Meeting Her Free Preview

“Help me...”

Rachelle Cloudington was taken aback when a large hand grabbed her by the ankle while she was gathering herbs.

She was still shaken when she lowered her head to see a strange man covered in blood beside her on the ground. It was impossible to tell what he looked like because of the blood on his face.

She then checked his pulses and managed to figure out how to help him.

Unfortunately, after hurriedly taking out the antidote on her, Rachelle realized that the man could not swallow it since he was already unconscious.

Hence, she popped the pill into her mouth to crush it and squeezed the corners of the man's lips before leaning in to feed him mouth-to-mouth. Rachelle's ears immediately turned bright red, for she had never gotten so close to a man before—not even once in the past twenty years.

Suddenly, thunder boomed in the sky as dark clouds gathered.

Knowing that it was about to rain, Rachelle realized that she does not have a moment to lose. Gritting her teeth, she summoned all her strength to pull the unconscious man into a cave nearby.

Rachelle could see that the stranger's clothes were also covered in blood. God knows how badly injured he really is underneath. If I don't treat the wounds in time, the infection could kill him. Then, I would have wasted my antidote on him.

Just when Rachelle tried to remove the man's shirt, she suddenly felt the cold tip of a gun pressed against her temple.

“What are you doing?” questioned the man in a cold and hostile voice from above her head.

Rachelle froze like a statue before she heard footsteps and fierce shouting outside the cave.

“Search the cave now! He has been poisoned, so he couldn't have gotten far.”

Before Rachelle could react, the stranger suddenly pulled her on top of him and ripped her shirt off, revealing her snow-white skin underneath.

“Moan!” ordered the man in a deep voice.

He held the gun to her waist with one hand and pressed the other against her chest forcefully.

“Ah!” cried out Rachelle in pain.

At that point, Rachelle had already figured out what the man had in mind.

It would not be difficult to convince others that a half-naked couple was making out in the dark cave.

“Go on! Do it, or I'll kill you!” threatened the stranger, who reeked of blood.

Enduring the humiliation and the pain, Rachelle did as told and let out a series of awkward and tender moans.

As soon as the man heard it, he got excited.

Naturally, Rachelle went stiff and disgusted when she felt the change in his body. Fu*king hell! However, she dared not to stop, for the man had already turned off the safety on the gun. Rachelle knew she would be lying in a pool of blood if he decided to pull the trigger.

“There's somebody here!” The footsteps stopped right at the entrance to the cave before two beams of light pierced the darkness.

Rachelle was almost naked, and her skin seemed to glow when the light hit it.

Shocked, she screamed before embracing the man under her.

“Look what we've found. A pair of love birds in action! What do you say the three of us join in on the fun?” asked one of the men at the cave entrance with lecherous chuckles.

“Like hell we're going to do that! Carry on with the search now! If we don't find him, we're not going to live to see the next sunrise,” rebuked another.

Only after seeing the three men turn around did Rachelle finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Still, she was quickly reminded that she was not out of the woods yet when three shots were fired beside her ear.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The men at the entrance collapsed to the ground and did not even have a chance to make a sound after getting shot in the head.

In response, Rachelle covered her ears and quickly lifted her head to look at the man, only to discover that he had his eyes shut when shooting.

Suddenly, Rachelle remembered that the stranger had temporarily lost his vision due to the effect of the poison.

“Sorry about that. The remedy you fed me; it's working, so thank you.” The man then placed the gun on Rachelle's head before ordering, “Give me more.”

Since he was not completely purged of the poison yet, the stranger needed more of the antidote.

Seeing that as an opportunity to save herself, Rachelle deliberately handed the stranger a pill that would paralyze him once ingested.

However, he refused to take it. “Feed it to me as you did before,” commanded the stranger as he pressed the gun even harder against Rachelle's head.

Hence, Rachelle had no choice but to hold the antidote in her mouth and lean forward in disgust.

