Dear Sweetheart novel

“What a happy coincidence!”

Gabriel was oblivious to the tension between the two women. He asked Stella to get into the car, then helped to

load her suitcase.

Rayna scooted over to make room for Stella.

Shooting a glance at the elegant Stella, she said, “My apologies for catching a ride back with the two of you.”

Stella smoothed her long hair as she replied with a smile, “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind at all. Had I known you

were friends with Gab, I could’ve walked out with you just now.”

Gab?

That cheesy nickname was too much for Rayna, and a shudder of disgust ran through her body. Then, she lowered

her head and texted Jefferson to let him know she had arrived safely.

Her call had been interrupted when her phone fell to the floor earlier, and she had not gotten a chance to call him

again.

Getting the hint that Rayna did not wish to be disturbed, Stella knew better than to continue talking to the former.

After Gabriel got into the driver’s seat, Stella asked in a concerned tone, “I heard it has been raining in Norwal City

since last Monday. You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”

“Nope. I’m as fit as a fiddle,” he said while reaching for a thermos flask on the car seat and passing it to her.

“Here’s some Earl Grey tea I brewed an hour ago.”

She took the thermos flask. “Why, thank you!”

As soon as she unscrewed the lid, the tea’s sweet fragrance quickly wafted in the air.

Rayna found the smell a little nauseating and shifted further away, but to her dismay, Stella poured a cup of tea

and held it out to her. “Would you like to try some, Ms. Garland?”

Concealing her discomfort, Rayna pushed the cup away. “None for me, thanks.”

Stella merely shrugged and did not insist.

As Rayna fiddled with her phone, she heard Gabriel and Stella chatting away. They talked about where they would

have dinner that night and their plans for horseback riding at a ranch during the weekend.

The corners of Rayna’s mouth twitched as she listened to their conversation. I don’t know whether to say that Mr.

Tylinski is a veritable simp or that Stella is remarkable for having the ability to appease two men at once.

When the car pulled into Rayna’s residential area, she opened the car door immediately and climbed out.

Gabriel also got down to help her with her suitcase.

Feeling a little better after breathing in some fresh air, Rayna pulled Gabriel aside. “Let’s have a quick chat, Mr.

Tylinski. Your schoolmate is smart and beautiful. The only thing is that she’s… kind of a fake.”

“What do you mean?” he asked curiously.

After a brief silence, she held her forehead in disbelief and explained softly, “I mean she’s a cunning and

manipulative b*tch. She seduces others left, right, and center. Oh, by the way, how is her relationship with… Mr.

Faymon?”

I don’t believe what I read in the papers. I’d rather listen to what Gabriel has to say. After all, he has worked for

Curtis for a long time.

“Pretty good.” Although he answered with a smile, there was a glum look in his eyes. “You know how Mr. Faymon is.

He likes to groom talented people. Otherwise, he wouldn’t continue to retain the Department of Regulators.”

Rayna’s heart sank.

That’s true indeed. Women with exceptional abilities are everywhere, and any one of them could take my place.

Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she said, “For someone as intelligent as Stella, there’s no way she wouldn’t

know how you feel. She won’t date you, yet she doesn’t decline to have dinner with you and still hangs out with

you.”

“Nothing is going on between her and Mr. Faymon.”

Gabriel’s response left her somewhat speechless. “If that’s true, how did they wind up in the entertainment news?

You’re a nice person, Mr. Tylinski. You don’t have to eat out of the hand of someone like her. Is it fun to be treated

as a fallback guy?”

“Maybe someone happened to take that photo when she was away on a business trip with Mr. Faymon,” he said,

still defending Stella.

While she was at a loss for what to say, he flashed her a bright smile and added, “Even if she does have feelings for

Mr. Faymon, I wouldn’t be surprised. After all, he’s handsome and rich. Any woman would fall for him.”

“So, you’re okay with being the fallback guy?”

“This situation isn’t anything like that. It’s just unrequited love,” Gabriel corrected her. “As long as she and Mr.

