthen his connections with them, he would seldom go to the club.

Knowing Wyatt was not a big fan of big parties, all the friends split into smaller groups at the different corners of the room and chattered among themselves after congratulating him. They only gathered when they had to discuss business matters.

Some of Wyatt’s friends brought their friends to the celebration, and those people were children of wealthy parents. They seemed to have no idea of what boundaries meant.

One of them interrupted Wyatt while he was having a conversation with Jacob.

He proposed a toast to Wyatt and smiled. “Wyatt, you and I are about the same age, but you’re more capable than me. I hope to learn the ropes of running a business from you!”

Wyatt knitted his brows. He was not pleased with how the person approached him but did not express his dismay. After clinking glasses with the man, he said casually, “Running a business is not child’s

play. Instead of learning from someone, you must accumulate experience on your own. And that’s how we make money.”

“You’re absolutely right! Cheers!” The man raised his glass and gulped the wine.

Wyatt and Jacob exchanged glances and noticed the despised look in each other’s eyes. Instead of saying what they had in mind, they kept mum and casually drank the wine in their glasses.

The man who interrupted their conversation sat with them and crossed his legs.

He continued bragging about his father’s business and how he had taken the helm of two companies and was given three hundred million to run the businesses.

After he was done telling his story, the man asked Wyatt, “Hey, you’ve been single for quite some time now. Haven’t you thought of finding a new girlfriend?”

Wyatt’s gaze darkened. He gave the man a cursory smile and said, “Is there someone you’d like to introduce me to?”

“Of course! But it all depends on your taste!” When the young man realized Wyatt was open about it, he spoke even more boldly. “I have a sister, and she’s hot. I’m sure she’s your kind of girl!”

Jacob raised his glass and cut in, “Hey, hey, hey. Why talk about women when we could be drinking?”

“Come on! What’s the point of drinking if we don’t talk about women?” The man still failed to read between the lines. “I’ll ask my sister to come over!”

He took out his phone and sent a message.

Jacob glanced at him before taking another sip of wine. You can never outtalk an idiot. Give him a billion, and he’ll outright spend all the money in the blink of an eye!

“Sure, why not?” Wyatt lolled on the couch and looked unbothered. He continued drinking and gave him a smirk. “I’ll thank you if she really is my kind of girl.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Jacob was speechless. He whispered in Wyatt’s ear, “Why are you playing along?”

Jacob had known Wyatt for a long time, so he knew what the latter was thinking. He could not believe the man, who kept praising his sister’s beauty, still failed to read the expression on their faces.

Soon, someone opened the door. A gorgeous figure walked in.

The dimmed light in the room hit on a petite, sweet-looking girl in her early twenties.

The girl in a black skirt took down her shades and glanced at the people in the room before fixing her eyes on her brother. “Hey.”

Jacob’s jaw dropped when she saw the girl. He even dropped the wine glass in his hand.

Everyone else in the room could not help but gasp as they were just as stunned.

Though the news about Wyatt was not reported in the media, his circle of friends was aware of the incident.

At first, Wyatt, too, was taken aback when he saw the girl, but soon, he realized it was just a girl who resembled her.

“Come here, Jannie.” The man gestured for the girl to come over and sit between him and Wyatt. “Wyatt, this is my sister.”

Wyatt glanced at the girl and smiled. “She’s quite pretty. “Her name is Jannie?”

“No.” The girl with a bubbly personality shook her head. “My name is Janica—Janica Wuthern. My brother told me about you all the time, and today, I finally got to meet you.”

The friend who brought the man over felt the atmosphere was not quite right and wanted to get him out of the room.

When he was about to get up, Jacob waved his hand to stop him. Upon noticing that, he returned to his seat and stayed silent. How could he do this? What an idiot!

“Janica,” Wyatt uttered. He raised his brows and smirked. “You have a nice name and are quite a looker too. You look like someone I know.”

Janica tilted her head and smiled adorably. “Really? What an honor. I hope you don’t dislike me, Mr. Lopez.”

Jacob looked away. He did not know what else to say. I know he’s not particular about women, but does he have to fake his interest in her? Moreover, this girl looks likes…

The man noticed Wyatt kept staring at Janica, thinking he was interested in her. He became unbearably smug as he believed he had made the right move. To give them more personal space, he shoved Janica closer to Wyatt and maintained a distance from them.

Before moving away, the man nudged Janica’s arm.

Janica understood his signal. After lifting her hand to fuss with her hair, she picked up a bottle of wine. “More wine, Mr. Lopez?”

As soon as her hand touched the bottle, Wyatt stopped her.

“There are other people who can do the job. You don’t have to.” He lifted her chin and admired her flawless face. A corner of his lips quirked up. “You’re so gorgeous.”

He lowered his head and inched closer.

The girl’s heart skipped a beat as she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. Did I succeed in getting his attention? It’s much easier than I thought!

Janica leaned forward, fell into his chest, and shut her eyes while Wyatt grabbed her chin. Suddenly, she felt her face tingling with pain.

The pain traveled from the corner of her left eye to her cheek and then to the rest of her body, and it intensified over time.

 

 

 

Chapter 602

Her body shook uncontrollably as she wailed in pain.

Paying no heed to her protests, Wyatt forcefully pinched her jaw and used a fruit knife to slash the right side of her face, leaving bloody streaks from her eyebrow to her cheek.

With a sinister smile on his face, Wyatt eyed the blood oozing out of the wounds he had left on the girl’s cheeks. The girl shook violently out of abject fear. In an eerily gentle tone, Wyatt uttered, “Do you think you deserve to even look like her? Hmm?”

The rich young man was confounded, and a chill ran from his toes to the top of his head.

He knew that Wyatt and Jessica were an item in the past and that Wyatt was head over heels for the woman. Hence, he looked for a girl of a similar physique and let her undergo plastic surgery to look like Jessica.

He had wanted to present the lookalike to Wyatt to appease the latter, and yet…

The girl was struck with terror and fainted from the agonizing pain.

Wyatt hurled her to the carpet nonchalantly and took a tissue to wipe the blood on his hands. “Take her back and get rid of her together with the plastic surgeon. Get them out of Norwal City.”

The rich young man knew that Wyatt was talking to him and dared not linger even for a second in the private room. He hurriedly dashed over to drag the girl along and scurried out of the room haphazardly.

The people in the private room averted their gazes, and the atmosphere returned to normal as if the incident had never happened.

Wyatt poured himself a glass of wine and casually took a few sips.

Jacob cast him a glance, fraught with mixed feelings. He knew that Wyatt wouldn’t let the rich young man off the hook that easily. Nonetheless, he hadn’t expected Wyatt to go to that extent.

“I’m going out for some fresh air.” Jacob took the cigarette from the table and got up from the chair.

After getting out of the private room, he wanted to order some food at the restaurant. He accidentally bumped into a pregnant lady on his way out.

The pregnant woman’s appearance startled him, and he immediately removed the cigarette he was smoking.

“J-Jessica?” Jacob couldn’t believe his eyes.

Jessica flashed him a smile. With her hands supporting her back, she slowly approached him and said, “It’s been a while since we last met.”

“It’s really you?” Jacob hadn’t spent much time with Jessica. However, their time spent together was still enough to let him recognize her. His eyes darted to her protruding belly as he stammered, “Y- You’re not dead… The baby is still…”

Everyone thought Jessica was dead when they couldn’t find her after she fell into the sea.

“I was lucky. Someone saved me,” Jessica said without further elaboration. She cocked her head to one side and looked at the private room behind Jacob. “Is Wyatt in there?”

While Jacob was still reeling from the shock of seeing her, Jessica had already made her way to the private room.

Jacob finally snapped back to his senses and stopped her. He cleared his throat awkwardly and asked, “Are you hungry? Why don’t I bring you to eat at the restaurant? He’s in a business meeting right now.”

As a matter of fact, Jacob didn’t want Jessica to smell the lingering metallic stench of blood in the private room. Besides, since the imposter had just left, he didn’t know what Wyatt would think of the real Jessica showing up there.

Since Jessica appeared to be well into her trimester, Jacob thought it wise to be more vigilant.

“I’ve been around since six o’clock. Since you guys weren’t around, I went back to take a nap in a private room,” Jessica replied. “Now that you mention it, I am feeling a little hungry. Let’s go.”

Jacob carefully watched the way. Afraid that Jessica might fall, he asked, “Do you need me to support you?”

“No need. I’m not that fragile.”

Meanwhile, the manager was about to deal with a matter in a private room and bumped into Jessica and Jacob on his way over.

“Mr. Valentine,” the manager greeted.

Jacob nodded in acknowledgment.

After passing by each other, the manager suddenly recalled that the pregnant lady had been asking to meet Wyatt. Why did she leave with Mr. Valentine instead?

The manager didn’t give much of his thought and went to the private room to serve his clients. When he came out of the room, a server came running.

“Manager, these documents require the boss’ signature. Could you get him to sign them?”

“Don’t you have legs? Why are you asking me to go?” the manager retorted.

The server scratched his head and said in a small voice, “I heard that the boss had just lost his temper in the private room. He’s most probably not in a good mood. Well, you’re quite close to him. So…”

The manager took over the document, slapped the server’s back, and said, “Fine. I’ll go.”

“Thank you!”

