Dear Sweetheart novel

With a cold look in his eyes, Curtis closed the door and returned to the bedroom.

The bed was in a mess, and Rayna was sleeping soundly with the blanket wrapped tightly around her body. Curtis

arched an eyebrow as he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.

After being submerged in the bathtub for a bit, Rayna slowly opened her eyes and stared at him.

“Hey, Curtis…” she mumbled and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a kiss on the neck while nuzzling

against his chest.

Curtis felt his heart soften up a little, but he pried her off and said coldly, “Bathe yourself!”

Rayna pressed her head firmly against his chest as she bragged, “Oh, come on! Do it for me! I got a perfect victory

in the billiard room earlier! Aren’t you going to compliment me?”

While she spoke, she lifted her head and gazed at him glassy-eyed, arousing pity.

“Give me your hand,” Curtis said with an expressionless look on his face.

“Okay.” Rayna pouted as she let go of him and held out her arm. It was so thin and pale that it looked like it would

snap if Curtis wasn’t careful with it.

Curtis’ face clouded over when he saw how skinny she was. Is Jefferson not feeding her right? Why is she so skinny?

Rayna simply sat there in complete silence while Curtis gave her a bath.

He was surprised that she was so well-behaved, but it wasn’t until he looked up at her face that he realized she had

fallen asleep. Rayna looked rather innocent as she slept with her head tilted forward.

Curtis could only let out a helpless sigh as he continued bathing her. After that, he wrapped her up in a towel and

carried her back into the bedroom.

He had just set her down on the bed when he heard a faint ringing coming from Rayna’s handbag.

He opened the handbag and retrieved her phone, which was still ringing and vibrating. However, the look on his

face turned gloomy when he saw Jefferson’s name on the caller ID.

I can’t believe I came all the way here just to make myself suffer!

With that in mind, Curtis put on his coat and glanced at Rayna, who was fast asleep. He then placed a wad of cash

on the nightstand and left the room.

It was already the next morning by the time Rayna woke up.

She sat upright in bed and tried to recall what happened last night.

Hmm… The bed feels cold, so Curtis must have left long ago. I wonder if he even slept here at all… Oh, no! Marcus

hasn’t signed the document! I can’t believe I forgot about that!

Rayna then quickly jumped out of bed and searched for her dress, only to find out that it had been destroyed.

On a chair next to it was a set of clothes comprising a dark blue dress and a bra.

Haha! Not bad! At least he was kind enough to get me new clothes!

Rayna pursed her lips and smiled as she hurriedly got dressed. As she reached for her phone on the nightstand, she

noticed the wad of cash that Curtis had left her.

Eight hundred and eighty-eight, huh? This reminds me of the first time we met at the Intercontinental… I left him

exactly eight hundred and eighty-eight the next morning before running off.

While picking up the cash, Rayna saw that there was a note attached to it that read: Thank you for your services

last night, Ms. Garland. Here’s your reward.

Rayna’s smile was frozen in place when she finished reading the note.

What the f*ck, Curtis? You’re freaking thirty! Why are you still so petty? No, I don’t have time to be thinking about

this. I have more important things to do right now!

With that in mind, Rayna grabbed her stuff and called Jefferson while leaving the room.

“Belle?”

“Sorry, I think I might have botched the job. I was planning to keep an eye on Marcus last night, but I got so tired

that I booked myself a room and went to bed. I slept right through your call, and it was already morning by the time

I woke up. I’ll go see you and talk to your father,” Rayna said apologetically.

Jefferson breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m just glad you’re all right. Where are you right now?”

“I’m on my way to the hotel lobby.”

“I just came back to grab my stuff from the hotel. I’ll meet you in the lobby, then.”

“Sure thing! I’ll be there in a minute!”

While combing her hair and staring at her own reflection in the elevator’s mirror, Rayna noticed that her lips were

dry and chapped from their aggressive kissing last night. She cursed inwardly at Curtis as she applied some lip balm

to moisturize them.

Rayna saw Jefferson waiting in the lounge the moment she arrived at the lobby.

“Your father didn’t scold you, did he?” she asked while making her way over.

Jefferson stood up and eyed her from head to toe. The smile on his face faded slightly when he saw her chapped

lips and the red marks on her neck.

Rayna told me that she saw Curtis yesterday. I didn’t believe her at first, but I saw him too afterward. Judging by the

way she looks, the two of them probably spent the night together. To think that I was worried about her being all by

herself… It wasn’t easy getting her to come back to me. Is she going to return to Curtis’ side?

Jefferson clenched his fist behind his back at the thought of that.

Rayna got nervous when she received no response from him. “Jefferson, did you really get into trouble with your

father? I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault! I messed everything up because I went to bed!”

Having regained his composure, Jefferson shook his head and replied, “No. A lot of stuff happened last night.”

“What happened?” Rayna asked with a frown.

“It’s not convenient for us to talk here,” Jefferson said as he glanced at the elevator door that had just opened and

saw a few men stepping out of it.

He then walked up to Rayna and put his coat over her shoulder. “Here, keep this on. It’s cold outside. We’ll talk

when we get back.”

“Okay.”

Oblivious to the men behind them, Rayna followed Jefferson out of the hotel lobby.

Jeremy clicked his tongue in disapproval and said, “I don’t even know what to say about Ms. Garland anymore.

Jefferson dropped by the hotel multiple times last night looking for her while she was with Mr. Faymon. And now,

she’s casually leaving the hotel with Jefferson like nothing happened last night.”

“Ms. Garland only accepted Mr. Hamilton’s coat because she was feeling a little cold. She doesn’t have any

romantic feelings for him. Don’t you see that there’s a gap between them?” Gabriel replied.

Those words had barely left his mouth when Rayna tripped and fell forward.

Jefferson reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder to hold her steady. He never let go of her shoulder after

that, and Rayna didn’t seem to mind it either.

Gabriel fell silent when he saw that.

Jeremy flashed him a sarcastic smile and asked, “Well? Still think there’s a gap between them?”

Curtis maintained a neutral expression as he carried on walking. “I’ll be heading back now. You and Jeremy stay

here and let me know if you find him.”

The corner of Jeremy’s lips twitched slightly, and his face fell. “You’re doing this to me on purpose, aren’t you,

Curtis?”

“Feel free to think of it however you like.”

As Jefferson let Rayna into the car first and sat next to her, she didn’t see Curtis leaving the hotel and entering the

black Bentley behind them.

“So, what happened last night?” she asked after Jefferson closed the car door.

“Arnaud was shot through the window when he went to use the restroom.”

Rayna gasped in shock. “Are you serious? There were so many guests at the hotel last night! There were also

people from the royal family, so security must’ve been really tight! Who could possibly be brave enough to attack

Arnaud in public like that?”

“I don’t know, but the sniper was highly skilled. Upon conducting an investigation, Ringo found out that the sniper

had been hiding on the tall observation deck opposite the hotel. On top of that, the floor was completely clean,”

Jefferson replied.

Rayna grabbed Jefferson by the arm and exclaimed anxiously, “It must’ve been James! He knows what happened to

Kristie, so he must’ve been trying to avenge her! Did James get caught?”