Dear Sweetheart novel

She opened her eyes groggily and looked toward the direction of the sound. It turned out that someone was

knocking on the door.

She could clearly hear the noise as her earplugs had fallen off.

“Who’s there?” Rayna asked loudly while she got out of bed and put on her slippers.

Just then, she seemed to have recalled something and turned to look at the vacant space on the bed next to her.

She did not notice when Curtis left.

Rayna yawned as she walked toward the bedroom door before opening it without much thought.

Claire, Vivi’s mother-in-law, was standing at the door.

Rayna wondered why the woman was looking for her that early in the morning. Claire’s face contorted with rage

when she saw Rayna and lunged at her before Rayna could speak.

“Return my grandchildren to me! How can a young lady like you be so evil?”

As Rayna was completely unprepared for the assault, she almost lost her balance and fell.

She quickly put a hand against the door to steady herself while using her other hand to block her face, guarding

herself against Claire’s continuous attacks. “Mdm. Myers, why are you hitting me? Why are you asking me to return

your grandchildren to you? What do you mean by that?”

“Stop pretending!” Claire bellowed hysterically while throwing punches at Rayna. “My daughter-in-law had a

miscarriage after finishing the duck stew you had given her!”

“What?” Rayna looked at Claire in disbelief. “The duck stew caused Vivi to have a miscarriage? That’s impossible.

That duck stew was—”

It was given to her by Curtis.

Before Rayna could complete her sentence, she was interrupted by Claire. “The stew contained herbs that are not

safe for pregnant women to consume. Knowing that Vivi was pregnant, why did you still give it to her? What were

your intentions? Vivi has been so nice to you. How can you be so vicious?”

While scolding Rayna, Claire continued hitting the woman and pulling her hair.

“Did my grandchildren offend you? Why did you harm them? I really regret accepting your duck stew and letting

Vivi eat it. I will never forgive you! Bring my grandchildren back to me!”

Rayna was so shocked that her body was shaking, and her mind went blank. Even though Claire was hitting her, she

was barely feeling any pain.

What kind of herbs are there in the stew?

Rayna was completely unaware of that and had assumed that it was just a normal duck stew.

As she had overeaten and was feeling bloated, she decided to give the stew to Vivi, who was also pregnant, through

Claire.

Since Curtis was not unaware of her pregnancy, it was unlikely that he would instruct the kitchen staff to include

additional herbs in the duck stew. Could the kitchen staff have added them on their own accord?

Rayna was thinking about all sorts of possibilities when she suddenly noticed that the beating had stopped. When

she looked up, she saw Curtis. He was grabbing Claire’s hand, which stopped the woman from hitting her.

Curtis saw the scratches on Rayna’s face, and his expression darkened. With a crease between his brows, he asked

Claire, “What’s going on? Why did you come here to attack her early in the morning?”

“She caused the death of my grandchildren!” Claire tried to struggle out of the man’s grip and continued

resentfully, “Let go of me! I must make sure that she pays for what she has done!”

Curtis was momentarily stunned when he heard that. “What do you mean?” he probed.

“Curtis, were you the one who asked the kitchen staff to prepare the duck stew last night?” Rayna asked anxiously

before Claire could reply.

She would be relieved if he could clarify that he had no involvement in it.

“Yup. I was there when they packed the stew into the lunch box,” Curtis replied and continued, “Was there a

problem with the duck stew?”

At that instant, Rayna’s heart sank.

If he was there, he would have seen the additional ingredients in the duck stew.

Maybe…

Realization seemed to have hit Rayna as a shiver ran down her spine, and she gritted her teeth.

Curtis had a bad feeling when he saw that all color had drained from the woman’s face. “Rayna, was there a

problem with the duck stew? Tell me.”

Rayna lowered her head and staggered out of the room as if she did not hear the man talking to her.

Claire ran after Rayna, wanting to continue hitting her, but Curtis pulled her back and repeated the question he had

asked Rayna earlier. “What was wrong with the duck stew?”