After reaching the private room that Wyatt was in, the manager knocked before going in.

He detected the metallic stench of blood but paid no heed to it. He passed the document to Wyatt after spotting him and presented the man with a pen. “Boss, these documents require your signature.”

Wyatt skimmed through the documents and signed them shortly after. “Have you seen Jacob?”

“Ten minutes ago, when I was on my way to serve a customer.” He didn’t know if he should divulge further and said hesitantly, “He, uh, was leading a pregnant lady to the restaurant. I think they’re going for a meal together.”

“A pregnant lady? Was it his friend?” Wyatt asked with a frown.

“I didn’t ask. It didn’t seem like it, though,” the manager replied. He cast a sheepish glance at Wyatt and added, “The pregnant lady had come here since six o’clock. In fact, she had been looking for you. I don’t know why—”

“Did she mention her name or which company she came from?” Wyatt asked.

The pregnant lady had left quite an impression on the manager since there weren’t any other pregnant women around. He clearly remembered her features and the things she said. “She just mentioned she’s Ms. Marsh, nothing about where she’s working. She’s not tall, but she’s quite pretty.”

Wyatt was not paying much attention to the manager. However, at the mention of the name Marsh and the woman’s description, Wyatt’s eyes narrowed as he sprung up from his seat and rushed out of the private room, stumping the manager.

Wyatt was quick. When he arrived at the restaurant, his chest was still heaving slightly.

There weren’t many people at the restaurant at that time.

He quickly scanned the restaurant to hunt for Jacob. Soon, he spotted Jacob. As expected, a woman was sitting by his side, and the two appeared to be engaged in a conversation.

Wyatt transfixed his gaze at the familiar silhouette and slowly made his way over.

Jacob noticed the approaching Wyatt and realized he should give the two some space to talk things out. He pushed his chair away and said, “Enjoy your meal.”

Realizing that something was off, Jessica turned around and noticed Wyatt.

Jessica didn’t think it was odd to reunite with Wyatt at a place like that. She flashed a smile at him and said, “Jacob said you were busy. I was feeling hungry, so he took me here to eat something.”

Wyatt eyed her from head to toe, unsure if his eyes were playing a trick on him. Nonetheless, seeing her well and alive was reassuring. Perhaps tonight, I won’t lose my sleep again.

His gaze finally landed on her baby bump, and he stared at it for a long time.

Famished, Jessica immediately turned to her food after greeting Wyatt.

After some time, Wyatt finally came over and pulled out a chair to Jessica’s right, and sat down.

“The restaurant’s got a new chef?” Jessica asked as she wolfed down a bowl of soup. “This soup is really great. The ingredients are so fresh.”

She had wanted to take some other dishes but soon realized that her hands were dirty. “I want to eat barbecued meat. Could you help me with it?”

Just when Wyatt was about to help her out, Jessica held down his hands and asked, “Why is there blood on your hand? Are you hurt?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Let me go wash my hands,” Wyatt replied before leaving.

His mind went blank as he padded over to the restroom. Before he even realized it, he was already back at the table, serving Jessica barbecued meat.

Wyatt was befuddled by his own reaction. He had vowed to make her pay if he ever saw her again. However, his fury dissipated into thin air when he noticed that she and the baby were safe and sound.

He quietly fed Jessica and asked her to point out whatever she wanted to eat. He said nothing else while Jessica kept peppering him with questions like how his company was doing or if Pamela was doing well.

 

 

Chapter 603

After eating a plate of grilled meat, Jessica pushed his hand away with a frown and said, “I’m so full I can’t stomach any more food.”

Then, Wyatt requested the waiter for a fruit platter.

The duo stayed at the restaurant for quite a long time. All the other guests had already left by the time Jessica finished resting.

She grabbed her bag and stood up while Wyatt remained still. “Why aren’t you helping me? The floor is so slippery. What if I fall? Do you plan to stand there and watch?” she asked, looking at him.

It was then that Wyatt finally came to his senses. He strode toward her, cautiously placed his arm around her waist, and walked her to the door.

“Should I get you a cab?” asked Wyatt upon exiting the premises.

Jessica was rendered speechless.

About three seconds later, Wyatt realized his mistake. Thus, he led Jessica to his car and opened the door for her.

Upon sitting in the driver’s seat and putting on the seatbelt, Wyatt suddenly realized that he had forgotten how to drive.

Jessica waited for a while, but he did not move a muscle. “Are you waiting for me to drive you instead?”

At that instant, Wyatt ignited the engine frantically. He secured his hands on the steering wheel and checked the rear mirror every now and then.

He would usually drive about eighty kilometers per hour. However, he was not his typical self that day and was fearful to even reach forty kilometers per hour.

He cruised along the road, not knowing where his destination was. Hence, he asked, “Where do you live?”

“Our marital residence.” Jessica found his question ridiculous. “Aren’t we married? Shouldn’t we head back to our house together? Or did you not end up getting us a place?”

Wyatt was utterly flabbergasted and drove the car to Zenisan Villa.

There was only one housekeeper taking care of the villa. Since Wyatt was often away, the housekeeper only visited every three days.

Coincidentally, the housekeeper had just completed a garden makeover and decided to stay the night because it was already late.

“Mr. Lopez.” Although the housekeeper had been working there for quite a while, she rarely saw Wyatt. That was also the first time she had ever seen him bring a woman home, and it was a pregnant lady. From the looks of it, she assumed they were a couple. “Hello, Mrs. Lopez.”

Jessica flashed a smile at her and asked, “I’d like to have some oatmeal tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Of course!”

Subsequently, Wyatt assisted her to the room on the second floor. He was so anxious that he did not know where to place his hands. “You’ll be fine taking a shower alone, right? I’ll get the housekeeper to bring you some clothes.”

“Are you very nervous?” Amused, Jessica held his hands. “It seems to me that everything is just a blur to you since the moment you met me at the restaurant. It’s as if you don’t know anything else besides

your name.”

Wyatt stared at her for a while. He gulped and asked, “Are you really alive?”

A few seconds later, a grim-faced Jessica pushed him out of the bedroom.

Wyatt stood at the door. For several moments, he debated how to request someone send him some clothes. In the end, he made up his mind to drive out and personally shop at any clothing store that was still open.

When the salesperson noticed that Wyatt was shopping for maternity clothes, he seized the opportunity to offer him more. “The baby shop opposite is ours too. Would you like to go and have a look, sir? To get some newborn clothing too?”

To get clothes for the baby? Am I out of my mind?

Though he questioned himself initially, Wyatt returned to Zenisan Villa with more than ten shopping bags, five of which were baby clothes. I must have gone mad!

As he was bringing all the bags up to the room, he ran into Jessica, who was seemingly looking for him. Her hair was damp. She cast a glance at the shopping bags and said, “My due date is just around the corner. Who’s going to wear all these maternity clothes after I give birth?”

“You can wear two outfits each day or change every hour.” Wyatt put the bags in the room. When he was about to leave, he noticed her damp hair and proceeded to get the hair dryer and blow it dry for her.

Meanwhile, Jessica was checking out the contents of the shopping bags.

Wyatt bought everything that was pleasing to his eyes. Thankfully, his taste in clothes was not bad.

When Jessica saw the last few bags of baby items were all in pink, she chuckled. “It’s a boy. Do you really think that he wants to be dressed in pink?”

Wyatt simply answered the salesperson and said it was a girl when the latter asked. Yet, Wyatt kept his cool and replied languidly, “Oh, it’s not a big deal. I’ll purchase more soon.”

After drying Jessica’s hair, Wyatt headed to the room next door.

Instead of taking a shower, he went to smoke on the balcony. Was I at the club tonight? Did I really run into this woman? Wyatt fell into deep thoughts as he gazed at the light reflected from the bedroom next to his.

Everything that happened that night felt too realistic to be true.

After puffing on a cigarette, Wyatt stood on the balcony for a while more before showering.

As soon as he came out of the bathroom, Wyatt went straight to the balcony. He was relieved to see the lights were still on, indicating that Jessica was in her room.

Is she asleep? What’s her sleeping position during pregnancy when her belly is so big?

Wyatt paced up and down, overthinking things. Then, he saw the lights go off all of a sudden. Assuming that it was caused by a faulty circuit component, Wyatt wanted to head out to check.

The moment he opened his bedroom door, Jessica was there in her pajama.

She lifted her head and had one hand on her waist. “Are you seriously letting a mom-to-be sleep by herself?” she asked, furrowing her brows.

When the realization struck him, Wyatt opened the door wider and let her in.

Afterward, he went to the storage cabinet to pick up an extra pillow. Worried that the duvet was too thin, he also changed it into a thicker one.

When he was done, Jessica removed her slippers and lay on the bed. She tapped the space beside her and instructed, “Come over here.”

Wyatt heeded her words.

Jessica pulled her shirt up, revealing a round and fair baby bump. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly. “He tortured me badly when I was six to seven months pregnant, but he behaves very well now. Touch him.”

Wyatt did as she said and felt the warmth and softness in his palm. He stared at Jessica’s bump and saw some jerky movements on the pregnant belly. Soon, something small kicked his palm!

He had never experienced such a moment and was taken aback by what just happened.

He asked, “Did the baby kick me?”

