“Alright, go ahead.”
As soon as Frankie stepped out of the car, Justin was left alone with Rachel in the vehicle. The lady then looked outside the window and said, “Thank god that our car broke down here instead of acting up in the middle of the busy road. If that happened, I bet we’d cause a huge jam shortly before our car got towed away.” While the location where their car broke down was at a desolated alley far from the center of the hectic city, the few of them were surrounded by residential buildings and accompanied by the sound of a foghorn, which indicated that a harbor was just nearby.
At the same time, Frankie popped the hood and examined the engine shortly before he returned to Justin and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Burton, I can’t seem to identify the problem that caused our car’s breakdown, but I just called the car rental company, and they said they’ll send someone here with a new car.”
“How long is that going to take?’ Rachel asked.
“It’s hard to tell. It’s not like you don’t know what the traffic condition in Enistan is like. It may take from 30 minutes to an hour or even longer, and it’s almost peak hour soon.”
“That’s very long. What are we going to do here until then? Just wait?”
“I bet you probably hope that we broke down in the middle of the road instead because we’re going to get help sooner that way, don’t you?” Justin asked playfully.
“Come on. Are you seriously still in the mood to joke?”
As Justin responded with a pair of smiling eyes on his face, Frankie said, “Maybe I’ll just wait here by myself, Mrs. Burton. You could perhaps. shop around with Mr. Burton for the time being since Pearl View City is just not far from here. I heard that’s a pretty good place for shopping. So, you guys can stroll around there and have dinner before taking a walk back to the hotel. Does that sound like a plan?”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“How come you have everything figured out so… flawlessly?” Rachel appeared skeptical just as Frankie’s heart skipped a beat.
However, Rachel squinted with a smile and replied, “If I’m going to start a tourism agency company in the future, I’m going to let you run. it.”
“Stop kidding me.”
“I kid you not.”
Not long after Rachel and Justin stepped out of the car, Frankie escorted both of them away until they were far away enough for him to drop his pretense. Soon, he heaved a sigh of relief and wiped off the cold sweat that was covering his forehead before sitting back into his car. Upon a brief rest, he started the engine and drove away. This is all I can do for you, Boss. You’re on your own now.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Justin exited the residential area they were in and made their way toward Pearl View City like Frankie told them to. “If we didn’t come here on a mission to look for someone, Jolly would probably be the happiest person among us. In fact, I bet she’d even queue up to buy the bread here every single day’
“She is probably in the hotel now.”
“You bet! She just sent me a text, complaining to me how bored she is in the hotel. I did tell her to join us, but she wouldn’t, thinking she could risk exposing herself that way.”
“You know what? There is something I find rather strange, actually.” Justin appeared to be preoccupied.
“What’s that?”
“If Mrs. Bennett is trying to threaten Leroy into getting married and inheriting Lush Enterprise in Enistan, wouldn’t it have been easier for her if she had just threatened him with Jolly’s safety? Instead, she went through all the trouble just to plot against Mr. and Mrs. Carter.”
Rachel frowned in response as she began to see the confusion Justin was trying to point out. “Yeah, why?” She then took a moment to think about it. “Maybe she is trying to force Jolly into breaking up with Leroy by threatening. to harm Mr. and Mrs. Carter?”
“But as you can see, it didn’t work that way.”
“Mrs. Bennett wouldn’t know that for sure, would she? After all, who would still dare to try anything silly if their parents’ safety were threatened?” Rachel reckoned her logic was correct, although she wasn’t quite sure how accurate her guess was. After all, she did agree with Justin that there was an easier way Shannon could have used to bend Leroy to her will.
“Maybe.” Justin knitted his eyebrows. In fact, he had another speculation inside of him but was unable to prove it. Thus, he decided to keep it to himself in order not to panic Rachel.
“What’s going on there? Why are there so many people over there? Let’s check it out.”
“Sure.”
In the meantime, Ryan árrived at Enistan Greenhill Hotel after his touchdown earlier that morning, his luggage was still unpacked in the hotel.
“President Sutton, I just found out that Miss Carter lives in a five-star hotel not far from here.”
“Get me a new hotel, then.”
“Yes.”
“Wait a second.” Ryan’s assistant was blocked by a silhouette just when he was about to walk out the door. “Getting a new hotel can wait, but please give me and President Sutton some privacy. I’d like to have a word with him.”
The assistant looked at Ryan. Although Ryan frowned upon hearing that voice, he still nodded and dismissed his assistant.
“What is it that you want to talk to me about?”
“Of course it’s about my purpose of visiting Enistan.” Julian sat down on the couch. “Have a seat and relax.”
“Relax? Mind you, the ladies and Justin are already here. So, unless you have no problem seeing the woman you love rekindling the old flames with Justin, you can stay relaxed all you want.” When Ryan mentioned that, Julian’s eyes darkened. ‘See? If you can’t stay relaxed yourself, don’t tell me to.” Ryan looked askance at Julian and added, “Things are simpler now than they were previously. After all, I’m sure Mrs. Bennett will never allow anyone to ruin the wedding between Leroy and the daughter of the Grandeur Group’s president. Therefore, I just need to send them a message to stop them from seeing Leroy, and nothing will happen.”
“That’s easier said than done. What makes you think Mrs. Bennett is going to believe you?” Julian gazed at him and asked, ‘Unless you’re planning to tell her the address of the hotel that Jolly lives in?”
Needless to say, Ryan couldn’t bring himself to do that because if he told Shannon that Jolly was in Enistan, things could become unpredictable and even spiral out of his control. If that happened, his plan could fail. Thus, he asked, “What plan do you have, then?”
“Just stop them before the wedding. Julian looked outside the window, setting his eyes on the reddish hue that was shrouding the evening sky, as if it was about to rain. Well, sometimes, the most difficult problem can be solved with the simplest solution.
Meanwhile, Jolly finally grew so restless that she decided to leave her hotel room on the third day of her stay. However, the bigger reason for her to do that was to buy herself a decent gown so that she could attend the wedding the next day. “It’s so refreshing outside.”
When Rachel heard the voice from her earpiece, she held her ear and said, “I told you to come out earlier on, but you wouldn’t. Look at you now. It didn’t hurt to come out and catch some fresh air, right?” Although the three of them.
were taking a stroll in the shopping mall, Jolly acted as if she didn’t know the two of them. Instead, she shopped around by herself, wearing her earpiece while talking to them via at group call
“Chris, do you mind taking a look at my dress later?”
“Which one?”
“The one in the fashion store that’s near the ice cream shop beside the elevator on the third floor. The gray one on the third rack that is on the right side of the entrance.”
“Any dress will do. It’s not your wedding day tomorrow, so just pick any random one,” Rachel replied helplessly.
“No way! I have to look prettier than the bride… I mean, that woman!”
“Women! They are slaves to their vanity, aren’t they?”
“Vanity? That’s a matter of pride and reputation. Or do you think I’m not as pretty as that woman?!”
“I haven’t seen that woman before.” Rachel and Justin exchanged gazes, tacitly understanding what each other was thinking in their minds. Deep down, both of them could empathize with Jolly, so they agreed to let her do as she wished.
“Here is a word of advice, Miss Carter. The dress doesn’t matter to you because what you need to consider when you see him tomorrow is-how to run. Do you understand?”
