'The hell is going on here?!'
The boy named Andrew looked at Rhianne with a small smile on his face. Andrew bowed his head a little to greet them, but Rhianne did not bother to think about his actions. Rhianne felt like she will think that Andrew is a sensible and a good boy if she did not know his real color.
'You mean this is 'that' Andrew who will be the cause of Rhianne's misfortunes?!'
Is this the scenario where Rhianne fell in love with Andrew at first sight?! The book mentioned that they were childhood friends, but the book did not give more details about it. It turns out they became childhood friends because he is the son of her mother's friend.
Rhianne unconsciously hid her body behind his brother and clutched his shirt so tight. Francis and Carmie glanced at each other before Francis held Rhianne's hand to reassure her. They thought that Rhianne was acting like this because she was still afraid to meet anyone aside from her family. After all, she still can't remember anything.
"Nice meeting you, Andrew." Francis said in a polite tone before looking at Janice. "It is a pleasure meeting one of my mom's friends. Unfortunately, Rhianne and I need to go now. We will be visiting one of our relatives today."
"Oh. That is unfortunate. I was thinking of making Carmie's children become friends with my Andrew." Janice said. "But it can't be helped. Let us just have a chat another time."
Rhianne did not know why, but she can feel Janice's gaze on her. She simply lowered her head to avoid her gaze and hold her brother's hand tight. Carmie strictly reminded her brother to take good care of her and tell them to go home before dinner. Before leaving the living room, Rhianne turned her head to look at Andrew one more time. She was surprised to see him also looking at her with a smile on his face. As if he was glad to see her in person. So there was only one thing running on Rhianne's head right now.
'The devil has finally come!'
As Rhianne and Francis left them in the living room, Andrew's gaze lingered on Rhianne's back until her figure completely disappeared from his sight. Then his smile deepened as if Andrew saw something amusing. No one can tell what he was thinking at that moment.
To avoid suspicions from their guests, they decided to go somewhere and will return before dinner. Francis helped his sister to get inside the car. He also gave instructions to the driver before looking at Rhianne.
"What happened, Rhianne? Are you feeling sick?"
"No. It was just... I am still not ready to see other people."
Francis nodded his head in understanding. He did not ask more questions to Rhianne. He simply changed the topic and talk with Rhianne about her daily activities. Rhianne was thankful that Francis did not notice her abnormality towards Andrew. Seeing the reason why the Cartel family meets a horrible fate sends shivers down her spine. Wanting to avoid it at all costs, she promised herself never to be involved with Andrew until the very end.
Rhianne did not notice that the car had stopped until Francis assisted her to remove the seat belt. When they get out of the car, Rhianne roamed her eyes on the huge house in front of them. Rather than a house, it should be called a mansion since it is literally bigger than their villa.
"Is the person living here one of our relatives?" Rhianne can't help but ask.
"Not a relative, but a friend of mine." Francis said. Rhianne looked at him with accusing eyes that were silently questioning him about his answer. He can't help but laugh at the sight.
"I just made an excuse earlier so we can leave them without any problem. And besides, I am really planning to leave with you today so we can visit my friend."
"Is your friend a girl?"
"Getting jealous that your precious brother will be paying attention to another girl aside from you?"
Rhianne scoffed when she heard Francis teasing him. Teasing and bantering with each other was another thing that happened between Francis and Rhianne for the past months. Rhianne did not feel awkward about it. Maybe it is because of the remaining feelings that the original Rhianne Cartel left in the body that was engraved deeply through its system. Though she felt a little weird since Rhianne did not have any siblings in her past life.
"No. I will just give my deepest sympathy that she chooses a boy who is not charming and handsome enough. If I were her, I will quickly reject you. You are too ugly, brother!"
Of course, that was only a joke. Tim and Carmie are both good-looking, so naturally, Francis will inherit their good appearances. Francis is a handsome young man. Though he looks aloof and stern sometimes, Francis has a natural charm to attract other people around him.
Francis just laughed at Rhianne's answer before patting her hair. He did not detect any abnormalities with Rhianne unlike earlier. And it was good that she is not as tense as before. Francis praised himself as a considerate elder brother in his heart. He was about to inform someone to tell his friend that they would arrive when he heard a voice behind them.
"So you finally arrived."