“No, he was just playing with you.” Jessica smiled and added, “He knows that you’re his father, so he wants to get close to you. After all, this is your first time meeting each other.”

This feeling is simply amazing.

Wyatt moved his palm up. Surprisingly, the baby followed him and gently kicked his palm as if he could sense Wyatt’s movement.

At that, Wyatt felt ticklish and guffawed.

He continued teasing the baby by moving his palm around the belly. Wherever his hand moved, the baby followed.

After playing for a while, Wyatt noticed that the baby stopped moving completely. Immediately, he asked Jessica, “Why did the movements stop?”

“You need your rest, let alone the baby.” Jessica found his reaction funny. She yawned and uttered, “I’m feeling sleepy too, so let’s call it a night. I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

She then slapped the man’s hand away, pulled herself a pillow, and lay down in bed.

Wyatt was baffled. He leaned forward and queried, “Leaving tomorrow? Where to?”

“Let’s talk about it in the morning.” She ignored him and squirmed around, trying to find the best position to sleep.

A random reply from her got him all worked up. He stared at the woman sleeping beside him intently as if she would disappear the moment he let his guard down.

Wyatt hugged her in his arms. A faint scent that was uniquely hers wafted toward him, calming him down. He tucked her in nicely and dozed off with her in his embrace.

Just like that, Wyatt’s insomnia was cured that very night.

The following morning, the housekeeper prepared oatmeal and waited to serve the couple breakfast.

Right then, she heard the doorbell. The housekeeper hurriedly wiped her hands and answered the door, only to be greeted by a lady who exuded an elegant aura.

“Did Wyatt stay here last night?” she asked politely.

 

 

Chapter 604

The housekeeper nodded in response.

“Did he bring someone home with him last night?”

“Yes,” the housekeeper replied. “However, you—”

Pamela’s face darkened. Before the housekeeper could finish her sentence, Pamela barged into the house and strode upstairs.

She could not care less about putting up a good image. One room after another, she opened them and entered to check. Finally, she spotted someone on the bed in the last bedroom and immediately made her presence known.

“Wyatt Lopez, you’re seriously p*ssing me off!” As Pamela lifted the blanket, she bellowed, “It’s fine if you don’t want to get yourself a girlfriend. Why do you have to hang out with Jacob daily and even spread the rumor that you liked men?”

Wyatt was still in a daze when the blanket was removed.

He raised his head and opened his bleary eyes. “What on earth are you doing so early in the morning, Mom?” Wyatt was infuriated when he realized it was Pamela.

“Oh, me? I demand an explanation!” Pamela grimaced the moment she recalled the frustrating news she received last night. She glanced at the other side of the bed, which seemingly had someone sleeping underneath the blanket. Instantly, she scowled at her son. “Did I forbid you from liking men? Huh? Most importantly, is this something worthy of a public announcement? Do you still want your company? Don’t you need to give me some time to digest this?”

Wyatt was totally confused. “What’s this about me liking men? What did I announce?”

“Stop pretending!”

Pamela wanted to lift the other side of the blanket but Wyatt pounced over to stop her. “Let’s talk outside.”

“You’re still covering up for him?” Pamela was so livid that she lost control of herself and slapped Wyatt for the first time in her life.

The latter could not wrap his head around what was going on. Meanwhile, Pamela quickly lifted the blanket and was shocked to discover a familiar face underneath it.

It’s not a man but a pregnant lady! I know her!

“Oh my goodness!” Pamela yelled. Shocked to her wits’ end, she dropped her handbag on the floor and started stammering while pointing her finger at Jessica. “I-It’s not a man? This… This is…”

At that point, Jessica, who had been fast asleep, was awakened by the ruckus raised.

“What’s going on?” she asked, heavy-eyed. Then, she turned around and saw a red palm mark on Wyatt’s face. As she lifted her head, Pamela’s astonished expression greeted her. Instantly, Jessica became fully awake.

“What brought you here, Mom?”

“Um… Me?” Pamela was stunned by her sudden address and did not know how to respond. “I was chatting with some people last night, and I heard them say Wyatt keeps telling others he likes men. Moreover, someone spotted him with a man in the parking lot… I also heard from the security guard that he brought a person home last night. Hence, I came over…”

Jessica widened her eyes and stared at Wyatt. “You’re gay?”

“No, I’m not!” Wyatt finally understood why Pamela showed up at the villa, blazing with fury. “I was just kidding. I didn’t expect them to spread the rumor. About the incident at the parking lot… Well, a client had his pants stuck in the door, so I helped him out. Someone took our pictures? That’s insane!”

Pamela heaved a sigh of relief but scolded her son the next second, “How can you joke about these things? Several socialites were teasing me over dinner last night, asking if I’m longing for one more son! I was terribly vexed with them.”

“No matter what, you can’t just barge into my room and lift my blanket. I’m no longer a ten-year-old child.” Wyatt caressed his face and yelped in pain. “You even smacked me in the face.”

Pamela let out a cough and said, “I was furious and couldn’t control my anger. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Wyatt kept silent.

Pamela fixated her gaze on Jessica and then on her baby bump. She was surprised to see a woman in Wyatt’s house. “You… Where did you come from?” blurted Pamela. She pondered for a while but was unsure what the right thing to say was.

She knew about Wyatt’s hospitalization and how Jessica fell into the sea. Back then, Wyatt nearly lost his life due to the mishap, and she hated Jessica for a while because of that.

However, Jessica’s sudden appearance was like a bolt from the blue, causing Pamela to be momentarily stumped.

“I just arrived in Norwal City last night.” Compared to Pamela, Jessica was more calm and composed. “Mom, would you like to have breakfast downstairs? Wyatt and I will head down as soon as we’re done

washing up.”

“Oh, okay.” Pamela realized her awkward presence in the duo’s room.

Jessica tried to get up from the bed, but she fell backward. At the same time, she felt a stream of warm liquid coursing down her lower body, wetting her pants.

Seeing so, Wyatt hurried over and held her, panicking. “What’s wrong?”

“It seems like my water just broke.” Jessica was fine. She looked downward before shifting her gaze back to Wyatt and said, “Yes, indeed.”

“What do you mean?” Wyatt was dumbfounded.

“What happened?” Pamela was still in the room when she overheard their conversation and thought that Jessica was unwell. When she turned around, she noticed Jessica’s lower body was all wet. “Your water broke?”

Jessica nodded in response.

“Why are you glued to the spot? Hurry up!” Pamela grew anxious and scolded Wyatt, “Send her to the hospital at once! Are you stupid? The child may suffocate if the water is completely drained from the sac!”

Wyatt frantically carried Jessica and dashed out of the house.

While they were on their way to the hospital, Jessica felt a series of continuous, progressive contractions at regular intervals. She grabbed Pamela’s hand with a vice-like grip, but the latter did not feel the pain at all. On the contrary, Pamela kept urging Wyatt to drive faster.

“Are we there yet?” Pamela grew impatient. “She’s going to go into labor in the car if we don’t get to the hospital on time.”

“Stop rushing me, Mom.” Wyatt was equally nervous, but it was not advisable for him to accelerate under such an emergency circumstance. He would if he could. In fact, only God knew how many red lights he had sped through!

By the time they reached the hospital, Jessica was already fully dilated. Her face was as pale as a sheet, and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

The nurse took her to the labor room at lightning speed, leaving Pamela and Wyatt behind.

Pamela was worried sick; she paced up and down the hallway outside of the labor room. She even asked Wyatt, “Did you two do it when you slept together last night?”

“What are you thinking, Mom?” Wyatt’s expression darkened. “Can you think about something positive?”

“Okay, it’s good if you didn’t do it. I was afraid that you would be blinded by lust and couldn’t control yourself at this age.” Pamela then suggested, “Do you want to contact Rayna and get her to come over and keep Jessica company?”

“Curtis has blocked me. Thus, there’s no way for me to reach out to Rayna.”

Pamela shot him a side glance. “You’re too much! Why are you such a nuisance that even Curtis blacklisted you?”

Since Pamela had Rayna’s number, she made the call instead. She asked if Rayna was busy before requesting for her help at the hospital. Then, both mother and son continued waiting like they had ants in their pants.

Jessica was not the only pregnant lady in the labor room.

When Wyatt heard the shrill cries of the other pregnant woman, his hair stood on end in terror. A thought struck him hard at that point, and he wanted Jessica not to have any more babies.

Right then, a nurse was walking past the hallway leading to the labor room. Wyatt got hold of her and stated, “If anything goes wrong, save her and forget about the child. Wait, no, I can give up on the baby even now.”

“Huh?” The nurse was baffled. “What are you talking about, sir?”

Pamela pulled him back and flashed a smile at the nurse. “It’s nothing important. Go ahead and do what you need to do. Thanks so much.”

After the nurse left, Pamela reprimanded Wyatt angrily, “Can’t you hope for the best for your wife? Forget it. Get out of here now. There’s no use for you to be here.”

“No way! I’d have no peace if I leave.” A cold chill ran down Wyatt’s spine whenever he recalled the scary sounds coming out of the labor room.

Suddenly, the door to the labor room opened.

A nurse walked out with a baby in her arms. She scanned the surrounding and asked loudly, “Who’s Jessica Marsh’s family member?”

That soon?

Wyatt was stunned for a bit. Then, he hurried over. “I am.”

