“Claire! Claire!” Cristelle cried, chasing after the car. But the car had never stopped.
“STOP!” She cried, kicking off her high heels. But the distance between her and the black car only widened. Ultimately, she lost all her strength as she collapsed against the cold concrete of the road.
Why does Claire not bother to jump down the car and talk to her? She had clearly seen her sister.
Did she do that to protect her?
Those journalists didn’t dare to approach her, but they had everything on their cameras. Cristelle didn’t even care about her surroundings. She walked in her bare feet and leaned against the cold wall nearby.
Her head was a mess, and she did not notice danger was creeping toward her. Then, when she looked up again, a black car dashed directly in her direction.
“Be careful!” Someone bolted toward her and pushed her out of the car’s direction. The car ran directly into the wall, and then it just reeled back and escaped the scene.
Diego’s eyes went cold following the fading tail of the car.
“Cristelle, are you okay?” Jasper somehow showed up as well. He went forward to help Cristelle up.
“It’s okay… I’m okay!” She pulled away awkwardly.
“Why are you here bare feet? What happened?” Jasper looked genuinely concerned.
Cristelle looked away, “Everything’s fine. I just recognized the wrong person.”
Diego walked towards them and held Cristelle’s hand, “You’re injured. You should go to the hospital immediately.”
Cristelle felt extremely disgusted. Why couldn’t this man leave her alone?
Cristelle pulled her hand out of Diego’s grip, her voice cold and detached, “Thanks for saving my life. But I’m not injured. I don’t think I need to go to the hospital.”
“Cristelle, can I have a word with you? Don’t go, please,” Diego tried to stop her, “I know you’re still mad at me. But can’t we even be friends?”
“We can’t,” Cristelle snapped, “Please leave me alone since today, Mr. Barnett. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
Hearing her answer, Diego refused to let her go, “It’s been so many years. I don’t believe you can forget me so easily.”
Jasper frowned, standing before Cristelle like a protector, “She just said she didn’t want you to be around. Can you stop harassing her?”
“Jasper, do you think you stand a chance if I go away? Don’t even dream about it, man. Cristelle will never fall in love with you,” Diego sounded extremely jealous.
“That’s enough!” Cristelle roared at them. She had had enough, “Diego, what the heck is wrong with you? You have a wife now, and her name is Pamela. Our relationship ended six years ago. I feel nothing for you except deep hatred. I don’t even want to see you. The sight of you always reminds me of how stupid I used to be. Could you please do me a favor and get out of my life?”
Diego seemed a bit lost, “Cristelle, I really didn’t mean to…”
“Stop pressuring her,” Jasper snapped coldly, cutting Diego’s words and not giving Diego a chance to speak. And then, he turned to Cristelle, his voice gentle and caring, “Let’s go back inside.”
Cristelle nodded and followed him.
Diego was left behind. He stood there, watching as the two people left. He knew he could never have Cristelle back. And the idea gave him chills.
“Mom!” Cody happened to run out of the lobby when Cristelle walked in. Cristelle wasn’t wearing any shoes, and her dress and hair were amesses. Cody went nervous instantly, “Mommy, what happened to you?!”
Cristelle gave the boy a reassuring smile, “I’m okay. You don’t need to worry. Where’s…”
Before she could finish the sentence, Linford suddenly showed up in front of her. The man didn’t say anything as he lifted Cristelle in his arms.
“Wh-what the heck, Linford?” Cristelle was a bit embarrassed.
“Your feet are bleeding,” Linford looked mildly pissed off as he carried her away.
Cody looked up at Jasper. Jasper seemed surprised.
“Good evening, Jasper,” With that, the boy turned away coolly, ready to leave.
“Cody!” Jasper suddenly called his name from behind.
“Yes?” Cody looked over his shoulder.
Jasper cast a look at Linford, hushing his voice a bit as he asked the boy, “Have you found your biological father?”
Cody didn’t want to admit it, but a fact was exposed, so he nodded a bit, “Sort of.”
Linford suddenly stopped, his voice cold and harsh, “Cody Bradley!”
Cody rolled his eyes and caught up with them.
Jasper was a bit embarrassed, coughing a bit as he explained, “I… I just wanted him to tell you that you should take care of Cristelle.”
Linford stared at the man intently and smiled coldly, “Thanks for being so considerate. But I know how to take care of my wife!”
“Mom, why did you suddenly come out?” Cody questioned Cristelle as they got inside the hotel.
Cristelle would never tell her babies about Claire for safety reasons. She rubbed Cody’s nose a bit, “Could you not ask, Cody?”
Cody’s tiny hands balled, and he frowned, “I have to ask, or I’ll get worried.”
“What are you worried about, sweetheart? Mommy’s good,” Cristelle tried to brush it off.
Yanni handed her a bottle of water. Cristelle was quite tired after running all the way to chase the car. She thus opened it and took a gulp.
“Did Jasper find you because he wants to be your boyfriend again?” Cody asked without hesitation.
“Pffft!” Cristelle coughed violently after spraying all the water onto the floor. She looked up and happened to see Linford’s eyes. He was looking at her as if he wanted to murder someone.
“Cody, what are you talking about? What do you mean by ‘again’? You know Jasper and I are only friends,” Cristelle didn’t know why but she felt a bit weak under Linford’s gaze, feeling obliged to explain the event.
Candace’s eyes widened as she heard what her brother had just said.
Linford huffed and turned away. He knew the boy said that on purpose to piss him off.
He couldn’t hide his anger, so he chose to leave for a while.
Yanni pretended he didn’t hear anything as he looked out of the window.
Cody still didn’t stop, “Mom, I know Jasper’s a good man. But he doesn’t deserve you. Maybe you could still consider him a bit if he didn’t go abroad. And now he suddenly came back, and looking at him, I don’t think that man is steady enough to take care of you.”