Amber said, “Charlotte, your mother doesn’t even know you’re allergic to honey. You were almost killed. Of course your daddy can’t let her take you.”
Charlotte was paling from anger, and she clenched her fists.
But then, someone said, “Ah, talking behind my back the moment I turn around, huh? Looks like you’ve been polishing your skills, my dear Amber.”
Amber froze up. A moment later, Rachel came in proudly.
“Mommy!” Charlotte was excited to see her.
“Hi, Charlotte.” Rachel ignored Justin and Amber. “Brought you some soup.” She put the thermos on the table. “Make sure you finish it.”
“Yeah, I will!”
“Here, I’ll help you,” Rachel said.
Just then, Justin could smell a faint stench of alcohol coming off from her, and he frowned. Before she could open the thermos, he dragged her out of the ward. “Are you drunk? Who told you you can come here?”
Rachel staggered backward, almost falling down. “Hey, you asked me to meet up with the foreigners.” She broke free of his grasp. Rachel looked drunk, but she could answer calmly, “And I did. Been two hours since I sobered up. I know I’m fine, so I came to see my daughter. Any problem with that?”
“You’re obviously drunk. You think you can see her in that state?” Amber mocked. “Or did you forget that Charlotte’s in the hospital because of the honey cookies you gave her?”
That only served to anger Justin further.
Amber continued, “Rachel, you abandoned your child years ago. But now you just swoop in and try to take Charlotte away like nobody’s business. What are you trying to do?”
“She’s my daughter. I can take her with me if I want to, and you can do nothing about it.”
“Is that so? I’m Justin’s fiancée.” Amber huddled closer to Justin. “I’ve been doing my best to take care of Charlotte. At least I know she’s allergic to honey, unlike you.”
Suddenly, someone blurted behind them, “And how are you so sure Rachel doesn’t know about Charlotte’s allergy?” The voice was soft, but it echoed throughout the corridor.
Amber was petrified, and even Justin froze up.
It had been five years, but Julian was still as calm as ever. “It’s been a while, Justin, Miss Hudson.” He looked at Justin and Amber coldly.
Amber looked stiff, but she managed to ask, “Dr. Peters. What a surprise. When did you come back?”
Rachel wanted to know as well.
Julian answered with a question, “Hm? You don’t seem to welcome me, Miss Hudson.”
Amber forced a smile. “Who? Me? That’s a misunderstanding. You’re Justin’s cousin and Madam Parham’s only son. She’s been looking forward to your return for a while now.”
“Is that so? And here I thought you’re worried I might say something that’ll ruin your plans.”
“You’re such a joker, Dr. Peters. I don’t have any plans at all.” Amber was starting to get nervous. Julian knew everything about the events that happened five years ago. Justin might not believe Rachel, but Julian was his own cousin. Justin had lost his memories, so Amber was worried Julian might come back and expose her.
Justin frowned. “Why’d you come back all of a sudden?”
Julian answered, “If I don’t, you’d accuse Rachel without any proof just like you did five years ago.” He handed a file to Justin. “See for yourself.”
Justin opened the file, but after he skimmed through a few pages, he looked at Rachel in surprise. “You knew Charlotte’s allergy all along?”
“Is that so surprising? She’s my daughter after all,” Rachel answered calmly. She was still Charlotte’s mother. Even though she couldn’t get a lot of information over the last few years, she at least knew everything about her daughter’s health.
Amber shot, “So what? Doesn’t mean you wouldn’t forget about it.”
Julian looked at Amber coldly. “Rachel’s memorized Charlotte’s medical history. Do you really think she’d forget something as important as her honey allergy?”
“Hey, everything’s possible.” Amber held Justin’s arm. “You can’t trust them, Justin. They might be lying.”
Justin tensed up. “She has a point. How do I know you’re not lying?”
Julian was understandably annoyed by his cousin’s stupid question.
“Julian,” Rachel called out to him calmly. “Thanks for your help, but I think I’ll have to settle this myself.” Justin was paranoid to a fault. If Rachel didn’t tell him the pieces of the truth and piece it together for him-even though it was as easy as a ten-piece puzzle-he wouldn’t believe in this ex-wife of his, who just came out of nowhere.
“You’ll settle this?” Justin looked at her. “How?”
“Allergies only act up at least ten minutes after the food is taken. It wouldn’t have acted up that quickly if it was because of the cookies. I personally looked through the cookies’ ingredients, and there’s no honey in it. That’s why the cookies didn’t cause it.”
Justin and Julian were surprised to hear that.
Rachel continued, “Aside from the cookies, all Charlotte had that day was dinner. She had it right before we made the cookies, so the time matches.” In other words, the honey probably was in the dinner Charlotte had that day.
Amber sneered. “You’re just shifting the blame now. Who can prove it?”
To that, Rachel responded by taking out a report. “As it turns out, I asked my friend to take some samples of the dinner leftovers for analysis that day.”
She handed the report to Justin. All the ingredients used in the dinner that day were listed there, and there was honey in it.
Amber was starting to panic. “And how can you prove that this report is true? Even if it is, how can you convince us that you actually took the dinner leftovers instead of something else?”
“Now, calm down.” Rachel looked at Justin. “Keep reading.”
Justin flipped the page as she asked, and his face fell when he saw what was written on there.
“Don’t trust her, Justin. She’s just trying to shift the blame.”
Amber was still trying to mock Rachel, but Justin was already giving her a death stare. With a thwack, he hurled the report at Amber. “See for yourself!”
Amber gasped in surprise, but she was choked when she saw the transaction and purchase history on the report
