Betrayal At the Altar by Dolores Delia

After a moment’s reflection, Jimmy couldn’t help but curse, “If you have the guts, let’s fight!”
“I’m afraid you’ll cry and run to your mommy,” Landon replied with a serious tone.
“Hey...” Jimmy dragged his words, threw down what he was holding, rolled up his sleeves, sharpened his knives, and strode
towards Landon. “I’ve got a short fuse, and today I’ll make sure to knock you to the ground. You’ll be searching for your teeth on
the floor.”
At that moment, a mocking voice came from behind, “Oh, I smell the scent of beef from afar. Looks like we’re in for a treat today.”
Hearing this, everyone turned around.
They saw Christopher with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigar between his fingers. He moved leisurely and
lazily, exuding an undeniable aura of intimidation.
He wore a striped shirt, his hair meticulously styled with pomade, giving off a touch of refined and rebellious elegance. The
corners of his eyes curved with a hint of a smile, and beneath his carefree demeanor hid a hidden fierceness.
When Rachel caught sight of Christopher, her gaze flickered ever so slightly.
Jimmy raised an eyebrow slightly, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “You’re finally willing to leave your pathetic territory.”
“I don’t like the way you put it,” Christopher walked over, then pulled a wicker chair and greeted Rachel before plopping down on
it. “That place was built through years of my battles. How can you call it a pathetic territory?”
“Judging by your words, it seems you have developed strong feelings for that place. Are you reluctant to leave?”
“You are not me. How could you know what brings me joy?”
The group of men continued their conversation intermittently while Rachel quietly enjoyed her skewers.
Suddenly, her phone rang, and it was a call from Mary.
“I’ll take this call,” Rachel said to David before picking up her phone and getting up.
She walked to a shaded area in the garden and slid her finger across the screen to answer the call

As soon as the call was answered, Mary’s voice came through, “Rae-Rae, I’ve already made all the arrangements over there.
When are we leaving?”
Rachel extended her slender fingers and casually played with the tender shoots of the green plants. After a moment of
contemplation, she replied calmly, “Within a week.”
“Alright, I’ll book the flight tickets now.”
After hanging up the call, Rachel looked at David, who was engaged in casual conversation with the others in the distance.
David seemed to sense something, and his gazes turned towards Rachel. Then, David decisively got up and walked towards her
without hesitation.
The remaining three men noticed the situation and wore intriguing smiles on their faces in unison.
“Didn’t the 101 Institute project get abandoned? Why is it being restarted now?” Christopher suddenly spoke up.
Landon played with a lighter in his hand, and his fingertip brushed against the gears. He watched as a blue flame flickered and
burned, casually remarking, “His thoughts have always been the most difficult to guess.”
“Landon, you’re being too modest with your words,” Christopher said, crossing his legs and slouching in the wicker chair. His
eyes flickered with a mysterious expression, and he spoke with profound meaning, “Your thoughts have always been the most
delicate. Even if you can’t guess it right, you can still grasp some clues.”
Landon smiled, lips curling slightly. “If that’s the case, then I have disappointed your expectations.”
As the three of them chatted, David had already reached Rachel’s side.
He reached out and hooked his arm around Rachel’s slender waist, pulling her: his embrace. Bending down, he gently placed a
soft kiss on her lips.
In fact, from the moment they met, he had wanted to kiss her. But with others present and Rachel’s shy personality, he had
forcibly restrained himself.
“Why don’t you come over?” he murmured, his gaze fixed on Rachel.
Rachel looked at him, her clear apricot eyes filled with an unintentional tenderness. “It’s time to go back to the company.”

David furrowed his brow imperceptibly. “Will you come back and spend the evening with me?”
In that brief sentence, David sounded like a secluded young woman who longed for company, eagerly anticipating being with her
beloved day after day.
With this in mind, Rachel’s eyes curved as she smiled.
Seeing the smile at the corner of her eyes, David’s slightly furrowed brow relaxed a bit. His gaze couldn’t help but become
indulgent and doting, and his low, cold voice softened, tinged with a hint of coaxing, “What are you thinking? You’re smiling so
happily.”
“Nothing,” Rachel replied, tiptoeing to plant a kiss on his jawline. “I’ll go now.”
With that, she turned around and left.
As he watched Rachel’s figure receding and glanced at the sky, a trace of unwitting melancholy appeared on David’s face.
Indeed, it had been a long day.
At night, Rachel walked out of the bathroom with her long wet hair. She casually wiped her hair and applied skincare in front of
the makeup mirror.
Her phone kept vibrating with voice messages. They were from Mary.
She opened a voice message and heard Mary’s voice, “Rae-Rae, I have a question I’d like to ask you. Should I bring it up or
not?”
She played the first voice message, and the rest were automatically played.
As Rachel was busy with her skincare routine, it was inconvenient for her to hold the phone to her ear. Instead, she opted to play
the voice message on the speaker.
So, Mary’s voice message continued to play on the speaker.
However, just as Mary mentioned the ‘question’ she wanted to ask, David entered the room holding a glass of milk.
In the quiet and spacious bedroom, the sound of a woman’s voice could be faintly heard.

“I just wanted to ask, when you’re with David, is it you who takes the initiative or him? Do you use any protection? Does David
wear a condom?”
As footsteps approached from behind, Rachel frantically tried to pause the message. However, her fingers were slightly
unresponsive due to the moisturizer on her hands, and she ended up tapping the screen multiple times.
As a result, instead of stopping, the voice message started playing again due to her repeated tapping.
Thus, Mary’s voice, accompanied by faint static, echoed once more in the quiet bedroom.
Rachel’s spine stiffened. She wished she could immediately find a hole to hide from this awkward situation.
David walked over and placed the glass of milk by her side. He then placed a hand on her slender shoulder.
The warm palm pressed against Rachel’s slightly cool skin, causing her whole body to tremble faintly.
David leaned down slowly, looking at her through the mirror, a barely perceptible smile playing at the corner of his lips. “So,
you’ve been privately discussing these things, huh?”
Rachel lowered her gaze, afraid to meet his eyes. She silently continued with her skincare routine as if she hadn’t heard his
words.
But David clearly had no intention of letting her get away with trying to evade the question. His hand moved from her hair and
rested on her jaw, his lips grazing her temple. “Why aren’t you speaking? Hm?”
His voice trailed off slightly, like a fine hook, teasing and tickling at the edge of her heart.
Rachel’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, like a frightened butterfly ready to spread its wings and fly at any time.
How should she answer this question?
“I’m sleepy. I’m going to sleep first.” With that, Rachel quickly got up and left.
Observing her retreating figure, David couldn’t help but have a brighter smile on his lips. He picked up the glass of milk from the
vanity table and followed her with measured steps, not hurried nor slow.