The man suddenly clasped the back of Rachelle's head forcefully and pried her teeth open with his tongue.

The bitterness of the pill then filled both their mouths. As hard as Rachelle struggled, the stranger had her completely locked in place; his agile tongue had already forced some of the drugs down Rachelle's throat.

“If you're feeding me poison, then we'll both die together!” threatened the stranger after biting Rachelle's lower lip with force.

B*stard! Rachelle desperately wiped her mouth with one hand while secretly grabbing a silver needle that fell out of her pocket with the other.

The unwitting man casually ripped off an emerald pendant on his neck and tossed it to Rachelle.

“This is for saving me today. Keep it. If I ever-” Before the man could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck.

He tried to shake off the blurriness in his vision but to no avail. Rachelle's seemingly fuzzy figure was the only thing he could see before blacking out.

After the man had passed out, Rachelle pulled the silver needle out of his neck and kicked him to vent her frustration. As if I give a da*n about his pendant! I shouldn't have saved this ungrateful b*stard!

Then, Rachelle quickly stripped the stranger of his clothes and left him only in his underwear. Yucks! I wouldn't want to touch that.

Since her shirt was torn, Rachelle had to put on the stranger's top

As for his pants and shoes, she put them in her basket and took them away.

Before Rachelle left, she even took the man's gun and the seemingly expensive emerald pendant. I'll accept this piece of jewelry as my consultation fee.

Rachelle decided to leave the stranger to fate since she could not kill him herself.

An hour later, a group of well-trained mercenaries arrived at the cave. “Mr. Jensen!”

“Get out!” roared the man in the cave.

The antidote needed time to work, so it was only then that Jensen Hawk's vision returned to him.

The man realized he was almost naked.

“You should put your clothes on first, Jensen.” Rocco handed Jensen a fresh set of clothes while trying his best not to laugh, for he had never seen Jensen so miserable before. “Did somebody take advantage of you?”

After putting the clothes on, Jensen glared at Rocco. “Do you want to go back to coal mining in Alendor?”

Oh no, The Quirky Daimon is awake!

Immediately after realizing that he had made a mistake, Rocco awkwardly cleared his throat. “The Cloudingtons have agreed to the marriage proposal, so your bride will be arriving by tonight. We have to hurry back. Old Mrs. Hawk is convinced that the celebration will bring you luck.”

The Cloudingtons have agreed? There really isn't anything they wouldn't do for money, huh? With that thought in mind, Jensen instinctively frowned in disgust. “I'll have her begging to go back home!”

Suddenly, Jensen changed the topic and ordered, “The woman who left me unconscious must live in the nearby villages. Do whatever it takes to find her!” That insolent woman better prays that I don't find her. Otherwise, she's dead meat!

Meanwhile, at the Cloudington residence.

Joanie Cloudington was sitting in front of her mother, Pamela Reese, on the floor complaining, “Mom, I don't want to marry that sickly man of the Hawk family! Everybody knows that psycho has a tiger as a pet. Even if I somehow managed to survive his torture, I'll likely become a widow! I promise you that I'll kill myself if you force me to marry him for money!”

“What are you babbling on about? Who said anything about marrying you to a sickly man?” inquired Pamela rhetorically as she helped her daughter up. “The two hundred million from the Hawks is going to be more than enough to solve the financial problem of your father's company. The rest will go to you as dowry in the future, so I see no reason why we should back out of the deal. Of course, you're not going to be the one to marry the miserable man,” assured Pamela, who had already had a plan in mind, with a devious smile.

When Joanie heard that, she stopped crying and stared expectantly at her mother instead.

“Mom, are you thinking about using Ruth's good-for-nothing daughter?” inquired Joanie before frowning with concern. “But didn't we make that b*tch deaf and mute? Do you think the Hawks are going to be okay with that?”

