Chapter 159: Chapter 159

Dear Sweetheart Chapter 159 Sexual Orientation “Stop,” James interrupted. “You’re overthinking, Rayna.”

“Who’s the girl who answered the phone?”

Rayna refused to let the matter go. James massaged his temples and came up with a lie. “It wasn’t a girl. It was one of my buddies. His voice’s a little delicate, that’s all.”

Shocked by the revelation, Rayna stepped on the brake, causing the car to come to an abrupt halt. A hint of surprise surfaced in her eyes as she looked at her brother. “You’re... gay?”

James’ expression darkened at once. “No!”

Rayna, however, thought he was trying to conceal his sexual orientation. As naturally as she could, she said, “It’s fine. Our society has developed and become much more accepting, but let’s not tell Mom for now, all right? We’ll find another time.”

James was bereft of words, and for the rest of the journey, the atmosphere was awkward.

Rayna knew that homosexuals tend to feel less confident about themselves. They were afraid that they would be shunned by society.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind as long as you’re happy. Plenty of countries are legalizing gay marriage now. Society is very accepting of you, and I’m the same. Besides, you guys wouldn’t have to worry about children. That’s great, isn’t it?” Rayna attempted to console her brother, stammering through her words as she did so.

James said nothing in response and stared out the window, his face devoid of expression.

The siblings arrived at Linda’s house just in time for lunch. She had prepared numerous dishes for them and didn’t forget to nag about their sister, Roxanne, who only thought of work and didn’t bother coming home before heading overseas for her movie shoot.

Linda placed some food on James’ plate. Her tone was much gentler when she asked him, “James, how’s school?”

Rayna arched her brow and chimed in, “Mom, don’t you know how he is? He’s always been an obedient child. When did he ever let you down in terms of studies?”

“That’s good, then.” Linda nodded. After a moment of hesitation, she added, “I’ve been working at the library these days and noticed that many youngsters have a significant other. If you’ve met a girl you like, you can get to know her better. I’m fine with that as long as you don’t neglect your studies.”

Rayna choked on a mouthful of soup and started coughing.

“Are you okay?” Linda asked while pouring her a cup of water.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Rayna gulped down the water and cast a guilty glance at her mother. Your son has a significant other, but it’s not a girlfriend.

“Mom, don’t worry about that. James is all grown up. He knows what he’s doing,” she added before switching the topic. “Also, I bought a house. You should move there when it’s ready.”

“I’m perfectly fine here. Why did you waste money on another house?”

“This house is old and humid. Besides, you’re not well. I don’t think you should continue living here.”

“Sell that house off, Rayna.” After leaving the sales department that day, James had been following Kristie to her movie shoot.

He had been so busy that he had forgotten to tell his sister about the house he had bought. “I bought one too.”

Taken aback, Rayna asked, “Which one?”

“The one we went to view.”

“The one that costs almost ten million?” Rayna gasped upon recalling the events of that day in question. “I was wondering how the house was sold by the time I came back from the restroom. So it was you who bought it! Where did you get that much money?”

“I have a bit of money saved up, so I placed a down payment. As for the remainder, I’ll pay it off in monthly installments.”

“I’ll think of a way to cancel the purchase.” Since the real estate company was under Faymon Group, Rayna figured she’d be able to cancel the purchase after talking to Curtis about it.

“Why? Don’t you like that house?” James didn’t agree with his sister. “I can afford monthly payments of tens of thousands.”

It’s just that I’m paying Kristie instead.

Rayna didn’t want him to shoulder too much of a burden, but he thought the house was best and insisted on keeping it.

Meanwhile, Linda cared about the money, but the siblings wouldn’t listen to her at all.

After the meal, Rayna pulled James aside and whispered, “Tell me, did you borrow money from your... lover to buy the house?”

His school was notorious for being a cheapskate and constantly trying to make money from their students. There was no way they’d give their students monetary handouts.

James didn’t want to continue correcting her about his sexual orientation. After all, he knew his sister would ignore him no matter how many times he insisted he was straight. He merely said, “I took out a loan to purchase the house. You and Mom can just move in without worrying about anything.”

After a moment of silence, Rayna patted him on the shoulder. “All right. Thank you, James.”

James was so creeped out that goosebumps spread all over him.

He couldn’t help but feel that her words were implying something else.

When they were about to leave in the evening, Linda gave them some side dishes and wine to bring home. Once again, she nagged at the siblings before letting them go.

Rayna dropped James off. On the way back, she was gloomy and depressed.

How can my adorable brother turn out to be gay?

She wasn’t against homosexuals, but she couldn’t help feeling a complicated mix of emotions when one of her family members turned out to be homosexual. Linda was a traditionalist. If she found out about James’ sexual orientation, she’d be devastated.

Rayna basked in the warm and comforting evening sun as she made her way into the mansion with the bottles of wine in her hands. From a distance, she could already see the man’s silhouette. He was looking down, and there was a book on his lap.

Rayna washed some fruits and brought it to the garden.

“Mr. Faymon”—she pulled a chair over, sat next to Curtis, and handed him the plate of fruits—”have some fruits.”

Curtis didn’t spare her a glance.

A day had passed, but the air around him was still so cold and solemn. Rayna was entirely stumped, for she couldn’t understand why he was mad at her.

Why is he mad at me? Is it because... of the call yesterday?

After mulling over the situation, she uttered through gritted teeth, “My mom didn’t mistake you for Julian.”

Curtis finally gave her a glance upon hearing that.

Indeed, the call was the cause of it all.

Looking awkward, Rayna mumbled, “You got drunk on your birthday, and Ms. Gardner asked me to pick you up. You didn’t want to go home, so I took you out to celebrate, and we went back to my place.”

After a brief pause, she added, “I figured it was your birthday, so you should at least enjoy a birthday meal. I had my mom cook something for you, but you were drunk and couldn’t think straight. You addressed my mom exactly the same way I did, so my mom thought you were my new boyfriend.”

Rayna grew more embarrassed the longer the story went on, and by the end of it, she was practically whispering to herself.

Despite that, Curtis finally understood the situation, and the crease between his brows vanished.

Her hearing wasn’t bad. Rayna was lying to me.

Curtis remained expressionless as he asked, “Where did you take me? Why don’t I remember?”

“We just went on a stroll.” Rayna laughed dryly.

Fortunately, the man wouldn’t remember what had happened every time he got drunk. Otherwise, things would be awkward between them. If he knew the stupid things he did back then, I’m sure his expression would be far more interesting than mine.

However, Curtis was somewhat dubious.

“Have some fruits, Uncle Curtis. They’re fresh.” Rayna pushed the plate toward him once more. “You’re not mad anymore, are you? In that case, can I ask you a couple of questions?”

“Go on.” It had been a while since she had addressed him as “Uncle Curtis.”

Seeing that he was reaching for the orange, she grabbed it first and peeled it for him while asking, “Do you have... those sorts of friends?”

“What sort of friends?”

Rayna was slightly embarrassed, but she forced herself to continue, “You know... homo...”

It took a while for Curtis to understand her. When realization dawned upon him, he gave her the once-over and questioned, “Why are you asking me that?”

The man’s gaze darkened, and his throat tightened. “You’re not bisexual, are you?”

“No, no! I’m straight,” Rayna said while waving a hand. A blush quickly rose to her face.

Curtis heaved a sigh of relief. He almost got the shock of his life. “I’ve interacted with a few. Why?”

“Really?” Rayna pulled her chair closer to his, landing her inquisitive gaze on him. “In that case, what do they often do, and where do they like to go?”