Chapter 504


    ?


    Jacqueline muttered under her breath, "It''s raining outside. Why not talk here?" only to receive a sharp nce from Herschel.


    "Mom, didn''t you say something about baking apple pies? I''ll help you with that," Dustin said, jumping in to defuse the tension that had briefly red between his mother and Herschel.


    I didn''t say a word, just got up and followed Conrad outside.


    He waited for me at the door, umbre in hand.


    Honestly, whatever private things he wanted to discuss could have been said in any room of the house. We didn''t need to step out into the rain for a heart-to-heart.


    But he had his reasons, I suppose, and I didn''t ask.


    "Aren''t you cold? Do you want me to grab you a jacket?" Conrad asked, ever so considerate.


    I had to admit, he seemed more attentive than before, more... boyfriend material, if you will. But it was toote.


    "No need," I said, taking the umbre from his hand and stepping into the rain.N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    Conrad didn''t protest, simply joining me in the downpour. "Do you remember thest time we walked in the rain like this?" he asked.


    I did. It was a year ago, during a particrly fierce storm that had led to sh floods in the city. Many areas were underwater, making it impossible for cars to navigate.


    I suggested we walk home, but Conrad, always going overboard, wanted to call a helicopter.


    I scoffed at the idea, saying, "Sure, you can summon a helicopter, but what about the rest of the staff? As thepany''s CEO, if you just up and leave by air, what kind of message does that send?"


    Conrad, duly chastised, didn''t call the helicopter. Instead, he walked home with everyone else, umbre in hand.


    We walked together, lifting our pants legs at first to avoid getting wet, but in such rain, it was a futile effort.


    Despite his initial irritation, I couldn''t


    .n


    help but ssh him on purpose, leading to a yful water fight that ended up being more fun than frustrating. Even when a car finally came to pick us up in a dry area, we felt like we hadn''t yed enough.


    Now, as Conrad brought up that memory, I understood why he wanted to talk in the rain.


    But no matter how sweet those memories were, they belonged to the past.


    So, without giving him any hope, I simply said, "I''ve forgotten."


    Conrad smiled bitterly. "You don''t have to be so guarded around me."


    I brushed off the awkwardness and sshed through the puddles, saying, "I''m just trying to prevent unnecessary things from happening."


    "You''ve be so rational. That''s not like you," he remarked.


    "I''ve always been rational. It''s just a matter of what I''m willing to let go of or hold on to," I replied, looking up at him. "What did you want to talk about? Is it about Ernest?"


    "You don''t have to keep pushing me away. Losing you is the biggest loss and failure of my life," Conrad said, walking beside me.


    "Or is it about Jefferson''s


    competition? Is he safe now? There


    won''t be any more trouble, right?"


    Although Jefferson''s issue seemed resolved, I couldn''t shake off a


    lingering sense of unease. Content


    belongs to NovelDrama.Org


    "It should be fine. I heard it was the word of Club Q''s boss," Conrad paused. "Ernest took care of Jefferson''s issue."


    I knew that, but Conrad''s mention of it meant he had more to say. "Is there something wrong, or is there a problem?"


    "Have you thought about how he managed to handle it?" Conrad probed further.


    I had considered it. "Money or the Collins family''s influence."


    "No," Conrad''s umbre bumped against mine as he shifted it to the side. "I initially thought the same, money or the Collins family''s influence. But I had tried to settle it with money before he got involved, and they wouldn''t ept it. Even When I tried using connections who had a say, it didn''t work."