Rayna sighed inwardly. She’s thanking Curtis, yet I also get to enjoy a free dinner.
Vivi’s grandmother was preparing dinner. When she saw Vivi bringing guests home, she welcomed Curtis and Rayna
with open arms.
As she was a local and rarely went out, her Chanaean wasn’t fluent.
Vivi’s grandmother and her husband went outside to hunt wild rabbits. Vivi accompanied the couple, telling them
the fun places to visit at Summerbank and which delicacies to try out.
Rayna and Vivi hit it off as they conversed.
Rayna asked Vivi, “I caught whiffs of perfume on your body. Do you use perfume frequently?”
“Yes. I’m quite a fan of perfume, and I even bought a few types from well-known brands. However, my husband
says he likes this one, so I seldom use the other brands,” Vivi replied.
Rayna took out a bottle of tester perfume and sprayed some on Vivi’s wrist. “Try this.”
Vivi wiped the back of her ear with her wrist and took a whiff. Then, she exclaimed in slight surprise, “This is quite
nice. What brand is this?”
“This is our company’s new product. It’s not on the market yet. We are here to film the promotional video for this
perfume,” Rayna chirped while handing the bottle to her. “I’ll gift you this if you like it.”
“Thank you. This smell so great.” Vivi received the bottle of tester perfume and said firmly, “This fragrance will
certainly sell like hotcakes. I’ll help you to promote it when they are marketed.”
“Okay. Thank you, then.” Rayna nodded with a smile.
As she took sips of her coffee, she caught sight of Curtis using his phone to handle his work from the corner of her
eyes. He’s so busy. I should’ve come up with an excuse not to go out later to let him handle his work inside the
room with peace.
Shortly after, dinner was ready.
Taking in the sight of the rabbit dish, Rayna felt her appetite diminishing.
After she tried to eat a spoonful, she realized Vivi’s mother-in-law’s cooking skill was superb. Subsequently, she no
longer rejected the dish.
After eating two plates of spaghetti, she still felt insatiable and wanted to have more.
Curtis, face darkened, stopped her. “Don’t you feel full after having two plates of spaghetti?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“I’m not. I can still eat more.”
He was worried she might be stuffed but didn’t feel it was appropriate to comment blatantly. So, he said, “We’ll be
shooting tomorrow. People often look more corpulent under the camera. If you eat as you please now, the filming
may not progress as smoothly tomorrow.”
Interestingly, he successfully intimidated her using that method.
She glanced at the plate of rabbit dish but ultimately steeled her resolution and averted her gaze. She put down her
plate and said, “Never mind. I’m full.”
Vivi was amused by their interaction. “Mr. Faymon, you care a lot about Ms. Garland. Since you’re getting along so
well, why did you two broke up? Are you sure you don’t want to try getting back together?”
Curtis uttered casually, “I’m just afraid she will impede the filming process.”
Rayna lowered her head and ate some apples in silence.
After finishing their meal, Curtis mentioned he was going out to purchase a pair of new slippers because he couldn’t
get used to wearing the ones provided by the homestay.
Vivi led Rayna to stroll around the neighborhood. They chatted as they walked, and Vivi even plucked some
soothing flowers for Rayna to put on her bedside table as the flower was said to aid one in sleeping better.
Suddenly, the babies kicked her, prompting Rayna to frown.
“What’s the matter?” Vivi asked.
The two were standing beneath the streetlamp. Despite how quickly Rayna retracted her arm, Vivi, sharp-eyed, still
managed to notice Rayna’s slightly bulging stomach when the latter placed her hand there.
Upon glancing at Rayna’s facial expression, Vivi widened her eyes as realization dawned on her. “Y-You…”
“It’s nothing. I’m just too full from eating too much,” Rayna said sheepishly.
“Will something kick your stomach if you eat too much? It’s a baby kicking you, isn’t it?”
Vivi was not a fool. She uttered as clarity washed over her, “No wonder you were so shocked and even asked me
how many months am I pregnant when we were inside the car earlier. I see now. That’s because you’re also with
child.”
Sensing she couldn’t keep up the pretense, Rayna had no choice but to nod. “I’m indeed pregnant, but you cannot
tell others. I’m afraid they will be so cautious around me if they know I’m with child. This may slow down the filming
progress.”