“It’s a healthy boy weighing six pounds and two ounces.” The nurse questioned, “You look really nervous. Are you sure you can hold him properly?”

Pamela offered herself. “Let me carry the baby.”

Ten seconds later, Jessica came out in a wheeled hospital bed.

 

 

Chapter 605

Wyatt snapped back to his senses and hunched over to look at her. She looked pale, but she seemed fine. “I heard the other pregnant woman screaming for dear life, so I thought you were going to take a while, but you…”

It felt like she was out in less than ten minutes.

“I never thought that it’d be so quick.” Jessica did not seem too tired. With her hands covering her face, she said, “It was just a moment’s pain before the baby came out. Even the doctor was laughing. I’m so embarrassed!”

“What’s embarrassing about it? All’s good as long as you’re fine.” Wyatt caressed her sweat-soaked hair as his voice trembled. “You frightened me earlier. I was ready to give up on the kid.”

Jessica grabbed his hand and said, “Don’t cry. It’s embarrassing to see you cry.”

At that, Wyatt chuckled.

Jessica was then transferred to a private ward. Right after she cleaned up and had some food, Rayna came.

The nervous expression on Rayna’s face melted away to reveal a smile when she saw how well Jessica seemed.

When Rayna found out that Jessica’s water broke in the morning and that she had given birth to her child less than ten minutes after entering the delivery room, Rayna was taken aback by disbelief.

“That was so easy for you!” Every time Rayna thought about the moment of her delivery, she would find herself shuddering. “I didn’t have easy childbirth with my triplets, and even the C-section took an hour.

But you only took a few minutes to…”

“You said it yourself—they’re triplets.” Jessica chuckled. “I only have one, but still, I wasn’t expecting to deliver him so quickly.”

“Where’s the baby?”

“The nurse took him to shower. I’m guessing that he’s coming back soon.”

Right as the two of them were chatting away, Wyatt entered the room.

Pamela was all smiles when she came in with the showered baby. It was as if she was not the woman who had coldly slapped Wyatt in the morning.

As Pamela walked into the room, she said, “The baby looks so much like Jessica. He’s adorable!”

Rayna stood up and greeted with a smile, “Mrs. Lopez.”

“Rayna, you’re here?” Pamela hurried over with the baby when she lifted her head and saw Rayna. “Come, take a look at the baby. Doesn’t he look so much like Jessica? Oh, he’s my sweetest darling.”

The baby swathed in cloth was soft and cute, and Rayna could not help but stare at him. “He really is adorable. His eyes look a lot like Jessie’s. If he had looked like his father…”

Rayna shot Wyatt an icy look before curling her lips. “That’d be troublesome.”

Wyatt rubbed his nose and did not dare to say anything to that.

Jessica knew that Rayna was busy and had children to take care of at home, so she asked Rayna to go home when the afternoon came. She even shot Wyatt a pointed look, hinting at him to send Rayna off.

After returning to the ward, Wyatt told her that Rayna was still giving him the stink-eye.

Jessica shook her head and sighed. “Nana’s someone to hold a grudge for long. There’s nothing I can do if she doesn’t want to patch things up with you.”

“I didn’t mean to hit her back then.” Even Wyatt felt that he had been too impulsive back then. “Curtis sent me to the hospital for a few days after beating me up too. You don’t see me holding a grudge against her for that, do you?”

At that, Jessica grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. “You deserved it! Get out! I don’t want to see you now either!”

Wyatt hastily left.

After three days of staying in the hospital, Jessica felt that she had recovered enough. The hospital was not a place she enjoyed staying, so after a discussion with Wyatt, she packed up her things and went back to Zenisan Villa with her baby.

Pamela was worried about the baby, so she went to live at Zenisan Villa for a few days as well.

She personally picked a few housekeepers and a nanny to head to Zenisan Villa with her, and on the next day, she invited a few ladies with her to shop for baby clothes. While she was out with them, she showed them the baby’s photos and told them that she had gotten a grandson.

It was as though she feared that they would talk about how her son liked men instead.

After dinner and a while after spending some time with her grandson, Pamela called Jessica over and softly asked, “Have you talked to Wyatt about what name you’re going to give the boy?”

“No, we haven’t talked about it. Why don’t you give him one, Mom?” Jessica said.

Pamela shook her head, however, and held Jessica’s hand. “This is a name that you and Wyatt should give the boy instead. Only by including him in this will he know how precious the boy is and how difficult it was for you. Wyatt was frightened out of his wits by the screams of the other pregnant woman when you were giving birth to the boy a few days ago. He nearly rushed into the delivery room to get you out of there. You didn’t see how pale he turned.”

Pamela could not help but laugh when she talked about the matter.

Jessica smiled as well. “His voice was shaking when I came out. My… If he went in with me, wouldn’t he have passed out from the fear?”

Before entering the delivery room, the doctor had told her that the father of the child could come in to keep her company and to make her less stressed. However, Jessica was worried that she might not be able to hold back from hurling insults at Wyatt, so she rejected him.

She did not expect to come out of the delivery room in ten minutes.

“You have to let him see how tough it was for you so that he won’t dare to argue back in the future,” Pamela went on, reaching out to tidy the hair by Jessica’s ear as her gentle gaze landed on the younger woman.

“Jacob came to me a month after you went missing and told me some things. I know it was challenging for you, but you know that Wyatt’s just mischievous—he isn’t bad by nature.”

Jessica parted her lips. “Mom…”

“Let bygones be bygones.” Pamela sighed, seemingly having let go of something in her mind. “If you were willing to come back, you must still love Wyatt. What mother would not want the best for their children?”

Tears welled up in Jessica’s eyes. She did not know what words to say, so she could only hug the other woman.

Pamela gently patted her back and muttered, “All right. Don’t cry anymore. Have a good life with Wyatt. If you’re okay with it, have a few more children. Let the kids annoy him to death next time.”

A chuckle escaped the crying Jessica, and she quietly hummed in agreement.

After dinner, Pamela had kicked Wyatt out of the house to collect her custom-made baby clothes. Hence, when he came back, he saw Jessica on the couch, her eyes red as if she had cried.

Promptly, he put down the things in his hands and rushed over to ask her, “Why are you crying? Are you upset?”

Jessica could only shake her head miserably.

Pamela gave Wyatt a side-eye and scoffed. “Why do you think she’s crying? Pregnant women often feel down and get depression after giving birth to their children. Don’t you know that?”

Hearing that, Wyatt recalled the scream of agony from the pregnant woman the other day and gasped. He quickly fished out his phone, thinking of summoning Jeremy to give Jessica a checkup.

Both Pamela and Jessica laughed at his nervousness.

“Jeremy’s busy too, so don’t disturb him.” Jessica stopped Wyatt from making the call. Then, she lied, “I just stubbed my toe at the coffee table. That’s all.”

“You were crying, so it must have been horribly painful. Have you applied any salve to the spot?” Wyatt asked as he put her legs on his lap to find out which toe she had stubbed.

When he could not find any bruises on her feet, he furrowed his brows and said, “Why don’t we visit the hospital, just in case?”

Jessica shook her head as a sly delight entered her eyes. “I’m just a little more prone to crying after giving birth to the baby. Everything feels more sensitive. All is fine as long as you don’t fight with me.”

“I won’t fight with you,” Wyatt swore. “If I argue with you, I’m a childish idiot.”

Pamela shot him a glare. “What are you saying, Wyatt? Are you saying my grandchild’s an idiot?”

“Mom, I’m not—”

“You are!” Pamela scoffed. “Not only is Curtis annoyed with you, but I am too. You might as well rent a unit somewhere else and stop disturbing my grandson here.”

Wyatt was speechless.

 

 

Chapter 606

Wyatt could only slap himself after getting berated, however. “This is your fault!” he said to himself. “Why couldn’t you say anything better?”

Jessica roared with laughter.

At night, the nanny took care of the baby while Wyatt brought Jessica to bed.

“Have you thought about what to name our son?” Jessica asked as she lay in his arms. “Mom asked us to name him.”

Wyatt quietly ran his fingers through her hair. A while later, he said, “Why don’t we have him take on the Marsh family name?”

Jessica lifted her head to look at him.

“Once the procedures are done, I’ll transfer a few companies under your name. He can manage them himself when he’s older. Someone needs to take care of Bianca’s side of the family.”

Jessica froze before burying her head into the man’s arms. “No…”

“Why not?”

“I know there are things you need to take into consideration, but you can’t forget about Mom. We’ll have him take on the Lopez family name and let Mom take care of him,” Jessica said. “When we have a daughter next time, we’ll have her take the Marsh family name and have her take care of Bianca’s side.”

“Are we having another child?” Wyatt liked children, but the memory of the pregnant woman’s screams was traumatizing. “Why don’t we stop at this boy? I don’t want you to suffer again.”

Jessica pinched his cheek and chuckled. “I’m glad that you’re thinking for me, but I doubt my second child will hurt much since my first was quick to come.”

Narrowing her eyes, she then uttered, “One more child. Also, you’re not allowed to pull a fast one on me, got it?”

“Okay, okay. We’ll talk about this another time,” Wyatt relented.

There was nothing else he could do about it; his wife would dismiss anything he said to her.

