Chapter 302: Griffin Becomes a Little Fanboy
Griffin had already been taken away by the ambulance and was likely close to the hospital by now. Jared’s gaze finally shifted to Juliet, but it only lingered for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to Tina.
“I’m Juliet, Tina’s cousin,” Juliet introduced herself quickly, surprised that Jared didn’t seem interested in her at all. She was a famous actress, after all. Men usually fell head over heels for her. But Jared ignored her completely. It was intriguing.
“It’s getting late,” Jared said softly, his voice full of concern only when he spoke to Tina. “Tina, let me take you home.”
Tina didn’t refuse, but Hayden mumbled beside them, “As expected, he forgets his friends when he sees a beautiful woman! Seeing Serena, he’s lost his soul!”
He didn’t dare complain too loudly, fearing Jared might abandon him again like last time and force him to eat garlic.
Soon, they arrived at Whispering Pines. Jared dropped them off at the gate and left.
Juliet watched his departing figure and couldn’t help but call out to Tina, curious. “Tina, are you really just in an arranged marriage with Mr. Farrell?”
Everyone knew about the alliance between the Farrell family and the Reed family, a union of mutual benefits. But today, she noticed that their relationship didn’t seem purely businesslike. Jared had been engaged to Tina even before she was found. Their relationship seemed different from what the rumors suggested.
“Yes?” Tina raised an eyebrow at Juliet.
“He seems to care about you a lot, and you don’t seem to mind his affection,” Juliet said bluntly. Tina’s eyes flickered slightly but quickly regained her usual calm demeanor. “That’s your misconception.”
Their engagement was arranged by their elders. She never thought this relationship would continue or that they would get married. As they spent more time together, her attitude towards Jared changed, but she still couldn’t be sure if they would have a future together.
She was focused on investigating her mother’s death and couldn’t afford any distractions. She hadn’t considered what would happen with Jared once she uncovered the truth.
“A misconception?” Juliet looked puzzled.
Tina’s eyes turned slightly as she looked at Juliet with a hint of meaning. “You seem very interested in my relationship with Mr. Farrell?”Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.
Sensing Tina’s probing gaze, Juliet quickly explained, “No, you’ve misunderstood. I’m just curious because Mr. Farrell has a bad reputation.”
“Oh.” Tina glanced at her for a moment longer before turning and entering the house without saying another word.
Meanwhile…
After receiving treatment at the hospital, Griffin returned to Whispering Pines quickly. His injuries were severe enough that Luna found out about his secret racing escapade immediately. The entire family knew.
Although Luna didn’t smash his beloved motorcycle, she was furious and grounded him, locking up his bike and forbidding him from racing again.
Griffin felt aggrieved but hadn’t forgotten one thing: if it hadn’t been for Tina’s help during the race in the northern district, he wouldn’t know what kind of trouble he’d be in now.
He watched half of the race and heard about Tina’s impressive performance from Juliet. His attitude changed drastically. As soon as he returned from the hospital, he hobbled on crutches to knock on Tina’s door.
When Tina opened the door and saw him, she raised an eyebrow slightly. “What’s up?”
“Tina, can I get your autograph?” Griffin asked excitedly, pulling out a notebook with shining eyes.
Tina raised an eyebrow again. “Did you hit your head too?”
She crossed her arms and spoke bluntly, but Griffin wasn’t offended at all.
Despite being younger than him, Tina’s racing skills far surpassed his own. Anyone who could earn his respect was his boss.
“Should I call you Serena then?” Griffin scratched his neck awkwardly as if finding it strange to address her that way. “Anyway, you won the race; I’ll be your little brother from now on!”
“Didn’t you say I tricked you?” Tina asked with interest.
“No, no,” Griffin quickly waved his hand in denial without hesitation for even a second. “That was my own fault! It had nothing to do with you! If I hadn’t deliberately raised the price during bidding, I wouldn’t have lost over a million dollars on that piece of jade!”
Tina found his earnest explanation amusing and eventually took his notebook to sign it.
“Thank you so much! I’ll treasure this autograph forever!” Griffin’s hands trembled with excitement as he hugged the signed notebook tightly against his chest as if afraid someone would snatch it away.
Tina glanced at his plastered right foot and casually reminded him, “Remember to rest well.”
“I will!” Griffin nodded vigorously like pounding garlic, agreeing to everything she said without hesitation. “Tina, once I’m healed, can you take me for a ride?”
He swallowed nervously after asking this question and looked at Tina expectantly, worried she might refuse.
If he could train with Tina or even just ride with her for a few laps, his racing skills would improve dramatically.
“We’ll see,” Tina replied nonchalantly.
Though not a definite yes, Griffin was still thrilled beyond words.
Just imagining it made him want to rip off his cast immediately and hop on a bike to hit the track.
“Oh right… Tina…” Griffin hesitated before speaking again as if something had just occurred to him. “I saw you pass by the cat room earlier today… Did you leave those cat treats there?”
He had already suspected it but couldn’t believe that Tina would be so kind-hearted until now when he became her ardent fan after watching her race performance; everything she did seemed justified in his eyes.
“You’re overthinking,” Tina interrupted him lazily before adding slowly: “I wasn’t helping you; I pitied the cats.”
Griffin froze momentarily; despite sounding cold-hearted initially-her words carried warmth underneath them somehow…
He used to think of Tina as calculatingly ruthless but now realized there was more warmth beneath her indifferent exterior than he had ever imagined…
Even though she refused acknowledgment-he believed what he saw…
“Regardless-thank you,” Griffin mumbled awkwardly while lowering his head apologetically: “Without those cat supplies-I wouldn’t have known what else could’ve done…”
After pondering briefly-he sincerely apologized again: “I was wrong before-I apologize-and hope you’ll forgive me… If ever need assistance-don’t hesitate-I’ll do everything possible help!”
“Annoying!” With no expression whatsoever-Tina shut door abruptly-not wanting hear any more nonsense…