Chapter 354


    Right after Rayna sent out the message, she heard faint footsteps behind her. In swift movements, she


    put her phone on the countertop and washed her face. By the time she turned around, her expression


    was back to normal.


    Jefferson had already entered the kitchen. When he saw her reddened eyes, he hastily asked, “What’s


    wrong?”


    “Everything’s fine. It’s the chili pepper.” Rayna pointed at the chili pepper on the chopping board and


    said pitifully. “It hurts my eyes so bad that I had to rinse them a few times.”


    He then took out a piece of tissue to wipe off the water droplets on her face.


    “It’s all right. I can do it myself.” However, she quickly drew the tissue from his hand. “You should wait


    outside. We agreed that I’ll be preparing today’s breakfast”


    At her insistence, Jefferson nodded in agreement. When he was about to leave the kitchen, he saw the


    phone on the countertop. His eyes darkened as though something had popped into his mind.


    After breakfast, Rayna wanted to change the bed sheets. He offered to help, but she turned him down.


    “It’s not a lot of work. I just need to throw these into the washing machine. Why don’t you check on the


    garden?”


    “All right,” he replied.


    The environment in the garden shed encouraged nt growth, and that was why the rows of green


    roses they nted two weeks ago sprouted so soon. Once the stems grew taller and the buds formed,


    the roses would bloom in no time.


    Jefferson wished they could grow even faster. Daily new chapters upload Only On niniz(dot He


    wanted to harvest them as soon as possible and put a bouquet in the living room and another in


    Rayna’s room. The green roses emanated a sweet scent, which he believed would help her sleep


    better..


    After that, he returned to the house and realized no one was in the living room. Rayna seemed to still


    be busy with her chores upstairs.


    While cleaning up the space, he spotted a phone on the coffee table. It was Rayna’s.


    Upon recalling her reddened eyes that morning, he unconsciously reached out and picked up the


    phone.


    Jefferson could ess the device easily as it did not require a passcode. The phone had only a few


    applications alongside two numbers in the contact list. The call log showed she answered a call that


    morning.


    It has Frosa’s calling code…


    In an instant, he figured out who the caller was, and his heart clenched.


    He then clicked into the messaging application, where he found a message Rayna sent to the unknown


    number: Curtis, I miss you so much. Forgive me for being willful. The research on Ixora is going very


    well, and I still need to wait for fifteen more days. Once Jefferson gets better after taking the


    medication, I’ll head back immediately. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.


    That message was not sent out, seeing that there was a red exmation mark right next to it. She must


    have identally switched off her mobile data.Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    Nevertheless, Jefferson’s heart started beating rapidly the moment he read the message. Feeling


    suffocated, he clutched the fabric over his chest to suppress that ufortable feeling.


    His eyes reddened when he recalled the empty promises she made. I knew it. She has been lying to


    me all this while. She said she would always stay by my side, but it was merely because she pitied and


    sympathized with me. I never had a spot in her heart. The man she loves is in Frosa, and his name is


    not Jefferson but Curtis.


    He pressed his hand against his forehead,ughing and crying uncontrobly. There was a forlorn


    expression on his face as he muttered, “Why didn’t I behave more selfish back then? Why did I allow


    her to go back…”


    She was the love of his life, yet, someone stepped in and snatched her away, refusing to return her to


    him.


    The fear of losing Rayna ate Jefferson up. Amid that, a hint of menace arose. At that point, he only had


    one thought–he wanted to keep her by his side and never let her go back.


    Jefferson believed Rayna would stop dreaming of returning to Chanaea if he could get Curtis to ditch


    her.


    An idea began to take shape in his mind. He made a call with his phone and instructed the person to


    reprogram an application on a particr phone.


    Minutester, the person on the other end of the line replied, “It’s done.”


    Jefferson restarted Rayna’s phone, switched on the mobile data, and clicked on her messaging


    application. Then, he resent the message that failed to send out earlier.


    The message seemed to have been delivered, but in reality, it was stuck because the messaging


    application on her phone was reprogrammed. Likewise, she would not receive any iing


    messages, even though the senders had sent them out sessfully.


