novelraw Chapter 253: Bringing Supper to His Wife
Chapter 253: Bringing Supper to His Wife
Chapter 253: Bringing His Wife a Late-Night Snack
"You might be able to control the treacherous battles of the business world, but people’s hearts are fickle. Matters of the heart are the most difficult to grasp." Tristan Sterling picked up the red wine and poured himself a glass. Listening to Alexander Sullivan’s words, a smile played on his lips as he said, "There’s some truth to that."
*
Johnson Royce returned home in a good mood.
Florence Preston was on the sofa, holding Bobby and reading him a story. It was unclear if Bobby understood, but he was listening with rapt attention anyway.
Hearing him come in, Florence Preston looked over her shoulder. "You’re back." Johnson Royce walked over and scooped up his son, teasing him playfully.
"Is Rachel not back yet?" "Still at the office. It’s the end of the year, so everyone is swamped. Who did you have dinner with tonight?" Peter Preston hadn’t told them what happened to Rachel yesterday. Since she was fine now, he had decided to spare them the worry.
Johnson Royce sat on the sofa with his son in his arms. He didn’t hide the truth from Florence Preston. "I had dinner with my son."
Florence Preston immediately knew which son he was talking about. Her expression tightened, and she instantly grew wary. "Why haven’t you mentioned your son was in Kingsland before? Did he contact you?" ’Jane Sullivan is a piece of work. How good can her son be?’
’When his father was struggling, we never saw him come looking for him. Now he shows up at our door because he needs help. What good could possibly come of this?’
Johnson Royce had been thinking all the way home about how to explain this to Florence Preston. Knowing her antipathy toward Jane Sullivan, he could only try to placate her. "I asked Jane Sullivan about our son before, so I knew he was in Kingsland. We haven’t seen each other in so many years. We had to meet eventually." Florence Preston knew he had always longed to see that son of his. Now that they had finally met, it fulfilled a wish he’d held for years. Although a sour feeling lingered in her heart, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more about it.
"So you just made small talk." Hearing the wariness in her tone, Johnson Royce put a gentle arm around her and said with a smile, "What else would we do besides chat?" "Did he mention Rachel?" "He did. He was just asking about her, showing some concern." Florence Preston gave him a suspicious look but didn’t press the matter further.
"So... I was thinking of inviting Alexander over for dinner. Honey, when do you think would be a good time?" Florence Preston didn’t agree immediately. After all, she didn’t know what his true motives were, or if he was just like his mother.
She didn’t want to see Rachel get hurt again.
’As for Johnson Royce, he still saw his ex-wife and son through rose-tinted glasses. He definitely hadn’t told her the whole truth today.’
Later that evening.
Rachel worked late, so instead of going home, she stayed at her apartment in the city.
Peter Preston returned home.
Florence Preston had prepared a late-night snack for him.
As Peter Preston ate,
Florence Preston sat beside him and told him about Johnson Royce going to see Jane Sullivan’s son.
Peter Preston paused in the middle of eating his noodles.
Hearing that Johnson Royce and Alexander Sullivan had met, he already had his suspicions.
"I’m sure they did more than just make small talk." Florence Preston heard the hidden meaning in her son’s words. "Peter, what do you know?" So, Peter had no choice but to tell Florence Preston about Rachel’s close call.
The color drained from Florence Preston’s face. "What?" "Don’t worry, Mom. Rachel is fine. But Claire Ainsworth is definitely involved. Her older brother, Alexander Sullivan—who is also the son of Jane Sullivan and Mr. Royce—is very close with Tristan Sterling. Alexander was the one who cleaned up the mess after Claire and Jane hurt Rachel before." Peter let out a sarcastic laugh. "He even got a project from Tristan for his troubles. In any case, Alexander Sullivan certainly dotes on his dear little half-sister." The more she listened, the darker Florence Preston’s expression grew.
’Just as I suspected. Anyone raised by Jane Sullivan is bound to be trouble.’
"A ’good brother’ indeed," Florence Preston said, her voice tight with suppressed anger. "So what happened to Rachel just gets swept under the rug?"
"In any case, it’s definitely not a coincidence that Alexander Sullivan chose this exact moment to approach Mr. Royce. As for what happened to Rachel, Julian will probably handle it. Thomas has also contacted his brother."
Hearing this, Florence Preston couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. "June’s brother is so good and loyal to Rachel. Both he and Thomas are such reliable, trustworthy men." And yet, Rachel had married Tristan Sterling.
’It’s all truly fate!’
As for who Rachel would be with in the future, they decided not to interfere. After all, she wasn’t even divorced yet. They would wait until she was, and let her choose for herself.
"And Mr. Royce wants to invite him to dinner," Florence said. "If Rachel finds out her own biological brother is also Claire Ainsworth’s brother... I can’t imagine how she’ll be able to accept it." "I know." It would be a devastating blow for Rachel.
Peter added, "Rachel has been through too much lately. She’s busy with work, there’s been no progress with the divorce... We shouldn’t put her through this kind of pain. I’m afraid she really won’t be able to handle it." If Alexander Sullivan were to come to their house, the scene would be unimaginable. It certainly wouldn’t be a tearful, joyous reunion between long-lost siblings.
"She’ll have to find out sooner or later," Peter said. "But I think we need to wait for the right moment. Now is not that moment." "I understand," Florence Preston replied.
「Azure Cove Apartments.」
Rachel Royce opened the door and saw two men standing outside. Her eyes widened in shock.
She had just returned from working overtime.
Julian Jennings had told her he was bringing her a late-night snack.
Rachel happened to be hungry. It had been a while since she last stayed here, so she didn’t have any food in the apartment.
Tristan Sterling had called her, acting very considerate.
She hadn’t told him she was staying here tonight, so Rachel was surprised to see him suddenly appear.
The reason Tristan knew was because Melissa had called Rachel earlier, asking if her mom could take her to kindergarten the next day.
Rachel had explained that she would be working late and wouldn’t be coming home, and since Grandma Preston wasn’t with her at the apartment, she wouldn’t be able to take her to kindergarten tomorrow.
Melissa was very understanding, though she felt bad that her mom had to work so hard.
She immediately called her dad, hoping he could get her mom to stop working so hard.
From Melissa’s words,
Tristan Sterling had guessed that Rachel would probably be staying here tonight.
For a moment,
Rachel stood frozen in place. When she finally snapped out of it, she lowered her gaze to glare at Tristan Sterling. "What are you doing here?" Tristan completely ignored the displeasure in her eyes, saying in a perfectly natural tone, "Bringing my wife a late-night snack, of course." ’He’s certainly playing his part well,’ she thought.
Rachel ignored him, turning instead to the insulated container in Julian Jennings’s hand. "Professor, I’ll take that." Julian handed the container to her. "It’s corn and pork rib soup. It’ll warm you up. Eat it and get some sleep." "Mm-hmm," Rachel acknowledged. "You too, Professor." Tristan Sterling stood to the side, completely ignored.
Rachel shot Tristan a cold glare, then, holding the insulated container, she shut the door, leaving both men outside.
Without a glance at Tristan Sterling, Julian Jennings turned and walked toward the elevators.