Reclaiming Her Heart

Selena was chilling on a flat rock while Raymond went to the mountain spring to wash the mushrooms he'd picked.

As soon as he left, the other women started rolling their eyes at Selena.

"If you need to be carried, why did you even come on this hike? Do you even know what hiking means? Everyone here has a higher status than you and is more delicate, yet you're the one Raymond carried up here," one woman said. Selena still had a wild fruit in her hand, which Raymond had picked halfway up, saying the tree bore fruit every year and it was a stroke of luck to get one.

She tossed the fruit in her hand and looked at the woman who had spoken. "If you're jealous that Raymond carried me, why don't you ask him to carry you later?"

The woman was furious, but when she saw the last group of people arriving, she sneered. "Ms. Smith isn't feeling well and walked up here by herself. When Raymond gets tired of you, let's see which man will tolerate your pretentious ways." Selena was about to retort, but the other women joined in the mockery.

"Exactly, you really think you're Raymond's wife. When he dumps you, you won't even get to see us. What's with the arrogance?"

"A woman should rely on herself."

They tried to elevate themselves by belittling Selena, aiming to portray themselves as independent and strong. Society had always been evolving. In the past, pretending to be innocent was popular; the more innocent a woman appeared, the more she was favored. But in recent years, there had been a call for women to be independent and strong, not relying on men.

However, some have misunderstood independence and strength as elevating themselves by putting other women down. What kind of strength was that?

Selena found it amusing. When Raymond returned, she handed him the fruit. "Could you wash this for me? And do you have a knife? It would be great if you could cut it into slices; it's too big to eat whole," she asked.

The people around found her request pretentious and annoying.

What were they doing now?

They were on a hike! And it was a two-day hike; they wouldn't be picked up by a helicopter until tomorrow afternoon. The whole point was to enjoy the scenery and experience nature. Washing the fruit should be enough, but she even wanted Raymond to cut it into slices.

Everyone thought Raymond would surely get angry because Selena was being too spoiled!

But Raymond took the fruit and looked at Selena.

Selena smiled at him and even licked her lips.

It wasn't seduction; she genuinely wanted to eat the fruit.

Raymond's mind was filled with Selena's words: "It's too big to eat whole."

Some erotic images flashed through Raymond's mind, making him feel hot all over.

Raymond turned and walked towards the spring. When he returned, the fruit was cut into slices and placed on a clean leaf.

He even used a knife to carve a skewer and stuck it into the fruit.

Selena took the leaf and started eating the fruit with the skewer.

Raymond didn't look at her again; he needed to clear his mind, so he grabbed the two backpacks Carter and Alex were holding and started setting up the tent by himself.

Even Alex, seeing how Raymond doted on Selena, felt a twinge of jealousy.

Who went hiking and acted like they were at home?

But he didn't say anything; complaining would only make him feel worse.

Tessa couldn't stand it any longer, trembling with anger.

"Selena, this is too much. It's one thing to have Raymond carry you, but now you make him set up the tent alone and even cut fruit for you. You don't care about him at all. If he were with someone else, he wouldn't have to work so hard." The implication of who that "someone else" might be was clear.

Selena continued eating her fruit, seemingly amused.

"This is just how Raymond and I are. He hasn't complained, so why are you, an outsider, so concerned? Ms. Smith, even if you want to be Raymond's girlfriend, you should see if he wants you first."Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.

Since last night, Selena hadn't said anything to provoke Tessa, and everyone was watching the subtle rivalry between Selena and Tessa.

But now, this remark directly painted Tessa as a homewrecker, which was a huge insult to her.

Tessa's eyes reddened, and tears began to fall. "I'm just worried about Raymond. Is that wrong? Selena, you're not worthy of being with him."

Clearly, Tessa was the one with ulterior motives, but now that she was crying, everyone started comforting her as if she had suffered a great injustice.