âNo, donât worry. I figured it mustâve been your brother, so I had Ringo keep an eye on him to ensure his safety,â Jefferson reassured her.
âPlease let me know if you manage to find him. This is all my fault. I was so useless that I couldnât even keep Kristie safe,â Rayna said with a guilty look on her face.
She was so afraid of James hating her that she didnât dare call him after that.
Seeing her so upset reminded Jefferson of his phone call with Ringo. He had told Ringo to let Arnaudâs men follow Kristie, which led to that horrific incident.
If anything, it was his greed that led to Kristieâs tragedy.
Suppressing his feelings of guilt, Jefferson said, âIâll be sure to contact you as soon as I find him. Now, try to relax. Stressing yourself out is bad for the babies.â
âYeah, youâre right. I canât let myself get too worked up. Itâs bad for my babies.â Rayna then took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before continuing, âHow is Arnaud now?â
âThe bullet was coated with a nasty poison. He had his right arm amputated after being rushed to the hospital last night,â
Jefferson said with a hint of glee in his voice.
The look in Raynaâs eyes grew cold as she let out a chuckle. âHaha! I canât wait to see him eat with his left hand when he has nothing left!â
âOh, this reminds me... Marcus came to see me last night. He signed the document,â Jefferson said while handing her a folder.
Rayna took it over and skimmed through it. âReally? I was so worried about it this morning. I was afraid you wonât get the inheritance right. Why was he willing to sign it, though?â
As she glanced at Jeremyâs signature, she saw that it looked a little different from the one she had someone forge.
That was when she thought of Curtis and realized what happened.
It mustâve been Curtis! I know he has the power to pull it off, and heâs probably the only one who would help me in secret like this.
At the thought of his love for her, she felt a lump in her throat.
Rayna rubbed her teary eyes and exclaimed with a chuckle, âYouâve collected all the signatures you need, so you should have no issues passing this test!â
âYeah.â Jefferson felt slightly bitter when he saw the bright smile on her face.
He tightened his grip on the newspaper that Ringo had given him a while ago.
After hesitating for a bit, he handed it to Rayna and said, âHere, you should take a look at this paper.â
âWhat is it? Donât tell me itâs the news of Arnaud being shotââ Rayna asked, only to pause mid-sentence when she saw the picture and news article.
Jefferson leaned in close and pointed at the picture of a man and a woman who were leaning intimately against each other. âThis woman is Stella Zink. Sheâs the newly-appointed general manager of Faymon Groupâs Department of Regulators.â
âDidnât the Department of Regulators get disbanded? Jessie told me about this over the phone. After breaking up with me, Curtis had the Department of Regulators disbanded and all of its staff transferred to other departments.â
Rayna was so worked up that she didnât even realize how hard she was gripping the newspaper.
âPerhaps Curtis thinks this woman is excellent and capable enough to manage that department. I heard Curtis has been taking good care of Stella ever since she joined the company. Not only did he have her accompany him when discussing business with others, but he also let her deal with some of the important business partners by herself. It wouldnât be an overstatement to say that she is the second most powerful person in Faymon Group, with Curtis being the first. None of this wouldâve mattered if their relationship was strictly professional, but those two have been rather intimate with each other. Youâve been with Curtis, so you should know how heâs always keeping you hidden from public view to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Well, he did none of that when he went out with Stella. He just let the journalists snap away at them without a care in the world,â Jefferson replied while carefully observing her reaction.
Rayna was so fixated on the newspaper article that she didnât even pay attention to what he said.
Curtis found himself a new girlfriend? If he doesnât love me, then why did he come all this way just to help me out? Why would he make love to me last night? Does he really think of me as a prostitute or something?
For some reason, Rayna began to panic at the thought of that. She couldnât help but wonder if Stella would move in with Curtis.
As she didnât have breakfast that morning, sitting in a car with poor air circulation made her nauseous all of a sudden.
She quickly held a hand over her mouth when she felt something coming up her throat.
âWhatâs wrong? Are you going to puke again?â Jefferson asked while handing her a trash can.
Rayna quickly grabbed hold of it and vomited into the trash can.
The car was instantly filled with a sour stench, but Jefferson didnât mind it one bit. All he did was roll the windows down a little before handing her a bottle of water.
âThanks.â Rayna felt a lot better after drinking some water.
Noticing the stench, she asked with an awkward expression, âDo you want to roll the windows all the way down?â
âItâs cold in the morning, and youâre not dressed warmly enough. I donât want you catching a cold.â Jefferson handed her two paper towels as he asked, âHow are you feeling? Any better?â
âYeah, much better.â
Jefferson shot her a glance as he asked in a gentle voice, âI saw Curtis at the party last night. Did he contact you?â
Still feeling jealous after thinking of the wad of cash and the newspaper article, Rayna didnât want to talk about him at all. âNo, he didnât.â
Jefferson knew she was lying, but he chose not to expose her. Instead, he simply leaned in close and said, âYou saw the news article, Belle. Itâs obvious that he no longer has feelings for you after the breakup. He may be a successful businessman, but he probably wonât make a good father. He is okay with having children with any woman in the world, including Stella. I donât think heâll treat your kids right.â
Rayna lowered her head. âI havenât told him that Iâm pregnant.â
I wanted to tell him about it last night, but I was too tired and fell asleep. I always thought he taught me all those stuff out of love.
I thought I held a special place in his heart, but I was wrong. Apparently, he can train another woman to help him out just the same. It hurts so much... I feel tempted to go confront him about this, but weâve already broken up, so Iâm in no position to do so...
âDonât cry.â Jefferson reached out to wipe her tears off her face. It pained him to see the woman he loved crying, but the fact that she still loved Curtis also angered him deeply. âBelle, I want you to love yourself a little more. Stop thinking about him. I could be your source of support if you need one. Iâm willing to give you everything I have.â
Had I not screwed things up, Rayna wouldâve been mine long ago! She would never have met Julian and Curtis at all!
âIâm not thinking about him. I donât know why, but I tend to get emotional easily since I became pregnant,â Rayna replied in a hoarse voice, refusing to admit her feelings.
She then tried to change the topic by asking, âHow much longer until we reach the manor? Iâm a little hungry. Huh? This doesnât look like the road we usually take. Where are we going?â
Jefferson shot her a helpless look as he replied, âYouâre almost four months into your pregnancy, and yet, youâve never gotten an examination to see if your babies are developing well. Arnaud is still in the hospital, so his men donât have time to worry about us right now. This is a perfect opportunity for us to get you an examination. Iâm taking you to a private hospital owned by Ringoâs brother-in-law.â