Dear Sweetheart

Chapter 69

Chapter 69 A Suspicious Call

James remembered how he stood behind Rayna’s back as she protected him. Even though Rayna was petite and not much taller than him, she could summon a surprising amount of energy from God-knew- where and hit the boys again and again.

“You’re wrong! He still has me, her sister, to protect him! I’ll report you to the school when I get there tomorrow! I want you to apologize to my younger brother! Mark my words! If you dare to bully him again, I’ll break your legs!”

Nevertheless, some of the boys were not afraid of Rayna. Being cheeky, they taunted, “He looks weak. That’s why we hit him. What are you going to do about it?” At that, Rayna hit them again with the stick until they shut up.

After teaching them a lesson, Rayna held James’ hand and walked back home without a word. Back home, she cleaned and dressed his wounds and mended his torn clothes. She didn’t say anything like “You’re a failure” the whole time.

James’ eyes started to get a little red. He remembered how Linda would cry all day after the divorce, and the weight of caring for the whole family rested on Rayna. Despite that, she studied and worked at the same time without a single complaint.

It was at that moment James had an epiphany. He swore that he would wholeheartedly protect his sister. From that moment on, he studied hard and trained his body.

In front of Rayna, he would be a good boy and an outstanding student. Behind her back, he would learn all kinds of martial arts and study really hard to be admitted to that school, all just to protect his family.

Because Rayna once said she wanted to buy a big house, he would work hard to earn money, hoping that he could give her a surprise one day.

His sister had sacrificed too much for the family. She deserved better.

“James, I’m envious.” Cillian sighed ruefully. “I’m an only child, but my parents were the kind who will leave their kids to fend for themselves. So, I was always on my own until high school. Fortunately, my cousin helped me after graduation, or else I would be a total mess now.”

Then, Cillian cheekily added, “James, does your mom need any godsons? Am I eligible?”

“Get lost!”

The room’s soundproofing was excellent, as Rayna was oblivious to the banter outside. She would have never thought that her dutiful younger brother, who was supposed to study in school, was next door, separated by a thin wall.

Following the waiter’s instructions, Rayna applied the medicinal cream to her neck. It felt cold and refreshing. Then, she swallowed the capsule-like pill. It tasted like mint but wasn’t bitter.

She felt no noticeable effects after using the cream, but the pill was different. Not long after she swallowed it, her throat felt much better, as it was not as dry as before.

Then, Rayna went through some emails. When she looked up at the time, it was almost midnight.

Shutting her laptop, she was about to sleep when a call came in.

It was an unknown local phone number.

Who’s the nut-job calling at midnight? Who’s the—” Rayna muttered. Before she could finish saying her thoughts aloud, she realized that her vocal cords had recovered. I can speak now?

Skeptically, she cleared her throat and tried to say something.

Wow, my vocal cords felt fine, and I sound better than before. Is it really possible for the medication to take effect this fast?

At that moment, her phone was still ringing. As she listened to the persistent ringing, Rayna accepted the call. “Hello, who’s this?”

“Darling, it’s me.”

At Julian’s voice, goosebumps broke out of her skin. Memories of what she saw not long ago rushed in. Her heart trembled, and it hurt as if countless needles pricked it.

To escape from Jefferson, she married Julian when she returned to the country. He treated her well when they were just married, so she liked him back, too.

“Mr. Faymon, we are divorced,” Rayna calmly said. She remembered how well he treated her during their marriage and also his true colors before the divorce.

“Dar— Rayna, I was wrong. I’ve thought it through.” Afraid of angering her, Julian changed his way of talking and became submissive. “I just want to say I’m sorry. I should have comforted you and supported you since you have that illness. I shouldn’t have cheated on you. I-I gave in to a moment of weakness and messed up. I didn’t know we would end up like this.”

Although his apology sounded sincere enough, Rayna had a weird look on her face.

She knew Julian well after being with him for a year. He was a male chauvinist and narcissist through and through. He would never apologize, even if he did something wrong. Otherwise, he would not have treated her like that during the divorce.

But now, Julian was behaving submissively to her, apologizing and asking for her forgiveness. What made him do that?

