Raeleigh imed that she wanted to buy something, but she didn’t specify what exactly. Then, she said that she wanted to go out for a walk and didn’t want a crowd following her.


    Standing aside, Scarlette said with a long face, “You don’t want us to follow you, do you?”


    That was what Scarlette felt.Her frown intensified.


    “Didn’t you say that you wanted to live here instead of our dorm? Since you’re not going to live in the dorm anymore,you should go back and pack your things. Otherwise, how are you going to move in?” Raeleigh asked. Scarlette suddenly realized that there was logic in what Raeleigh was saying. Scarlette huffed.“You’re actually right. I’ll head back to school. Serra, please take care of Novalie. Hadrian,e with me. There are too many things to bring over. I can’t handle them alone.”


    Scarlette walked out as soon as she finished speaking. After they were gone, Raeleigh went out with Santiago.


    In the car, Santiago asked, “How far along are you?”


    From the back seat, it took Raeleigh a while to react. Santiago was asking about her pregnancy.


    “Five weeks.” Raeleigh was not sure about the specific date, as it was an estimate given by the doctor. If her memory was correct, then it was indeed five weeks ago when she had slept with Jepherson.


    “That quickly? Are you sure?” Santiago was curious about the baby. Raeleigh was embarrassed. As the child’s uncle, he didn’t have to ask all that in detail.


    But Raeleigh considered thatSantiago was young.He was just curious.


    “I don’t know,” Raeleigh replied. Since it was dark, she couldn’t see the pedestrians’ faces clearly as the car whizzed by the street. Raeleigh felt her face flush red. She was tempted to get out of the car from the awkwardness of it all.


    “Wanna listen to a song?” Santiago asked. Raeleigh thought it over and nodded.“Sure.”


    Santiago fidgeted around the dashboard and found a ylist. Raeleigh frowned. She couldn’t figure out the era of the song that was currently being yed.


    “What song is this?” Raeleigh couldn’t help asking. Santiago answered, “If There’s Still Tomorrow.”


    Raeleigh remained silent.Why was the song titled that way?


    They listened to that one song on repeat. Raeleigh leaned against the seat, with lethargy overtaking her once more.When the car finally stopped, Raeleigh was about to fall asleep.


    She exited the car and looked around, confirming that itwas the former site of the orphanage. Raeleigh took a look around and went to a burger ce nearby. She announced that she wanted to eat something, and she then headed inside.


    “Supper?” As Raeleigh stepped into the restaurant, a young man approached her. Raeleigh smiled and peeked inside. There were a lot of customers in the restaurant eating away. Raeleigh found a seat and settled in.


    “Can we have two burgers, please?”


    Raeleigh asked. The host immediately asked with a smile, “Do you want it normal or spicy?”


    “Normal would do.”


    “No spice.” Santiago pulled out a chair and sat down, informing the host. Raeleigh nced at the host and said, “Yes,just like what he said.”


    “Okay, please wait a moment.” The host retreated to the kitchen. Raeleigh looked at Santiago and asked, “Can’t you eat spicy food?”


    “Pregnant women should not consume too much spicy food,” Santiago said. Raeleigh thought about it,and she then retorted, “Well, they say that if you crave spicy food, then your child will be a girl.”


    “Not necessarily,” Santiago suddenly said. Raeleigh checked if there was anyone around before she asked, “Why?”


    “There are no daughters in the Richards family.” Santiago was certain.


    Raeleigh asked in confusion, “You know that your brother has been looking for someone, right?”


    Santiago nced at Raeleigh. “I know.”


    “Then, how do you know it’s not a girl?”


    “I just know.”


    …


    Raeleigh was floored.She couldn’t say anything in reply to Santiago.


    After eating for a while, Raeleigh noticed that almost all the patrons had left. She then asked the host, “When was this restaurant built?”


    Raeleigh was presently neen years old. She was ten years old when the orphanage had burned down. It would have taken around seven years for the restaurant to be constructed and be a staple of the area. The people there would most likely know something. What did they know?


    The host replied,“Six years. I’ll be frank with you, I bought properties here, so everything’s cheap.”


    “Is that so?” Raeleigh smiled.“Then, you’re probably not that old. How old are you?”


    “I’m thirty-six. When I first came here, it was still in ruins. I bought houses here because it was dirt cheap. Who knew that the housing prices would begin skyrocketing in a few years. Rent here is a few hundred dors per day. The properties here are definitely profitable.”


    “Do you have many properties?” Raeleigh asked, giving off the impression that she was envious of him. Opposite her, Santiago was full from the supper. Hewiped his mouth and looked at the host with his legs crossed. The host exined, “My sister and I bought the property here, actually. She died in a car ident, so it became mine. For many years, I didn’t think about making money. I just wanted a quiet life. I didn’t expect to make this much money. Even if I wasn’t nning on it, I still made a lot of money here.”


