novelraw Chapter 416 - 417: Grave-digging by Someone
Chapter 416 - 417: Grave-digging by Someone
"Adrian, I’m scared."
"Aren’t you very close to your father? You dreamed about him, so what are you afraid of?"
"But it was so scary..." Sienna Johnson placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding violently, and an empty feeling settled there. A terrible premonition disturbed her.
"I won’t sleep. I’ll stay with you, okay?"
"..."
"If you have another nightmare, I’ll shake you awake."
The dim yellow light from the bedside lamp glowed like candlelight, adding a little warmth to the cold night. Sienna snuggled into Adrian’s chest. It took her a long time to recover, mainly because the dream had felt too real, as if it had actually happened.
"Adrian, I have a bad feeling..."
"What kind of feeling?"
"I feel like something bad is about to happen..."
Adrian dismissed it. "It’s just a dream."
"Yes, just a dream..."
"..."
"Adrian, sing me a song... I like listening to you sing..." Her voice was soft and a little weak.
"Alright."
He sang that love song from Abyanabad again. Sienna, nestled in his arms, was very emotional yet peaceful, especially quiet and docile. Adrian, however, frowned.
What kind of dream could scare her this much?
「」
After waking from the nightmare, it took Sienna a long time to fall asleep again. Adrian patiently comforted her.
When it was almost dawn, the exhausted Sienna finally fell asleep. Adrian breathed a sigh of relief.
His gaze fell on her belly. A pregnant woman’s emotions are already unstable, and with so much happening... Adrian decided he needed to speed things up. He would deal with those annoying people so Sienna would have nothing to worry about and could focus on her pregnancy.
"Sleep well. I’m right here. No one can hurt you."
Adrian had stayed up all night comforting Sienna and was feeling a bit tired. Seeing that she had fallen asleep and wasn’t disturbed by dreams, he also went to sleep.
「」
In the morning, Adrian was personally cooking in the kitchen. Aunt Fenn, the cook, watched the busy Adrian with a helpless expression.
"Mr. Desmond, are you trying to steal my job?" Aunt Fenn joked.
"I only cook for my wife. You’ll still have to cook for everyone else, so don’t worry, I won’t steal your job."
Aunt Fenn looked at Adrian and said with a smile, "Miss Sienna is so lucky to have you. My old man only cooked for me once, when I gave birth to our eldest son. He just boiled plain noodles, and they were still raw."
"Did you eat them?"
"Of course I did! But oh, how awful they were to eat..." Aunt Fenn grumbled, though her heart was full of sweetness.
"..."
"Miss Sienna is really lucky."
"It’s my good fortune."
Because Adrian had worked in logistics in the army and learned to cook in the kitchen, he wasn’t averse to men cooking. Besides, every time Sienna happily ate the food he made, he felt even happier than if he had eaten it himself.
"Daddy, haven’t you finished cooking yet?"
Kiki had left, and the new nanny wasn’t as dedicated. Curly had to do many things on her own now. She had grown up a lot; at least she could dress herself.
"It’s almost done. Did you brush your teeth and wash your face?"
"I already brushed my teeth and washed my face! I even dressed myself. Daddy, am I pretty?"
Today, Curly had dressed herself. She wore denim blue overalls with a white Mickey T-shirt underneath. She had also put on a straw hat adorned with a small flower.
"Yes, our Curly is very pretty!"
"..."
"Breakfast will be ready soon. Go outside and wait."
"Daddy, your wife still hasn’t woken up. Is it really okay for her to sleep in so much?" Curly stood on a small stool, watching her father cook.
"My wife can sleep as long as she wants."
"Then what about me? You only care about your wife, not me! I’m only four years old; I’m still a little kid."
"Well, your mom said we should foster your independence. I think that makes sense."
Curly glared at her father. "Can I get new parents?"
"No way!"
Kathryn rushed in, shouting, "Mr. Desmond, something’s wrong! Miss Sienna fainted..."
"What?" The knife Adrian was holding slipped, cutting his hand. He ignored the injury and rushed out.
An unfamiliar man was holding Sienna. Adrian’s eyes darkened, a murderous aura emanating from him. "Let her go!" Sienna is mine! No one else is allowed to touch her!
The man was hesitating, wondering whether to place Sienna on the ground or the bed, when Adrian snatched her away.
Adrian carefully placed Sienna on the bed. Looking at her pale face, he was overcome with anxiety. "Sienna... Sienna, what’s wrong with you?"
Kathryn walked in and told Adrian, "Mr. Desmond, I’ve already called the doctor. He’ll be here soon."
"Alright."
Adrian knew she was unconscious, not having a nightmare, so he didn’t dare move her unnecessarily. He just kept an anxious vigil by her side. Looking at her face, Adrian’s heart ached with a sharp pang.
Kathryn looked at Mr. Blake and asked, "Mr. Blake, what on earth happened? What did you say to Miss Sienna to make her faint?"
Oh, right, Adrian suddenly remembered, there’s still a culprit to deal with.
"Who are you? And why were you here so early in the morning?"
This is Sienna’s bedroom, and she’s still in her pajamas. For this man to just walk in... it’s definitely strange. If he weren’t so old, I’d be thinking something else entirely.
The man trembled under Adrian’s gaze, lowered his head, and said fearfully, "...I just told Miss Sienna that Mr. Johnson’s grave... was desecrated..."
"What?" Adrian and Kathryn exclaimed at the same time, their faces etched with shock.
Desecrating a grave was a serious offense, whether in Orienta or Abyanabad. In Abyanabad, it was punishable by imprisonment and carried a very heavy sentence.
"What exactly happened? Explain everything clearly!" Adrian demanded, looking at the man.
The man shivered, not daring to look at the imposing Adrian. This man is terrifying, he thought. Just one glance from him makes my legs go weak.
"...I... I don’t know what happened..."
Kathryn’s anger flared. "You were hired by the Johnson family to look after the cemetery! How can you not know what happened?"
"I had a few drinks last night... When I woke up, I found that something had happened at the graveyard..."
"You dared to drink on duty?" Kathryn looked like she wanted to slap the man.
"It got a bit cold yesterday, so I had a little something to warm up. Just one cup. Usually, it’s fine. I don’t know what happened... I must have passed out completely. When I woke up this morning and went on my usual patrol, I discovered... something had happened..." The man’s voice grew fainter and fainter until it trailed off into silence.