In response, Pamela chuckled coldly before explaining, “The Hawks simply wanted a wedding because they believed it'd bring luck, so I don't think they'd care who we're offering. If Jensen killed her somehow, that'd be even better for us!”

Thrilled, Joanie immediately held Pamela's arm as she flattered her mother. “That's brilliant, Mom! Not only will we get the Hawks' money, but we'll also rid ourselves of that trash girl. Now that we have two hundred million, I can buy whatever the heck I want!”

“Of course. My daughter deserves only the best!” promised Pamela. “The butler is delivering the trash girl to the Hawks as we speak.”

At that moment, Rachelle was indeed on her way to Beshya.

Seated in the backseat of a car, the young lady sheepishly kept her head down in silence.

The butler in the front glanced at Rachelle through the rear-view mirror before shaking his head regretfully. “What a shame that a pretty woman like you ended up deaf and mute. Now they're even marrying you to that sickly man of the Hawk family out of superstition. I guess a handicapped woman like you would make a good match for the frail man. It's pretty much your ass luck that you were born a Cloudington.”

As soon as the butler looked away, Rachelle looked up to sneer at the back of the man's head. Hidden in the depths of her seemingly innocent eyes was fierce determination. Ass luck? The Cloudingtons will soon learn the true meaning of those words.

Secretly, Rachelle glanced at the phone she slipped out of her sleeves to read the message Liam White, her subordinate, sent her: Boss, I've found the person who saw your mother last eleven years ago. She's Old Mrs. Hawk of the Hawk family, and she lives at the Hawk residence!

Rachelle's biological mother was Ruth Giniger, someone born to a family of perfumers and was the most popular socialite in Beshya. Ruth was also an expert in formulating perfumes.

However, she fell in love with a poor man, Casey Cloudington, and ended up blowing through her dowry.

After Casey became successful with Ruth's help, he revealed his true self by bringing a mistress and a daughter home, causing Ruth to get so emotional that she fell terribly ill.

The year Rachelle turned nine, Ruth suddenly disappeared.

All alone, young Rachelle was at the mercy of Pamela, who had officially moved into the Cloudington residence along with Joanie. Young Rachelle turned deaf and mute at the hands of the mother and daughter and only escaped the brutality when her maternal grandmother took her away to live in a remote village in the mountains. The elderly woman could not bear to see Rachelle getting tortured any longer.

Rachelle humbly endured eleven years of hardship until she was ready to search for Ruth, for she believed that her mother was alive and waiting for her somewhere out there.

After so many years, she finally found a clue.

Rachelle was still trying to figure out how to get close to the Hawks, the most prominent family in Beshya, when an opportunity presented itself to her on a silver platter.

Pamela immediately had a makeup artist work on Rachelle when the woman arrived at the Cloudington residence before shoving Rachelle into the car sent by the Hawks.

Weddings were supposed to be cheerful celebrations, but since Rachelle was only married into the Hawk family for good luck, she was denied access to the front door and had to enter from the back.

To call the event miserable would be an understatement.

Wearing a bridal gown, Rachelle was guided by Bram Farren, the Hawk's butler, to her new room.

As soon as she was left alone, Rachelle lifted the veil on her and looked around. However, she did not see her sickly groom.

Even though the Hawks were the most prominent family in Beshya, Jensen was nothing but a sick joke.

It was said that Jensen had suffered from a disease since he was a boy. On top of that, he was also cruel and had unpredictable temperaments.

Nevertheless, that did not bother Rachelle because she was sure she could handle a sick man. Where is he though? Is he hiding because he's embarrassed that he's sexually incapable?

The room was indescribably eerie since its walls were mostly black and had only one dim light on one side of the wall.

When Rachelle tried to find the switch for the other lights, she accidentally touched something that triggered the wall to split open and reveal a dark secret passage.

Suddenly, Rachelle heard a blood-curdling scream from inside.

At the behest of her curiosity, she furrowed her eyebrows tightly as she carefully entered the passage.

