Dear Sweetheart

Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Why Are You Wearing A Mask

“Orville? Are you sure?” Rayna was astounded after getting a good look at the man. She was a fan of a few popular thriller films directed by the man.

“Yeah! It’s him.” While dragging Rayna along toward him, Roxanne lowered her voice and reminded her, “Rayna, don’t talk recklessly later, okay? After all, I’m only an obscure actress.”

Rayna was utterly speechless. I reckon she’s the only obscure actress chosen as a spokesperson for luxury brands like Dior and Valentino!

Soon, Rayna and Roxanne stood face-to-face with Orville. Knowing that Orville was from Ferropene and disliked Anglandurn, Rayna greeted him in Ferropenian, “Good evening, Mr. Orville. It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

Impressed with Rayna’s high fluency in Ferropenian, Orville began chatting with her enthusiastically.

After making small talk with Orville, Rayna introduced Roxanne to him. She emphasized that Roxanne was not only her younger sister but also a new actress who liked his films very much. Meanwhile, Roxanne could only beam sweetly at him as she did not understand Ferropenian.

Evidently, Orville was relatively pleased with Roxanne’s looks. He gave Rayna his business card and asked her to tell Roxanne about the date and venue for the audition. Rayna smiled and took the card from him.

After they walked away from Orville, Rayna handed the business card to Roxanne before bending down to massage her ankles which had started to feel sore.

This pair of heels are pretty, but too bad it pinches my feet.

“Wow, Rayna, you’re awesome!” Gawking at the business card, Roxanne was in disbelief. “It never crossed my mind that you’ll be able to obtain Mr. Orville’s business card!”

“Don’t build castles in the air. It’s just an audition. Don’t you know that you might be competing with several dozens of people for one particular character?”

Roxanne giggled. “No problem. After all, I have plenty of time now. Who knows, I might be shortlisted after the audition. As long as I have the opportunity to act in his film, I’ll have the chance to gain popularity even if I only get to appear for a few seconds!”

Pursing her lips, Rayna stated resignedly, “Fine. Whatever floats your boat. Anyway, since I’ve helped introduce you to the director, can we go back now?”

Thinking that Jefferson was somewhere at the cocktail reception as well, Rayna had her heart in her mouth. She was worried stiff that she might run across him at any moment. Regardless of how posh the cocktail reception was, she was no longer in the mood.

“Rayna, we’re only here for scarcely half an hour. It’s too early to leave now,” Roxanne grumbled as she scanned the surroundings.

Where is he? If I leave right away with Rayna now, I would’ve failed to accomplish my mission!

As Rayna took note of how Roxanne was glancing around, she couldn’t help asking, “Didn’t you say you only needed me to be your interpreter for a while? What are you looking at? What’s on your mind?”

Thinking she should find an excuse so she could give Jefferson a call and ask where he was, she covered her stomach with her hands. “Ouch! Rayna, I need to go to the restroom. My stomach hurts.”

Rayna was rendered speechless. While waiting for Roxanne, she had to look for a place to sit down as her feet were aching.

Moments later, the lighting in the banquet hall turned dim gradually. The music was also switched to waltz, implying it was almost time for the guests to dance. As soon as Rayna sat down on a bench near the entrance, a duo arrived and caught her attention.

They were none other than Curtis and Kristie.

Curtis looked devastatingly stunning with his slender body clad in a black suit. He didn’t even have to do anything, and his eye-catching unique vibe already made it impossible for people to ignore.

Meanwhile, Kristie, holding onto his arm, had her nose in the air as usual. Dressed in a red bare-back fishtail dress, she was exceptionally gorgeous. She lifted her head slightly, looking like a well-pampered princess.

Since Rayna was seated barely one meter from them, she had no choice but to stand up and greet Curtis, “Mr. Faymon.”

“Ms. Garland.” When Curtis caught sight of Rayna, who was holding a diamond handbag, he was stunned. He had to admit that the gown suited her attractive figure perfectly well.

Rayna was wearing a gown with a deep V-neckline. Even though there was a layer of chiffon fabric in between, it could barely shield her cleavage. Subsequently, Curtis’ breathing almost stopped when he caught a glimpse.

He could not help recalling how alluring she looked when they indulged themselves in intimacy in the hotel room that night. To him, the beautiful moment was indeed beyond description.

On the other hand, Kristie’s countenance was a stark contrast to Curtis’ when she saw Rayna. It was as though her penetrating gaze could pierce through Rayna’s body.

Isn’t she Roxanne Griffith’s elder sister? She was the one who made Curt lash out at me. Not only that, her sister must have gotten in one of the bigwigs’ good books and snatched my opportunities and resources in this industry!

The more Kristie thought about that, the more she got infuriated. She mocked, “Hey! You’re only an interpreter. By right, someone like you isn’t qualified to attend such a high-standard cocktail reception. Or did you curry favor with some bigwig like your sister did?”

Rayna was not irked by her mockery and flashed her a smile instead. “Ms. Winton, undeniably, I’m only an interpreter and not as popular as you. But, the host of this cocktail reception is known for his great hospitality and doesn’t mind inviting some other people.”

