novelraw Chapter 188: Amicable Parting
Chapter 188: Amicable Parting
Chapter 188: An Amicable Parting
Rachel Royce hurried toward Melissa. Melissa ran up and hugged her. Rachel bent down slightly, stroking the top of Melissa’s head. "Melissa, why are you here all by yourself?"
Melissa grabbed Rachel’s hands and started pulling her toward the exit. "Daddy is waiting for us outside. Aunt Evelynn, let’s hurry."
They exited the company building.
A Rolls-Royce was parked by the curb.
The chauffeur got out, stepped forward, and pulled open the car door. Peering inside, Rachel saw the man sitting inside, leaning back with his legs crossed. She could only see half of his chiseled profile. He wore a black shirt, trousers ironed without a single crease, and a pair of handmade, thin-soled red leather shoes. He cut a sharp, handsome figure.
Tristan Sterling lowered the tablet in his hands and turned to look out the car door.
"Aunt Evelynn, let’s get in the car."
Rachel Royce stood outside the car without moving. She crouched down, held Melissa’s shoulders, and asked, "Where are you taking me, Melissa?"
Melissa said, "There’s a new animated movie out. I want Aunt Evelynn and Daddy to come watch it with me."
Rachel Royce said, "It’s getting late today. How about Aunt Evelynn takes you tomorrow, okay?"
Melissa whined, "But I want to see it tonight."
The Mid-Autumn Festival was fast approaching. After the festival, she planned to go abroad, and she didn’t know when she would be able to be with Melissa again.
At this thought, she looked at Melissa’s face, and an indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart.
In the end, Rachel Royce agreed.
She got into the car.
The car slowly drove away.
Tristan Sterling worked the entire way. He must have already known about her interview today.
Sensing her gaze, Tristan Sterling looked up at her, his dark eyes still and unreadable.
For the brief moment their eyes met, Rachel Royce calmly averted her gaze.
She started chatting with Melissa, who chattered on endlessly about all the fun things Tristan Sterling had taken her to do during her two-day break.
「At the same time.」
Alexander Sullivan returned to the villa and saw Jane Sullivan coming downstairs after finishing a skincare treatment.
"You’re back."
Seeing her come down, Alexander Sullivan asked, "Mom, were you the one behind what’s happening online?"
Jane Sullivan paused for a moment, then calmly walked over to the sofa and sat down. She picked up the remote and started flipping through channels. Without denying it, she said, "Did Tristan contact you?"
Alexander Sullivan sat down on a nearby armchair, his expression grim. He looked at his mother and, instead of answering, retorted, "Why would you do that?"
Jane Sullivan looked at her son. "Since someone already exposed the affair between Tristan and Claire, I just gave it a little push."
Alexander Sullivan frowned. "You should know Evelynn’s identity. *She* can expose it, but if you do this, aren’t you worried that Tristan’s marriage will be revealed? When that happens, how is Claire supposed to face the world?"
"Tristan Sterling wouldn’t allow that to happen. I just wanted to see his attitude."
"If you want to know his attitude, you can just ask him. But Tristan Sterling is not someone who can be coerced. Doing this will only disgust him."
Jane Sullivan’s expression couldn’t help but darken.
"You should have seen his attitude by now. If you really have Claire’s best interests at heart, then stop doing such meaningless things."
Jane Sullivan looked displeased.
Alexander Sullivan looked at her but ultimately said no more. As he got up to go upstairs, Jane Sullivan suddenly asked, "I did hear some news. Tristan Sterling’s wife is filing for divorce, but he won’t agree to it. If he doesn’t love her, why is he dragging it out? Is it because of Melissa?"
Alexander Sullivan stopped in his tracks. He turned back to look at his mother, his voice low and tinged with sarcasm. "That’s right. Even a man like Tristan Sterling is willing to stay in a marriage for his child."
Jane Sullivan saw the expression on her son’s face. She turned her gaze away and said no more.
Alexander Sullivan went straight upstairs.
The movie didn’t end until 9:30 PM.
Melissa had already fallen asleep in her seat.
Outside the movie theater.
Tristan Sterling was carrying Melissa.
Rachel Royce was holding Melissa’s small backpack and a bouquet of roses.
As for the roses, someone had been selling them on the street when they entered the mall earlier, and Melissa had insisted that Tristan Sterling buy them for her.
They went all the way to the underground parking garage.
After getting out of the elevator.
Rachel Royce casually tossed the roses in her hand into a trash can.
Tristan Sterling glanced at her from the corner of his eye before looking away.
They reached the car.
Tristan Sterling laid Melissa down in the child safety seat. He then straightened up, turned to the woman beside him, and spoke his first words to her all day: "Get in the car."
Rachel Royce put Melissa’s backpack in the car and said, "That won’t be necessary."
As she spoke, she started to walk away.
Tristan Sterling shut the car door. "Is your next step to go public with our relationship?" he said to her.
Rachel Royce stopped, turned, and looked back at the man. "If you had done nothing wrong, would you be afraid of me going public?"
Tristan Sterling looked at her and took a step forward. Rachel Royce watched him warily. The man stopped in front of her and looked down, the dim light casting his body in a dark, oppressive aura.
"Rachel Royce, before you do anything, you should first consider your own capabilities. You want to threaten me? You’re far from qualified."
Rachel Royce stared at him, clutching her purse tightly. "You’re right. Maybe I’m not qualified to threaten you. But Tristan Sterling, as long as you refuse to divorce me, no matter how much you dote on Claire Ainsworth, she’ll always be the other woman. Even if you can suppress the news online, you can’t change the fact that you cheated."
"The reason Melissa doesn’t have a complete family isn’t because of me. It’s because of you."
"I love Melissa, but I won’t submit to you. Tristan Sterling, if you truly want what’s best for Melissa, then let’s have an amicable parting."
Tristan Sterling stared down at her, his dark eyes narrowing. His voice was low, laced with a threat. "Are you done?"
Rachel Royce stared back at him.
Without another word, she turned and strode away.
Tristan Sterling stood frozen, his dark eyes fixed on the woman’s retreating back. The pressure around him dropped to a terrifying low.
"Daddy!"
Melissa’s soft, sweet voice called out.
The aura around Tristan Sterling instantly vanished. He stepped forward and opened the car door. Melissa yawned and asked, "Where’s Aunt Evelynn?"
Tristan Sterling said gently, "Aunt Evelynn had something to do, so she left early."
Melissa’s little face fell. "Oh," she murmured.
A pang went through Tristan Sterling’s heart. He got into the car and comforted Melissa, "We’ll ask Aunt Evelynn again when she’s free."
"Okay!"