“Didn’t they say that the boss’ ex-wife passed away?” someone muttered.
“Well, she’s well and alive, isn’t she? I heard she’s the new sales director in the company,” someone else said.
“You mean Chris, the person that our boss hired at a high rate from another country?” another person asked.
“Gosh, are they rekindling old flames?” A series of voices came from the office. For some reason, the words ‘rekindling old flames’ rang loud in Amber’s ears. She dug her fingernails into her palms as she clenched her fists, and her gaze dimmed as she thought about Rachel. So, this is the reason you’re back. You keep saying that you aren’t interested in Justin, that you don’t want anything, but the truth is that you’ve been carefully scheming this all along. You planted your seeds five years ago, and you got that brat to take care of it for you.
The surroundings seemed to turn silent as everyone stiffened up and greeted the person who arrived. “President Burton.”
“Why are you guys huddled at the front entrance? Don’t you guys have work?” Frankie barked. Everyone scurried away and scattered off after that.
“What are you doing here?” Justin asked. He saw Rachel the moment he stepped in.
“Daddy!” Before Rachel could say anything, Justin felt someone clinging onto his leg. Charlotte began to wail at him. “Mommy’s here to save me. I would’ve gotten hit if Mommy hadn’t come to my rescue!”
“You got hit?” Justin immediately knelt down and held onto Charlotte to look for any injuries. “What happened?”
Rachel knitted her brows as her gaze turned cold. “It was all thanks to your fiancée, of course.”
“Don’t you dare accuse me!” The look on Amber’s face was one that was twisted with indignance. “Ignore her nonsense, Justin. I didn’t do anything. I just came here to bring you soup, and Charlotte said that she wanted some, but she was the one who intentionally overturned the bowl of soup!! would’ve been burnt if I hadn’t dodged the hot liquid.”
Rachel felt her heart sinking as she looked toward the office table from the corner of her eyes-the soupy mess was still there. Justin heaved a sigh of relief once he checked and ensured that Charlotte wasn’t injured. “What happened, Charlotte?” he asked.
The young girl rubbed her eyes as she snuggled into Justin’s arms. “The soup was really hot, and I couldn’t hold onto it when Aunt Amber handed it to me. That’s why I dropped it. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“How dare you say that it wasn’t on purpose? Would you have spilled the whole flask of soup if you hadn’t done it intentionally?” Amber hissed.
“I really didn’t do it on purpose. Daddy, Aunt Amber tried to hit me,” Charlotte wailed.
“How dare you complain when you were the one who was at fault!” Amber cried.
Rachel couldn’t stand it any longer. “Let’s not talk about how the soup was spilled for now. I witnessed you attempting to hit her with my own eyes, so how are you going to deny that?”
Justin frowned as he shot Amber a cold glare. She felt herself growing anxious. “I didn’t lay a finger on the girl at all! You can’t just listen to her side of the story, Justin. She’s obviously back to get revenge on me!”
“Why does she need to get revenge?” Justin held onto Charlotte’s hand, his lanky shadow extending across the ground.
Amber gritted her teeth. “Well, because she’s Charlotte’s birth mother! She’s jealous of me because I took the spot that was supposed to belong to her. Can’t you tell, Justin? She’s using her child to gain your sympathy!”
“My mommy isn’t using me at all!” Charlotte clung onto Justin’s arm. “I came alone today, Daddy. Mommy didn’t know anything. Aunt Amber is lying! She told me that she would treat me worse once she gets married to you, and she warned me to stay in line!”
“I never said that, Justin. Trust me!” Amber cried.
“That’s enough.” A look of annoyance flashed across Justin’s face. “You don’t need to send food to the company in the future. My assistant can handle that.”
Amber’s face turned pale. “Justin, I…”
“I have other work to do. You should leave now,” Justin muttered. Amber couldn’t say much else to his heartless words. Just as Amber was about to walk out of the building, Charlotte rolled her eyes at the woman.
“Speak up. What happened?” Justin let go of Charlotte’s hand and sat down behind the coffee table as he stared at the woman and girl before his eyes. The two females couldn’t help but feel rather frightened-it was almost as if they were being questioned in court.
“What do you want us to say, Daddy?” Charlotte was starting to feel rather self-conscious.
“What else? Tell me about your lie earlier. Was the spillage really an accident?” he uttered.
Rachel’s heart sank as she looked at Charlotte confusedly. “Were you actually lying, Charlotte?”
“I didn’t lie, Mommy!” Charlotte shook her head frantically. Rachel then lowered herself and held the young girl’s hand. “I’ll trust you no matter what you say, Charlotte. But I also want you to know that it’s bad for kids to lie to others.”
“Mommy… Hug me.” Charlotte sobbed and waddled forward for a hug, but Rachel gently stopped the girl as she spoke in a soft but firm voice. “Let’s clear things up first, Charlotte. Crying and whining isn’t going to solve all your problems.”
After a moment of silence, Charlotte finally spoke up meekly. “She was the one who said that she’d get married to Daddy. She warned me to be obedient and said that she would be bad to me otherwise.”
“Was that why you spilled the soup on purpose?” Rachel narrowed her brows. Charlotte hung her head low, and her silence had provided the adults with an answer. Rachel sighed; she didn’t blame the young girl. “Charlotte’s still a child. It’s normal for her to act in a more immature manner. I think it’s good that she’s willing to admit her faults, and this incident wasn’t entirely her fault anyway. Please don’t blame her for this,” she said as she turned to the man behind the coffee table.
“Since when did I say I was blaming her?” Justin shot her a stern expression. Rachel froze as she looked at him dumbfoundedly. At the same time, Charlotte lifted her head to look at her as well. “Why would Daddy blame me, Mommy?”
“If I were to criticize her for such matters, I wouldn’t have the time to do anything else in my day,” Justin muttered. Ever since Charlotte learned how to speak, she had been especially hostile toward all the women around Justin. She had practically used all the possible ways of throwing tantrums and kicking up fusses with other women, and Justin had witnessed them all. The incident with Amber earlier was a common occurrence; it was no big deal.
Right then, Rachel tugged her lips to form an awkward smile as she glanced at both father and daughter. “… I guess I was overreacting then, huh?” So, the two of them were merely putting on a show earlier? It looks like Amber’s the one who was fooled by this.
“However, you’re the first one that got her to admit her faults,” Justin added. Charlotte had been a mischievous girl since she was younger, and she got into a lot of trouble. On top of that, she often refused to admit her mistakes, and she was incredibly stubborn. Yet, she turned into an obedient little kitten in front of Rachel, and she spat the truth out after Rachel told her to do so. “That’s because what Mommy said made a lot of sense.” Charlotte giggled as she wrapped her arms around Rachel’s neck. Smooch! She planted a huge kiss on her mother’s cheek.
Justin seemed rather displeased to see the both of them being so close to each other. “What are you doing here, anyway? You haven’t told me anything.”
His words came as a surprise to Rachel. “Weren’t you the one who told me to come?”
“I told you to come?” he asked.
“Didn’t you?” she asked.
The both of them shifted their gazes to Charlotte at the same time. Charlotte immediately grabbed Rachel’s arm as she changed the topic. “I’m starving, Mommy, Daddy. What are we having for lunch?” The young girl’s attitude cleared things up for them they all knew who the culprit was.