The deeper Rachelle got, the stronger the smell of blood in the air.

When she finally reached the end, what she saw almost made her throw up.

Scores of mangled bodies were strewn across the floor, almost none of them were intact. Their gory forms twitched mechanically from time to time, with blood flowing out and coalescing until the ground beneath them formed into pools of crimson.

A gargantuan frost tiger lay prone on the one side with its fangs and fur soppy and dripping with cruor. Its jaws chewed away at the raw, bloodstained morsels that it had filled its maw with, making the observing Rachelle retch.

That spectacle was the very portrait of hell on earth.

The eye sockets of the only surviving man had been reduced to a pair of blood-filled crevices, and there was not one part of his body that was left unblemished. To the surroundings that were devoid of life, he yelled a heart-wrenching scream, “Why don't you just kill me, Jensen Hawk! Kill me right now!”

Having walked the earth for a good twenty years, Rachelle had thought that there was nothing else that could faze her. However, the sight of that macabre carnage that greeted her when she turned, left her clammy on her hands and feet. Reflexively, she shuffled in retreat but did not manage to take more than two steps before she found herself bumping into a bulwark of muscle and sinew.

The man's baritone inflection rang out with a melodic insidiousness. “Are you pleased by what you see?”

That caused Rachelle's scalp to crawl. Swiftly, she turned around to the sight of the man behind, standing there regarding her with ambiguity.

“I'd say, my little bride, you really do know your way around...”

Jensen then backed her into a corner, one step at a time. The collar of his black bathrobe that had been left half tethered exposed his defined and chiseled chest.

To Rachelle's horror, she realized that she had seen those scars on the man's chest before.

As it was still fresh in her memories, and coupled with the likeliness of that voice, Rachelle could seemingly conclude right away that that man was the b*stard who had tried to take advantage of her back in the cave.

To think that they were one and the same person! This psycho will surely not show me any mercy had he recognized me...

Her silence was only compounded by Jensen's hostility.

“If you will not speak to me, then you can forget about ever speaking again!” Jensen's icy mitts had already clasped around her throat.

“Ahhh...” Rachelle promptly opened her mouth to start gurgling hoarsely. She gestured to her own throat and ear and followed up by waving her own hands.

That made Jensen pause, and cause his eyes to darken. “You are mute and unable to hear as well?”

Rachelle nodded swiftly.

Jensen's somber eyes narrowed as they fixated upon her with sinister intent. “How is that you are able to understand what I'm saying, then?”

Immediately, Rachelle pointed to his lips.

“Lip reading?”

Rachelle nodded furiously.

She was somewhat fortunate that her vocal cords were still a few more days away from a full recovery, for that had facilitated her cover.

That way, she could not be expected to be able to tell anyone about whatever transpired there and therefore not be perceived by Jensen as a threat.

However, a chilling derision arose within Jensen's eyes.

“Hmph. Sending me a piece of trash that can neither hear nor speak in exchange for my two hundred million worth of dowry? Do you Cloudingtons take me for a fool?” His lips curled up into an unsettling and ravenous smirk. “You shall get to eat well tonight, Lutz.”

Growling cavernously, Lutz had already charged up to snuff out whatever life was left in that dying man between its teeth.

She's up next.

Grabbing Rachelle by her collar, Jensen started dragging her toward that blood-soaked abyss.

As she put up a desperate struggle in her feigned haplessness, Rachelle stealthily groped for the poisoned needle hidden inside her sleeves.

Having borne witness to that man's viciousness, she had to seize her chance to do him in on the very first attempt.

She even began to regret being too soft-hearted in choosing to spare him back inside the cave earlier.

Just as Rachelle was about to make her move, the phone that was inside Jensen's pocket started blaring asudden.

He stopped in his tracks to pick up the call. From the other end of the line, came the butler Bram's overwrought voice. “Old Mrs. Hawk's head is working up again, Mr. Jensen!”

