His Precious Love

Curtis, on the other hand, sat politely in the living room as he waited.

Right then, his phone vibrated in his pocket as someone was video-calling him on WhatsApp. After a

brief moment of thought, he answered the call, and a young man wearing a ponytail appeared on the

screen.

“Happy birthday, Curtis!” Wyatt said with a smile. He raised an eyebrow questioningly as he took in

Curtis’ background. “Where are you, Curtis? It looks like an old house.”

“My mother-in-law’s house,” Curtis replied with a faint smile.

“Huh! Who’s your mother-in-law?” Wyatt asked with his eyes wide open in surprise.

Curtis wore a strange expression on his face. Seeing the look on Curtis’ face, mischief crossed Wyatt’s

mind, and he wanted to tease the former.

“Jeremy, I think something’s wrong with Curtis over here,” he called out to Jeremy.

Soon, Jeremy’s face appeared on the screen. He squinted at Curtis and asked, “Did you have something

to drink earlier, Curtis?”

“I had some brandy.”

“Ah, brandy has a high alcohol content. No wonder Curtis looks a little out of it,” Jeremy said to Wyatt.

Then, he turned back to Curtis and asked curiously, “Curtis, where are you exactly?”

“Haven’t I already said that I’m at my mother-in-law’s?” Curtis repeated rather impatiently. However,

nothing could spoil his good mood that night. He continued in a rather smug tone, “My sweetheart and

her mother are making a special birthday meal for me.”

“Curtis, you’ve been single for the longest time! What’s going on—” Wyatt countered.

Jeremy smacked him before he could finish his sentence.

He shoved Wyatt out of the screen and flashed Curtis a bright smile. “You’re always saying how busy

your lady is. It’s so sweet of her to make time to celebrate your birthday with you. Can I say hello to her?”

Curtis nodded and told him to wait before he stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

“Sweetheart.”

“Huh? What do you want?” Rayna was unnerved to hear him call her so intimately. It was fine with her if

there was no one else around, but with her mother within earshot, Rayna felt embarrassed and

uncomfortable.

Curtis handed her his phone and said, “Jeremy wants to say hi to you.”

Jeremy?

Rayna was still wondering who that was when she caught sight of the young man wearing a white jacket

on the video call. He looked polished and refined.

Jeremy did a double-take when his eyes landed on Rayna. “Hello! I’m Jeremy,” he introduced himself in

a friendly voice.

Rayna nodded at him and explained, “Er, Mr. Faymon had a bit too much to drink, so…”

“Oh, I know!” Jeremy replied with a smile. There was no trace of anger or hostility in his tone. “I just

wanted to thank you for taking care of Curtis and for celebrating his birthday with him.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” Jeremy’s friendly tone put Rayna at ease.

After some small talk, Jeremy ended the call.

When Wyatt got up from the carpet where Jeremy had pushed him down, he saw the latter putting away

his phone. “Hey! Did you hang up already? I wasn’t done speaking to Curtis!” he yelled in an annoyed

tone. But almost immediately, he sounded curious as he asked, “Who was that woman on the call just

now? Does Curtis really have a girlfriend?”

“Maybe she’s someone who works for Curtis,” Jeremy guessed. “I have a good impression of her. She’s

easy to get along with.”

“You shouldn’t have ended the call so quickly! I could’ve taken a look as well!”

“We’ll be flying back next Friday. Wouldn’t it be better to meet her in person?” Jeremy tossed the phone

at Wyatt and turned to leave. “Just hurry up and finish what you’re supposed to do. I’m not going to help

you.”

“Come on! Don’t do this. Aren’t we the best of friends?” Wyatt coaxed him in a wheedling voice. “We can

have fun once we get home. Ah, I’m excited just thinking about it! After two more years in Norham, I’ll be

ready to retire!”

“Do you want to bet on it?”

“Okay! What shall we bet?”

After a short while, a bowl of steaming hot mac-and-cheese was served.

Rayna had stuck a candle right in the middle of the bowl and lit it up. She then asked Curtis to make a

wish.

The old Curtis would never have entertained such a childish notion. However, the man closed his eyes at

that moment, whispered a wish in his heart, and blew out the candle.

Curtis scooped a spoonful of the mac-and-cheese into his mouth. It was dripping with three kinds of

melted cheese and aromatic herbs. The dish was truly one-of-a-kind. “Linda, you really are an amazing

cook! This is the best mac-and-cheese I’ve ever had! No other can top it!” he praised.

Linda smiled from ear to ear, bursting with pride. “Come over anytime! I’ll make it for you again!”

Rayna just smiled as she watched their interaction.

There won’t be a second time!

By the time Rayna drove Curtis back to his home, it was already past eleven o’clock and fast

approaching midnight.

Curtis lingered in the car for a long time. “Sweetheart, you really won’t move in here?”

“We’ve already agreed before that we will live separately. Go on in. Take a shower and go to bed,” Rayna

coaxed Curtis with ease.

The latter unbuckled his seatbelt and swung open the car door. Suddenly, he turned back toward Rayna,

leaned over, and pressed a kiss onto her lips. Rayna was caught off guard.

“Be careful on the road, Sweetheart.”

While Curtis’ voice was still ringing in Rayna’s ear, he had already shut the car door behind him. Rayna

quickly composed herself and drove off. In the rearview mirror, she watched Curtis walk up the steps to

his front door and enter his house.

On the way back to her own home, Rayna brought her finger to her lips and touched them lightly. Her

heart had been beating wildly since she had driven off from Curtis’ house.

Why did he kiss me again?