Rachel followed behind Justin and Gloria at a distance while listening as the staff member explained the horse before them. “This horse is quite small in stature, and it’s quite docile. Mrs. Burton, since you’re a novice at horse riding, you may try riding this one,” he said.
Rachel tried to touch the colt’s head. When she saw that the colt didn’t resist her, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had never ridden a horse before, but she was looking forward to it.
After everyone had chosen their own horses, the staff members in charge led the horses out of the stable. At the sight of the scene, Rachel became somewhat nervous.
“This horse is so good-looking!” Gloria’s voice came from behind. “Miss Rachel, your horse is much more good-looking than the one I chose. I’d like to swap my horse with yours.”
Rachel hesitated somewhat as she looked at the horse behind Gloria. The horse Gloria had chosen was too tall; Rachel had never ridden a horse before, so she didn’t dare to ride such a tall one.
“What are you two talking about?” Justin, who had already mounted his horse, rode over and eyed the two of them.
Gloria explained, “I like Miss Rachel’s horse, so I want to swap my horse with hers, but she seems a bit reluctant.”
Justin frowned. “Didn’t you choose this horse yourself? Why don’t you like it anymore?”
“I didn’t see Miss Rachel’s horse just now. Her horse is so adorable.”
Rachel looked visibly troubled. However, when Justin was about to say something, she suddenly stepped aside and gestured. I’ll give you my horse then.
Gloria smiled. “Hehe, thanks! I just know that you have a big heart, Miss Rachel,” she said. After finishing her sentence, she got on the horse, snatched the reins from the staff member’s hand, and rode off with a squeeze of the horse’s belly. Her voice could be heard in the wind as she shouted, “I’m riding off first! Hurry up and catch up with me!”
Justin straddled the horse while looking at Rachel. “If you’re afraid, just choose another smaller horse.”
Rachel shook her head. It’s not necessary. I’ll give it a try.
“The horses in our ranch are quite good-tempered,” said the staff member as he mounted her on the horse. Luckily, despite the horse’s tall stature, it was quite good-tempered, and it walked slowly. With the staff member leading the horse, Rachel was no longer afraid after riding the horse for a while.
Justin didn’t seem to be worried about Gloria, who was galloping her horse in the distance, as he followed behind Rachel with just the right distance between them. Rachel’s long hair was swaying in the wind, and her white shirt, brown vest, and riding outfit fit her figure very well. The scene looked lively from behind as the sun slowly set in the west.
“Would you like to try riding it faster, Mrs. Burton?”
Rachel hurriedly shook her head.
“Actually, you can give it a try,” the staff member kept persuading as he pulled the reins, patted the horse, and quickened his pace.
Rachel instantly became nervous, and her back tensed up. The staff member comforted her by saying, “Relax, Mrs. Burton. The horse isn’t trotting fast.”
Rachel couldn’t speak and wanted to gesture something, but the staff member couldn’t see it since he was leading the horse at the front. At the sight of the scene, Justin immediately bellowed, “Slow down! Who told you to lead the horse at such a quick pace?”
The staff member was so startled that he stumbled, but he didn’t manage to stop the horse in time. Rachel cried out in alarm and nearly let go of the reins in her hand. Luckily, the staff member grabbed the reins with all his might. Still, Rachel broke out in a cold sweat as she felt terrified.
“Aaaaah!” Just then, a scream was suddenly heard from a distance.
Upon being surprised by this, Rachel watched from afar while Gloria’s horse raised its hooves high, and the reins snapped in two mid-air. As Gloria failed to catch them, she fell off the horse.
“Gloria!” Justin immediately turned his horse around and hurried there.
Rachel was startled as well, and she hurriedly got off the horse before rushing over to the scene. When she arrived, Gloria was lying on the ground with a look of agony on her face, whereas Justin squatted down next to her but didn’t dare to move her carelessly. He looked back and yelled at Rachel, “What are you waiting for? Call the ambulance!”
Rachel shuddered upon being yelled at. She fumbled for her cell phone in a panic, only to recall that she had left her cell phone in the dressing room while changing her clothes there.
Meanwhile, the staff member nearby had called the ambulance. “Hello, is this the first-aid center?”
There was a first-aid station in the park. Frankie hurried over with the staff members and carried Gloria away on a stretcher, whereas Justin followed them all the way with a look of anxiety on his face that one had never seen before.
Rachel was somewhat at a loss as she stood where she was. Suddenly, she noticed from a distance that several staff members couldn’t get Gloria’s horse to move even after they had pulled on the reins. Instead, it kept giving backward kicks like crazy. The voice of the staff member who had led her horse just now came from behind. “It’s strange. Why is this horse so irritable today? Has it eaten something wrong?”
Rachel’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Somehow, she instinctively sensed that someone had been fixing their gaze on her the whole time. When she looked up toward the direction of that gaze, she saw what seemed like a figure disappearing from the rooftop of the park’s hotel some distance away. If Gloria hadn’t swapped horses with her today, she would’ve probably fell off the horse instead.
At Tran-Q Hospital, Justin kept waiting outside the operating room as Julian operated on Gloria himself.
When Rachel arrived, the surgery wasn’t completed yet. When Justin saw her, he said, “You aren’t needed here. Go home first.”
Just then, the door of the operating room suddenly opened from the inside. Julian took off his face mask and came out. “She’s all right, so don’t worry,” he said.
Justin heaved a sigh of relief.
“She broke two ribs and tore her thigh muscles, so she needs to be kept under observation in the hospital for quite some time. Isn’t she said to be very good at horse riding? Why did she have such a nasty fall?”
Justin looked upset. “I shouldn’t have allowed her to fool around. She wasn’t very familiar with the horses in the ranch.”
Suddenly, Rachel shook her head and handed Julian a packet; it was a sealed white bag that contained some particles.
Julian and Justin were both startled. “What is this?”
The horse feed from the ranch. Before Rachel left, she deliberately went to the stables and took a look. Surprisingly, the manger used to feed Gloria’s horse had been emptied. Since Rachel had a weird feeling about this, she scratched the bottom of the manger while no one was noticing. Then, she packed the
particles and left.
Justin’s face instantly clouded over. “Are you suspecting that this has been premeditated?”
Rachel nodded.
“Julian.”
“I got it.” Julian took the bag of horse feed. “I’ll take this to my friend and ask him to help test this to see if there’s anything wrong with it.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s getting late, and Gloria is still under anesthesia. Why don’t you two go home and rest first?”
Justin shook his head. “That’s not necessary. I’ll be here with her.”
The startled Julian subconsciously looked at Rachel, only to see her imperturbable expression. She seemed to have become accustomed to such situations. In that case, I’ll be going back first.
Justin then looked at Julian. “Haven’t you gotten off duty yet, Julian? Go home with her then.”
“Okay.”
Justin wheeled the gurney himself as he followed behind the medical staff to the ward; it was as if his entire mind was focused on the person lying on the sickbed.
It wasn’t until Justin’s figure disappeared in the elevator that Rachel came to her senses. Suddenly, she felt a surge of gastric juices in her stomach, and she couldn’t help but rush to the trash can before she retched into it.
“Are you okay, Rachel?” Julian’s concerned voice sounded from behind.
The woman waved her hand to signal that she was fine.
Julian suddenly recalled how he had once seen her throwing up at home. His tone changed abruptly as he asked, “Does this often happen to you these days?”