Old Mrs. Hawk?

Rachelle was taken aback.

In the next second, she found herself discarded roughly onto the carpet by Jensen, who did not even take another glance at her.

“Lutz, deal with this woman!”

Opening up the secret passage, Jensen left them with that before he exited in a hurry.

Pulling herself up from the blood-drenched carpet, Rachelle found herself coming face to face with the imposing-looking Lutz who was skulking her with murderous intent. The beast exuded an air of savagery, and then with a resonant roar, lunged itself toward her...

Dodging that killing blow, the fear in Rachelle's eyes gradually rescinded while she set herself upright. Facing down the beast, she evoked an enigmatic smile and used her lips to mouth these silent words.

Come on, Lutz. Let's play.

Having lived in the countryside for eleven years, she had the chance to acquaint herself with numerous mentors, one of which was the finest animal tamer of all.

It so happened that she became heir to that mentor's most profound insights.

Seconds later, Rachelle was squatting on the ground, rubbing Lutz over as though the latter was a domesticated kitten.

“Come, Lutz. Take me to Old Mrs. Hawk.”

When it heard her, Lutz wagged its tail and docilely led the way.

Though the encounter with that sicko Jensen was pure happenstance, Lisette was her true reason for coming to the Hawk residence. Hang in there, Old Mrs. Hawk...

The interior of the bedroom, colored with an old-world charm, was at that moment permeated by a fog of deathly silence.

All the housekeepers throughout the abode had their hearts in their throats, wary of breathing too loudly.

With her silvery mane nestled in the bed, Lisette appeared emaciated and feeble. Her lips were devoid of luster, and her consciousness was overwhelmed by her agony.

Lisette was singularly the one person Jensen cared for.

Turning to regard the housekeepers with his piercing glare, he raged, “What are you lot standing around for? Go and fetch me Remus Lambert!”

In her perturbation, Lisette's personal attendant, Solace, was on the verge of tearing up.

“Dr. Lambert is away on his travels, Mr. Jensen. We weren't able to get in touch with him...”

Lisette's headache was an ailment that had blighted her for ages and would become the source of her torment whenever it was triggered. Many a famous doctor of various disciplines had been consulted but none were able to offer her relief, save Remus, who was currently unreachable.

With his lips tensed up ever so slightly, Jensen cut a mortifying figure. “Prep the car. We are sending Old Mrs. Hawk to the hospital!”

Just as his voice faded out, his keen ears picked up on a peculiar disturbance outside the doors.

Growl!

Beyond the doors, Rachelle froze in her tracks, flabbergasted at the remains of the passing frog that got smote to death at the claws of the frost tiger Lutz.

Quietly blinking its large, ebony orbs innocuously at her, Lutz conveniently swept the dead frog out of view with a flick of its tail and acted as though nothing happened.

Rachelle let out a little sigh and the next thing she knew, the door to the room in front of her burst outward asudden. From there, came a black shadowy figure, storming out with blistering speed.

Without being given any chance to react whatsoever, Rachelle then felt Jensen's massive, frigid hands snaring like a vice around her throat.

“It's you?”

While he stared at the woman before him, a rarely seen look of confoundment glinted across his intense gaze.

How was it that this woman had not been torn apart by Lutz?

“You're pretty capable, coming away alive the way you did.” Within Jensen's dark eyes was a bone-chilling bloodlust. “I'd like to see how you'd manage to escape me for a second time!”

Inch by inch, his fingers constricted around her neck as he spoke.

Awooo! To the side, the fretting Lutz bit down onto the hem of Jensen's pants in an attempt to pull the latter away. However, an icy glare shot its way by its master caused the hair of the beast to stand on ends, prompting it to shruggingly relinquish its grip.

Past the open doors to the room, Rachelle was able to spot the bedridden Lisette inside. Since she was unable to speak, she hastened to gesticulate with her hands.

