Chapter 148: Chapter 148

Chapter 148 The Night Of Christmas Eve Crystal felt as if her face was on fire.

Every time she felt shy, her cheeks would turn a shade of rosy hue which made her look all the more captivating.

Ritchie’s gaze was completely fixated on her.

“Charles has left.” Crystal tried to sound calm.

Ritchie nodded in response.

He looked at Crystal and said, “My car is in for maintenance, so I took a taxi here. Do you mind giving me a ride?”

Crystal was a little hesitant.

This man has a really good temperament, but is he always this straightforward?

On their first meeting, he was already asking her for a ride home.

Crystal was naive, but Madison sensed that he had ulterior motives. It was obvious that Charles’ cousin had intentions to pursue Crystal.

She had heard of Ritchie, who was a Jenkins known for being upright, good-looking, and well- educated: Given his status, it was only reasonable that his standards were high.

Madison didn’t expect him to fall in love at first sight with Crystal.

Even though Madison was going through a tough time, she was already plotting for Crystal’s love life.

Slightly shifting her position, she smiled at Crystal and said. “Crystal, he’s Charles’ cousin / If it’s convenient for you, why not give him a ride? Consider it a favor to me!”

Now that Madison had asked, it became harder for Crystal to turn him down.

Smiling politely, she said to Ritchie, “All right! Send me your address.”

Ritchie didn’t have much dating experience, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t know about dating at all. Easy enough, he obtained Crystal’s number and sent her his address, Crystal was quite surprised that his place was rather close to hers.

After gesturing for him to get in the car, she started the engine.

On the way, Madison did most of the talking.

Ritchie’s considerate and respectful attitude toward Charles’ lover throughout the conversation. left a favorable impression on Crystal.

When they arrived at Ritchie’s place, he got out of the car and walked to the side of the driver’scal.

He tapped the window gently, and Crystal wound it down.

Beaming at her, Ritchie expressed his gratitude. “Thank you, Miss Winters. Allow me to treat you to a meal another day,” he said as he waved his phone.

Crystal smiled and agreed because she thought Ritchie was just being polite. They might not necessarily meet again after this encounter.

After taking one last glance at Crystal, Ritchie left with a wistful expression on his face.

When Crystal started the car again, Madison yawned. “I’m tired.”

Head tilted to the side, she complained, “I wonder how long Charles hasn’t had sex. He has completely worn me out.”

Crystal’s face flushed when she heard Madison’s straightforward words.

Eventually, Zachary gave in and turned the page on this matter in his heart.

After staying over at Crystal’s place for a week, Madison went back.

Later, Crystal found out that Madison and Charles were still involved with each other intermittently. She heard that they even went on a vacation to Hawen for a week.

While Madison seemed happy and radiant, Crystal could only sigh to herself.

Her life was still centered around her condominium, the music center, and going back and forth to her family.

Life was quite dull, but Crystal had gradually gotten used to it.

On Christmas Eve, Crystal finished work at six o’clock. The air was filled with a festive atmosphere while young couples were flooding the streets.

At times like this, Crystal couldn’t help but think that it was time for her to start dating.

Knowing that she had ended things with Henry, Anna had hinted a few times about introducing a friend’s son to her, but Crystal had declined every time.

Right then, a phone call came from Anna.

Anna brought up the topic again on the phone. “Crystal, you should meet him. He’s an associate dean at a university, and he’s good-looking. You’ll be twenty-five after this year. You need to take this seriously!”

Crystal looked up at the Christmas lights above her, which were t winkling like stars.

She smiled lightly. “Okay, I’ll meet him some day.”

Anna chuckled. “Some day? He wants to invite you to spend Christmas Eve together tonight.”

Crystal was quite surprised by it.

Nevertheless, she agreed after a while. “All right, then. Could you give me his number?”

“That won’t be necessary!”

Surprised, Crystal turned around and saw Ritchie.