Faymon aren’t dating, it isn’t a crime for me to invite her for dinner and hang out with her.”

Rayna was silent.

Without waiting for her to gather her thoughts, he looked at her and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Ms.

Garland, you shouldn’t criticize Stella. You’re quite similar to her.”

Upon hearing that, she stared at him in disbelief.

“I heard from Cillian about how Mr. Faymon went to Hallsbay the other day and searched for you frantically. He has

treated you well, yet you left with Jefferson just like that and even broke up with him.”

Rayna was so furious that she felt the urge to pummel the man. “That’s different! Jefferson is ill, so I took him

abroad to find him a cure. What’s more, Jefferson and I were never a couple, nor were we in an ambiguous

relationship. I rejected him without hesitation. Have you ever seen any rumors of a scandal between us in the

media?”

“Well, no. However, everyone knows you’re dating,” Gabriel responded stubbornly. “I attended a party at Yartran

with Mr. Faymon some time ago, and we found out about your relationship with Jefferson after only speaking to a

few guests.”

“We were only pretending to be a couple to outsiders. We’re not in a relationship! Why would I return to Chanaea if

I was really dating him?” she uttered through clenched teeth.

“So, why did you return to Chanaea, Ms. Garland?”

Her gaze flitted toward Stella, who was in the car. Seeing that the latter was browsing through her phone and

wasn’t paying attention to them, she finally said, “Boniel Terblanc said he’s planning to retire after three years…”

She proceeded to tell Gabriel her purpose for returning to the country.

After that, she shot him a glare. “You’re not allowed to say I’m a b*tch like her. I’m nothing like your schoolmate

who has a close relationship with Mr. Faymon while still leading you on.”

“Ah, so that explains it,” he remarked, finally seeing the light. “Then, you—”

“I’ve given up. Mr. Faymon can fall for whoever he wants. We won’t get back together,” she interrupted his

sentence, knowing what he was about to ask. Grabbing her suitcase, she walked off with a glacial expression.

The mere thought of how merciless Curtis was the other day infuriated her.

Even if I did something wrong, why couldn’t we sit down and talk it out in a civilized manner? Instead, he tossed me

some money after sleeping with me and went gallivanting around with other women unscrupulously! Well, whatever

it is, I’m not going to be so foolish as to birth him three children. It’s not like I can’t raise them myself.

Gabriel watched her enter the condominium, then scratched his head in confusion. I thought Mr. Faymon went

looking for Ms. Garland at the party. Didn’t they talk things through?

At that moment, Stella rolled down the car window and asked, “Are you done talking to Ms. Garland?”

“Ah, yes. I’m coming,” he replied, quickly getting back into the car. “Shall I send you home or…”

“Let’s go to the office. I still have a few things to attend to.” Brushing back her hair, she added in an offhand

manner, “The others in my department mentioned that Mr. Faymon hasn’t been in the best mood recently. Did

something happen when you guys went to Yartran?”

He smiled. “It’s nothing. It was just a business trip, and our discussions fell through. That’s all.”

“Oh, I see,” she responded while nodding. Then, she leaned forward, moving closer to the driver’s seat. “Gab, I

know you and Ms. Garland are friends, but she has already broken up with Mr. Faymon and is no longer working in

the company. Hence, I hope you can cease contact with her in the future. You’re aware of what happened between

them. I don’t want Mr. Faymon to end up resenting you, too, thus causing you to lose your job.”

Gabriel could not help asking, “That won’t happen, will it? It was just a breakup. It’s not like they became enemies.”

Besides, if Mr. Faymon didn’t care about Ms. Garland, he wouldn’t have traveled all the way to Yartran just to help

her. I saw how busy Jeremy was that night, and I listened to him complaining all night.

Stella patted his shoulder and said, “Have you seen couples who remain friends after breaking up? I’m only saying

this for your own good. Losing her as a friend isn’t actually much of a loss for you.”