Kristie was riled up by her words. “What do you mean? Do you mean to say that I was randomly invited by him? Mind your words. Don’t you know that Mr. Johnson is Curt’s best friend? He even gave us an invitation card himself.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“You!” Kristie was displeased with Rayna’s placidness. Just as she was about to unleash her wrath, Curtis cleared his throat in displeasure and uttered grimly, “Kristie, mind your manners.”

Kristie could only snort in displeasure and zip her mouth. She even turned to give Rayna a fierce glare before walking away.

As Curtis made his way through the crowd with Kristie, he reprimanded coldly, “I hope what happened previously will not happen again. Do you get me?”

Kristie’s heart skipped a beat as she refuted, “I’ve been behaving myself and focusing on shooting lately. I did not stir up any trouble. I wonder who Roxanne Griffith curried favors with. She snatched my international endorsement deals with several luxury brands!”

“I’m talking about the photos.” Curtis halted in his tracks and cut to the chase. “You don’t know Rayna, and that’s her business. Why did you meddle in it?”

Kristie bit her lip.

Initially, she only assigned someone to dig out something, hoping to teach Rayna a lesson. To her surprise, she found out Curtis took Rayna to the hotel and even spent the night with her there.

Coincidentally, Kristie was well aware of the dispute between Rayna and Julian. Blinded by her fury, she sent the photos to Meredith and made use of the latter to tarnish Rayna’s reputation. Nonetheless, it never crossed her mind that Meredith would screw things up!

Curtis stretched out his hand to stroke Kristie’s hair, but no words could describe how authoritative he sounded when he emphasized, “Kristie, with your current status, those endorsement deals mean nothing to you. Bear in mind that you have Faymon Group backing you up. I can give you everything you request and grant your wishes. However, you can’t stir up trouble. Most importantly, don’t ever lay a finger on Rayna. Regardless of who is currently backing her sister up, you shouldn’t provoke her again.”

“How could you expect me to not do anything when she has snatched my opportunities?” Kristie snorted in exasperation. “Curt, why do you keep siding with Rayna Garland? Have you fallen for her?”

“I only warned you not to lay a finger on her. Stop making wild guesses.”

“If you refuse to make things clear now, it implies that you like her!” The moment Kristie thought about those photos, she demanded, “If you really do care about me, stay away from her.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Curtis turned to cast a look at her with petrifying grimness in his eyes. He hated it the most when someone threatened him.

“I-I’m sorry, okay?” At the sight of Curtis’ intimidating expression, Kristie relented by apologizing immediately. “I just don’t like her, that’s all. I’ll stay away from her in the future. So, please don’t get mad, Curt.”

The look of somberness on Curtis’ face finally faded. He then spotted the host of the cocktail reception among the crowd and approached him with Kristie.

In the meantime, Rayna had waited for quite a while, but Roxanne still didn’t return.

Is she hooking up with some handsome man she bumped into on her way back from the restroom? As the thought struck Rayna, she called Roxanne, but nobody answered.

The dancing session commenced at that moment.

Pairs of men and women advanced toward the center of the banquet hall and began waltzing elegantly while those who weren’t interested in dancing either chatted at the side or watched the others waltz quietly.

Needless to say, the invited guests of the cocktail reception were all socialites from upper-class society, so naturally, many of them were good at ballroom dancing.

As Rayna sat there and watched, she could barely take her eyes off them as they danced gracefully. It was a treat for her eyes.

At that moment, a man wearing a mask with feathers walked over to Rayna. He dressed smartly in a white suit that happened to match Rayna’s gown perfectly.

The next second, he bent down and stretched his hand to Rayna as if inviting her for a dance.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“I’m sorry. You should find someone else to be your dance partner,” said Rayna, turning him down. Since the man was wearing a mask and the light in the banquet hall was dim, she could only tell he had a strapping figure. At the same time, she could not fathom why she felt a sense of familiarity from him.

Nonetheless, the man refused to budge as though he did not hear her. He stood there and maintained the same posture instead of leaving.

Rayna was bereft of speech.

Is he a lunatic?

The stalemate went on for one minute, and Rayna felt bad for rejecting him. Ah, it’s just a dance, after all. It’ll be over soon.

The moment their skins came into contact after she placed her hand in his palm, she felt an instant tingling sensation on her fingertip. The man quickly gripped her hand and dragged her along as he strode toward the center of the hall.

Soon, they danced gracefully to the music. The man behaved chivalrously. Rayna gradually relaxed as he only placed his hands lightly on her shoulders without crossing the line.

“This is not a costume party. Why are you wearing a mask?” After a while, Rayna could not restrain herself from voicing her doubts. Other than the man, she did not come across anyone wearing a mask in the ballroom.

Nevertheless, the man remained silent.

When a flash of light illuminated them, Rayna caught a glimpse of his lips that were curled up slightly. Inevitably, the sense of familiarity she felt earlier intensified when she saw the faint smile on his face.