CHAPTER 442: CHAPTER 442: I’M JUST SHOWING YOU OFF

After the excitement, the crowd dispersed.

Jasper Sutton sat alone by the sea, looking at the number his subordinate had sent him a few minutes earlier on his phone.

He hesitated a few times but still did not make the call.

He planned to meet her in person after returning, to talk face-to-face.

The next day was a free activity day for everyone.

Shannon Quinn was with some female colleagues, and after breakfast, they wandered around before changing into swimsuits and soaking in the sea.

Most people from the company were still single, and before coming, they were clamoring about wanting to encounter handsome men and beautiful women, but after arriving, they were all too timid.

They gathered together, chattering away while checking out handsome guys, but backed off when it came to asking for contact information.

"Look over there, that couple taking artistic photos, they’re so pleasant to look at."

"They must be models specifically hired to take promotional photos."

Shannon Quinn glanced in that direction, frowning with a murmur of confusion: "Ronan Rhodes?"

With a float in her arms, she walked from the water to the shore, picked up a shawl from a chair and wrapped it around herself, and walked towards the photo shoot team.

When she arrived, Ronan Rhodes and Charlotte Sheffield were adjusting their poses as instructed by the photographer.

Seriously looking at Ronan Rhodes now, he really did look quite handsome.

Charlotte Sheffield was petite, with a sweet smile, and looked warm and beautiful cuddled in Ronan Rhodes’s arms.

After shooting that scene, Ronan Rhodes noticed Shannon Quinn and immediately walked towards her: "Sister-in-law? What are you doing here?"

Shannon Quinn glanced at him, then at Charlotte Sheffield, and smilingly explained, "Traveling here."

"Where’s Master Nate?"

"He didn’t come, we organized this trip with the company. Are you two taking wedding photos here? Don’t tell me you got married without inviting us to the celebration?"

Ronan Rhodes: "Of course not, we’re just here for fun too, and decided to take a set of photos on a whim. If we were getting married, we definitely would invite you, sister-in-law."

"Cherish her, she’s a good girl."

"Definitely."

"Oh, by the way," Shannon Quinn said, smiling at Charlotte Sheffield, "your brother also came with us here, did he contact you?"

Charlotte Sheffield’s smile froze for a moment, and she replied with a forced smile, "...No."

"Brother’s here too?" Ronan Rhodes called cheerfully, "How about we have lunch together? It’s on me."

Before Shannon Quinn could respond, she noticed Charlotte’s troubled expression as she subtly tugged on Ronan Rhodes’s sleeve.

"What’s wrong?" Ronan Rhodes lowered his head to ask her.

Seeing Charlotte Sheffield’s difficulty, Shannon Quinn said, "Let’s talk about it later, there are quite a few people from the company, it’s better not to trouble you."

Remembering Jasper Sutton mentioning some conflict between the siblings, Shannon Quinn could tell Charlotte was reluctant to see Jasper Sutton. Although she didn’t know the reason, she didn’t want to embarrass them and decided against notifying Jasper Sutton.

She exchanged a few pleasantries with Ronan Rhodes and then left.

After Shannon Quinn left, Ronan Rhodes asked Charlotte Sheffield, "What’s the matter? You seem to react strongly whenever your brother is mentioned."

Charlotte Sheffield lowered her eyes and softly said, "I don’t have a good relationship with them."

Ronan Rhodes: "What exactly happened?"

"Don’t ask anymore," Charlotte Sheffield replied calmly but firmly, turning away as if recalling some unpleasant memories.

Ronan Rhodes furrowed his brow, thinking that no matter how bad family relations were, they wouldn’t avoid seeing each other altogether.

What exactly did that family do to make Charlotte so resistant to them?

Perhaps what they did is the root cause of Charlotte’s depression.

After learning that Jasper Sutton was also there, Charlotte became somewhat absent-minded, or more accurately, somewhat panicked.

Originally scheduled for two sets of outfits, they only photographed one in the end.

As she was packing up to return to the hotel, the person she didn’t want to see still appeared.

Seeing Jasper Sutton in front of her, Charlotte instinctively stepped back half a step behind Ronan Rhodes.

Jasper Sutton glanced at Ronan Rhodes, then looked down at Charlotte, asking softly, "When did you arrive here?"

Charlotte remained silent, and Ronan Rhodes didn’t immediately respond, momentarily pausing before smiling and tentatively asking, "Are you Charlotte’s brother?"

Jasper Sutton nodded with a smile: "Yes."

Ronan Rhodes, embarrassed, scratched his hair and introduced himself, "Hello, I’m Charlotte’s boyfriend."

Jasper Sutton’s smile held no emotion, as he looked Ronan Rhodes up and down, nodding slightly.

Before Ronan Rhodes could say anything else, Charlotte immediately pulled him away.

Jasper Sutton stood still, watching their retreating figures, the smile on his face gradually disappearing as he pensively gazed in that direction, brows knitted.

"I want to go back." As soon as they returned to the hotel room, Charlotte began packing.

Ronan Rhodes held her hand, pulling her to the bed, his voice gentle as he asked, "Tell me what’s really going on?"

Charlotte looked up at him, pressed her lips together, and shook her head, saying, "Nothing, I just feel a bit tired. It’s too hot here, we’ve seen the sea, let’s go back."

Ronan Rhodes knew this wasn’t the real reason, but seeing her unwilling to speak, he didn’t dare press further, afraid of stirring her emotions.

He patiently said, "There’s still a cruise tomorrow, I’ve already got the tickets."

Charlotte: "We took the boat on the way here, it’s all the same, let’s skip it."

Ronan Rhodes lowered his gaze, smiling and nodding: "OK, then we’ll leave after lunch, I’ll book the afternoon flight."

He didn’t understand why Charlotte despised Jasper Sutton so much, or seemed afraid of him.

It felt like her heart had several locked doors; he thought he had opened one and entered her heart, only to find another locked door inside.

He vowed to gradually unravel the demons in her heart for her.

No matter what she had experienced before, he would use the happiness of the present to gradually erase those bad memories for her.

On the plane, looking at her sleeping soundly against his shoulder, Ronan Rhodes couldn’t help but curl his lips, eyes filled with contentment.

It turned out that loving someone could be such a blissful thing.

"Ronan,"

In her sleepy state, hearing her softly call his name, Ronan Rhodes immediately opened his eyes, smiling at her: "Hmm?"

She pointed out the window: "Look."

Ronan Rhodes leaned over to look out the window, but besides the clouds, there seemed to be nothing special.

"What am I looking at?"

"Look carefully."

Ronan Rhodes frowned but still couldn’t make anything out of it.

Charlotte Sheffield then said, "Look at that cloud, doesn’t it look like a heart?"

Ronan Rhodes chuckled, lowered his head to kiss her forehead lightly, then pulled out his phone: "Quick, take a picture."

He stretched out a hand to form one half of a heart on the window, and Charlotte immediately understood, bringing her hand over to complete the other half against the heart-shaped cloud as the background.

Then he pressed the phone shutter button, satisfied with his creation, saying, "Later I’ll post it on social media, I’ve been envied for so long, now it’s my turn to show off."

Charlotte Sheffield laughed, intentionally saying, "So, you got with me just to show off your relationship?"

"Nonsense, am I showing off the relationship? I’m showing off you."