My mute bride

Justin straightened his figure before he leaned forward and edged closer to Rachel. “An old man like me has seen enough of the world. Do you think I’d be bothered when a young man tells me that I’m old?” Justin spoke in a soft voice, and there was the sound of a violin playing in the restaurant, so he and Rachel were the only two people who could hear what he said. At that moment, it felt like they were in a bubble separated from the whole world. They had a private space all to themselves.

Rachel saw the clear and bright look in Justin’s eyes and felt her heart skip a beat. Right then, Steven returned from the washroom. Rachel cleared her throat before taking her arms off the desk and pretending as if nothing had happened at all. Steven was still in high spirits when he returned to the table. “Where should we go in the evening?” he asked.

“There’s a reservoir in the outskirts of Riverdale, and the view there is pretty nice,” Justin said.

“Sure. I’ll get the bill, and we can leave,” Steven offered before holding his hand up. “Bill, please!”

The waiter walked over with a smile. “This gentleman over here has already gotten the bill,” the waiter explained. Steven froze for a moment before frowning at Justin. “Didn’t I say that I would buy you guys a meal? So why did you pay for it?”

“You’re the guest in our city. If you really want to buy us a meal, you can do it the next time,” Justin said. Steven was about to protest when Rachel patted him on the shoulder. “Alright. Jolly told me to take care of you, and you just graduated, so how could we get you to pay for anything? Come on. Let’s go explore the city a little more,” she suggested.

“Fine. It’ll be my turn to buy you guys a meal next time,” Steven insisted.

“Sure,” Rachel replied.

It was the perfect time of the year to visit the reservoir on the outskirts of Riverdale. The weather wasn’t cold, and the cooling breeze felt nice against one’s skin. The skies were clear, and the sound of water filled their ears as they walked along the pathway. The view was terrific. Justin drove them to the reservoir, and Steven sat in the backseat.

As Justin was driving, Steven noticed a part of Justin’s left pinky that looked like it had been amputated. This wasn’t the first time Steven had seen it, but the more he looked at it, the more it didn’t seem like a congenital disability. “What happened to your hand?” Steven was a straightforward person, and he asked whatever question he had in mind.

Rachel, who had been smiling and chatting before that, frowned upon hearing Steven’s question. Her gaze darkened a little. “I accidentally broke it. It’s no big deal,” Justin said.

“How did you accidentally break your finger?” Steven said without paying any attention to the look on Rachel’s face. “That’s so careless of you. How will you take good care of others in the future?”

“Steven.” Rachel interrupted their conversation. “You have a license, don’t you? Why don’t you drive us back later?”

“Of course. I got my license after my first attempt. My driving teacher called me a genius!” When it came to the topic of Steven’s driver’s license, he had a lot to say, and he went on and on about it. Even though Rachel had managed to change the topic, she couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Justin’s pinky. The wound that he got from his pinky being chopped off in Enistan had healed a little, and the scar wasn’t too hideous. However, his pinky would never look the same as before.

Justin knew how bad Rachel felt whenever someone brought this topic up, so he reached over and squeezed her hand to comfort her. Steven had been talking about his license when he suddenly caught the two people in front holding hands. Steven was stunned for a moment. “Hey, you should keep two hands on the wheel when driving. It’s illegal to drive with one hand, you know?” Steven uttered intentionally.

“It seems like you really studied for your driving test,” Justin voiced with a scoff. Rachel’s cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t say much after that. Since they were completely free that week, Justin drove for more than 30 miles to get them to the reservoir. In the past, this place used to be less well-known to the public. Alas, now that more people had heard of the area, the crowd grew larger than before, and there were already many people by the time they arrived.

“There’s an ice cream truck there! I’ll get some ice cream. You can wait here, Rachel.” The moment Steven got out of the car, his sharp eyes spotted the ice cream and hot dog trucks nearby. So he hurried over to queue for them. Meanwhile, Rachel and Justin strolled behind him while chatting with one another.

“I’m worried that the construction at the free trade port might not go well. Have you thought about how to deal with that?” Rachel asked.

“I’ll think about it as we go. As of now, I don’t know what Julian wants. If he’s doing this just for his own benefit, I don’t think we should take action. We’re technically partners, after all. We either live or die together,” Justin said.

“Isn’t Genevieve also involved in this? When did Julian even get to know the Yatruinia royalty?” Rachel wondered.

“I’ve always thought that this was rather odd, Rachel,” Justin said.

“What are your thoughts on this?” she asked.

“You just found your biological father and learned he’s part of the Yatruinia royalty. Then, Julian gets someone who’s also from the Yatruinia royalty to support him right after that,” Justin said.

“How do you think these two events are related?” she asked.

“I’m not too sure about the details. Anyway, did you get anything from Mr. Hudson’s end?” he asked in return.

“Not yet. He just settled down there, so I’m sure he still has a lot of matters to handle,” she explained. Justin nodded with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Lionel had just returned to Yatruinia a few days ago. He felt rather suspicious of Genevieve’s identity, so he returned to the country to do some of his own research. Therefore, he wanted to find out where this woman came from and what she wanted from him.

“Hey. I was here first. Why are you jumping the queue?” Steven’s voice came from a distance away, and it sounded like he was starting a fight with someone. Justin and Rachel exchanged glances before they hurried over to him. There was a group of people gathered around the ice cream and hot dog trucks by the time they got over. It seemed like Steven had gotten into a fight with another girl. The girl had ice cream in one hand and spoke in a firm tone. “I didn’t jump the queue. I simply walked away for a while. I was standing in front of you earlier! I’m two spots ahead of you!” she cried.

“Who’s going to prove that? Am I supposed to take your word for it?” Steven retorted.

“Do I have to lie about such a thing? Hey, are you just trying to pick a fight with me?” she hissed.

“Do you think I’m picking a fight? It seems more like you’re the one who wants to fight,” he replied.

“Steven.” Rachel hurried over to find Steven confronting another girl in front of the food trucks. The girl looked about the same age as Steven. The girl already had an ice cream in her hand, but she and Steven were holding onto a bag of sausages, and neither looked like they wanted to let go of it. It was almost as if they were having a tug of war between them, and the bag of sausages looked like it was about to be torn apart.

“What’s going on here? Let go of the bag, Steven,” Rachel ordered. Her words were proven to be useful, for he let go of the bag almost immediately. The girl’s eyes widened as she stumbled backward when Steven stopped tugging on the bag. She tried to maintain her balance but ended up falling bottom-first onto the ground. “Ahh!” She let out a loud cry. Her bottom hurt so badly that tears started brimming in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Rachel hurried over to help the girl up. “Did you injure yourself?” The girl’s ice cream had fallen to the ground, and the bag of sausages had flown out of her hand. Mini sausages were rolling all over the floor, and they were no longer edible. The girl was fuming—she pushed Rachel aside before charging toward Steven. “I’m going to fight you!” she cried.

Moments later, Steven let out a cry of agony. Three red marks formed on each side of his smooth and fair cheeks. From afar, the marks on both sides seemed almost proportionate to each other. “That’s what you get for pushing me!” the girl cried.