The welcome baby party of Wyatt and Jessica’s child, Hugo Lopez, was a low-key one. It was held at Gratia Hotel, and they only invited their good friends and the important clients of the company.

Jasmine’s physical therapy had gone smoothly over the past month.

She and Theodore brought Carl to Hugo’s party with expensive gifts.

Upon finding out the name of the boy, Rayna asked Jessica, “Did you name him, or was he the one who named him?”

“It was me.”

Rayna huffed immediately. “I knew it! What kind of good name can someone like him be able to give the boy?”

Jasmine laughed. “Have you not patched things up with him?”

“Never!” Rayna took a sip of her juice before scowling. “How dare he hit me and take my best friend away? He’ll be on my blacklist forever!”

Coincidentally, Carl walked past them at that time. When he heard Rayna’s words, he sneakily went to Wyatt’s side and told them what Rayna had said. He then grimly looked at Wyatt and asked, “Do you understand now, Mr. Wyatt?”

Wyatt rubbed his nose. “I’ll apologize to her now, I guess.”

“No.” Carl shook his head. In a solemn tone, he continued, “Don’t mess with women. Women bear grudges easily.”

At that, the men laughed.

The party went on until after two in the afternoon. Wyatt then sent the guests off.

When Wyatt saw Curtis bringing Rayna over, he walked to them and sincerely said, “I admit that I’ve done wrong in the past. Let me apologize to you. Please don’t grow distant from Jessie because of our matter.”

“My relationship with Jessie remains fantastic. You don’t hold as much influence over us as you think you do,” Rayna said in a gentle voice, smiling. “If you ever do get a divorce, please remember to tell me about it. I’ll bring her back to my place to stay.”

The corner of Wyatt’s lips twitched.

She’s got such a sharp tongue. Isn’t it my son’s party today? Is it really appropriate for her to say such words to me today?

Curtis only chuckled quietly at the side. He did not intend to help Wyatt out at all. In fact, he towed Rayna away right after she delivered her piece, making Wyatt speechless from his fury.

After getting into the car, Curtis leaned over to buckle the safety belt for Rayna. At the same time, he nonchalantly said, “Have you forgotten about something?”

“Hm?” Rayna’s head was hanging as she typed a reply to her assistant on her phone. “What is it?”

Rayna had been preoccupied with her work the moment she came out of the hotel, and she never once spared Curtis a glance. Thus, Curtis took her phone away and leaned closer to her.

Rayna drew her brows closer and gave him a kiss.

When the man remained still, she gave him another kiss. “All right. Don’t push your luck. We’re still at the side of the road.”

“Do you know that Theodore and Jasmine have gotten married?” Curtis squeezed the flesh beneath her jaw. “Ever since you took over Terblanc Group, you’ve become busier than me. Are you setting aside the important matters now?”

Rayna gave a quiet “oh” before reaching out to wrap her arms around his neck. “I think things are good like this between us. I’m yours, and the kids are yours. We won’t run off. I’ll analyze this for you, all right? If we get married, they’ll find out about your marital status and who you’re married to once they look into your information. It’ll affect you quite a bit. Also, if the shareholders at Terblanc Group find out that we’re married, I have no idea what tricks they’re going to use next to force me into selling the shares of the company.”

Nodding to herself, Rayna then asked, “I think maintaining the status quo is the best, Darling. Don’t you think so too?”

The man just stared at her.

His unblinking gaze made the hairs on the back of her neck stand, and she leaned over to peck him once more. “Say something, Darling. If you think that won’t work, we can discuss this again.”

“No, it’s completely fine. I’ll listen to everything you say.” Curtis pulled her hands away and sat back in his seat with a sneer. “Your plan is perfect. Flawless, really.”

Rayna could hear the strange tone he had, so she turned and asked, “Darling, are you angry?”

“You think too much. I won’t get mad over something as trivial as this.”

Rayna just gave him a long look.

Despite his words, Curtis barely said anything to Rayna on their way back.

In the past, he would chat with her and hug her before sleeping, but now, he had moved to the study room to work. Only when Rayna fell asleep around one to two in the morning did he come back to the bedroom.

Three days of receiving the cold shoulder later, Rayna could not take it anymore.

Early in the morning, she went to Linda to complain. “He’s too much! I never said I never wanted to marry. I just wanted to delay it a year or two. Did he have to give me the cold shoulder? He’s so irritating!”

“Curtis is doing this for the children. They’re older now.” Linda brought a cup of tea for Rayna. “Moreover, he’s not a young man anymore. He’s already thirty-two.”

“He’s not thirty-two yet, right? It isn’t his birthday yet.” When Rayna unlocked her phone to look at the calendar, she widened her eyes. “Oh my god, it’s his birthday today! Why didn’t my reminder notify me about this?”

At that, she quickly skimmed through her reminders, but she could not find anything about Curtis’ birthday.

A while later, she finally realized she had probably deleted it by accident when she was clearing off her reminders the other day.

Linda shook her head and went into her room.

When she came back out, a household registry was in her hands. Putting it in front of Rayna, she then said, “You came over so early in the morning to get this, didn’t you?”

“No way! He’s too much! How can he give me the cold shoulder? You’re my mom, so obviously I’ll come to you if I have grievances to air,” was what Rayna said, but she was swiftly keeping the household registry in her bag. “Thank you for the household registry, however.”

How could Linda not know what her daughter, who she had raised, was thinking about?

In a solemn tone, Linda said, “Belle, I know you feel guilty about Jefferson, and you work very hard, but you have to take care of your own family too. Curtis loves you, and that’s why he lets you do as you please for certain things. Know your limits because if you cross the line too many times, he’ll get tired eventually too.”

Rayna understood what she meant, and she inched over to hug her mother. “I got it. Mom, I’m going to leave now. Remember to come to the Faymon residence later. It’s his birthday today. It’ll be a more enjoyable time for him if he has family keeping him company today.”

 

 

Chapter 607

Linda patted her back and smiled gently. “Go on. Return to the Faymon residence earlier in the afternoon.”

With that, Rayna grabbed her bag and left in a hurry.

Meanwhile, ever since Gabriel left, Tilly had taken over all his responsibilities, and that included managing Curtis’ itinerary.

The companies that were working with Faymon Group found out about Curtis’ birth date months ago, and they all sent gifts to Faymon Group on Curtis’ birthday.

That was why Faymon Group had been receiving an endless stream of gifts since early in the morning.

Tilly was tasked with going through the gifts and registering which company the gifts were from. She was so busy that she had to get another secretary to handle the issues of the meeting that day.

While Tilly was still busying away, two workers approached her with an enormous gift.

“Ms. Turner, this is a gift from Glory Corporation. We were told to send it straight to the CEO’s office,” said one of the workers.

Glory Corporation had undergone a major reshuffling in the upper management a few months earlier. Hence, Tilly knew Rayna was currently the new director and CEO.

However, Tilly was afraid that someone had tampered with the gift while it was in the middle of delivery, so she had to check and make sure there weren’t any problems.

The moment she opened one corner of the box, she immediately jumped in alarm because she spotted a human inside the box.

Rayna, who was inside the box, saw Tilly too and gestured for the latter to keep quiet.

When the workers heard Tilly’s scream, one of them quickly asked, “What’s the matter, Ms. Turner? What’s inside the box?”

“Oh? It’s nothing.” Tilly closed the box up, tied the ribbon, and said with a calm expression, “I’ve already checked this box. It’s safe. Take my card and send it straight to the CEO’s office.”

“Sure.”

The workers took Tilly’s elevator card and carried the box into the elevator.

By the time Curtis finished his meeting and returned to the CEO’s office, he saw the enormous box next to the couch at a glance. The box had ribbons on it, waiting for someone to unwrap it.

Seeing that, Curtis instantly furrowed his brows. I don’t need a fridge in here. Why did the secretarial department send this here?

With that in mind, he went to his desk and called the secretarial department through the internal landline.

Coincidentally, Tilly was in the secretarial department. When she picked up the phone, she asked, “Mr. Faymon, how may I help you?”

“Why did you guys send a fridge to my office?”

On the other end of the phone, Tilly held back her laughter and tried her best to maintain a serious tone when she answered, “That’s not a fridge, Mr. Faymon. That’s a gift from Glory Corporation. Perhaps

you should open it.”

After ending the call, Curtis went around the couch and walked toward the big gift box to remove the ribbons.

The moment he opened the box, a gorgeous figure jumped out of it.

“Surprise!” Rayna stood on tiptoes to kiss Curtis before exclaiming with a smile, “Happy birthday, Darling!”

Curtis, who was on guard a few seconds earlier, relaxed visibly when he saw her emerging from the box. However, he wasn’t at all fazed by her kiss. Humming in response, he said, “Got it.”

Is he still angry? He has already been giving me the cold shoulder for three days. Rayna extended her hand and asked coquettishly, “Darling, are you not going to carry me out?”

“Don’t you have legs?”

“I’m sorry, Darling. I was wrong.” Rayna threw herself into Curtis’ embrace to seduce him and gain his forgiveness. “I shouldn’t have said such words when I came out of the hotel that day. I regret what I said, and I’ll change for the better. Don’t stay mad at me anymore, okay?”

Seeing that Curtis was still wearing a cold expression, Rayna raised her head and kissed his neck. “Don’t be angry anymore, Darling. Your beautiful wife was just delivered to your doorstep. Are you really not going to give her a hug?”