    After getting everything done, Jefferson put Rayna’s phone back on the table.


    Various intense emotions clouded his eyes. Staring at the phone, he did not feel an ounce of remorse.


    The man did not think he had done anything wrong.


    It was because he believed Rayna was destined to be with him since they had known each other


    before Curtis appeared in her life. Moreover, he was her first love.


    “Why didn’t you turn the heater on since you’re in the house?” Rayna, going down the stairs with light


    footsteps, asked when she saw Jefferson in the living room. She then quickened her pace and went to


    switch on the heater. “It’s raining outside now, so it’s very cold.”


    “I didn’t turn it on because I don’t feel cold,” Jefferson said, giving her a warm smile as if he had done


    nothing earlier. At the sight of Rayna leaving after taking her phone, he asked, “Where are you going?


    I’lle with you.”


    The woman waved her hand. “It’s all right. I’m just going to the mall to get some new bedding. The


    dryer’s not functioning, but the technician can onlye tomorrow since he doesn’t work on the


    weekend. I’ll be back soon.”


    “I’m worried about you.”


    “Worried? Are you worried someone might rob me in broad daylight?” Rayna chuckled before turning


    around to get her coat. “You’d better stay home. The air outside is cold and damp, so you might catch a


    cold if you follow me.”


    Jefferson saw her out and exhorted, “Drive carefully.”


    “I will!”


    Rayna waved him goodbye and ran toward the open–air parking lot in the drizzle. After driving out of


    Verdant Vine Garden, she headed to the nearest shopping mall.


    Once she arrived at the store, she went straight to the bedding section, where she picked out bed sets.


    She then proceeded to the payment counter and handed the cashier her credit card.


    The cashier tried making payment using the card but to no avail. Shaking her head, she said, “I’m


    sorry, miss. The transaction couldn’t go through.”


    “That’s impossible. All this while, I’ve been using this card without any problem. I have quite a high


    credit limit too.” Rayna instructed the cashier to try again as she thought the problem was with the


    payment terminal.


    The cashier gave it another shot, but the payment still could not get through.


    “How about an overdraft?”


    “It can’t work as well. I’m afraid there’s a problem with your credit card.” The cashier shot a dubious


    look at Rayna, making thetter feel like she was being regarded as a criminal. It was an


    ufortable sensation. Rayna then fished out another card from her wallet and handed it to the


    cashier.


    The cashier tried again, but a few secondster, she pulled out the card and grumbled, “Miss, are you


    pulling a prank on me because you think I have nothing better to do?”


    Rayna immediately apologized to her. “I’m so sorry. Something might be wrong with my credit cards.”


    As she frequently used those two credit cards in her daily life, she kept the habit of swiping them when


    making purchases in Frosa. Knowing that she had not maxed out her credit limits, she decided to try


    them in the other outlets.


    Yet, her credit cards were declined even when she tried making payments in an apparel store and


    another jewelry store.


    Left with no choice, she went downstairs and tried withdrawing money from the ATM, but she could not


    get a single banknote out of the machine. Did the bank freeze my ount?


    When Rayna was thinking of calling the bank, she received a call from an unknown number.


    “How are you doing in Frosa, Ms. Gand?”


    The image of a young man with a chiseled face, blond hair, and blue eyes immediately came to her


    mind when she heard the familiar voice of a male.


    Tightening her grip on the phone, she demanded, “Arnaud Montail, how did you manage to get my


    number?”


    “I can find out anything as long as I want to,” Arnaud said with a smirk from the other end of the line. “I


    feel sorry for you, Ms. Gand. It’s a pity you ditched Mr. Faymon for a dying man.”


    Rayna took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Things don’t always go as nned, Arnaud. I’ll settle


    all the scores with you once this is over.”


    He was impressed. “I always wonder how you hold Mr. Faymon and my younger brother spellbound,


    and now, I finally found the answer to my question. Clearly, you’re not only pretty but also assertive,


    Ms. Gand.”