Being able to understand sign language, Jensen quivered.

“Are you saying that my grandma's in a precarious situation and her life could be in danger if she went another ten minutes without treatment... But you can save her?”

Rachelle nodded vigorously.

Jensen's eyes locked upon her with solemn guardedness.

“Why should I trust you?”

Enormously pressurizing, the man's gaze stabbed like shards of icicles, and the intensity of the grip that throttled her did not diminish.

Seizing upon that lifeline, Rachelle rapidly responded in sign language. Should I be unable to cure Old Mrs. Hawk, I'd gladly pay for it with my own life!

Obviously, Jensen understood what she meant to communicate. His blackish eyes continue to train upon her as though he was mulling over it.

Before he was able to speak, an agitated voice of a woman interjected.

“Oh no, you won't!” the one who spoke up was Solace Biafore, Lisette's personal attendant. She understood sign language and had quickly figured out who Rachelle was by inferring from the wedding garb the latter had on.

A dumb and mute fool here for the purpose of masquerading as a good luck charm having the gall to attempt to treat Old Mrs. Hawk? You don't seem to know your own place!

“How could we surrender the fate of someone as esteemed Old Mrs. Hawk to a ratty wench like her? A life for a life? Hers isn't worth as much as a finger on Old Mrs. Hawk!”

Rachelle held her silence as she could not be bothered to deal with her. That was when she noticed Lisette hyperventilating on the bed. The latter had gone blue in the face and was on the verge of dying.

Though alarmed, all she could do was gesture fervently at Jensen. Let me through! We're running out of time!

“Who the heck do you think you are! You have no business treating... Old Mrs. Hawk!” Solace howled.

In the midst of her unfinished sentence, the neck of the elderly Lisette suddenly fell slump on the bed, and from her mouth came a spurt of crimson. All who were present were shell-shocked, and that sentiment was doubly apparent upon Jensen's face.

Taking the opportunity to slip out of his grasp, Rachelle pulled out her acupuncture kit and made a mad dash for the bedside.

In response, Solace swiftly shielded the bedridden Lisette behind her.

“What are you trying to do? Keep your hands off Old Mrs. Hawk...”

“Let her have a crack at it!” barked Jensen at that juncture.

Though he did not vocalize himself at his loudest, it was sufficiently intimidating to get Solace shuddering. Digging her heels in, she said, “Mr. Jensen...”

“That's enough!” Jensen did not even look directly at her. His eyes remained on Rachelle with an indecipherable expression on his face.

This girl's thoughts seem to be quite focused on Old Mrs. Hawk behind him, and her anxiousness and concern for her don't appear to be insincere...

Striding up close, he suddenly shot out his hand and grabbed Rachelle by the back of her skull to face her toward himself in a way that had her furrowing and wincing in pain.

Da*n it. Can't this jerk even make an effort to be civil?

“Your life cannot be staked for this wager because it already belongs to me.” Leaning his devilishly beautiful face of his within a hair's breadth away, Jensen's thin lips enunciated his warning to her, word by word, “Now, listen up, and listen well. Should you fail to treat my grandma, I'd make you watch every single member of the Cloudingtons die in excruciating agony!”

Would you really do that? It'd be a cause for celebration if all of them were to die in my face!

In spite of that, Rachelle dared not let her true sentiments show, and responded by nodding in feigned fearfulness.

Once Jensen had loosened his grip, she immediately rushed over to the bedside to attend to Lisette, for should there be any further delay in administering treatment, even the gods would not be able to save her.

With extreme concentration, Rachelle embarked on her lifesaving procedure.

Retrieving an assortment of silver needles in various lengths and girths, she inserted them individually into an array of acupoints on Lisette's head. The entire flow was smooth and methodical.

Meanwhile, Jensen observed her at work, silently and unflinchingly at the side.

This woman's application of the needles is coordinated and effortless...

