âIâve never seen anyone eating mango with chili. What kind of recipe is this?â
Vivi rolled her eyes at her and replied, âItâs our local delicacy. Do you know just how many people want to eat it but canât?â
Rayna picked up a piece of mango with a fork and dipped it into the chili.
Surprisingly, it was quite good.
Vivi had wanted to chat with Rayna. However, before they could sit down, she received a call from her husband.
After taking the call, Vivi told Rayna that she was going to pick up some goods with her husband and left in haste.
Rayna lay back against a swing chair and basked in the sunlight as she enjoyed the mangos.
Without her realizing it, Rayna finished a big plate of mangos.
âMs. Garland, enjoying the sun, are we?â A stylist brought a lunch box over and teased, âMr. Faymon noticed you didnât have lunch in the dining room just now. He asked me to send you some duck stew.â
Rayna shifted uneasily. âIâm not a morning person. You could have just asked someone to send lunch to my room.â
As a matter of fact, she hadnât joined them because she couldnât stand them gesticulating about her and Curtis.
The stylist mumbled, âMr. Faymon was so worried about you and kept asking us why you werenât there. Tsk tsk!â
âPut it here. Iâll eat it later,â Rayna said awkwardly.
âAll right. Iâll set it down here. Anyway, Iâll get going now.â
Rayna finally felt more comfortable after the stylist left.
She glanced at the lunch box placed on the table and was tempted to eat the duck stew.
However, she had a lot for lunch, not to mention the huge plate of mangos. Hence, she was quite stuffed.
Rayna greeted Viviâs mother-in-law when the latter walked past her.
âMdm. Myers, did you just come back?â
âYes. Vivi wants to eat mangos. Thereâs none left. So I went out to buy two boxes of them,â Claire replied. Then, she opened the box and gave Rayna a handful.
âThank you, Mdm. Myers,â Rayna said with a smile.
Then, she recalled the fact that duck stew was quite nutritious and handed the lunch box to Claire. âThis is duck stew. Please pass it to Vivi.â
âYou have it. Iâm going to make Vivi some tomorrow,â Claire replied.
âIâm really full now. You can give it to her,â Rayna said. Then, she pushed the lunch box to Claire and added, âIâve put on a lot of weight. Iâm afraid that the directors are going to give me the stink eye if I donât watch my diet.â
Claire knew that there was no refusing her and accepted the lunch box. âAll right, then. Please bring Mr. Faymon over for dinner later.â
âItâs all right. You donât have to do this.â
After chatting for a bit, Rayna finally talked Claire out of having them over for dinner. She couldnât help but envy Viviâs luck. Not only did her husband cherish her, but her mother-in-law was really kind to her as well.
Then, she recalled how dejected Xandra looked when she was talking to her the other day.
Xandra said that Curtis was cold and indifferent toward her after knowing the truth. Ever since she moved to the Faymon residence, Curtis never went over. He would only begrudgingly go home when summoned by Alfred.
Rayna didnât think that Xandra was wrong, and she wished he would talk things out with her.
However, she did not speak her mind.
It was not her place to lecture Curtis, after all.
Rayna stayed in the garden for some time. The air felt hot and humid, with dark clouds looming in the sky. It seemed like it was going to rain. So, she went back into the house.
She bumped right into Curtis when she was heading upstairs.
Curtis went upstairs with her and asked nonchalantly, âHowâs the duck stew?â
He was afraid that she didnât have lunch and asked the kitchen to prepare the duck stew for her. However, since it was inappropriate for him to personally send it over, he asked someone else to help him instead.
Rayna felt odd telling him sheâd given away the duck stew because she was stuffed. Thus, she merely hummed in acknowledgment.
When she reached the door, she took out a few mangos from the bag and shoved them to Curtis. âViviâs mother-in-law gave me this. I canât finish it all on my own.â
Then, she hastily opened the door and headed inside.
Curtis looked at the mangos and chuckled.
It seems like sheâs really overstuffed these days. Otherwise, she would have finished everything, leaving nothing for me.