    While exining, the host took a chair and settled himself down opposite Raeleigh. Raeleigh found him to be a pleasant person and began chatting with him.


    “Your sister is looking after you from heaven, isn’t she?”


    “I’ve always thought so, so I don’t intend to sell my property here. A lot of people want to buy the properties here…”


    The host took out a pack of cigarettes, setting the scene to bring up a sad story.Santiago interrupted, “You can’t smoke here.”


    “The ‘no smoking’ signs are just there for decoration.” The host lit a cigarette, and Santiago immediately lunged to p away his hand. Raeleigh pulled Santiago’s arm, silencing him.


    However, Santiago definitely looked stormy. She could already tell that he was getting impatient.


    The host lit the cigarette and took apuff. He asked Santiago, “Do you want one?”


    “No.” Santiago looked away. He did not want to look at the scene.


    Raeleigh knew that Santiago disliked people smoking when she was around because of her pregnancy.


    However, there were exceptions to everything.


    Raeleigh was not going to let this golden opportunity slip past her.


    The host took a few puffs off the cigarette and continued.“My sister didn’t agree to buy the ce with me initially. It was cheap, and too good to be true in fact. However, if we didn’t buy it, then we would soon regret it. We were not rich enough to afford such a ce, so we couldn’t miss that chance. But in the end, my sisterworked very hard to get this house here.I was enamored by this ce.I would have argued with my sister if she didn’t agree to buy it.There were only us two siblings. My parents divorced early on. My sister went with my mother. My father was a drunkard who died early and left me some money. To take care of me, my sister gave up the opportunity to go abroad and divorced her ex-husband.”


    “I didn’t want my sister to suffer. I wanted to find a ce where I could make money, so I bought the properties here.”


    “At first, it was tough. My sister never hated me for making this decision. She always said that it was just the beginning, just a matter of time.”


    “Then…”


    “Slowly, the business got better, but she died in a car ident and left me here alone.”


    “When my sister passed away, I couldn’t sleep for months. I was so dispirited and often thought of what she said. She told me that this ce was bad luck because of the fire that happened here which killed many people. Theprices wouldn’t have been so cheap otherwise. But I didn’t listen. I did what I wanted out of my own selfishness. I told her that wealthes from taking risks. It was foolish to assume we couldn’t make money because of a few people’s deaths. I even said that people died everywhere in the world. I ruined my sister’s life.”Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    The host spoke with tears in his eyes. He then brought his sleeves to his eyes, wiping away his tears. Raeleigh shot a nce at Santiago. He had a brother, so he must have sympathized with those feelings, his guilt, and longing for his loved ones.


    Raeleigh took a tissue and handed it to the host, who epted it and continued dabbing at his eyes. He cursed himself.“I’m inhumane.”


    Raeleigh did not respond. The host gave his eyes onest wipe and said, “If I were to get a second chance, then I’ll always be a good little brother to my sister. I’ll never disobey her.”


    Raeleigh said, smiling, “If I were your sister,then I would want that too.”


    “Really?”


    Raeleigh nodded. The host then proceeded with a bitter smile.“After my sister’s death, this ce developed rapidly. In a few years, it wasparable to Capital City.”


    “Many people want the properties here. I have never inquired about the price, but it must be worth a lot of money.”


    “However, money is not important to me. I would give up everything for my sister toe back alive.”


    Then, the host drew a final puff of his cigarette and told Raeleigh, “I don’t usuallyjusttell this to everyone, but I don’t know why, but you remind me of my sister. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”


    “The food is on me tonight.”


    Santiago nced at the other party with a hint of impatience in his gaze.


    Smiling politely, Raeleigh said, “No, that’s fine.”


    “It’s nothing. I can afford it. If you like the food,then you cane here as often as you like. I’ll cook it for you. My sister liked the type of food we serve here too.”


    “Thank you. I’ll bring along some friends in the near future.”


    “If it’s someone you’ve introduced, then I’ll give them a discount.They can even eat for free.”


    “Let’s go now. Didn’t you say you want to buy something?” Santiago stood up and strode outside. Seeing Santiago leave, Raeleigh shouted after him. “Wait for me.”


    Santiago turned around and sat down at a table near the entrance, waiting.


    Raeleigh turned back to focus on the host and exined, “I hope you don’t mind my brother. He has a bad temper.”


    “Your brother?” The host shot a casual look at Santiago.“I assumed he was your boyfriend.


    “No, he’s my brother, Santiago,” Raeleigh hurriedly rified.She followed it up with, “I want to consult you on something.”


    “What is it? Just say it. Since it’s fate that brought us together, I will tell you everything I know,” agreed the host readily. Raeleigh peeked at Santiago.


    “I want to ask you a little about that incident that happened here before. You said it was a fire. You were in the area at the time, right?”


    The host thought for a moment before he nodded in response to Raeleigh’s question.