novelraw Chapter 256: Vague and Illusory
Chapter 256: Vague and Illusory
Chapter 256: Illusory and Ephemeral
Rachel Royce glanced back at the man behind her and said, "There’s no need. I’ll drive myself." Tristan Sterling didn’t insist. "Alright." Rachel and Julian Jennings left first and got into their car.
As for why Tristan was there, Julian knew perfectly well.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Rachel took a document from her bag and handed it to him.
"Take a look at this, Professor." Julian reached out and took it.
Upon seeing the document’s contents, Julian immediately knew what it was. He looked at Rachel and said, "Tristan gave you this." Rachel hummed in affirmation.
"You want this project," Julian stated.
"I’m no saint, detached from worldly desires. An offer like this is very hard to refuse."
"By offering a contract like this, what does he want from you, Rachel?"
Rachel let out a quiet, mocking laugh. "He claims it’s to ’make amends,’ and that all he wants is for me to stay by Melissa’s side." She then handed him the contract Tristan had signed earlier that day. "I went and got Tristan’s signature today." The terms of this contract were incredibly strict—once she secured the project, Tristan would have absolutely no means of interfering. Yet, he had signed it without any hesitation.
Julian looked at it, his tone turning particularly serious. "He wants to use this contract to maintain your marriage." Rachel, of course, had already guessed as much.
When Tristan Sterling wanted something, he was willing to trade for it regardless of the cost. In his eyes, everything had a price, whether it was a tangible object or an intangible emotion. And the one thing he never lacked was money, so he probably believed he could get anything he wanted.
That was just the kind of arrogant and conceited man he was.
"Tristan will never agree to a divorce right now, no matter what. I’ll have to find another way. And since a divorce is off the table, I have no reason to refuse such a massive opportunity when it’s right in front of me."
Julian gathered the contracts and handed them back to Rachel. He reached up to adjust his glasses. In his marriage to Rachel, Tristan was in complete control.
"So, Rachel, you’ve already decided what you’re going to do?"
Rachel’s fingers tightened, her gaze growing resolute as she nodded.
Julian didn’t say anything more. "I’ll support you in whatever you do, but I hope you understand that you’re not alone."
Rachel looked at him and said, "I know."
"By the way, Claire Ainsworth was in a car accident."
Rachel was unconcerned, her eyes cold. "A pity it didn’t kill her."
Julian said, "The accident happened at the airport. It probably wasn’t serious. She’s still in the hospital."
"Was Alexander Sullivan planning to send her abroad?"
Julian hummed in affirmation.
Rachel sneered, "Let her go lay low for a while!"
’It seems Tristan was really unmoved by her this time.’
「The next day.」
Rachel drove to Silvermist Bay.
Tristan was standing on the steps, waiting for her.
Rachel got out of the car, holding an umbrella, and slowly walked toward him.
The cold wind carried an icy rain, a desolate, bone-chilling cold.
Their eyes met through a thin veil of mist, and everything seemed so illusory and ephemeral.
Until Rachel drew near.
Tristan reached out, his large hand taking the umbrella from her. He closed it and said, "Next time, you can drive straight into the underground garage."
"Let’s get inside!"
They walked to the door.
Tristan opened it for her.
The heating was on full blast inside, warm enough that a thin shirt would suffice.
Rachel took off her overcoat.
"Here, let me take that." Tristan thoughtfully reached out and took her coat.
"Mommy!" Melissa cried out happily and ran toward Rachel, but she immediately started coughing again.
Rachel handed her coat to the man, slipped on a pair of slippers, and strode forward.
"Slow down, don’t fall." No matter when she saw her mother, Melissa was like a happy little rabbit. Her spirits had improved a lot, but her cough still hadn’t fully gone away.
The weather had been poor lately—overcast and cold. They couldn’t take Melissa out to play, so she could only stay at home.
Rachel sat with Melissa on the carpet, building with blocks.
Tristan brought her a cup of ginger tea. "To warm you up." Rachel accepted it.
Tristan sat on a nearby sofa, watching the mother and daughter. He said to Rachel, "We’re going back to the family estate for dinner on New Year’s Day."
Rachel took a sip of the ginger tea, warming her hands on the cup. "I heard Claire Ainsworth was in a car accident."
As she spoke, she turned and looked up at Tristan, but his expression remained unchanged. He answered calmly, "Yes. She refused to go abroad."
A mocking curve touched Rachel’s lips. "She refused to go because of you, didn’t she? Of all the men she’s been with, I think she still likes you the best."
Joanna Sutton had told her about this before.
Back when Rachel was dating Alexander Sullivan, Claire Ainsworth had not yet gotten together with Tristan. Rachel was a sophomore in college at the time, and because she hoped to marry Alexander, she knew it was important to be on good terms with Claire. So, in the beginning, Joanna did her best to cultivate a good relationship with her.
But Claire didn’t appreciate it at all. In fact, her antics only grew more outrageous.
At the time, Claire also had a boyfriend—a handsome, rich heir from a good family—but she dumped him after just a few months.
She seamlessly moved on to the young master of another prominent family. He already had a fiancée, but Claire’s family was so powerful that the other woman couldn’t afford to provoke her.
At one banquet, her ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend met, and they got into a physical fight right then and there over Claire.
Rachel could tell that Claire loved seeing men get jealous and fight over her. Of course, with her privileged background, she had never lacked for admirers and confessions of love while growing up.
It was as if Claire wanted all the handsome, outstanding men in the world to revolve around her.
’So Claire isn’t someone who commits for the long haul; for her, the next one is always better. But she’s been with Tristan for so long... she must have really been in love. It’s obvious that in her relationship with Tristan, she wasn’t the one in control.’
Tristan’s lips curled into a smile as he retorted, "Then does that mean I was once your favorite man?"
Hearing this, Rachel’s expression went blank. "You yourself said ’once.’"
’Though she hated to admit it, Tristan was, in fact, the only man she had ever truly loved.’
At her words, the smile on Tristan’s lips only deepened.
Melissa overheard her daddy and immediately perked up. "Mommy used to like Daddy!"
Tristan smiled gently. "That’s right!"
Melissa immediately ran to her father. "Then does Daddy like Mommy?"
Tristan patted Melissa’s head. "Of course."
Melissa’s smile grew even wider. "Then Daddy and Mommy have to stay together forever, okay?"
Tristan said, "Then Melissa has to be a good, obedient girl."
"Melissa is a good, obedient girl." Melissa then scampered back over to Rachel.
「At noon.」
She received a call from June Jennings.
Stella had also gotten sick yesterday.
The two children had gotten fevers around the same time.
Ivan Alden had stayed by Stella’s side all night.
June said worriedly, "Ivan is back, and I have a feeling he’s planning to stay for a long while."