My mute bride

In the evening, when the trio was going to return home from the reservoir, the men were fighting over whether Rachel should be sitting in the passenger seat or the back seat.

Steven claimed, “If Rae sits behind, I’ll be the only one in the front row. Am I your driver, Sir? Rae took the passenger seat when we first came, but why is no one going to take the passenger seat when it’s my turn to drive?”

“This is my car,” countered Justin.

“You!” Steven glared at him in rage. “Rae, where are you going to sit?”

They turned their gazes to Rachel, who was feeling helpless by the situation. After a moment of contemplation, a lightbulb lit up in her head. “It’s inappropriate for us to sit behind when Steven takes the wheel. As he has said, he’s not our driver. We’re just hanging out and the trip back will be tiring. Someone should take the passenger seat to accompany him.”

“That’s right!” Steven’s eyes glistened almost instantly.

“So, Justin, you should accompany him.” Their expressions fell at her suggestion due to unwillingness.

Yet, it was the best solution they could come up with given the circumstances. The only thing that irritated Steven was that he should have let her taken the back seat while he sat in the passenger seat when they first came.

Rachel kept yawning on the way home.

“Get some shut-eye if you’re tired.” Justin noticed her yawning in the rearview mirror. “It’ll take a while to arrive in the city. Just take a nap.”

“I’m not sleepy.” She yawned again as soon as she finished her words.

He turned around to tease her. “Why are you yawning then?”

“I’m fine.” Following that was another yawn. It seemed like she had underestimated herself as she exclaimed in helplessness, “I’m feeling my age. I’m already exhausted after having fun the whole day. I can’t even withstand it before reaching home.”

He responded, “You’re younger than me by five years. If you’re feeling like that, I must be old.”

Steven took a glimpse at him. “That is a true fact, though. Look at our age gap. I can even call you my uncle.”

The brazen mocking was way too scornful. However, a successful man like Justin had never been perturbed by his age; he had everything that he needed, so what did he have to worry about?

Right then, the car came to a halt suddenly, causing Rachel to lean forward. She almost bumped into the front seat, and she was shocked. “What’s wrong?”

Steven pointed to the right. ‘Look, isn’t that the crazy woman?”

It was the girl Steven got into a fight with this afternoon. She was ambling along that road and heading toward the highway.

Is she going to cross the highway by foot?

Rachel ordered, “Steven, stop the car.”

Once the car slowly stopped next to the girl, Rachel unwound the window. “Hey, where are you going?”

The girl turned around to see the amiable woman craning her neck out of the car window. Realizing that it was the same person who had stopped the fight in the afternoon, the girl paused momentarily before nodding. “I guess.”

“What a coincidence! We’re returning to the city too. We can give you a lift.”

“Really?” The girl’s eyes brightened. Just when she was going to accept the offer, she noticed the driver was Steven, and her face turned grim. “Nevermind. I can just walk. I don’t have the guts to share the same car with you guys. What should I do when someone takes revenge on me by taking me to a deserted mountain?”

“Excuse me?” Steven was vexed. “It pains my heart to waste my money on the petrol just to bring you to a deserted place. Stop that wild imagination of yours, please.”

She frowned. “Did I ask for your help? Shut that squeaky mouth of yours.”

“Fine. You can walk if you like. Rae, let’s just mind our business.” He started the car engine while saying that, but the car stopped again after being driven forward for a few meters.

This time, Rachel alighted from the car and came up to the girl. Feeling the wind brushing against her cheeks, she cooed, “Just come along with us. As long as I’m here, no one will bring you to a deserted place.”

Looking at Rachel, the girl was obviously wavering. Rachel continued, “If you don’t trust us, why don’t you send a text to your friend? It takes an hour at most to reach the city from here. Tell her to call the cops if she doesn’t receive any message from you an hour later. What do you say?”

The girl thought for a while before agreeing to Rachel’s suggestion. “I believe that you’re a good person, but that brat seems unreliable.”

“He’s still a kid. Don’t mind him.”

“Big baby,” the girl commented before entering the car.

Fortunately, the two words did not reach Steven’s ears, or there would have been a ruckus if he threw a tantrum by not letting her get in the car. The car engine started and they hit the road again with the girls sitting in the back seat.

“I’m Rachel Hudson. This is my boyfriend and the one driving is my younger cousin.”

“So, he’s your cousin.” The girl shook her head as though she was quelling the urge to make fun of Steven.

“What’s your name?” said Rachel.

“I’m Sandra Huges,” answered Sandra briskly. “Nice to meet you. Can I call you Rae?”

“Sure. My younger siblings call me by that name too.” Rachel smiled and questioned further, “Do you live in the city? Why did you come to the reservoir all alone on the weekend? It’s hard to find a cab home.”

“I live in the suburbs. It’s not that far from the reservoir. It’s just that I have an urgent errand to run, so I have to go to the city. I’ll return home as soon as I’m done. My grandmother is still waiting for me at home.”

Rachel nodded before grabbing two packets of snacks from beneath the seat. “Want some?”

Sandra was baffled and she hesitated for a moment before taking one of it to fill her stomach. It was easy for girls to befriend each other, be it through a girl’s day out to the nail salon, going to the restroom together with their hands held, or sharing snacks together. All of these scenarios could easily be the starting point of a friendship.

“Thank you, Rae. I’ve fought with your cousin and yet, you don’t mind bringing me along to the city with you guys.”

“It’s Steven’s fault. I’ll be grateful if you don’t blame him.”

“It’s alright. I don’t mind.”

“Can’t you read between the lines?” Steven, who was driving, grew irritated the more he listened to the conversation. “Rae is just being nice and polite. Are you seriously thinking that it’s my fault for what had happened?”

“It is your fault.” Sandra was one stubborn girl, and she would never go easy on him.

He was seething. “Keep up with that attitude of yours and I’ll dump you here at this instant.”

“Rae invited me for the ride, not you,” she retorted with an attitude. “Oh, and you can drop me off before entering the city.”

Rachel was confused. “Why?”

“I have something to do at Westhill Racecourse, which is not exactly in the city.”

Westhill Racecourse?

Rachel could vaguely sense that something was wrong. ” Why are you going there?”

“My grandmother’s sick. I need someone to help her.”

“You’re going to Westhill Racecourse to ask for help?”

Sandra nodded. “My mother works there.”

Hearing that, Rachel slightly clenched her hands. She could also see Justin’s equally confused expression in the rearview mirror.

Sandra’s mother is working at Westhill Racecourse?