Chapter 475: Chapter 475

Rayna stood there in a stupor for a long while. Only when the two men came out of the operating room and called her did she snap out of it.

The men’s faces were swollen and covered in bruises, and Rayna deduced that Curtis’ subordinates must have shown no mercy.

“Sorry you had to go through this.”

She paid them double and told them they could leave before departing, returning to the company to deal with some matters.

When it was five in the evening, she drove to the residential area Curtis lived in, but instead of going in, she called Carl. “Pack your things. I’m waiting for you at the entrance of the residential area.”

“Sure,” said Carl without asking her why. A few minutes later, Rayna saw him coming out with a suitcase. Lucky was trailing behind the little boy, wagging its tail.

Rayna got out of her car and placed his suitcase in the trunk. Then, she looked at the dog. “He can’t come with us.”

“Why?” Carl really wanted to bring the dog with him, so he pleaded, “Please, Ms. Rayna. Let him come with us. Mr. Curtis never takes him around for walks. That’s just sad.”

For a moment, Rayna wanted to relent, but she gritted her teeth and said with determination, “No. He belongs to Curtis. Take him back.”

“But Ms. Rayna—”

“One more word and I’m leaving you behind as well.”

Taking note of Rayna’s cold expression and her non-negotiable tone, Carl lowered his head and despondently brought the dog back. A moment later, he came back looking dejected.

Rayna took him back to the condominium. She had informed Jessica about Carl staying temporarily in the room next to hers, and Jessica agreed to the arrangement.

After the boy settled down, Rayna was about to take him to Kristie’s place.

Larissa had just returned from her grocery run and was about to make dinner. The first thing she saw upon opening the door was a boy standing next to Rayna. Stunned, she asked, “Ms. Garland, who is this?”

“My friend’s kid. He’ll be staying with me for a while. He might come here a lot, so you probably have a bit of extra work ahead of you.”

Carl greeted Larissa politely, “Hi, ma’am. I’m Carl.”

“Oh, you’re a good boy, Carl.” Larissa patted his head. “Come in. So what would you like for dinner?”

“It’s okay. I’ll make dinner tonight. You can go back now.”

“All right. I’ll be heading back.”

Larissa had expected Rayna to make dinner, so she left after telling the latter there was chicken soup in the kitchen. Rayna would often come to visit, and every time she came, she would insist on cooking for Kristie and everyone else.

Jessica, who heard some noise outside, emerged from her chambers. “Nana? Are you done with your work?”

The change of environment did wonders for Jessica. Her mood improved, her morning sickness had subsided, and she even gained a little weight. After just a short period of time, she looked much better than she was before.

“Yep, and I took Carl with me.” Rayna pulled Carl over to her and introduced, “This is Ms. Jessica. She’s pregnant, and she’s currently staying here to recuperate. This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone.”

“Got it.” Carl nodded. He greeted Jessica with a juvenile voice and asked, “Aunt Kristie is staying here, isn’t she? But I don’t see her anywhere.”

Jessica chuckled. “She’s still sleeping. You’ll see her once she wakes up.”

Rayna asked worriedly, “She’s still sleeping? Is she not feeling well?”

With an amused tone, Jessica explained, “She insisted that I watch a scary movie with her last night, and she got so spooked that she couldn’t sleep the whole night. I saw her still scrolling Twitter when I woke up in the middle of the night. She went to catch some sleep after we had lunch.”

Speechless, Rayna asked, “You should’ve stopped her. Why did you join her? Jess, you’re pregnant. You should at least take good care of yourself. Do you think horror movies are good for your pregnancy? Aren’t you scared?”

“She insisted on it, and she wouldn’t let me sleep either.” Jessica shrugged. “And it was a zombie movie. It wasn’t that scary anyway.”

Words eluded Rayna.

Carl interjected, “Ooh, is it good? I want to watch too.”

“Yeah, it’s quite good. Come. I’ll put it on for you.”

“Okay!”

Rayna watched Jessica bring Carl to the living room before shaking her head with a sigh. She then proceeded to busy herself in the kitchen.

A while later, Jessica entered the kitchen as well. As she helped her friend out, she said, “I thought he was fine staying at Mr.

Faymon’s. Why did you bring him here?”

Rayna, who was chopping up some vegetables, paused in her tracks. Pursing her lips, she explained, “I’m worried no one’s going to take care of him. Aside from Mr. Faymon’s dog, Carl had no one else to play with. But if I bring him here, at least he can play with you guys.”

“You don’t look too good.” A momentary pause later, Jessica asked, “Are you all right, Nana?”

“Yes. Carl isn’t, though.”

While preparing food, Rayna calmly related to Jessica about what happened to Jasmine and Theodore. She told Jessica all about Emma sending a woman Theodore’s way, and how Theodore impregnated the woman. Rayna also didn’t leave out the part where she tried aborting the woman’s child but Curtis ended up stepping in, ruining her plan.

The news came as a bombshell for Jessica. For a while, there was nothing but shock and befuddlement in her eyes. Eventually, she snapped out of it. “He should know how she got pregnant, right? So why did he step in?”

Rayna answered, “Yes, he does. He said the Nicholsons and Xaviers are good friends, and that Selena is Noel’s only daughter. If I tried to harm Selena, the Nicholsons would be out for my blood. That’s what he said.”

Jessica mulled it over for a moment and tried to defend Curtis. “He was trying to protect you. He didn’t want you getting dragged into the mess.”

“He tried to make me abort my child.”

Jessica fell silent.

Rayna didn’t look at Jessica’s expression as she placidly recounted, “He sent me some duck stew back when I was filming in Summerbank. The stew was spiked with something that’d cause a miscarriage. He knows I’m pregnant, and he wants me to abort the child. He did it today at the hospital, too. He took me to the gynecology department because he wants to find out how far in I am.”

Jessica gave her a hug and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“You don’t have to apologize. This is not your fault.” Rayna smiled. “I’m just trying to say that someone who’s cruel enough to kill my unborn child doesn’t have the capacity to care for me.”

“So what now for you and the baby?”

“I’m raising them alone.” Rayna looked at her baby bump affectionately. “Once everything is settled and the new product is up and running, I’ll be leaving the country.”

“With Jefferson?” asked Jessica.

Rayna’s eyes darted around for a while before she replied, “He’s busy, and I want to live alone.”

Jessica didn’t ask any other questions. “As long as you’re happy.”

“Once I settle down, I’ll try to sneak you out too,” said Rayna. “I’ve gotten someone else to handle the passport. If you continue hiding here, he’s going to find out eventually.”

“All right. I’ll listen to you.”

With Jessica’s help, Rayna managed to finish making dinner swiftly.

After setting the table, she called Carl over for dinner. Seeing that Kristie’s door was still shut, she knocked on it. “Dinner’s ready, Kristie.”

Rayna called her a few more times but didn’t get any response, so she entered Kristie’s room. The curtains were drawn, and the lights were dim. Rayna approached the bed and saw Kristie still asleep. The latter was frowning, seemingly having a fitful sleep.

“Kristie.” Rayna patted Kristie’s cheek.

“Please don’t leave me. Don’t leave me,” muttered Kristie. Her head was tilted, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Thinking Kristie might be having a nightmare, Rayna tried to wake the former up, but she soon burst into tears. Her eyes were still shut, yet tears kept falling down her cheeks. “Don’t leave me. Come back!”

Heartbroken, she bawled, her hands flailing in the air, desperately trying to grab something. “Please, please... Don’t go.”