His Precious Love

Chapter 675

When Frank heard his wife's complaints, he folded the newspaper and removed his glasses to look at the woman dressed in a gown. “Sheena's not a child anymore. She knows what she's doing. Besides, I didn't force her into the marriage. She was the one who agreed to it first. Wanda, you should let young people deal with their own matters.”

“Deal with their own matters? How is Sheena going to deal with it? That boy's a crown prince. This marriage was agreed upon by both parties in the first place. Besides, I didn't put a stop to the marriage because I thought there was something going on between them. Remember what you told me back then? You said the crown prince seems to be sincere about Sheena and that he was not faking his feelings,” Wanda repeated everything Frank told her in the past. She then stepped forward and snatched the folded papers that were still in Frank's hands. “I'm warning you, Frank. I don't care how ambitious you men are in your career, but if you sacrifice my dear Sheena for it, I'll make you pay.” With that, she tossed the newspaper back to him.

A crease appeared on Frank's forehead as he stared at the newspapers Wanda had crumpled. As he put on his glasses to continue reading the papers, he thought he should at least show some concern. On second thought, he waved his hand and gestured for his butler, Waldo, to come over.

“Yes, Old Mr. Powell? Is there anything I can do for you?” asked Waldo after arriving before Frank.

“Find out the crown prince's situation,” said Frank. He looked up and shot Waldo a look before waving his hand. “Don't tell anyone about this.”

“Of course.” Waldo nodded and left quietly.

Sitting on the couch, Frank threw his crumpled newspaper into the trash can and strolled toward the backyard door.

Meanwhile, Rayna could not fall asleep even after lying on the hotel bed for some time. After tossing and turning around, she sat up, leaned against the headboard, and spaced out.

Curtis, who returned from the balcony after his smoking session, saw Rayna sitting by the headboard. Her pajamas were so big that they looked loose-fitting on her, so much so that her left shoulder strap had slipped off to reveal her thin shoulder.

He walked to the edge of the bed and adjusted her clothes. “Why aren't you sleeping?”

Rayna held his wrist and said, “I slept too much on the way here. I can't fall asleep now.”

Pausing briefly, she asked, “Were you smoking?” She caught a faint smell of tobacco the moment Curtis entered the room.

Softly, he answered, “Yep. I was thinking about some things. The smell will be gone once I take a shower later.” He knew Rayna did not like the smell of tobacco, so he rarely smoked under normal circumstances.

Suddenly, Rayna stretched her hand out and pouted. “Give me a hug.”

Seeing that, Curtis' lips curled into a smile as he sat on the bed and hugged her. “Are you not afraid of

the smell anymore?”

Rayna rested her head on his shoulders. “It's not too strong,” she said, shaking her head.

Curtis smoked a cigar earlier; the smell of smoke was faint. On top of that, he had been staying on the balcony for some time, so most of the smell was practically gone. A person who usually smoked would not detect it, but people who did not smoke or were more sensitive toward the smell would notice it. Rayna was one of the latter.

After a moment of silence, Rayna finally said, “I was just thinking, will my life be affected if the parasite stays in my body?”

Truth was, she was more worried about the parasite controlling her body, like how it was portrayed in novels and movies.

Curtis' arms that were around her stiffened, and he lowered his gaze to study her. “Why the sudden question?”

“That's what it's like in movies and novels. The minds of those who got infested by parasites will become controlled by it. Say, do you think the stories in movies are fake? Or are they based on true stories?” As she was saying that, a confused yet cheeky look was written all over her face.

“There, you said it yourself. It's just a movie. It's just acting. You can't take them seriously.” Curtis tightened his arm around her waist. The moment his palm touched her waist, he froze slightly before gently resting it on her waist, secretly inhaling sharply at the same time.

Rayna noticed the man's actions, but she said nothing. At first, she thought he was going to say something. In the end, he mentioned nothing about it.

“Do you remember what happened at the mansion back then?” Curtis had not forgotten what Simone said at the hospital. According to the latter, serendipity grass could agitate the blood parasite in Rayna's body and make it go wild.

While Curtis thought about that, an unfathomable gaze filled his dark, mysterious eyes. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Curtis had already noticed the emerald bracelet on Rayna's hand when they were in the hospital. However, he did not get the chance to examine it properly. Now that they were in the hotel, he carefully examined the emerald with the help of the lights in the room.

“It's a piece of high-quality emerald,” uttered Curtis out of nowhere, leaving Rayna amused.

She pounded his chest gently and chuckled. “As expected from someone who's been doing business for many years. You can tell what's valuable and what's not at just one glance.”

Thanks to her cute gesture, the gloominess within Curtis dissipated instantly. He began teasing, “Oh, my darling, you have no idea how valuable you are. I can't believe the person who kidnapped you actually gave you a precious emerald bracelet. Do you think he'll regret it terribly if he knew I was going to bring you back so soon?”

“Nonsense,” Rayna chided, attempting to push him away.

Noticing Rayna's displeasure, Curtis hurriedly pulled her into his embrace, coaxing, “All right, all right. I was just joking. I suppose that young man isn't a bad person by nature.”

“Yep. I think so, too.” Rayna nodded while cuddling up to him. She then murmured, “That man's scent smells familiar.”

The sparkle in Curtis' eyes turned into an icy glint when he heard that.

Though Rayna could not see it, she could sense the change in Curtis' emotions. Hence, she reached out to pinch his cheeks, saying, “Don't get me wrong. I just felt that I've heard that man's voice before. And when he put on the emerald bracelet on my wrist, I caught his scent. He smelled like... herbs, but, at the same time, not really like herbs.”

Just as she was mumbling to herself and trying to gather her thoughts, Curtis' words gave her an idea. “That man looks just like Chandler,” he said.

Rayna immediately straightened herself and articulated each word calmly, “Yes. It was the same day Chandler came looking for me when I was taking a walk in the courtyard. I've been wondering why did Chandler's scent change. So, that's what the problem was.”

Pausing momentarily, she asked, “How did you know the person who kidnapped me was someone who looked like Chandler?”

“I checked the hospital's surveillance footage,” answered Curtis.

He subconsciously glanced at her, and his gaze dimmed when he saw her shirt, which had slipped all the way down to her elbow from her sudden actions.

However, the heater in the room was on, and the temperature was warm enough that Rayna did not feel cold when her shirt slipped down.

“Rayna, I'm going to take a shower.” Just as Curtis was about to get up from the bed, Rayna held his hand. “Why are you taking another shower? Didn't you shower already?”

Indeed, Curtis had already taken a shower before taking a smoke on the balcony.

“I stink of smoke,” answered Curtis as he leaned over to kiss her forehead. However, Rayna did not loosen her grip on him even when he was about to leave. “Forget it. Stay here and talk to me.”

Rayna was genuinely having trouble falling asleep. Coupled with the fact that she couldn't see a thing, it only made her feel as if time was passing by slower than ever. It had not been easy to get Curtis to talk to her for so long. Thus, she was reluctant to have the conversation cut off suddenly.