novelraw Chapter 619: Distracted
Chapter 619: Distracted
Soon, Jasper Sinclair noticed something was amiss.
"Why do you seem so distracted? You didn’t eat much tonight either."
Nora Northwood glanced at him lightly and said nothing.
The sky outside had long turned dark, and a gust of eerie wind made the windows rattle.
Lately, the wind had been strong, possibly signaling an upcoming storm. The Qingming Festival with its intermittent rain... was just around the corner.
On the actual day of Qingming, Jasper and Nora would need to return to The Sinclair Residence together for ancestral offerings.
After several nights of rain, the fragrance of osmanthus at The Sinclair Residence grew even more intense.
As Nora stepped on the wooden staircase to return to her bedroom, she heard a slight creaking sound.
It seemed like it was old and needed repairs.
She made a mental note of it, planning to inform Jasper later.
Before she could mention it, two people who shouldn’t have been at The Sinclair Residence showed up.
One was Peach Bell, and the other was Rachel Woodward.
Someone said with a good reputation: "Mr. Sinclair has raised me with gratitude, but I have no way to repay, so I can only accompany grandma on this day."
The old lady, unaware of the younger generation’s connections, never thought about romantic entanglements, so she was very welcoming of the young girls’ arrival.
What was originally a harmonious scene was disrupted by two screams from the staircase.
Nora Northwood and Rachel Woodward cried out simultaneously.
Jasper Sinclair was the first to react, dropping what he was holding and running to the source of the sound.
...
Orthopedics Department, hospital.
Nora was wrapped in a series of stabilizers, and the doctor holding an X-ray announced by the bedside, "Preliminary diagnosis is a fracture of the left calf. Surgery will proceed once the inflammation subsides."
The situation for Rachel was no better. Not only did she fracture a bone, but she also got her face cut by shards of glass.
After the busy commotion of everyone, it was already midnight.
Jasper arranged for the Sinclair family to leave, while he stayed to take care of his wife.
An uneasy aunt hired a separate caregiver for them.
"Nora, how did you fall off the stairs?"
Only now did Jasper find the time to ask what exactly had happened.
Nora pouted, looking extremely aggrieved. She said, "I should have told you earlier."
Jasper, worried he might miss something important, moved from the chair to her bedside.
He bent over, and from the back, it seemed a bit like he was lowering himself.
"Go on, I’m listening."
"When I was going upstairs today, I felt one of the wooden steps was a bit loose. It must have gotten worn. I was going to tell you after dinner, but I forgot."
Finally, Nora tilted her head, resting it on Jasper’s shoulder, with a hint of relief as she said, "Good thing I was the one who got hurt today. If grandma had stepped on it, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Not just unimaginable, they couldn’t even dare think of it...
Through a layer of the shirt, Jasper could feel the slightly warm touch.
He instinctively patted the top of Nora’s head, as a gesture of comfort, but one thing he couldn’t figure out: "How did Rachel Woodward end up with you?"
"Remember that perfumer who left my team for the Woodward Family?"
The man nodded.
"That young girl was going down the wrong path, and I warned her once. Rachel came to me, hoping I’d go easy when handling it."
Understanding the story, Jasper was somewhat skeptical.
He wasn’t doubting Nora, but wondering if Rachel had any other motives.
Why did the old wooden plank wait until now, right when Nora stepped on it, to break?