Chapter 707


    Chapter 707 Wary Of Fernando


    Upon hearing the argument between Cassidy and the middle-aged stall owner, Rayna stepped forward


    to pull Cassidy away, but Curtis stopped her and pulled her into his arms instead.


    “She''s too mean,” Rayna said to Curtis.


    “Let''s see how Cassidy responds first,” Curtis quietly told her, gesturing for her to stay calm.


    Rayna held Curtis'' hand and squinted slightly. She was trying to see what things were like between the


    middle-aged woman and Cassidy, but no matter how much she strained her eyes, she simply could not


    make things out clearly. It was as if she had a veil before her eyes.


    “Who in the world are you calling the bearer of misfortune?” Cassidy''s fury was amplified when she


    heard the nasty nickname.


    “Don''t you know what I''m talking about?” the middle-aged woman shouted as she jabbed a finger at


    Cassidy''s face. “Everyone in this town knows how your family died!”


    Cassidy narrowed her eyes at the middle-aged woman, who was running her mouth, as she reached


    into her bag. Right as she was about to fish something out of her bag, a deep man''s voice rang out


    above her head.


    “Ms. Weintz, you''re being rude.” As the man spoke, he grabbed the middle-aged woman''s hand tightly.


    He exerted so much force that the middle-aged woman winced in pain.


    Rayna stared at the neer''s tall figure, baffled, before turning to ask Curtis, “Who''s that?”


    “I haven''t seen him before, but I''m guessing that he''s someone Cassidy knows,” Curtis uttered before


    putting his focus on the other man and Cassidy.


    He saw the other man shielding Cassidy while looking gloomily at the middle-aged woman, Erma


    Weintz.


    Erma shot Cassidy and the man a look of contempt before her eyes flicked toward Curtis'' side. The


    pregnant woman who was standing beside Erma then followed her line of sight to look at Curtis.


    The mother-and-daughter duo seemingly discussed something, and the pregnant woman soon blushed


    in response.


    “Let''s go.” The other man turned to Cassidy before taking a glimpse at Rayna and Curtis.


    Yasmin, who was still beside Cassidy, lifted her head to look at the man. “Nando...”


    Fernando lowered his head to look at her before pinching her cheek. “You''ve grown taller, Yasmin.”


    “So that''s Fernando Zeller,” Rayna muttered to Curtis. “Cassidy''s fiancé.”


    Curtis inclined his head and hummed in response.


    Unlike Yasmin, who was excited to see Fernando, Cassidy remained indifferent as she walked over to


    Rayna. “Are you okay?”


    Rayna nodded before turning to Curtis.


    “We''re fine,” Curtis answered.


    “Let''s continue with our grocery shopping,” Rayna then said, easing the tension between them.


    Erma tried to stop them from leaving, but when Fernando shot her a warning look, she took a step back


    with her daughter out of fear.


    In no time, Fernando was leading the way. Cassidy walked beside Rayna, and Yasmin was beside


    Cassidy. At the same time, Curtis was on Rayna''s other side.


    “What are you going to buy?” asked Fernando, who suddenly turned over his shoulder. They all noticed


    that his gaze was on Cassidy.


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    “Fish, meat, and some vegetables,” Curtis replied.


    Hearing that, Fernando turned to look at Curtis.


    Realization dawned on Curtis when he met Fernando''s deep, abyss-like eyes.


    Fernando turned to Cassidy, who then spoke after ncing at him. “The people in the marketce are


    afraid of you, so lead the way.”


    With that, she hung her head and avoided his gaze.


    Rayna and Cassidy linked arms with each other as they ambled down the path. “Why did you say that


    the people here are afraid of Fernando?”


    “That''s because he''s one of Mr. Zeller''s men. Mr. Zeller''s on familiar terms with the civil servants here.


    You know how people from small towns are afraid of the government,” Cassidy said. “Also, this


    marketce will be undergoing change soon. They might be building a new market here, and it won''t


    be an open-air one like this one.”


    “Is Mr. Zeller a local here?” Rayna queried.


    “No.” Cassidy shook her head. “I don''t know where he''s from either. Some say he''s not from our


    country, but some say he is. No one knows where his roots lie.”


    Rayna drew her brows together and fell into deep thought.


    Curtis caught bits and pieces of their conversation, and when he turned to look at Fernando, the look in


    his eyes darkened.


    The way Fernando carried himself was vastly different from the townspeople. It made Curtis begin to


    doubt the other man''s identity.


    “Is Fernando a local, then?” Rayna continued inquiring.


    “Are you asking about his roots?” Cassidy asked.


    “Yes.”


    “I don''t know. I don''t think he even has the answer himself,” Cassidy responded as shended her gaze


    on Fernando''s back. “We grew up together in this town, though.”


    “You studied together?”


    “No. We were together from elementary school up until junior high, but we went our separate ways for


    three years after that. We were in the same university, but we were in different faculties,” Cassidy


    exined.


    Rayna bobbed her head in acknowledgment.


    “I''m going to pick out some vegetables,” Curtis said to Rayna before walking ahead.


    Rayna turned to look at Curtis and saw that the man was browsing through the vegetables in a serious


    manner.


    Fernando was beside Curtis.


    Rayna could sense that the bustling atmosphere of the market had died down by quite a bit. The stall


    owners who were constantly hollering to get the customers'' attention had quietened down after


    Fernando''s appearance.


    It seemed like Cassidy was speaking the truth when she said that the people in the marketce were


    wary of Fernando.


    In fact, Rayna could even sense the crowd dispersing. The marketce was no longer as packed as


    earlier.


    As such, they were able to speed up the pace of their grocery shopping. In less than half an hour, they


    were done purchasing all the ingredients they needed.


    Curtis walked beside Rayna with bags in his hands.


    “Are they heavy? Why don''t you give me some of them?” Rayna said as she reached out for the bags,


    but Curtis avoided her outstretched hands. “I''ll take them. Just walk with Cassidy.”


    On their way back, the memory of the incident at the marketce shed past Rayna''s mind, and


    somehow, Rayna''s heart dipped when she thought about it. It felt as if something bad was going to


    happen because of it.


    “Cassidy, about the passing of the cook''s father-inw, how did you deal with it?” Rayna asked as she


    squinted at Cassidy, trying to catch a glimpse of Cassidy''s expression. The townspeople were


    superstitious people, and Cassidy''s luring of the hellfire birds coincided with someone''s death. Rayna


    did not think that the cook''s family was going to let Cassidy off the hook so easily.


    “It''s not the first time something like this has happened. The townspeople will just avoid me like the


    gue. At most, they''ll talk badly about me behind my back. It''s nothing terrible, and it''s not as if I''m the


    murderer. It has nothing to do with me,” muttered Cassidy, seemingly unfazed, before looking out of the


    car window.


    However, Rayna caught the hint of dejection that flickered across Cassidy''s eyes.


    Yasmin reached out to tug the edge of Rayna''s shirt. “They don''t dare to do anything to Ms. Cassidy


    because she''s under Nando''s protection.”


    Rayna froze upon hearing that.