“There were some herbs in the stew that could potentially kill a pregnant woman!” Claire hollered. “Vivi had a

miscarriage and almost died after eating that duck stew!”

Curtis froze in shock.

He finally understood why Claire was so agitated and looked like she wanted to murder Rayna. It also made sense

that Rayna’s face had turned ashen after hearing his reply. It was because Vivi had lost her babies after consuming

the duck stew.

“Rayna has got nothing to do with it. It was me.” Curtis composed himself and said, “Mdm. Myers, I’m so sorry. I

had instructed the kitchen to prepare the duck stew yesterday afternoon, but I didn’t expect them to add those

herbs in there.”

Claire was still fuming as she replied, “I think it has got everything to do with her! Otherwise, why would she insist

that I bring it home for Vivi instead of eating it herself? She must have had an ulterior motive and wanted Vivi to

miscarry!”

Curtis said in a grave tone, “Rayna wouldn’t have done that. I know her character very well. Besides, the two of

them are friends. It was indeed my mistake for not inspecting the stew carefully.”

Just as Claire was about to carry on ranting, Curtis continued to speak. “I am really sorry that this happened. I will

get the best doctors here to take care of Vivi. Please let me know what I can do to make you feel better.”

Rayna walked out of the homestay in a daze.

The thought that Curtis might have known everything and intentionally instructed the kitchen staff to include those

additional herbs in her food gave her the chills.

But I hid it so well. There was no way he could have found out.

Rayna sat down on the bench and took out her phone. With trembling fingers, she unlocked it and dialed a number.

The call went through after a few rings. “Belle, what happened?” the person on the other end of the phone asked

gently.

“Vi… Vivi had a miscarriage…” A lump formed in Rayna’s throat as she spoke, and tears started streaming down

her face. “Curtis had gotten someone to deliver a duck stew to me yesterday afternoon, but I was too full…”

The woman narrated the incident to Jefferson tearfully.

Rayna was stricken with guilt at the thought of Vivi lying in the hospital after losing her babies. “I shouldn’t have

asked Mdm. Myers to send the duck stew to Vivi. I was the one who caused Vivi’s miscarriage.”

Jefferson listened quietly while Rayna spoke.

His expression turned grim as comprehension suddenly dawned on him. He started feeling worried and restless.

Unless it was at the customer’s request, it was unlikely that the chef would include herbs in the stew.

Moreover, there was no way Curtis would have made such a request if he was aware that Rayna was pregnant,

knowing that it could be potentially fatal for her.

The only explanation was that Arnaud had planted informants around Rayna and tried to hurt her by adding

harmful ingredients to her food after knowing about her pregnancy.

Just as Jefferson was about to share his thoughts with Rayna, the woman spoke first. “He treated me so well and

stayed by my side throughout the power outage last night. I thought he still had feelings for me…”

Taking a pause, Rayna continued, “Why would the stew contain such herbs?” The question was for both Jefferson

and herself. “Did he… already know that I’m pregnant?”

When Jefferson heard that, he could not help but feel bitter and resentful.

Although Rayna claimed that she no longer had feelings for Curtis after their breakup, it was clear that she still

cared deeply for him. A small act of kindness from the man would be enough to make her happy.

If Curtis was willing to humble himself and give in, would they have already gotten back together?

Clouded by his jealousy, Jefferson said, “Belle, those are definitely not ingredients that would be commonly found in

a duck stew and would only be added at the request of the customer. It’s very likely that Curtis has found out about

your pregnancy.”

“But I concealed it so well.” Hearing that Jefferson shared her sentiments, a pained expression appeared on

Rayna’s face. “Why did he do that…”

Jefferson replied in a deep voice, “Because he didn’t want the babies. He knew that you would not abort them and

would insist on raising them yourself. That was why he got the kitchen staff to add those herbs to the duck stew

before delivering it to you. By doing that, it would seem as if your miscarriage was an accident, and the

responsibility would be on the kitchen staff. That way, he would be able to stay out of the matter completely.