“Julian, I don’t know what you are up to, but I want nothing to do with you after our divorce.” Rayna did not want to argue with him anymore. “And I don’t need your apology, either.”

Julian made a mistake, but she also made a mistake afterward. Now, they were even.

“Rayna, are you not going to forgive me?” Julian was sorrowful. “We were husband and wife for one year. Doesn’t our relationship mean anything to you? I still love you.”

Rayna would believe him if he said these when they were married. However, she only felt disgusted when she heard those phony words from him. She thought he had lost his mind.

“I found it! I found it!”

Before Rayna could say anything, an excited voice came from the phone. It seemed like someone had found something.

Rayna asked, “Who’s talking?”

“Oh, it’s someone behind me. I’m currently outside,” Julian answered, but Rayna could feel something was wrong with his tone. “Unlike Norwal City, Horington is a bustling city,” Julian added.

“Rayna, when you return to Norwal City, let’s meet and talk. You know, I still love you. Well, that’s it for now. Excuse me while I tend to some matters. Bye-bye!”

Right after he said that, the call ended.

Looking at her phone, Rayna had a solemn expression on her face. She felt something was not right. Then, a realization struck her. She had only told Edith she would be on a business trip. How did Julian

know she wasn’t in Norwal City? Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Moreover, someone had said they had found something on the phone. What was that?

That one phone call kept Rayna wide awake. She recalled the events that happened to her. Firstly, Sienna approached her for a job offer. Secondly, she survived an assassination attempt in Tyrandas. Now, Julian, who divorced her some time ago, had come and looked for her.

Weirdly enough, all of them were Faymons, so Rayna couldn’t help but suspect they were somehow connected.

Without hesitation, Rayna told Curtis everything she had heard from Julian, especially the part where she heard someone had found something on the phone. She didn’t want to be killed and her dead body found in Tyrandas just for a job.

Curtis’ reply was fast. He said: When Julian was talking to you, someone was tracking your location through the phone call. It’s best you move to my room, Ms. Garland. It’s safer.

Go to his room?

Even though Rayna knew Curtis was saying that out of concern for her, she couldn’t help her face from reddening. She slapped her cheeks and admonished herself. He’s not that kind of person! Don’t think of him like that. This is Uncle Curtis, after all. I need to control myself.

Nevertheless, Rayna declined Curtis’ help and told him that someone was guarding the door for her. After replying to the text, she walked past the living room and opened the door. Outside, Cillian was happily playing a game on his phone with a lollipop in his mouth.

As he saw Rayna out of her room, Cillian stopped playing and said, “It’s already twelve, Ms. Garland. Are you not going to sleep?”

“Are you the only one here?” Rayna asked him instead as she looked around. Ever since she returned from the swimming pool, she saw only Cillian outside. “Are you okay doing this by yourself?” she added.

“M-Ms. Garland, you can talk now?”

Rayna nodded and smiled. “I have to thank my employer for that. The medication he gave me was very effective.”

“Really?” Cillian touched his hair. No wonder a waiter came over at night to pass the medicine to her. It’s good stuff. He continued, “Actually, Gray Wolf and I are on duty today, but he’s currently away taking a call.”

As Cillian was reminded of James’ exasperated look while he took the call, the former wanted to laugh.

It seemed like Kristie wanted to obtain some certificate that required her to take an Advanced Mathematics exam. Initially, she looked for Curtis, but Curtis told her to solve it on her own. Therefore, she had no choice but to come crying to James for help.

No matter how many times James rejected her calls, Kristie kept calling him. Moreover, she would call Cillian if James switched off his phone. Not even Cillian could not bear her. In the end, James went out with a scowl.

At that moment, Cillian sympathized with him.

After Rayna acknowledged Cillian’s answer, she brought two chairs and a few bags of chips to the latter. “I know it’s kind of hard standing here all day, so these are for you two. I’ll be counting on you.”

“Thank you, Ms. Garland.” Cillian was a little surprised by her generosity and took another look at her.

Although Rayna was not as pretty as Kristie, who appeared on big screens, the former was elegant and had a pleasant personality. To top it off, she was competent at work as an interpreter.

Cillian could only lament.

Forget it. A woman like Ms. Garland is out of my league anyway. She should be with the elites like Mr. Faymon.