Vivi was curious. “I can’t tell Mr. Faymon too? He’s not the father of this child?”
Rayna didn’t respond.
Vivi imagined the scenario and asked Rayna in an undertone, “Are you pregnant with another man’s child and wish
to get back with Mr. Faymon but was afraid to let him know about the child, so you don’t want to tell him?”
Rayna was rendered speechless by Vivi’s imagination.
Fearing Vivi might accidentally let slip of her pregnancy, Rayna could only play along and grunted in response. “The
child is not his, but I don’t plan to get back together with him. I’ll raise the baby on my own.” She will flip if I tell her
that I am carrying triplets.
“In my opinion, Mr. Faymon cares a great deal about you,” Vivi muttered. Then, she gossiped, “Why did you break
up with the child’s father? Did you two not get along well?”
“Forget it.”
“What is his background? Why aren’t you willing to let him know about your pregnancy?”
Rayna felt helpless, being bombarded by the volley of questions. She replied halfheartedly, “He’s quite well off, but
I’m afraid he will compete for the child’s custody with me, so I didn’t tell him about my pregnancy.”
“Oh,” Vivi murmured sensibly.
Rayna was fearful Vivi might probe further, so she said she was getting tired and dragged Vivi back to the
homestay. On their way back, she repeatedly reminded Vivi to keep that information to herself.
When Rayna went upstairs, she didn’t see any lights coming out from the door seam of his room. He doesn’t seem
to be inside his room.
She checked the time on his phone. It’s already past ten o’clock at night. Isn’t there a supermarket nearby the
homestay? Did he go to the supermarket in the city to buy his slippers when there’s a supermarket in the
neighborhood?
Rayna grumbled inwardly as she unlocked the door and entered her room. Curtis is so picky. The slippers provided
by the homestay are quite comfortable, yet he chose to go outside to buy a pair of new slippers in the middle of the
night.
At eight o’clock in the morning, Rayna went to the restaurant to have her breakfast. She coincidentally ran into
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWilson and the others there.
Wilson informed her they had borrowed two cars from the homestay to load their filming equipment and would
depart to the shooting location at nine o’clock.
Rayna grunted in response. She was about to text Curtis on WhatsApp to update him on the schedule when she
heard someone say, “Mr. Faymon.” She looked up and noticed Curtis was also at the restaurant.
Curtis, who was tall and gave off an extraordinary vibe, was dressed in a casual grey outfit. However, he didn’t
seem to have rested well because there were dark circles under his eyes.
Rayna thought. Did he work late into the night yesterday?
When he walked up to her and took a seat to have his breakfast, Rayna said, “Wilson borrowed two cars from Vivi.
We’ll tag along with them to the filming location at nine o’clock.”
“Okay.”
She glanced at him and couldn’t help but ask, “Did you work until late night yesterday? Your face looks a little pale.
Should I tell Wilson to go in the afternoon instead?”
“That’s alright,” he refused. “I’m fine. We’ll finish filming earlier. Then, I’ll come back to get some rest.”
Hearing that, Rayna fell silent.
Soon, the waiter served the pasta Curtis ordered.
She handed him the seasonings. When he reached out to receive the condiments, she noticed cuts on his hand as if
he had injured himself.
She contemplated for a long while but didn’t question him about that ultimately. After finishing her breakfast, she
went upstairs to get changed.
Coincidentally, the housekeeper exited Rayna’s room while pushing a cart.
“Ms. Garland, I’ve placed the item on the bedside table,” the housekeeper greeted Rayna.
Rayna thanked the housekeeper, assuming the latter was talking about the after-meal fruits.
When she entered her bedroom, she didn’t see any fruits. Instead, there was a box on her bedside table.
She stretched out her hand to open it.
A pair of small daisy earrings was affixed to a piece of black velvet. It seemed to be the pair of earrings she saw at
the store last night, which the storeowner sold at a high price to another couple.
Upon closer examination, Rayna noticed the craftsmanship of the earrings was less delicate, and some of the
petals were even lopsided.
The pair of daisy earrings were different from the one she saw yesterday as this pair appeared like a novice’s work.