novelraw Chapter 222: You’re His Only Sister
Chapter 222: You’re His Only Sister
Chapter 222: You’re His Only Sister
The other end of the line was silent for a long moment.
Jean Sullivan spoke slowly, "Whether Rachel is married or not makes no real difference at this point. There’s no need for her to be tied down by a practically meaningless marriage certificate. You should try to convince her to open her heart and start dating again. The Sterling family doesn’t care about her anyway. My original thought was for her to stay abroad and start a new life—get married, have children—so she wouldn’t have ended up in this situation." Johnson Royce fell silent as he listened to Jean Sullivan’s words.
He then heard Jean Sullivan ask, "Do you know Thomas Sterling?" Johnson Royce replied, "Thomas? Oh, he and Rachel have known each other since they were kids. Have you met him?" From Johnson’s tone, Jean Sullivan could guess that Thomas Sterling must be very close to the Royce family.
’She’d heard from Evelyn Fitzwilliam that Thomas Sterling had never had a girlfriend his whole life. Evelyn had no idea what type of girl he liked and had even wondered if he might prefer men.’
’It seemed the reason Thomas wasn’t dating was simply that he was waiting for that special person in his heart.’
Jean Sullivan said, "I know his mother. Johnson, please think carefully about what I just said and try to persuade her. I’m sure you don’t want to see Rachel waste her best years being endlessly entangled with someone." Johnson Royce put down his phone.
"What were you talking about?" Florence Preston’s icy voice rang out.
Johnson Royce jumped, startled. He spun around to see Florence Preston’s dark expression and quickly rushed forward to take her hand. "Honey, we were just talking about Rachel. Nothing else, I swear." Florence Preston yanked her hand back and snorted. "She’s a wealthy socialite now, of course she looks down on you. Take a look in the mirror. You think she’d still want a worn-out rag like you?" As she spoke, she jabbed a finger hard into his chest. "I’m just afraid *someone* still has her in his heart." Johnson Royce immediately swore, "Honey, I absolutely don’t! You’re the only one in my heart now." "The only reason you were reluctant to marry me back then was because you were still thinking of her." "Honey, I was wrong, okay? Now I only have you and Bobby in my heart. Honey, you have to believe me," Johnson Royce explained with desperate humility.
Florence Preston shot him a cold glare, sat down on the nearby sofa, and lifted her eyes to stare at him. "Repeat your conversation to me, word for word. Otherwise, I’m not done with you." Johnson Royce didn’t dare hesitate for a second. He repeated what Jean Sullivan had said to Florence Preston, word for word.
Florence Preston sneered, "She hasn’t cared about her own daughter for twenty years, and now she’s feigning concern for her future." Johnson Royce stood before her, not daring to utter a single word in rebuttal.
"I’ve really seen it all in this lifetime. Helping her younger daughter steal her older daughter’s husband. When she failed to get her younger daughter into that position, now she wants to make demands of her older daughter.
Even if that Tristan Sterling is a piece of trash, let me tell you, Johnson Royce, whether Rachel gets a divorce or not has nothing to do with her. She has no right to make any demands of Rachel. If you dare say any of this nonsense to Rachel, I’ll never forgive you." "Yes, yes, yes. I promise I won’t say a word." "Give me your phone." Johnson Royce obediently handed his phone to Florence Preston.
Florence Preston took his phone, opened his contacts, and deleted and blocked the contact saved as ’Jean Sullivan’.
"You just try adding her back." "Whatever you say, honey."
’After hanging up with Johnson Royce,’ Jean Sullivan thought, ’it would be impossible to persuade Rachel through him alone. Clearly, he wasn’t the one who called the shots in the Royce family.’
’I’ll have to approach this from the Sterling family’s side.’
She remembered that it was Evelyn Fitzwilliam’s birthday next week and immediately made a call to Sylvia Shannon.
She had just hung up.
Claire Ainsworth walked in.
"Mom." Jean Sullivan asked, "What is Tristan busy with?" Claire Ainsworth said plaintively, "He went skiing with Melissa Sterling. I don’t know if Rachel is with them." At this thought, she gritted her teeth in hatred.
’If it weren’t for Melissa Sterling, Tristan would have married me long ago. The thought that Tristan had to be with Rachel because of Melissa made me hate Melissa all the more. It would be best if she just disappeared one day. Tristan wanted a daughter, and I could give him one just the same.’
Jean Sullivan took her daughter’s hand. "Alright, stop letting your imagination run wild. Claire, you must remember that a man’s love never lasts. You have to be patient now and learn how to be a proper matriarch." Jean Sullivan had already made her resign from Tristan Sterling’s company and had now arranged a full curriculum of various courses for her to study.
Claire Ainsworth said, "I know, Mom. But Mom, who were those two people we ran into today?"
’That older woman looked so familiar, like I’ve seen her somewhere before.’
Jean Sullivan didn’t hide it from her. She said, "He is your brother’s father. And Rachel Royce is your brother’s biological sister."
The words had barely left her mouth.
Claire Ainsworth’s eyes widened in shocked disbelief. "What?!" "Then... my brother..." she began, suddenly worried.
Jean Sullivan said, "Your brother doesn’t know yet, and he absolutely cannot find out. So you must not mention a single word about Rachel in front of him, understand?" A wave of indescribable nervousness and fear washed over Claire Ainsworth. She thought back to the few times her brother had been present and was relieved that she’d never mentioned Rachel’s name.
She nodded heavily, then asked worriedly, "What about Tristan?" "He knows." Claire Ainsworth’s heart plummeted.
"Don’t worry. He hasn’t told your brother, and I’m sure he won’t." Hearing her mother’s words, Claire Ainsworth finally let out a small sigh of relief.
"Your brother still dotes on you now, but from now on, you can’t be as willful as you were before, understand? You are your brother’s only sister." Claire Ainsworth’s jealousy toward Rachel grew even stronger in her heart, but she understood her mother’s meaning. She said, "I know, Mom."
*
Rachel Royce and June Jennings had been having fun on the mountain.
June Jennings answered a call from Julian Jennings. "We’re up on the mountain. Bro, why don’t you just come straight up!"
She hung up.
Rachel Royce looked at June Jennings in surprise. "The professor is coming?" June Jennings said, "Yeah, I told him to come yesterday. He’s been so busy for so long, he needs to relax a bit. I figured if he comes and brings Stella, we can go off and do our own thing." Rachel Royce nodded but didn’t say anything.
「About ten minutes later.」
Julian Jennings arrived on the mountain by cable car. The man was wearing a heavy mountaineering suit, but it couldn’t hide his superb, upright posture. The hat and goggles he wore only served to accentuate his sharply defined jawline.
"Professor."
"Bro, you’re here."
Julian Jennings looked at the two of them and asked, "Want to explore some more?"
June Jennings said, "Rachel still wants to take pictures, and we haven’t been to the summit yet. I don’t want to climb anymore. Bro, why don’t you go with Rachel? I’ll wait for you guys here."
The cable car didn’t go all the way to the summit, only to a spot halfway up the mountain. June had walked for a short distance before giving up.
So Rachel had no choice but to rest with her. June’s stamina was probably worse than Stella’s.
"You really need to get on a scale when we get back."
June Jennings huffed. "Bro, what are you talking about? I don’t want to talk to you anymore."
Julian Jennings chuckled, then looked at Rachel and asked, "Shall we head up?"