Curtis continued remaining silent.

“I love you, Darling. You’re even more important to me than the kids!” Rayna kissed him once every time she finished her sentence.

“You’re the most handsome man in the whole world, Darling! I love you so very much!”

Annoyed by her kisses, he carried her out of the box with a straight face.

She then wrapped her arms around him and wouldn’t let go. As she clung to him like a sloth, Curtis didn’t know what to do with her.

“The box is airtight. What will happen if I didn’t open the box after coming in?” Curtis sat on the couch and lifted his huge palm, spanking her thigh. “Are you that eager to find me a new wife?”

Although Rayna was fooling around moments prior, she immediately blushed when Curtis spanked her. After all, they were in his office. “That’s why I made a few tiny holes in the box so I could breathe better.”

Rayna then wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Are you busy today, Darling?”

In response, Curtis arched a brow and looked at her.

“No matter how busy you are, I’m afraid you would have to deal with work tomorrow!” Rayna dragged him off the couch and added, “It’s your birthday today! I have other gifts prepared for you!”

When she was dragging him out of the office, she lowered her head to glance at her watch.

She panicked when she heard someone greet Curtis and was about to let go of his hand. Alas, she ended up being pulled into his embrace instead.

“Hi, Mrs. Faymon,” greeted the employee while walking past them.

Right then, Rayna remembered that Curtis was still angry at her. If I were to shake his hand off, all my efforts to appease him earlier would go down the drain. Since we’re in Faymon Group, I doubt the employees here would dare to gossip about us. I should just let him be.

The couple reached the underground parking lot and got into the car. Just as Rayna was about to fasten her seatbelt, she noticed Curtis sitting in the passenger seat with no intention of fastening his seatbelt on his own. With a resigned smile on her face, she leaned toward him to help him with it.

Planting a kiss on his cheek, she said, “It’s your birthday today, so I’ll serve you just this once.”

Curtis merely let out a sneer in response.

Rayna couldn’t help lamenting inwardly, Who says only women hold grudges? Men are scarier when they do it!

After leaving Faymon Group, Rayna drove Curtis to a private tailor shop to pick up the custom-made suit she had ordered beforehand. When they were there, she asked Curtis to change into it.

“Here are the cufflinks.” Rayna opened a box and took out two enamel cufflinks.

She put on the cufflinks for the man after he extended his arms and asked, “What do you think, Darling? Do you like it?”

Seemingly satisfied, Curtis finally flashed a smile after maintaining a cold expression throughout the entire morning. He then gave her a sidelong glance. “So this is the birthday gift you mentioned?”

Rayna smiled. “No, of course! There are even more luxurious gifts coming up.”

Half an hour later, the car came to a halt outside City Hall.

Rayna unfastened her seatbelt and whipped out two household registries from her bag before waving them in front of Curtis’ face.

She couldn’t help chuckling when she saw how flabbergasted Curtis looked.

“I went to the Faymon residence to collect these in the morning. When I was there, Grandpa was so eager and excited that he almost drove me to meet you himself.” Beaming, Rayna raised her brows. “What do you think, Mr. Faymon? Would you like to collect our marriage certificates?”

Curtis’ expression reverted back to normal in no time. In a flat tone, he answered, “Okay. Whatever you say, Mrs. Faymon.”

“Why are you still putting on an act when we’re already at City Hall?” Rayna was amused.

They entered the building, waited for their turn to sign the documents, took some photos, and waited for a couple of minutes before receiving their marriage certificates.

“Look! We now have our marriage certificates! Now that everything is settled, will you please relax and forgive me?” Rayna presented the marriage certificate to Curtis and said, “Give it a while before announcing it to the journalists, okay?”

Cradling the man’s face, she kissed his lips and went on, “Okay, Darling? Just wait until Terblanc Group settles down, at least. After that, you can do whatever you want!”

Curtis, holding the marriage certificate, was still struggling to calm himself down. He nodded in response and said, “Okay.”

Wyatt and the others brought their spouses and gifts to the Faymon residence to celebrate Curtis’ birthday.

Seeing how late Curtis and Rayna arrived home, they teased, “Curtis, how could you let us wait? It’s your birthday! I think you need to take three shots as a punishment.”

Hearing that, Curtis immediately whipped out the marriage certificates and put them on the table. “I’m sorry, but we were collecting our marriage certificates,” he uttered casually.

 

 

Chapter 608

The person who suffered the most was Jeremy.

Wyatt and Jessica got married long ago, and Theodore and Jasmine had just collected their marriage certificates. To make matters worse for him, even Curtis and Rayna had registered their marriage. Hence, he suffered yet another blow for being the only single person.

“It’s all right.” Jeremy maintained a calm smile and said nonchalantly, “I’m happy with my single life. Besides, Kristie isn’t even married yet, so I’m not in a rush.”

Kristie pouted in annoyance when she heard that. She complained, “You’re so mean, Jeremy! You said that deliberately, didn’t you? James is still too young, so we have to wait another year!”

Initially, she thought a household registry was the only thing she needed to get married. Little did she know, one had to reach a certain age to get married.

“That’s too bad, then.” Jeremy clinked his glass with Kristie’s and uttered with a smirk, “I can’t help you with that. Perhaps you should just get married next year.”

“You can always change the age on his ID card through the system.” Wyatt raised his brows and asked, “Kris, would you like me to help you?”

“Are you serious?” Kristie’s eyes lit up. In an adorable tone, she said, “Sure, Wyatt. Please help me increase James’ age on his ID card. If you can do that, I won’t expect a monetary gift from you during my wedding. You can just come empty-handed.”

Before Wyatt could say a word in response, Curtis voiced coldly, “No.”

“Why? Are you the only one who is allowed to get married?” Kristie grumbled.

With that, she approached Rayna and tried to get the latter to help her.

Rayna knew there was a valid reason Curtis was against it, so she knew not to help Kristie. Hence, she ignored Kristie’s pleas.

In the end, Kristie nestled in James’ embrace and whined, “Curtis and the others are bullying us! They’re all married now, but they’re not letting us do the same. What a bunch of bullies!”

“Time flies and one year isn’t that long. Be patient, okay?” James comforted her.

After that conversation, Rayna came up with an excuse to get Curtis to meet her in the kitchen. There, she whispered, “Why did you not agree to it?”

“Once James changes his information, the school will notice it.” Curtis glanced at the living room and continued, “If that happens, they’ll compel his return right away. He should spend more time with Kristie this year.”

Rayna instantly understood what that meant, and she suddenly felt rather sad. After heaving a sigh, she said, “We won’t see him much from then onward. I really don’t want him to leave. What’s going to happen to Kristie after his departure?”

“He’s only going to be away for three years, at most.” Curtis pulled Rayna into his embrace and kissed her hair. “By then, Theodore will be there to guide him, and we’ll take care of Kristie.”

Rayna didn’t know what to say, so she merely hugged him wordlessly.

At around half-past nine that night, everyone started leaving the Faymon residence.

As Theodore and Jasmine brought Carl home, they chatted happily about where to go for a family outing the next day.

Upon arriving home, Carl hung out with Theodore for a while before going to bed when it was his bedtime.

Jasmine had just finished taking a shower when she saw Theodore walking into the room. While drying her hair with a towel, she asked, “Has Carl gone to bed?”

“Well, he’s in bed, but I think he’s going to have trouble falling asleep. He’s so excited about the outing tomorrow.” Theodore took the towel from Jasmine and helped her dry her hair. After that, he went on to blow-dry her hair with a hairdryer.

Shortly after, Theodore’s phone, which was left on the dressing table, lit up. He merely picked it up and glanced at it before putting it back down and continuing to blow dry Jasmine’s hair in silence.

Jasmine took a peek at his cold facial expression and his tightly-pursed lips in the mirror. Right then, a thought came to her mind, and she held Theodore’s hand, looking over her shoulder at him. “When do you need to leave?”

Theodore kept quiet for a while before answering reluctantly, “In ten days’ time.”

“That soon?”

“They’re rushing me to go over.” Theodore gently smoothened her frown and whispered, “I’ll write in and delay it for a few more days so that I can spend more time with you and Carl.”

Despite her reluctance to watch him leave, Jasmine shook her head and took his hand, pressing his palm against her cheek. “Ever since the day I woke up, you’ve been keeping me company. I’m satisfied with the amount of time you spent with me and Carl.”

“I’m sorry.” Theodore caressed her cheek with his finger and said, “I’m going to need you to take care of Carl on your own again.”

“Don’t worry about me. He’s a good boy.” In a slightly hoarse voice, Jasmine said, “As for you, you ought to take good care of yourself. If you can’t call, please get someone to write to me.”

“Okay.”

Jasmine went silent and nuzzled his warm palm affectionately.

A long while later, she rose to her feet and hugged Theodore. “Since we’re free now, let’s have another baby.”

“Why are you suggesting this all of a sudden?” Theodore’s breathing turned rapid as she embraced him tightly. However, he suppressed his urge and said, “I’m afraid that your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. Why don’t we wait a while more?”

