Chapter 373: Chapter 373

Since he insisted, Rayna had no choice but to give in. “All right, then. We’ll split this work in half.”

Jefferson finally smiled when he heard that.

Due to her pregnancy, Rayna got tired and dozed off after two hours of reading through the list of politicians.

By the time she woke up, it was already half past seven in the evening.

Jefferson then knocked on the door with a few sets of casual clothes in hand.

“Thanks.” Rayna was a little surprised by his level of attentiveness. Wow, he brought me these because he knows I don’t like fancy clothes?

While she was unfolding the clothes, she noticed the labor suppressants wrapped inside and glanced at Jefferson in shock. “So soon? Arnaud’s not going to notice, is he?”

“Ringo’s sister is pregnant, so she’s taking labor suppressants too. He had his sister buy these for him. I was worried that that little bottle of labor suppressants wouldn’t be enough,” Jefferson replied with a smile.

“Wait, he has a sister?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

Rayna scratched her head as she mumbled, “I thought he’d be a lone orphan like those bodyguards in movies. You get what I mean, right?”

Jefferson let out a chuckle when he heard that. “You’re really cute, Belle!”

Rayna shot him a fierce glare and protested, “Hey, stop laughing at me! I’m just a little ignorant, that’s all! I didn’t think I’d one day be sitting here in the Terblanc family manor!”

Her rosy red lips curled into a pout, and her relaxed posture gave her an alluring feminine charm.

Before he realized it, Jefferson had leaned in close and gently caressed her cheek. “Let’s get married, Belle.”

If the Terblanc family belongs to me, then I want you to become the lady of this household.

Rayna was so shocked by his sudden proposal that she just froze up. After taking a few seconds to regain her composure, she shoved him off and took a few steps back. “W-We should focus on contacting the politicians on the list so they’ll acknowledge you.”

Just like that, she had changed the topic without giving him an answer.

Although slightly disappointed, Jefferson still maintained a gentle look in his eyes. “Yeah, I know,” he replied with a nod and a smile.

The two of them then headed downstairs for dinner.

As it had already been a few hours, Boniel’s feelings of anger toward Arnaud had subsided. He stopped ignoring Rayna like he did yesterday and even invited them over for a meal.

Arnaud, however, simply shot them a cold glare and continued eating in silence.

For some reason, Boniel seemed to love his youngest son a lot. After getting Jefferson and Rayna to sit at the dining table, he kept talking to Jefferson about life instead of work.

After chatting for quite a bit, Boniel asked Jefferson, “Calbert, you told me you liked Naomi a while back. Did you two get engaged? Does she know about this?”

The look in Jefferson’s eyes turned slightly gloomy as he replied, “I realized we weren’t suitable for each other after we got engaged. I broke up with her after I started dating Belle. We ended our relationship in a peaceful manner.”

Boniel propped his chin up with his palm as he said, “Naomi is quite a smart woman. I suppose it can’t be helped if you two aren’t suitable for each other.”

“I could easily have her come back if you like her that much, Dad. She’s currently working in one of Arnaud’s companies, so she spends more time around him. I think it’d be nice if the two of them dated each other,” Jefferson replied with a smile.

“Naomi is just an employee of mine. You’re the one she likes. I don’t want others badmouthing my brother,” Arnaud said coldly.

“That’s all right. I don’t mind it at all. We’re brothers, after all. Also, I hear Naomi used to like you at first, but you were too cold to her. I think she only got engaged to me in order to spite you. That would explain why she doesn’t really love me that much,”

Jefferson replied.

“You dumped her after reconciling your relationship with Rayna. Don’t try to blame me for everything.”

“You’ll know if I’m telling the truth once you check in your office.”

Rayna kept quiet as she observed their interaction from the side.

I used to think that Jefferson couldn’t beat Arnaud, but it seems his words are doing quite a lot of damage. Despite being brothers, they seem to be complete opposites of each other. Jefferson is always nonchalant and calm, whereas Arnaud is tense and moody.

“That’s enough, both of you! You two are always fighting at work! Could you two at least stop fighting outside of work?” Boniel shouted angrily with a frown.

They only started fighting because you mentioned Naomi, though...

“B-Bad news!”

Their tense argument was interrupted by the housekeeper’s panicked screams.

The housekeeper was in such a hurry that she missed a step and rolled down the stairs.

Boniel’s face clouded over as he yelled angrily, “What is wrong with you? Get up and speak clearly!”

The housekeeper quickly scrambled to her feet and bowed as he said in a trembling voice, “I-It’s Martha! She died inside Ms.

Garland’s room!”

Jefferson stood up immediately. “What happened?”

“I-I don’t know, Mr. Terblanc! I just told Martha to place the diffuser in Ms. Garland’s bedroom to help improve her sleep. I went looking for Martha when she didn’t come for dinner, only to find her lying on the carpet...” the housekeeper replied anxiously.

Boniel tossed his napkin on the table and got to his feet.

“Let’s go have a look!”

Rayna walked alongside Jefferson as they made their way up the stairs and headed toward her bedroom.

She initially assumed Martha had died after falling down and hitting herself on the head or neck. Upon arriving at the bedroom, however, Rayna nearly screamed when she saw the gruesome sight before them.

Martha was lying on the carpet and dressed in the gown she had worn last night. Her face had turned blue, and she was staring at the door with her eyes wide open.

The skin on the rest of her body had turned black. It was truly a gruesome sight to behold.

“Don’t look.” Jefferson pulled Rayna toward him and pressed her head against his chest.

For a moment there, Rayna’s vision went completely black. It wasn’t until she heard his steady heartbeat that she felt a little better.

Boniel, too, was shocked by what he saw. However, he was quick to regain his composure and asked the housekeeper, “How did this happen to her? Did she have some kind of illness that you were all unaware of?”

“We underwent a medical examination at the end of last year, and all of us were in good health. I have no idea why she ended up like this, Old Mr. Terblanc,” the housekeeper replied.

Jefferson glanced at the gown Martha was wearing and said, “She was poisoned. This is the gown that Belle wore last night. I’m assuming she liked how pretty it looked and wanted to try it on.”

Boniel turned to look at him. “You mean this gown was coated with poison?”

Jefferson nodded.

Boniel’s face clouded over as he yelled furiously, “Unbelievable! How dare a mere housekeeper like her put on her employer’s clothes? Call the family doctor and tell him what happened!”

The housekeeper quickly ran off to make the call.

Boniel and the others then made their way down the stairs shortly after. The tension in the living room was through the roof as everyone sat there in complete silence.

The smile on Arnaud’s face faded slightly when he noticed Jefferson glaring coldly at him.

“Calbert, I wouldn’t attempt to kill Ms. Garland at home even if I did hate her guts. Doing so is pretty much suicidal.”