Unsure whether it was his own imagination or otherwise, Jensen kept having the gnawing feeling as to how much the girl's silhouette seemed to resemble that of the woman from the cave.

Jensen's gaze then turned frigid. That woman also utilized needles when she ambushed me!

There was a growing sense of intrigue in Jensen's eyes in a most unusual development that Rachelle remained none the wiser to.

Rachelle's attention was fully devoted to reading Lisette's pulse, and upon ascertaining that the latter's pulse had stabilized, she withdrew the silver needles.

Suddenly letting out a cry whilst in bed, Lisette spewed a mouthful of blackish blood.

“Old Mrs. Hawk!” Mired in a flux of disquietude and outrage, the pitch of Solace's voice became all out of whack. She then unleashed the full extent of her wrath upon Rachelle. “What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and take that woman who conspired to harm Old Mrs. Hawk into custody!”

The expulsion of tainted blood during the purge of poisoning is a perfectly regular phenomenon.

Just as Rachelle was about to explain herself, two bodyguards had already rushed in and, without rhyme or reason, seized her by both her arms and started dragging her toward the outside.

At that moment, Lutz came charging in asudden with fangs baring, frightening the two bodyguards into letting her go.

Roar! The snarling Lutz set itself in front of Rachelle, apparent in its intent to protect her.

“Lutz!” Jensen's brow creased up tautly. He had not expected that woman to be able to tame his frost tiger. “Come over here!” he hollered.

Awooo... Confronted with its master, Lutz's assertiveness was stymied. Nonetheless, it continued to wag its tails and refused to part with Rachelle, and from the look in its eyes, it meant to plead on her behalf.

Jensen's eyes narrowed. “How dare you try to protect someone who has harmed Grandma!”

The beast continued to wag its tail, moping aggrievedly.

Striding forward, Jensen seemed poised to finish the deed himself.

“J-Jensen? What are all of you arguing about?” At that moment, Lisette stunningly opened her eyes steadily. Though still very much indisposed, she seemed to have recovered her senses.

Jensen was mildly stumped.

Did that Little Mute really manage to save Grandma?

“How are you feeling, Grandma?” Jensen came to the bedside, asking in a soothing voice.

“Much better, I think... Has Dr. Lambert returned?”

He looked at Rachelle on the side and replied gently, “No. The new bride is versed in the arts of healing. It was her who administered acupuncture on you just now.”

Rachelle then approached and held Lisette by the hand.

Unable to move as yet, Lisette turned and saw the wedding garb on Rachelle. “Thank you, my dear. I guess you must be... Joanie?”

At that moment, the color drained from Solace's face.

She grasped onto the hems of her clothes, jittery at the possibility that Rachelle might take the opportunity to lodge a complaint with Lisette.

Rachelle, however, was not at all concerned about someone like Solace, as Lisette was her sole motivation for her presence at the Hawk residence.

Seeing that that person was now conscious, she wasted no time at all, and straight up penned down a single line of words on a note which she then passed along.

“Your name is Rachelle Cloudington, and your mother is... Ruth Giniger.” Lisette read the contents of her writing aloud and when she came upon Ruth's name, she froze.

It would seem that Lisette was acquainted with her mother.

Rachelle's eyes lit up as she eagerly awaited Lisette to continue, but at that critical moment, Lisette suddenly started to cough vigorously. Then, her pupils rolled inwards and she lost consciousness once more.

Rachelle hastened to check the elderly woman's pulse again to make sure that her condition was not life-threatening. Determining that the latter's fainting was resultant of a weakened constitution, she immediately made her way over to the acupuncture kit that she had placed at the head of the bed.

In her eagerness to get to it, Rachelle somehow got her own feet tangled up, sending her entire person hurtling forward into a free fall. Fortunately, she was caught by a sturdy pair of arms in the nick of time.

Raising her head, she found herself staring right into the unfathomable depths of Jensen's gazing eyes.