Female Novel
Chapter 317
Chapter 317
The countdown of the warning echoed in Rachel’s ears. She lowered her voice and said, “Are you afraidof being discovered? I checked before I came. There’s nobody following me.”
As soon as the statement came out of her mouth, a gun pressed against her forehead. The cold touch ofmetal spread out across her forehead, causing her to shudder. She finally understood that Lila was notjoking
around with her.
Lila questioned, “I’m curious now. Just who is the friend that you speak of?”
The blood drained out of her face, little by little. “I followed you here because you look like a friend ofmine. I don’t have any other intentions. If I’ve offended you by mistaking you for somebody else, then Iapologize.”
Lila studied her expressionlessly. Her gaze was extremely sharp, almost as though she could pierce aperson’s heart.
Rachel did not know how long passed before the pressure on her shoulder eased and the cold feeling ofmetal against her forehead disappeared.
Putting away the gun, Lila stepped away from Rachel and coldly said, “Before you act, you had betterconsider first whether or not you can bear the consequences for every word you speak and every actionyou take on this ship. The ship will eventually come to shore, but a person may not be able to walk offthe boat on their own two feet.”
Rachel jerked in surprise and subconsciously clenched her fingers. It was not until Lila left the bathroomthat she leaned against the wall and clutched at her chest abruptly. Her heart was beating wildly through
the layer of her dress. When Lila held the gun to her head just now, the cold gaze in those eyes hadindicated no hesitation to kill her.
She isn’t Coraline? I don’t believe it. Although there are some differences in their appearances, it’simpossible for me to mistake those eyes and that voice which belong to Coraline. Nevertheless, she didnot have the time to ponder over this matter. She felt like she was sitting on a bed of pins and needles onthis ship. Since the business talks are over, I should leave this place as soon as possible.
When Rachel walked out of the bathroom, a waiter suddenly stopped her. “Are you Miss Hudson?”
“Yes, I am.” She glanced at the waiter in front of her warily. “How can I help you?”
“Please don’t be so nervous. It’s like this. The Madam wishes to talk to you.”
Madam? “Who is this ‘Madam’?”
“You will know once you’ve met her, Miss Hudson.”
She frowned slightly. “Does this Madam go by the surname ‘Bowman’?”novelbin
The waiter nodded and said nothing else.
Be that as it may, that response gave her a rough grasp of the situation. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”
While following the waiter, she sent a message to Jolly to say that she was going to meet an old friend of
Jolly’s father.
They arrived at a private room and the waiter opened the door. “The Madam is waiting for you inside.”
Rachel nodded and walked straight into the room. The room was very luxuriously furnished. If she hadnot known that she was currently on board a ship, she would have thought that they were the furnishings
of a villa. A golden chandelier illuminated the entire room with a golden brilliance.
“Miss Hudson.” A woman’s voice came from behind. She spun around and saw a middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman was dressed in a sky-blue traditional dress. She looked elegant and graceful.
Although her skincare was so good that she appeared to be in her forties, the weather-beaten and calmgaze in her eyes betrayed her actual age.
“Hello.” Rachel observed the woman. “Are you Mrs. Bowman?”
“Do you know me? Did Richard mention me to you?”
Richard Carter was the name of Jolly’s father.
Rachel was in no rush to refute that statement. Instead, she countered with a question of her own.“Didn’t you bring me here to confirm whether or not Mr. Carter has told me about you?
A bitter expression appeared in the middle-aged woman’s face. “I knew he had not mentioned me to youbefore. If he did, you would not have agreed to meet me in the first place.”
Rachel looked at her in confusion.
“Sit.” The middle-aged woman raised a hand and indicated for Rachel to take a seat.
A Hermès blanket was draped over the genuine leather sofa. All the furniture in the room were verydelicate and elegant. It didn’t look like a temporary residence. Rachel looked around and asked, “Do youusually live here?”
“How can you tell?”
“Few would have the leisure to arrange flowers in a hotel, especially if they’re only going to stay for ashort while. Isn’t that right?”
Following Rachel’s gaze, the middle-aged lady turned to look behind her. There were fresh cut flowersand plants scattered across the table behind her. Moreover, they were next to a half-finished vase.
Then, she looked at Rachel with a measuring gaze. “No wonder Richard took you in as his goddaughter.You are smart and meticulous. I’m sure you’ll be of great help to Jolly in the future. I brought you herebecause I wanted your help to pass something to Jolly.
“What is it?”
“This.” In front of Rachel, the middle-aged woman opened the pink gift box at her feet to reveal the whitegown inside.
“What is this? A wedding dress?” Rachel was confused.
The middle-aged woman noticed her doubts and explained, “This is what I promised Richard in the past.At the time, Jolly was still very young and there were no disputes over business matters betweenRichard and I. After I won the award in the Maynie Designer Competition, Richard told me that hewanted me to design his daughter’s wedding dress in the future. According to my calculations, Jollyshould be nearly at the marriageable age by now.”
The Maynie Designer Competition was an international-level fashion design competition. Only the mostpopular fashion designers could win any awards in this competition.
“Are you a fashion designer?”
“I was. This wedding gown is the last piece that I worked on. This way, it can be considered that I’vefulfilled the promise between Richard and I.” The middle-aged woman sounded sincere. “I hope you can
help me with this.”
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and did not answer immediately. “Jolly is also onboard this boat. You canhand it to her yourself.”
“I wouldn’t have needed to trouble you if I could hand it to her myself, right?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you with this.”
“Miss Hudson, I don’t know who else I can ask for help aside from you. You don’t need to tell them thatthis wedding dress was designed by me. You can just claim that you’re giving it to Jolly. Only you and Ineed to know about this. This is my thank-you gift for you.” The middle-aged woman took out a blacksuede jewelry box and opened the box in front of Rachel without further ado. Then, she pushed the boxover to Rachel.
There was a jade bangle inside the jewelry box. Judging by the quality of the bangle, it was worth quite alot.
Rachel immediately got to her feet and the scowl on her face deepened considerably. “What do youmean by this?”
“Don’t misunderstand me. This is just a small thank-you gift.”
“I have not promised to help you, but I can no longer help you because of this thank-you gift.” Rachelglanced at the box containing the wedding dress. The feeling that this situation was very odd becamestronger.
“I’m sorry. I’m leaving now.” Just as Rachel hurried to the door, somebody threw open the door from theoutside. “Chris!”
It was Jolly
Jolly had rushed over as soon as she saw the message. At this moment, she looked very anxious. “Areyou alright?”
“I’m fine.” Rachel shook her head. “Let’s go.”
For some reason, she wanted Jolly to leave this place as soon as possible.
Jolly’s gaze slid past Rachel’s shoulder to land on the middle-aged woman behind them. However, shewithdrew her gaze after a brief glance. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Jolly.” The middle-aged woman suddenly called out to Jolly