Soon, the cruise began to sail closer toward the shore amidst the rough waves. As soon as the cruise was close enough to the bright dock, the passengers immediately went ashore, catching. a glimpse of a silhouette, which turned out to be a man with a handsome yet indifferent appearance. Although the man’s good looks managed to turn many heads, the passers-by would have approached him for his contact if he hadn’t had a pretty lady resting in his arms.
When Justin made it ashore, he tried to nudge the lady in his embrace in an attempt to wake her up, but to no avail. It looks like the cocktail really packed a punch. Well, that isn’t a bad thing, either. At least she won’t be able to remember the kiss I planted on her forehead, or I’d have a hard time explaining myself.
After he tucked Rachel in and lowered the temperature of the air conditioner, but when he was about to make a move, he looked back for some reason and noticed the lady’s restful look. In that instant, he felt as if there was an unseen force that kept him from walking away as he returned to the bed and sat beside it, fixing his gaze on Rachel’s sleeping face. “Rachel. He gently called out to her, but the latter still showed no signs of waking up.
Then, he caressed her forehead with his hand, combing her fringe to the side so that he could have a better view of her face. While the lady’s looks remained beautiful, they seemed more nonchalant than they did six years ago.
After all, Rachel used to be gentle and tender back then. Although she was considered tough, she was often timid and fearful of intimidation and oppression.
Deep down in his heart, Justin could still remember the moment when they had first gotten married six years ago. “Do you know that you’re so pretty, Rachel? Our wedding night was actually the first time we met each other in twenty years, but I didn’t recognize you at that time. Instead, I was blinded by my vengeance and hatred for the Hudson Family, but even so, I couldn’t deny the fact that you were indeed a lovely lady. In fact, you were the most beautiful lady I’ve ever seen, especially those eyes of yours.”
Recounting the past, Justin couldn’t help but feel a stab of pain in his heart. Your eyes were like the ones that were etched in my heart. While they have always looked like Katie’s eyes, I had never thought that you were actually Katie. He then held Rachel’s hands, feeling her warm and sweaty palms, which he thought was probably because they were buried underneath the blanket.
“In order to inherit the Burton Group and ruin the Hudson Pharmaceuticals, I did a lot of things that I’m not exactly proud of.
Considering the kind heart you have in you, you would probably never forgive me for what I did. However, there are only a handful of things that I regret, and one of them is the fact that I failed to recognize you sooner. Instead, I wronged you by hurting you in the years that came after that Rachel, I want you to know that I’m happy to always see you and grateful for having at daughter with you.”
Justin then chuckled and added, “And a son. If hadn’t mentioned Samuel, I bet you’d probably blame me for leaving him out. I should have explained this to you, but I want you to know that I’ve always treated Samuel as my own son. In fact, I’m so grateful for having him by your side to keep you company in my place and our daughter’s. Ever since the matter with Julian happened, I’ve become concerned and worried whenever I see you hanging around another man. Honestly, I’d rather see you stay single for the rest of your life. Even if you’re going to start your own family in the future, I’ll still continue to accompany you as a friend. After all, we’ve been friends for more than two decades, haven’t we?”
Not knowing how long had passed, Justin realized his words might have been a little too long-winded and mocked himself, saying, ‘If you were awake now, I doubt I’d talk so much, not because I don’t want to, but because I’m afraid that I might scare you. Charlotte said I’ve become more annoying than I used to be due to my nagging, and I’m aware of that. She even told me that’s a sign of me getting old.”
Soon, Rachel suddenly moved, startling Justin, who thought she was awake. Fortunately, she only just moved her neck a bit and changed to a comfortable position before continuing her sleep. Then, Justin took a look at the time and decided it was time for him to make a move. Thus, he tucked the lady in again, covering her with the blanket up to her chin, whereupon he switched off the lights and left.
Not long after the man was gone, Rachel, who was lying in bed, slowly opened her eyes, clearly setting her gaze on her surroundings. In fact, she had been awake all the time, from the moment they shared a kiss on the cruise where her hair grazed across his neck, to the moment he carried her in his arms and spoke his feelings to her. When the man planted the kiss on her lips, she had no idea how to react because her mind went blank at that instant.
Therefore, she instinctively pretended to be drunk and collapsed onto his arms in an attempt to get herself out of the difficult position. That way, both of them could act as if nothing had ever happened the next morning. The only thing that Rachel didn’t expect was the fact that Justin would reveal his true feelings to her when he thought she was asleep. Moments later, Rachel tossed and turned in bed a few more times but couldn’t fall asleep somehow.
The next morning, it was already 10.00AM by the time Rachel woke up. After going about her morning ablutions, she exited the bathroom and was greeted by Justin, who was spreading butter on the bread at the dining table. As soon as he saw the lady, he showed his concern and asked, “You’re up. How was your sleep last night?”
Rachel faked a cough to cover the awkward feeling within her. “Fine, I guess. I must have been so drunk that I slept like a dead person. I don’t even know how I got back here.”
“Do you need any help jogging your memory?”
“What?” Rachel waved her hand when she caught on to Justin’s words. “No thanks.” Deep down, she didn’t want to relive the moment in which Justin carried her back in his arms by hearing it
Spreading the butter on the bread, Justin said, “Don’t worry. Nothing unusual happened. All I did was carry you back. With me by your side, what do you think could have happened?”
“You being by my side was exactly the problem, Rachel murmured to herself.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.” She curled her lips upward and asked, “That’s quite some breakfast you’re having there. Is it from the room service?”
“Yeah.” He poured a glass of milk for Rachel and slid the plate of bread with butter closer to her. “I haven’t eaten this, so you could have it.”
“Thanks.”
“By the way, Mrs. Bennett sent someone to deliver an invitation card here before you woke up.
“Where is it?”
“Right here.” Justin brought the red invitation card closer to Rachel.
Rachel then took a sip of her fruit juice and put down her glass, whereupon she skimmed through the content of the invitation card. “They’ve even taken their wedding photo. That’s fast. If Jolly sees this, she is probably going to let her imaginations run wild and bother her again.”
As soon as she flipped open the invitation card, she was greeted by the wedding photo with Leroy and his bride, whose family owned the Grandeur Group. While both of them appeared to be wearing traditional wedding attires, the arrangement represented Shannon’s idea of bringing fortune and happiness.
“The bride has quite a pretty face, although she seemed plumper when I saw her that day than she is in this picture. Anyway, I heard Mrs. Bennett hasn’t been in good health recently, which is why she’s been keeping a low profile. No wonder the press in Enistan doesn’t know much about her.”
“It seems to me that Mrs. Bennett is trying to get herself two puppets. How cunning she is!”
As Rachel was about to close the invitation card, she caught a glimpse of the guest list and frowned at what she saw. “Why are there only our names on the list? Does that mean Jolly can’t come with us?”
Justin nodded in response. “Judging from Lush Enterprise’s unique status in Enistan, I’m sure they’ll tighten the security on the wedding day to make sure no one else but only the invited guests can go in, even if the occasion may be simple. Thus, I don’t think it’s going to be easy for us to sneak Jolly in.”
“What are we going to do then?”
