On the corridor of the second floor, Justin walked toward the entrance of the master bedroom. There wasn’t any movement in the room whatsoever. He couldn’t believe that Rachel was able to sleep like a log since it had been so long after he brought Amber back. Suddenly, he felt anger rising within him.
A tipsy Justin opened the door with a loud crack. “Rachel!”
There was no one in the room, but he could hear the sound of water splashing. When he noticed the water seeping out from the slit of the bathroom door, his expression changed.
“Rachel!” He rushed toward the bathroom before noticing that the door was locked. After he kicked the door open, he immediately saw the body in the bathtub while the bloody water continued to drip from the tub. There was a blood-stained dagger on the washstand, and the stain had already dried.
Rachel had already lost consciousness as her head rested on the side of the bathtub with a peaceful look. However, her left hand was still submerged in the water while blood continued to flow from her wrist.
Justin’s mind went blank in that moment as his expression hardened. Then, he dragged Rachel out of the bathtub with a loud splash and roared, “Prepare the car!”
When he ran into Amber, who was wrapped around a towel, she shrieked before staring at what happened in disbelief. “Justin!”
“Move away!” he snapped, causing her to move away in fear. Without explaining anything, he carried Rachel downstairs before he yelled, “Get the car ready! We are going to the hospital!”
He had never expected her to attempt suicide by slitting her wrist. Rachel really hates me to the core, huh? She would rather die than to talk to me, nor is she willing to stay in the same house as I do.
Meanwhile, Amber ran after them before she watched as Justin carried Rachel into the car and sped off, leaving her to stand at the doorway wrapped in a towel like a fool.
“Miss Hudson, the weather is chilly and you’re going to catch a cold if you wear like that.” Jennifer’s voice rang out behind Amber.
As she was unable to release her pent-up anger, Amber snapped, “Who are you to tell me what to wear?”
“I was just trying to be nice. Are you still staying over tonight? I can tidy up the room for you.”
“That’s not necessary!” Why would Amber still want to embarrass herself further when Justin had already ditched her here?
Amber’s face was dark as she returned to the room and slammed the door with a loud bang. A while later, she changed her outfit and left the mansion in Southwind. She contacted someone on her way back. “How’s the investigation on what happened 20 years ago?”
The person’s reply was unheard.
“Send the documents to my place now.”
The other party’s response was muffled.
Rachel had a dream. In her dream, she was standing on the lawn of a farmhouse. It was a sunny day and she felt the warmth under the sunlight. As she looked around in confusion, she spotted a familiar figure wearing a blue floral dress standing at the vegetable plot on the lawn.
“Rachel, don’t you feel hot standing under the sun? Be careful as you could get a sunburn! I don’t want to lose sight of you in the midst of charcoal!”
Grandma? Rachel was stunned as she watched Nancy harvesting vegetables on the ground.
“Rachel, I’ll make buns with eggs and vegetables for you tonight since that’s your favorite dish. I’ll go and grab more eggs. You need to eat more in order to grow taller.”
Grandma! Rachel cried as she ran into Nancy’s embrace while Nancy ruffled her hair in confusion. “Why are you crying? Who bullied you again? Let’s go, I’ll fight them off for you.”
Grandma, you’re still alive. I thought that I won’t be able to see you anymore.
“My child, what are you even talking about? I’m just fine.”
She snuggled into Nancy’s embrace as the smell of cooking eased her. Then, Nancy patted Rachel’s back. “Rachel, why are you behaving like a child now? I still have to leave someday as I won’t be able to be with you forever.”
No! I want to be with you, Grandma.
“My child, death and parting is a natural course in the human circle. Without me being by your side, you have to learn to take care of yourself and stay strong, no matter what happens.” Nancy’s voice became softer and softer. “Rachel, remember what I said. There’s only hope when you’re alive.”
Grandma! Rachel’s eyes snapped open, but the bright lights shining on her made her vision blurry.
“She’s awake! She’s awake!”
A woman’s familiar voice rang out. It was Jennifer announcing, “Mr. Burton, Mrs. Burton is awake.”
Rachel’s vision slowly cleared. Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, she saw Justin entering before he sat at her bedside. They were the only two souls left in the room after Jennifer left.
When Rachel tried to sit up, she found out that she couldn’t move her body. However, when she moved, a piercing pain shot up from her left hand while her wrist felt like it was about to snap into two.
“Stop moving.” Justin’s voice echoed through the room before he held her back by grabbing her shoulders. “Lie down and stop moving if you don’t want to die.”
After he said those words, he suddenly thought of something and chuckled coldly. “How could I have forgotten? You wanted to die anyway. I guess the pain doesn’t matter to you.”
A stunned Rachel followed the direction of his gaze to her left wrist, which was wrapped in bandages. Her right hand was connected to the IV drip and she couldn’t move either hand at all. This was a hospital, the place that she had frequented the most in the past six months-all thanks to the man in front of her.
“You hate me, don’t you?” Justin’s finger dug into her shoulders. “Do you think that you can make me feel bad by attempting suicide? Don’t be delusional!”
Rachel tried her best to ignore the stabbing pain that she felt and looked away, refusing to meet his gaze. Still, he reached out to grab her by her chin and forced her to turn to look at him. “I’m telling you that I won’t let you die. You can try doing this again, but I’ll save you every time you try to attempt suicide. The Burton Family has more than enough to feed a useless person, so let’s see who can torture the other even more.”
At this moment, Rachel felt chills from the man’s cold gaze, but she met his eyes with an almost numb and calm look.
As he was angered by her unaffected gaze, Justin tightened his grip on her. “Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you want to live anymore? Shouldn’t you hate me? You should stay alive if you do. Do everything that you can to get your revenge for your grandma and Hans. Didn’t you think that I killed them? Hate me, then!”
However, she didn’t react at all. It was as if she had lost her sense of pain as well. I don’t hate you.
Since he wasn’t the cause of Nancy’s death, he hadn’t done anything wrong to her. There wasn’t any
conclusion to Hans’ death at this stage, so Rachel couldn’t hate Justin for that too. Nevertheless, she owed him way too much now, which made it useless for him to keep her alive any longer.
Rachel’s calm gaze was unwavering, making it feel like she was looking at nothing.
When Justin noticed that, his hands suddenly shook a little. He observed that the energy in his hands was completely drained. Although she was right under him, it also felt like she was miles away at this moment.
