Rossie trailed Zorion to avoid coming into contact with Santiago. Despite her outright repulsion of him, Santiago continued to tease her throughout their meal. "You've grown a lot prettier, you know. Sexier, too." Santiago ran his eyes over Rossie's body as he spoke. She frowned, her face turning red as she discreetly looked down at her chest to see whether she'd accidentally exposed herself. "Do you have a death wish?" Zorion suddenly asked. Santiago merely laughed rather lecherously and took a bite of his food. "Look, women are all capricious. She's probably already found someone else without you by her side." "Anyway, it's better to let me have a go with her instead of allowing someone else to have her, right? I don't even mind." "F*ck off!" Zorion's complexion looked better than ever, his face flushing in anger. He glared daggers at Santiago. Santiago took a bite of one of the pastries they'd made, then frowned. He took a look at it.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Raeleigh felt a little uneasy. Jepherson would be leaving on this day. He'd already booked his plane ticket. Someone knocked on the door. Raeleigh looked up and opened the door to see Jepherson standing there, dressed in his grey coat and black thermal wear. He held an overnight bag. She gazed at him, a little dazed. "You came looking like this, and you're leaving like this. It's so strange." "What's strange about it? I'm still the same person." Before she could answer, he leaned in for a kiss. She held his face and kissed him back. They kissed for a few seconds before parting, Raeleigh looking a little drunk. "I think this is the first time." "And what does that mean?" he asked her. She shook her head. "I don't know." "It means that a certain someone has already allowed me into her heart and won't abandon me from now on." Jepherson wrapped his free arm around her waist and leaned in to give her a passio
Jenna prepared some food and waited for Jepherson to come down. She'd just turned around to see him watching her from the door. "Jerry...." "Mom, I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?" Jepherson entered the kitchen and hugged Jenna, moving her to bits. "Yes, of course. Wait a minute, I'll bring it to you. Go wash your hands and we'll eat in the hall." Jenna hurried off to get some food for him and he obediently sat down next to Hansen. He took a look at the chess game. When he sat down, Hansen asked, "Why didn't you come down to eat?" "I've gained some weight, and Raeleigh has been complaining about it." Jepherson implied that he was trying to lose weight. Hansen turned to look at Jepherson with a chess piece in hand. He had, in fact, lost some weight after going hungry for five days. "Are girls so bothered by guys' appearances nowadays? Your mother and I never experienced this during our time." Hansen wasn't bothered by his father'
Raeleigh was a little taken aback when she saw who was calling her. She hadn't expected that Scarlette had already gone back. "You went back?" Raeleigh was sitting on the sofa. She'd barely left the house recently, mostly cooping herself up in her room. She wasn't sure whether it was because of the matter with the Richards family or the weather. She was quite surprised to receive a call from Scarlette through a local number. She'd never called Scarlette herself, despite wanting to know what was going on with her. It was partly because she herself was in a dilemma, and partly because she didn't want to interrupt Scarlette and Hadrian's time together. "Yeah." Scarlette was sitting on the bed. The house was the one that previously belonged to Raeleigh. It currently belonged to her and Hadrian, though, thanks to Santiago. Initially, Scarlette had felt bad about accepting it. After all, the house belonged to Raeleigh, not Santiago. However, Santiago said that i
After a long conversation, Scarlette talked bad about Xanthus in a roundabout way. Raeleigh ended the phone call when she'd heard enough. If she allowed Scarlette to continue, she'd probably make Xanthus out to be some wicked villain. She put down the phone and looked at him. "Scarlette bears no ill intention." There were only the two of them in the living room, so it was quiet. He must have heard their conversation. He put down the magazine and looked at her. "I know that, but when are you going to stop hiding things from her?" "Let's wait a little longer. Perhaps I'll tell them in the future, but it would be better that they don't know about it for now." Raeleigh was a little blue. This wasn't the toughest part. The hardest part was how she was supposed to ask for permission to go to the wedding. "Xanthus..." She hesitated for a long time before she spoke. How could Xanthus not know what she was thinking? "She's your friend, so it's nat
Santiago ushered Xanthus and Raeleigh into his car and put their luggage into the trunk. Then, he brought them for some food. Raeleigh hadn't intended on going because she was feeling lethargic, but Santiago didn't even ask what their plans were. He drove them straight to a restaurant. She was almost asleep when they reached their destination. She opened her eyes and looked around blearily. Once they were in the restaurant, she sat down and started nodding off again. Santiago touched her hand, but she did not react at all. "Why are you so sleepy? Have you not slept for days?" Raeleigh opened her eyes groggily and watched as Santiago put his hand back on his thigh. She looked around and saw that they weren't in a private room like usual, but were instead in the main dining hall. "I ordered steak. What would you like to eat?" Santiago asked Raeleigh. She took the menu and ordered something similar to what Santiago had ordered. Raeleigh didn
Raeleigh was completely dazed. Hadrian's mind went blank for a short while before he asked, "Will it hurt?" Xanthus replied, "All surgeries will hurt, but this one is especially so." "We won't do it." Hadrian hesitated for a while before turning Xanthus down. Raeleigh stood to one side. "You should let Scarlette think about it." "There's no need to think about it. I'm the one making the decisions," Hadrian said. Scarlette rolled her eyes at him. "Are you sure about that? What right do you have to decide for me? Go away." Scarlette pulled Hadrian aside and his face darkened. "I have the final say in this." "No, you don't." Scarlette refused, but Hadrian did not succumb to her either. Raeleigh did not know what to say, but Xanthus said, "No matter what you think, it's not the right time to quarrel. Even if you guys decide to do the operation, she is not in the right state. She will need to be treated for at least six months before she can undergo
Raeleigh didn't manage to get the call through after going back either. She didn't rest well that evening. Early in the morning, she received a call from Jepherson, who had just taken a bath at home and was ready to go to bed. Raeleigh was worried out of her mind. Over the phone, she couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you answer the phone? Where have you been?" Jepherson searched his mind for an answer. Sitting on the bed in the room and looking at the velvet box in front of him, his answer would become a defining moment for him. "I was always around, I just didn't have time to answer the phone. I had something to do, so I've booked a flight and I'll have to catch it later. I'm just about to take a bath and change my clothes..." "Where are you going?" "To give you a gift, Raeleigh." Jepherson was in a good mood. It was undoubtedly the best thing in the world to be cared for by her. Since he would have time in the next few days, he had better seize th