Chapter 322 The Engagement
Jolly parted her lips in an attempt to explain herself, but she was unable to gather her thoughts and put it into words. Eventually, she waved her hand and uttered, “Forget it. We’ll talk about it later. Where are Noah and Amber?”
Upon hearing that, Rachel sported a conflicted expression and exchanged glances with Justin. There was an infirmary on the ship.
Rachel’s neck was severely wounded. If her wounds were any deeper, they would have to be stitched up.
“Alright, don’t let your wounds come into contact with water. Go to a hospital to have your wounds checked after you leave the ship. It’d be troublesome if your wounds are infected.”
“Thanks, doctor.”
“Don’t mention it. But what happened? Why are you seriously injured?”
Just when Rachel was about to reply to him, Justin interrupted her by saying, “She tripped over and hit something sharp. It was an accident.”
Rachel took a glance at the man with a frown. When she was ready to say something, she saw the man sporting a solemn expression. Therefore, she decided to bite her tongue.
Meanwhile, Jolly and Ryan were waiting for them in the room.
As soon as the door was closed, Rachel asked, “Why didn’t you let me tell the truth just now? Two people are dead. I have to call the police now.”
Justin uttered, “If the murders that take place here can be solved by calling the police, this vessel will be no different from other ships.”
“Two lives are gone for good. No one will care whether Amber is missing. However, Noah is the eldest son of the Hindenburg Conglomerate’s boss. Do you think the Hindenburgs won’t look into it?”
“I don’t think the Hindenburgs are aware of Noah’s whereabouts tonight.”
Rachel became startled for a moment before turning to look at Ryan.
With an emotionless expression, Ryan stared at her intently. There wasn’t a hint of fluster behind his cold-looking eyes. “Even if they’re aware of it, they can only call the police. What can the police find out? There are no surveillance cameras on this cruise ship at all.”
In fact, Rachel had already discovered it.
Since there were no surveillance cameras, it meant that no one would find out what had happened. Even if there were witnesses, they couldn’t provide any solid evidence.
“Do we just pretend that nothing has happened?” Rachel uttered in disbelief, for she reckoned that she should call the police since such an incident had happened.
Ryan uttered rudely, “You’d better pretend nothing has happened. Even if you want to invite trouble to yourself, don’t drag others into it. When the cruise ship reaches the harbor, I’ll leave with Jolly. I don’t care whether you’ll leave this place, but don’t mention Jolly when others ask you about the incident today.”
Rachel furrowed her brows. This guy named Ryan keeps talking about Jolly in a caring manner. He doesn’t seem as cold-blooded as what Jolly had described.
However, Jolly retorted, “Stop scaring us. Am I even close to you? Why should I leave the ship with you just because you tell me to? Ryan, I’m telling you—stop telling my best friend what to do. Who do you think you are?”
“Jolly! Can’t you see I’m helping you?”
“I don’t believe anything you say.”
Ryan’s face fell instantly. “What do you mean by that? I’ve come all the way here to save you because I’m worried about your safety, but in the end, it’s all my fault. You’re just as reckless and unreasonable as back then.”
“Back then? How do you even have the nerve to talk about the past with me?”
It seemed that an argument between them was inevitable.
Just as Rachel wanted to say something, she was pulled into the bedroom by Justin.
“Why are you pulling me away?”
“It’s a matter between them. Let them sort it out themselves.”
“Ryan is a hypocrite,” Rachel said furiously. “If he were a responsible man, he wouldn’t have dumped the pregnant Jolly and married another woman.”
Justin’s face stiffened when he heard that. He had no right to give any comment because he was also a scoundrel, just like Ryan. He had done the same thing to Rachel before. “I’m sorry, Rachel.”
It took Rachel quite some time to understand why he apologized to her. Then, she gazed at him with a frown. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
She had gotten even with Justin, and she had no intention of bringing up the incident from the past.
Upon seeing that she had calmed down, Justin turned around and poured a cup of water. “It’ll take some time before the ship reaches the harbor. Take a rest.”
As Rachel listened to the argument outside, she knew that there was nothing she could do. Instead, she might even worsen the situation if she decided to interfere. After a nod, she took a seat and touched her neck.
“Don’t move.” An agile Justin quickly grabbed her wrist. “You can’t touch it.”
His rather warm palm sent Rachel into a dazed state. It wasn’t until a moment later that she came to her senses and gently struggled out of his grip. “Thanks.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
“Thanks for caring about my safety. If you hadn’t saved me in time, I would’ve been hurled into the river.”
Justin uttered gently, “If you really want to thank me, don’t do anything dangerous again. As you can see, no one will find out, even if murders take place on this ship.”
Rachel fell silent.
Upon seeing her expression, Justin knew that she had taken his advice lightly. At that instant, he was torn between getting furious and continuing to persuade her. His chest heaved with frustration.
The air seemed to have frozen instantly.
Rachel took a sip of her tea, as she had no intention of having a discussion with him. At the same time, she kept looking at the door and listened to the argument between Jolly and Ryan.
“You dumped me in the past because you wanted to pursue a brighter future. How do you have the gall to pester me now? You got married once, Ryan. Do you think you’re still as attractive as before?”
“If you hadn’t lied to me, I would’ve married you!”
“No! It was the young lady of Carter Enterprise who was getting married to you, not me.”
“What’s the difference?”
The argument went on. They used to be lovers, but everything changed when they met again. As expected, their argument revolved around trivial matters.
“Do men always have so many excuses? Parents, career, future… But they still have the nerve to say that they’re doing it for the other party and go on to hurt their women.”
Justin frowned. “I heard that Ryan and Jolly were engaged.”
“Yes.” Rachel nodded. “In fact, Ryan was right. If Jolly hadn’t made a scene back then, they would’ve gotten married. They might even be living a happy life together now. However, he doesn’t have a right to say that Jolly was wrong.”
Ryan and Jolly were engaged at that time, but they had never met each other before. Naturally, she wouldn’t want to marry a man she had never come into contact with before. Therefore, she approached the man with a fake name and identity.
“She didn’t expect that she’d really get together with Ryan eventually. However, Ryan suddenly told her that he had a fiancée and that he wouldn’t call off the wedding.”
Upon hearing that, Justin furrowed his brows. “Did he break up with Jolly?”
Rachel sneered, “He would’ve been considered a gentleman if he broke up with Jolly. The fact is, he wanted to make Jolly wait for him for three years.”
Jolly had always been a haughty person. Even though the so-called fiancée was herself, she couldn’t put up with the humiliation that the man had inflicted upon her. Infuriated, she decided to go missing.
“Do her parents know that Samuel’s father is Ryan?”
“They don’t. That’s why they’ve always felt sorry about the wedding that had been called off. Over the years, they’ve offered a lot of help to Ryan in his business. Why do you think he could be so successful now?”
Staring at the door, she uttered coldly, “How can he say that he still loves Jolly? He’s doing all this because he knows that Jolly is the young lady from the Carter Family. It’s revolting!”
