After the bath,Raeleigh helped find some of Xanthus’ clothes for Jepherson to put on first. Then, they went up to the attic.


    As they walked up the stairs, Raeleigh pondered how she should exin Jepherson’s presence to Xanthus.


    But when she arrived, Xanthus and the others were sleeping peacefully. No one seemed to notice them.


    Raeleigh led Jepherson to where she had been sleeping, thenmotioned for him to lie down next to her. There was only one quilt, so they had to share.


    Santiago had been sleeping next to Raeleigh before Jepherson came. But now, Jephersony down between them,separating the two of them with ease.


    After lying down, Raeleigh whispered, “Let’s sleep.”


    Jepherson turned over and hugged her from behind, then fell asleep not long after.


    On the contrary, Raeleigh had a fitful night’s sleep. Raeleigh was worried that Jepherson would fall ill after trudging all that way through the thick snow, and she wokeup to check on him several times.N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content.


    The next morning, Raeleigh and Jepherson continued sleeping after everyone else had woken up.


    Xanthus sat and watched them for a while. Then, he got up and went to the window to look at the snow outside. It could well have been the heaviest snowfall they had had that year, with the snow already knee-deep.


    However, it stopped snowing soon after Jepherson arrived. Xanthus went to the door and stared in the direction Jepherson came from the previous night. He could still see the trail Jepherson left, leading from the door to far away in the distance.


    “Look at all that snow!” Jacky eximed as he came and joined Xanthus, all bundled up. Standing at the door, he could not help but sigh. “Heavy snow indicates a good harvest for theing year.”


    Xanthus looked at him. “You know about farming as well?”


    Jacky replied, “I was born in Waverly Vige and grew up here, so why wouldn’t I know?I was a teen when I first started farming with a bunch of people. The produce here is as profitable as it is popr. Although we’re just a poor and rural vige, many people from Capital City sign contracts to buy our produce every year. The Moore family is one of them. However, they go through appointed agents as they usually buy in bulk, so we only know the agents but have never seen the family members.


    “My family also has a manor where they’ve cultivated arge area ofnd just for farming. My parents are also particrly fond of nting.”


    Xanthus looked around. “If my parents saw such beautiful snow, I don’t know what they’d think. Would they want to have a piece ofnd here?”


    “No way. You can buy real estate here, but you can’t have thend here. There is and will never be any trading ofnd here,” Jacky replied.


    “Why? Have you monopolized it?” Xanthus joked. Jacky merely said, “The farmers depend on thend to make a living. Although they’d make a lot of money if they sold theirnd, a stable and continuous ie will still be a better option.”


    Jacky continued, “If they run out of money, I’ll think of something to help them. They can be easily swayed by money at times, but I can’t be like that.”


    After putting on a pair of gloves and a hat, Jacky took out a shovel and began to clear the snow at the door.


    Xanthus also wrapped himself up warmly and went to help. Santiago took much longer to get ready in the mornings. By the time he came out, there were already many people hard at work clearing the snow. They did not clear all the snow in front of the door, only clearing a path for walking. ording to Jacky, when the sun came out and melted the snow, the water would seep into the ground and contribute to the soil’s moisture.


    When Raeleigh woke up, she was alone in the attic. She even touchedthe spot beside her on purpose. If it were not for the lingering warmth under the quilt, she would have thought everything that happened the previous night had been a dream.


    Since Jepherson was not in the attic, Raeleigh climbed down the attic stairs. Halfway down, she saw the boys through a window making their way back to the house.


    When they saw Raeleigh, they took off their coats and went to wash their hands. Someone had brought breakfast for them. Raeleigh nced at Jepherson, then went to set the table.


    After they sat down at the table, Santiago asked Jepherson, “Did you send someone awayst night?”


    Raeleigh froze for a moment.She raised her head to look at Jepherson and saw his expression change.Santiago had deliberately asked that question to provokehim.


    “Can’t you shut your mouth?” Jepherson snapped in annoyance, shoving a heaped serving of bacon into Santiago’s bowl. Santiago lowered his head and continued eating, but he still persisted.


    “How did you get here without sending her away?”


    “I think you’ve been getting toofortable recently,” Jepherson retorted.


    He nced at Raeleigh, then added, “I don’t know whether she left or not.”


    His reply seemed to exin something. Raeleigh paused slightly, then turned her attention back to her breakfast.


    While Raeleigh was clearing the table after breakfast,Jacky announced that he was going into the vige to visit Logan and the others. He wanted to see if they were okay after the snowstorm.


    Thus, Jacky presumably would be very busy for the next few days.


    Xanthus did not want to leave for the time being. He intended to stay in the vige long term.


    The rest of them, including Santiago and Jepherson, had to leave for Capital City.


    As for Raeleigh…


    She finally decided to stay on with Xanthus. Although Waverly Vige was far from Capital City, she still had a few days before sses started. She did not need to return to the office immediately either.


    Although Ste was very powerful, Raeleigh felt safe in Waverly Vige. Ste would not be able to do anything to them there.


    “Since you don’t want to go back, then stay here. I’lle to see you,” Jepherson said before he left, holding Raeleigh’s hand. She looked up at him. “Don’te at night, and please don’t expose yourself to the snow or rain,” she reminded him.


    “I know.”


    Jepherson turned to look at Ste, who was sitting in her car. Things were stillplicated between them, but he was determined to resolve it without dy.


    “When I go back, I’ll settle things with Ste. I’ll try my best to send her away, but I still need a bit of time,” he said.


    Raeleigh thought for a moment. Finally, she replied, “Have a safe journey.”


    Then, she turned around and went into the house.Jepherson frowned as he watched her turn away, then strode toward the car.


    Ste sat in the car, blinking as she watched Jepherson and Raeleigh. In the end, they still had to separate. That was a good thing for her.


    Jepherson got into his car. Santiago was leaning back in his seat with narrowed eyes. Neither of them spoke. Jepherson shut the door, and the driver drove off.Then, Santiago broke the silence. His tone was casual as ever as he said, “If she gets up to no good again, don’t me me for being ruthless.”


    Jepherson nced at him but did not reply. Instead, he turned to look in the rearview mirror, looking at the house reflected in the mirror.


    It might actually not be a bad thing for Raeleigh to stay. At the very least, Jepherson could feel at ease while he settled things.Jepherson thought to himself.