On the winter night before Christmas, he was wearing a white sweater with a gray coat over it. Standing tall at a hundred and eighty-five centimeters, he looked elegant and handsome.

His presence was dazzling.

While staring at him, Crystal whispered to Anna. “I bumped into him.”

That prompted Anna to hang up the phone with satisfaction.

That young man from the Jenkins family is very suitable for Crystal!

After Crystal hung up the phone, she waved her phone gently and greeted, “It’s you, Professor Jenkins.”

Ritchie replied straightforwardly, “Yeap, it’s me! Do you mind if I call you Crystal from now on?”

Crystal didn’t object.

Ritchie strode beside her as he continued in a friendly tone, “There’s a Malarnorn restaurant up ahead. Their turkey drumsticks and tequila are excellent. Don’t worry about driving afterward. I’ll have my driver pick us up later.”

Crystal suddenly halted.

“Ritchie, you actually drove to the police station the last time, didn’t you?”

Ritchie didn’t deny it.

Smiling, he explained, “I really didn’t know how to strike up a conversation with you, so I came up with a lousy excuse. But you still exposed me in the end.”

He had a gentle and considerate demeanor, especially toward women.

Crystal felt comfortable talking to him. She thought perhaps a man like him would be suitable for her. She was willing to give it a try and see if they could be together.

Crystal looked ahead and said softly. “Well... let’s go and try the dishes, shall we?”

Ritchie looked at Crystal endearingly, and while he didn’t do anything to her, his eyes twi nkled with delight.

Meanwhile, Crystal failed to notice that a Bentley Continental was slowly driving past them.

Henry saw Crystal with Ritchie from inside the car, and he saw how Ritchie was looking at her with a gentle expression on his face.

The weather was very cold that night. As Crystal rubbed her hands for warmth, Ritchie took off his own scarf and wrapped it around her.

Henry stopped the car with a jerk when he saw that.

Then, he turned the car around and silently watched the two walking side by side. Having witnessed that scene, he had to admit that Ritchie and Crystal were dating no matter how reluctant he was.

The thought of it made his expression turn cold.

After having dinner together, Ritchie suggested that they watched a movie.

However, Crystal felt it was too fast for them to be watching a movie together, so they ended up going to an art exhibition. Not expecting the gallery to be crowded on Christmas Eve, Crystal felt that she was nearly being squeezed out of shape, Ritchie smiled as he pulled her into his embrace, which startled Crystal, but she didn’t refuse.

After leaving the exhibition center, Ritchie held Crystal’s hand and led her to a place with less crowd.

Ritchie couldn’t take his eyes off Crystal under the continuous fireworks which illuminated the sky of Barnwood on the night of Christmas Eve.

Ritchie truly liked her. It was love at first sight.

He wanted to kiss her but was afraid of being too sudden, so he restrained himself and planted a kiss on her forehead instead.

“I had a great time tonight, Crystal.”

Crystal also had a good time. This kind of lukewarm date might not be exciting, but it was what she wanted. Amidst the crowd, Ritchie gently held her in his arms.

Crystal leaned on Ritchie’s shoulder lightly and registered how pleasant he smelled. There was a hint of ink fragrance on him, which was unlike the strong and dominating smell from Henry which always made her feel as if he could devour her at any moment.

This feels great. It’s time for me to move on. I should completely forget about Henry and start anew.

When the sky was lit up with fireworks once again, Crystal gently hugged Ritchie, which indicated. that she accepted his pursuit.

Henry stood among the crowd from far away and watched as Crystal embraced Ritchie.

As he observed her tilting her head, smiling, and willingly holding onto Ritchie’s waist, he couldn’t help but think that all of those belonged to him originally.

Is she going to take it all back and give it to another man?Is she going to marry Ritchie?

Henry imagined the conversation that would happen when he handed her a gift at her wedding with Ritchie. “Thank you, Mr.

Miller, for gracing Ritchie and me with your presence.” Is that what she would say?a