Jasmine let out a chuckle and answered, “I’ve been discharged long ago, and I’m all well now! Let’s hurry up. We only have ten days’ time, and we might not have the energy for that every day. Once you leave, we don’t even know when will you be back again. That’s why I think it’s better to make another baby right now. I might not be able to conceive anymore in three or five years’ time.”

“Wait! I need to shower first.” Theodore laughed.

“Carry me in and shower with me!” Jasmine replied. “Perhaps I can get pregnant more easily if we do it in a different place.”

Theodore was rendered speechless. Does that even matter?

A few months later, Rayna made a huge sum of money from the new products launched by Glory Corporation. With enough capital in her hands, she soon had her eyes on a company that had been suffering from numerous scandals over the past month, Happy Entertainment.

Although Happy Entertainment was a small company, they poached a managerial personnel, Larry Wingate, from their competitor, and that manager managed to develop an actress that ended up winning the best actress award. Just like that, the company became popular and became a listed company.

Over the recent two years, however, the company had a disagreement with Larry, and he ended up getting poached by another company. After that, negative news about the company’s artists were frequently leaked, and the company’s financial reports were falsified to attract investors. With that, the reputation of the company plummeted.

Since it was easy to make money in the entertainment industry, Rayna decided to have a go. After all, she had the funds at hand to do so.

Rayna even looked into Happy Entertainment’s internal information and found that Happy Entertainment had purchased the copyrights of several works before and was planning on filming them. After getting her team to analyze the copyrights, she immediately formulated an acquisition plan.

Since she was inexperienced in this field, she went to Curtis and asked for his help when they were home. To her surprise, he advised her to throw accusations at Happy Entertainment and get someone to expose the scandals of the artists in the company. That way, she could then lower the company’s valuation.

“Is that necessary? The price is already low enough as it is.” Rayna didn’t want to take those drastic actions. “In the future, Happy Entertainment is going to be a subsidiary of Glory Corporation. If the company has a terrible reputation, it’s going to affect Glory Corporation as well.”

While helping Rayna apply a facial mask, Curtis advised, “If you were to bring your team to meet up with representatives from Happy Entertainment now, their boss is going to know that you guys are eager to make the purchase. Hence, they’re going to raise their price. If they don’t get what they’re

asking for, they would rather keep the company to themselves. After all, the company can still operate for quite some time, thanks to the income the artists bring in from endorsements. You need to remember that you’re the acquisitor, Rayna. Once you become the owner of Happy Entertainment, you’ll need a lot of money to invest in the company. If you were to splurge on the purchase itself, you would have a tough time building the company.”

“I understand. I’ll have a meeting tomorrow to re-formulate the acquisition plan.” Rayna was thrilled to have a mentor that could guide her on the spot. “Thank you, Darling! I love you!”

“That’s enough. I’m receiving too much love from you.” Curtis carried her to the bed and said, “Don’t rub up against me tonight. Otherwise, you’re going to stain my pillow with your facial mask. By the way…”

Curtis stared at her in exasperation and continued, “Please behave yourself when you sleep. Stop kicking me off the bed. I wonder how are you so strong in your sleep. Could you please get rid of that habit of yours?”

 

 

 

Chapter 609

Rayna couldn’t stop laughing after hearing that. “Got it, Darling! I’ll keep an eye on my legs!”

That rendered him speechless.

Upon getting advice from Curtis, Rayna went to the office the next day to have a meeting with her team and re-formulate the plan to acquire Happy Entertainment.

After that, she exposed the artists’ scandals, threw allegations at Happy Entertainment, caused the company’s stocks to plummet, and bailed on the owners several times to show little to zero interest in the acquisition.

One month later, Happy Entertainment’s owner couldn’t take it anymore, so he called Rayna and named his price. Unsurprisingly, the price was way lower than the initial selling price Rayna had gotten.

Rayna knew that was the right time to make the acquisition, and her plan would’ve backfired if she continued pushing her luck. Hence, she brought her team to meet with the owner of Happy Entertainment.

After an hour of negotiation, Glory Corporation successfully acquired Happy Entertainment.

Within a month, Rayna’s team had already formulated a plan to turn Happy Entertainment around after taking over. Three weeks later, all the negative news about the artists in Happy Entertainment and the financial report fraud were wiped out.

With that out of the way, Rayna asked Larry out for a meal and handed him an employment contract without stating the salary amount. An hour of conversation later, he signed the contract and returned to Happy Entertainment.

Happy Entertainment underwent a total reshuffle, and new faces showed up in the upper management of the company. The newly appointed CEO spared no effort in helping Happy Entertainment make money.

At the same time, the workers in the related department were busy hyping up the scripts Happy Entertainment had purchased earlier. They even employed video editors to make relevant edits to increase the popularity of the works. After that, the marketing department of Happy Entertainment would negotiate with companies that were interested and try to make as much profit out of those aforementioned works.

Based on the suggestions given by the upper management, Rayna kept three of the best works to themselves. They recruited outstanding actors and actresses before finding talented directors to go through the works. After that, they proceeded to seek investors.

Happy Entertainment had a stroke of luck when Chandler Vardy, their newly recruited artist, played a supporting role in a television series because of his charming appearance. The people at Happy Entertainment rebranded him and marketed him. Within a few months’ time, he rose to fame.

Rayna, on the other hand, had been hard-pressed. She was attending conference after conference, and at times, she even had to travel out of town for business. In fact, she was so busy that she didn’t even have the time to call Curtis.

However, Rayna was delighted to see how well Happy Entertainment was doing and how much profit the company was making. Although I’ve been busy, it’s all worth it.

After a business trip, Rayna returned to Norwal City and realized that it had been a while since she spent time with Curtis and the kids. Right when she was about to call to ask for a few days off, she received a call from Jeremy.

“Rayna, Stella is going into labor,” Jeremy uttered.

“I’ll go over now.” Rayna hung up the phone and gave the driver the address of the place where Stella was being held.

When Rayna arrived, Jeremy went out to greet her and told her that Stella was having trouble giving birth naturally. Hence, she had to have a cesarean section. However, her life would be drawn to an end after the baby was taken out.

Rayna kept mum and waited with Jeremy.

An hour later, Stella’s surgery was over, and a nurse was seen holding a healthy baby girl while walking out.

“I would like to have a conversation with her.” Rayna averted her gaze from the baby and said to Jeremy, “Give me five minutes.”

Jeremy nodded and walked away.

Rayna went into the delivery room and saw Stella lying on the operating table. At that moment, Stella was drenched in sweat, and her cheeks were pale. Although she had been given an epidural injection, both her hands were still handcuffed to the edge of the operating table to prevent her from escaping.

Rayna then stood next to the operating table and stared coldly at Stella. “How could you let Gabriel take the fall for you when you knew how much he loved you? Why couldn’t you just stop and be with him?”

Stella opened her eyes with difficulty. When she saw Rayna, she tugged her lips into a self-deprecating grin and answered, “Rayna, you’ve never walked in my shoes. Therefore, you can’t judge me.”

Rayna didn’t reply to that. Instead, she said, “The baby will be kept in the Faymon residence until Gabriel is released from jail.”

“Do you think I would feel grateful for that?” Stella flew into a rage and struggled to get up.

However, not only was she too weak to move after the operation, but her hands were also handcuffed.

Although Rayna started off with less than I had, she now has everything she wants! Besides, she even has someone to guide her. On the other hand, I had to work hard to get whatever I want! With hatred and dissatisfaction in her eyes, she glared at Rayna and shouted, “I’m smart and pretty. I didn’t expect you would win against me! You’ve truly been blessed with luck!”

“How could you have won? You’re selfish and inhumane,” Rayna answered calmly. “You would do anything to get what you want, and you used the people around you. Who would love you?”

Stella chuckled. “Everyone in this world is selfish! Who has never acted of their own accord? I didn’t ask for Gabriel’s affection, did I? Besides, he voluntarily took the fall for me! If I had known better, I would’ve gotten rid of you without hesitation back then. Instead, I only thought of torturing you. I was too merciful.”

Indeed, if she were to kill Rayna, she could still run away in time to prevent Curtis from ever finding her.

However, she didn’t think of that and ended up going after Jessica and Jasmine.

Rayna glanced at her watch before turning around to leave.

Coincidentally, Jeremy was walking in with a syringe in his hand. “Are you done talking to her?” he asked.

“Yes.” When Rayna was walking out of the delivery room, she heard Stella swearing loudly. I think it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what substance was in the syringe Jeremy was holding.

Stella’s swearing turned into pleas for help. The viciousness in her tone while she was talking to Rayna earlier had also disappeared.

Rayna turned around to see Jeremy forcibly pinning Stella’s arm down and injecting her with the medicine.

“You kept telling everyone how unloved you were. Yet, you personally destroyed the person you loved.” Rayna stared at the woman on the operating table, and her gaze turned frosty. “I hope Gabriel would never meet a woman like you again.”

Rayna brought the baby back to the mansion in Northville.

Sandy happened to arrive there as well, and she was stunned when she saw Rayna holding a child. “Who does the baby belong to?”

“Mr. Tylinski.” Rayna handed the baby to a nanny and said to Sandy, “I went to see Stella just now, and she’s already dead.”

Rayna had already told Sandy about all the past events, so Sandy nodded and said, “That girl was pretty, but she was too vicious. It’s such a shame Mr. Tylinski fell for someone like her. It’s a good thing she died. Otherwise, the baby could get influenced by her.”

