After Mary came into the room to tidy the small table, Gloria came in hugging a big box.
Initially, Rachel was trying to figure out what fancy new toy Gloria brought along; she was surprised to see her taking out an old CD player to put on the cupboard opposite the bed.
“The music played by an old CD player makes people feel calm and peaceful. I heard from Dr. Peters that you have insomnia, so you can try this out.”
After Gloria inserted a CD into the player, music with a historical tone started playing out of the speakers.
Rachel enjoyed it as she felt much more at peace in her heart.
Taking a seat by her bed, Gloria asked, “How is it?”
‘Thank you.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m not the one who got this. I’m just a runner.”
Hearing that, Rachel was stunned.
The player seemed to be an authentic vintage item that wasn’t designed to just look old. Hence, it must be an antique with a hefty price. With that information, she could roughly guess the source of this CD player.
‘Turn it off.
As she typed the three words on her phone, the light in her eyes dimmed.
Looking at Rachel’s expression, Gloria was caught off guard. “Don’t be like that, his intentions and thoughts are good. It’s not that I want to side with him, but he’s really not a bad person. Though he’s cold on the outside and he may do wrong things at times, he has his reasons.”
As Rachel held onto her phone, her face turned sour.
She couldn’t accept what Gloria said of him. Rachel only knew that Justin was the one who broke Hans’ leg, captured Grandpa Irwin, and decided to marry Amber. Nobody forced him to do any of that.
To put it simply, he was just a possessive scumbag who’d do anything to reap benefits from it.
“Rachel, do you know how Justin got the scar on his face?”
‘How did he get it?’
“His parents died in a car accident, and he was the only one who survived the crash. After that day, the scar was left on his face when he was ten years old. Since then, he had gone through various horrifying
experiences like being kidnapped, blackmailed, and human trafficked. The fear from everything that you can or cannot possibly think of has been haunting him for over twenty years and counting. Do you know that he has really bad insomnia? He can only sleep with the help of medication, but he doesn’t take them usually as he is afraid that he’ll end up at a different place when he wakes up.”
Looking at Gloria dumbfounded, Rachel asked, ‘How do you know all these?’
Taking a deep breath, Gloria replied, “Haven’t you always been curious about how I got to know him?”
‘Yes.’
“He was in a fire when he was young. A firefighter sacrificed himself to save him. That firefighter was my father.”
Upon hearing that, Rachel seemed to be more stumped.
She had never imagined that they had such a relationship.
Gloria continued, “I was born on the day my father sacrificed himself. Since then, I lived alone with my mother, but she left when I was three. I became a burden to everyone, living in a relative’s house for a few days before moving to another. That was when… Justin found me.”
Though Gloria didn’t elaborate much, Rachel could imagine how dark it was for her back then.
Before Justin appeared, she was a young girl who couldn’t take care of herself. Not only that, she was pushed away by relatives who didn’t care much for her. It was plain painful to even think about it.
No wonder…
At that moment, Rachel understood why Gloria relied on him so much. Moreover, it also explained why he treated Gloria with all the love and patience that he had.
They had salvaged each other when they were in a dark place; they were a god-like presence to each other.
At this moment, Gloria’s eyes turned red.
Rachel quickly held her hand as if telling her with the warmth of her plan that everything was over.
Pursing her lips, Gloria said, “Rachel, I’m fine. After that, he helped me with my tuition fees and sent me to piano classes. I got to do whatever I wanted, and nobody ever bullied me anymore. I’ve become happier, but he still seems to be the same after all these years. Nobody has ever been concerned about his happiness, or if he was well. Everyone only wanted to use him, or sabotage him–including his relatives. He’s actually a good person, but he has to make difficult choices at times because of his position.”
Hearing that, Rachel fell silent.
Gloria then held her hand. “Rachel, believe me. He’ll be a good father!”
At this moment, Rachel’s brows furrowed.
Gloria’s gaze seemed so sincere like she wanted Rachel to agree with her.
Perhaps, she’s right–he will be a good father.
Meanwhile…
Justin and his assistant had arrived at the restaurant early. They were waiting for a foreign couple to discuss business with
At this moment, Frankie spoke up, “Miss Hochmann has settled down in the suburbs. She said that she’s not planning to return to the city for the time being. What do we do–”
“Let her be. Moreover, her leg injury hasn’t healed completely. Let her rest and heal her injury well. Have you
“I’ve already arranged it with the school.”
“Mr. Burton, did you arrange for her to go over on purpose so that there will be someone to keep Mrs. Burton company? Though Miss Hochmann may be a little capricious at times, she’s joyful and kind. You must trust Miss Hochmann a lot.”
Hearing that, Justin furrowed his brows. “Why do you have so much to say today?”
At once, Frankie flashed him a smile before shutting his mouth.
Outside the privately reserved room, Amber was holding her bag as she came over to attend the business discussion with Justin. Coincidentally, she heard the conversation that was going on inside. As such, the smile on her face fell.
So, he indeed still cares about Rachel.
Well, she was pregnant after all. No matter what, he had to take care of her.
But what if the child is gone?
At the thought of that, a cold look crept up her eyes.
It was a Saturday with lovely weather.
Early in the morning, Julian came over to the suburbs to give Rachel a checkup.
“As I said before, it’s better to stay in bed. Try to not do out-of-bed activities more than an hour a day. Another thing to take note of is to maintain a good mood.”
I’ll keep that in mind!
At the mention of the word ‘mood’, Julian silently let out a sigh.
A person’s mood was not something one could always control.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the outside, and the sound of the piano halted abruptly.
Victor’s voice could be heard coming from the living room as his disgruntled tone was hard to miss. “How many times have I told you to not play the piano here? Are you trying to show off? Rachel needs to rest quietly in a peaceful environment. Do you understand that? You’re so noisy!”
At once, Gloria rebuked, “Who’s being noisy? Quiet means her heart has to be at peace. You’re the one who doesn’t understand that!”
“Whatever it is, you’re not allowed to play the piano here anymore!”
“This is called antenatal training! Do you even understand what that is?”
“To be trained into someone like you?”
At this moment, Julian caught hints of a smile at the corners of Rachel’s eyes. He then asked, “It seems that having the two of them around is a good thing.”
While Rachel caressed her abdomen, she leaned against the headboard with a gentle gaze.
“Gloria is a very kind person. I hope that my child will become like her in the future.’
“Right, do you know that today…”
Julian seemed to be hesitant to speak.
As Rachel’s gaze met his, she asked, ‘What happened?’