“Is Grandpa doing okay?” Rayna took off her coat and hung it on the rack. “I haven’t seen Grandpa in so long. Perhaps I should go over with you tonight and have dinner there.”

“You’ve only returned from a business trip. Why don’t you rest and come over tomorrow?”

“I’m all right.”

Rayna then went upstairs to get changed. Just as she was about to bring the kids to the Faymon residence, her phone rang.

“Ms. Garland, you’re back already, aren’t you?” asked the talent director of Happy Entertainment, Larry. “Our television series, ‘Bright Moon’, had officially wrapped up, and we’re having a celebration dinner at Gratia Hotel. Our investors are coming over, so I wanted to ask if you could come over for dinner.”

Rayna knew how capable Larry was, so unless it was for a crucial matter, he wouldn’t have called to disturb her. I think he wants me to go over to meet those major investors as a formality.

After careful consideration, Rayna agreed, “Okay. I’ll be there in an hour or so.”

“I won’t be able to have dinner with you guys anymore,” Rayna said to Sandy. “I need to attend a celebration dinner, but I’ll accompany you and the kids to the Faymon residence first, Mom. I’ll also try to get home as early as I can tonight.”

 

 

 

Chapter 610

Rayna kissed her on the cheek and asked, “Is it okay if I have breakfast with you and Grandpa tomorrow instead?”

“I’m okay with that, of course. However, you ought to please your husband first.” Sandy chuckled. “You’ve just returned from a one-month business trip, and you’re keeping yourself busy again. I don’t think he’s happy with that.”

Rayna flashed a smile in response. “It’ll be all right! I’ll apply for a long leave tomorrow so that I can make it up to him!”

After sending Sandy and the kids to the Faymon residence, Rayna had a brief conversation with Alfred before rushing to Gratia Hotel. When she was on her way there, she texted Curtis to tell him she was attending a celebration dinner.

When she was writing her third text for him, she realized Curtis had blocked her.

“He’s so childish!” Rayna was struck dumb when she saw the notification. All I did was go on a business trip and hang up on him a few times because I was busy! Does he really need to do this?

Once she arrived at Gratia Hotel, she told the server who she was, and the server quickly brought her to the private room Larry and the others were in.

As soon as the door of the private room opened, she saw some people sitting in front of the huge table and having a pleasant time. Larry was the first to see her come in, and he hurriedly rose to his feet to greet her.

“Hi, Ms. Garland.” Larry shook Rayna’s hand and whispered, “I know you just came back to Norwal City, and I should let you rest. However, we’re celebrating the completion of ‘Bright Moon’ tonight.”

In response, Rayna flashed him a smile and uttered in a gentle tone, “I understand. However, you’re still the one who has been assisting the artists.”

Larry was pleased to learn how sensible his superior was. After that, he led Rayna to sit next to a young man and said, “This is Chandler Vardy. You haven’t met him, right, Ms. Garland?”

Ever since the acquisition of Happy Entertainment and the reshuffle of its upper management, Rayna handed everything to the new CEO. Hence, she rarely involved herself in Happy Entertainment’s operations.

Not only did she not know Chandler, but she also didn’t know any of the artists in the company.

That being said, Rayna had seen Chandler on Twitter quite a few times prior to that due to his popularity.

The young man instantly took off his cap to reveal his handsome features when he heard Larry’s words. In a respectful tone, he greeted, “Hi, Ms. Garland. I’m Chandler Vardy. Thank you for your support.”

“Oh, no. You should be thanking Larry,” Rayna replied. This young man is polite. Although he achieved fame at a young age, he doesn’t act arrogantly. Needless to say, Rayna had a pleasant first impression of him.

While smiling at Chandler, Rayna picked up a glass of orange juice and passed it to him. “Follow your manager’s guidance. If you can do that, you’ll surely win three best actor awards.”

“Heard.” Chandler took the glass of juice and smiled bashfully. “I’ll listen to whatever Mr. Wingate says.”

Rayna then handed a glass of orange juice to Larry.

Taking the orange juice from Rayna, Chandler smiled. “You flatter me, Ms. Garland. Getting three of those awards is a tough task! If Chandler were to get them, he would be a veteran by then!”

“I know how good you are at managing them.” Rayna raised her glass and clinked it with his. “The artists that you’ve mentored are all doing well in the entertainment industry, aren’t they?”

Larry was over the moon when he heard the compliment, and he felt his contributions toward Happy Entertainment were all worth it. Seeing that the investors weren’t there yet, he quickly introduced Rayna to a few more of their artists.

Around ten minutes later, the investors finally arrived.

Those investors, who were sought out by the producer of “Bright Moon,” were well known in the entertainment industry. Originally, they weren’t interested in the television series Happy Entertainment was filming. However, Chandler’s popularity happened to be off the charts, and they also found out that Larry was his manager.

Furthermore, the director of the television series had a certain amount of publicity and was known for having high standards for his films. Although those investors had already invested in the production earlier, they were impressed by a few teasers shown to them afterward. In the end, they all invested millions more.

Ever since the acquisition, Rayna had rarely shown herself in public. Despite knowing that Happy Entertainment was a subsidiary of Glory Corporation, the public didn’t know Rayna was the buyer of the company, and neither did those investors.

Glory Corporation was a listed cosmetic company that was doing well in the stock market. Although the products were impressive, they were nothing compared to the three largest cosmetic companies in the country. Naturally, those investors weren’t impressed.

When the investors were greeting Rayna, she could sense their arrogance when they spoke. However, she was unperturbed. In fact, she was even smiling and exchanging pleasantries with them. I shouldn’t care what they think of me. The most important thing is that they’re impressed by Happy Entertainment’s artists. These investors are interested in Chandler because he’s popular. As his popularity grows, so will his fan base. His fans will then buy the products he endorses and watch his movies and television series. Obviously, they’re going to hold on to their cash cow tightly.

Within half an hour, Larry had gotten a dozen of business cards from the investors. Those business cards either belonged to movie directors or representatives from certain companies. Evidently, Larry was elated.

“Hi, Ms. Garland.” An investor, Taylor Thompson, suddenly turned his attention toward Rayna and smiled. “I haven’t seen many people your age becoming a director of a company. May I know who is your father?”

Rayna swirled her glass and smiled faintly. “I would love to tell you that, Mr. Thompson, but my parents divorced when I was little. I was raised by my mother.”

Taylor’s interest was piqued. “Are you saying that you’ve achieved all this on your own? How impressive! Are you married, Ms. Garland?”

Rayna frowned slightly, but she concealed her frustration. “Yes. I’m married.”

“May I know what your husband does for a living?” Taylor questioned. “Is he involved in the entertainment industry? What’s his name? Perhaps I know him!”

Larry could tell that Taylor was taking a dig at Rayna. Under these circumstances, it’s obvious that Ms. Garland has to stay calm. However, as her subordinate, I can’t possibly sit on my hands.

With that in mind, Larry immediately went to top up Taylor’s glass and said, “Mr. Thompson, didn’t you say you were going to introduce some endorsement deals to Chandler?”

“Oh! Yes! These companies are looking for artists from Aploth. I think Chandler is the perfect candidate…”

Rayna heaved a sigh of relief inwardly after seeing how Larry had distracted Taylor. If not for Larry, I think I would’ve lost my composure and thrown my glass of orange juice at Mr. Thompson’s face!

Chandler, who was sitting next to Rayna, leaned toward her and asked with concern, “Are you all right, Ms. Garland?”

Rayna shook her head in response. Right when she was about to say something, Chandler lost his grip on his glass and spilled half a glass of orange juice on her skirt.

Chandler panicked and quickly put his glass on the table and said, “I’m so sorry, Ms. Garland. I—”

“It’s fine.” With the young man’s importance to the company in her mind, Rayna suppressed her anger and stood up with a smile on her face. “Please excuse me. I need to go to the restroom.”

Rayna left the private room and walked down a long corridor to go to the restroom.

The orange juice spilled on her waist. Since her skirt was made of thin material, it was stuck on her body after it got wet.

While furrowing her brows, she tried to wipe the wet patch dry by using napkins. As she was doing that, she took out her phone to see that Curtis had yet to unblock her. Upon letting out a wry chuckle, she rang him. Why isn’t he answering my call? Is he still mad at me?

“Gosh! An angry husband is even harder to please than an angry child,” Rayna mumbled to herself before throwing the napkins into the bin. The moment she exited the restroom, she saw Chandler leaning against the wall outside.

“Oh? Why are you here?” she asked.

“I’m terribly sorry about just now, Ms. Garland.” Chandler walked up to Rayna and handed her a shopping bag. “Miranda happens to have a new skirt in her car, so I bought it from her. Since you guys are almost the same size, I think you should be able to wear it.”

Rayna lowered her head to check out the skirt. The wet patch on her skirt was still plastered on her skin, and it had gotten slightly transparent.

Hence, she accepted the dress and thanked him before heading to the restroom to change.

Female artists were generally very thin in order to look good on the screen. Fortunately, it was a self-tie skirt, so Rayna could fit in it. She then stuffed the hem of her chiffon shirt into the skirt, adjusted it, and exited the restroom.

The second Chandler laid eyes on her, his eyes lit up passionately, but she didn’t notice it.