Chapter 325 The Reason She Stays by His Side
It had been a night of a roller-coaster ride, which felt surreal to all of them. At the break of dawn, they finally arrived at the Burton Residence.
Justin took a look at the time and uttered, “You two can wash up first. The chauffeur will fetch me later. I’ll tell him to buy you breakfast. You can have some food before sleeping.”
A surprised Rachel asked, “Aren’t you going to have a rest?”
“No. My flight will take off at about 9.00AM. I have to go on a business trip for a few days.”
“What a busy man.” Jolly yawned. “I’m not going to have breakfast. I’m dead-tired. You guys can have all the food.”
Rachel was exhausted, but she wasn’t sleepy at all. Both Noah and Amber fell into the river right in front of her. As soon as she closed her eyes, she would recall those horrifying moments.
Knowing what was on her mind, Justin comforted her by saying, “Stop thinking about it. They only have themselves to blame.”
Rachel pursed her lips as consolation was the last thing she needed now. “I’m not going to have breakfast. I need a rest now.”
When she left, she staggered and almost fell to the ground. An agile Justin wanted to support her weight, but before he even touched her, the woman moved away from him. Upon seeing the aversion behind her eyes, he became startled.
Without saying anything, Rachel frowned and headed upstairs.
As Justin’s bony fingers curled inwards, all he could grasp was air, and he felt hollow in his heart.
“Daddy.”
Justin came to his senses when he heard a child’s voice from upstairs. Charlotte was clad in pajamas with strawberry patterns, and as she rubbed her eyes, she looked like she was still very sleepy.
In a sweet voice, she said, “Did you just come home, Daddy? Where’s Mommy?”
Justin replied, “She has returned to her room.”
Charlotte yawned as her chubby face turned to Rachel’s room. Still in a groggy state, she shuffled toward her mother’s room.
Upon seeing that, Justin scurried upstairs and quickly picked up the young kid before uttering in a gentle voice, “Your mommy is exhausted, Charlotte. Let her have a rest.”
“But I want to sleep with Mommy.”
“I’ll keep you company.”
Charlotte’s eyes were only half-open, as she was still sleepy. Upon hearing that, she subconsciously nodded and rested her head on her father’s shoulder, almost dozing off in his embrace.
With the young kid in his arms, Justin ambled toward her room and put her down on the bed. When he saw that she had slumbered off with stable breathing, he couldn’t help but smile.
Was she sleepwalking or something?
When he thought of the fact that he wasn’t going to see his daughter for a few days, he decided to take a seat by the bed and examine the young kid. Her gaze looked just like Rachel’s, and there seemed to be a permanent smile on her lips.
While he was doing that, he caught a glimpse of a palm-sized paper crane on the bedside table. It was supposed to be her holiday homework.
The paper crane was beautifully folded. The only problem was that it was folded from a piece of plain white paper. Moreover, there seemed to be some words written on it.
When Justin took a closer look at it, he narrowed his eyes.
At this moment, Rachel was taking a shower in the guest room’s bathroom as she let the water coming from the showerhead rain on her. As soon as she closed her eyes, she recalled the moment Amber jabbed her knife into Noah’s body as the blood splashed on her.
Amber wasn’t supposed to stay alive. If it weren’t because of Jeffery and her, all this wouldn’t have happened.
Rachel lowered her head and rubbed her fingers under the running water, but she still felt as though she could take a whiff of blood. When she opened her eyes, she became frustrated.
It wasn’t until her fingers turned pale that she stopped and turned off the running water. After putting on her pajamas, she stepped out of the bathroom and saw Justin sitting on the couch. “Why are you here?”
Justin uttered, “I’m going on a business trip for a few days, so I won’t be able to contact you during this period of time.”
Rachel frowned. “I’ll take good care of Charlotte.”
“Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”
“Have a safe trip.” She didn’t even bother to conceal her perfunctory behavior when she said that.
Instantly, Justin’s face fell. “Do you think you’ll only be at ease when I’m not around, Rachel?”
“You’re overthinking. Isn’t your flight going to take off at 9.00AM? Where’s the chauffeur?”
“Let’s get married.”
His sudden announcement caught Rachel off guard as she stopped toweling her hair and gazed at the man. “What did you just say?”
“I said let’s get married.”
“We’ve had this conversation before. I won’t consider getting married now.”
“Tell me when you’ll ever consider it and whether you’re even taking me into your consideration. Perhaps I’ve never been in your future plans, am I right?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Rachel furrowed her brows. “I’m not in the mood to talk about it now, Justin. Aren’t you going to board a plane? We’ll talk about it when you return.”
“When I return?” Justin suddenly snorted as his gaze was filled with coldness. “Will you wait for my return? When I’m back, you’ll probably have left this house with Charlotte.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Just then, Justin slammed a piece of wrinkled paper on the table and roared, “This is the real reason you’re staying by my side, Rachel!”
The contents of the paper could be seen clearly—it was a lawsuit for the child’s custody.
Rachel narrowed her eyes and gripped the towel tighter.
“Why are you silent? Explain yourself!”
“What do you want me to say?” Rachel’s gaze was so calm that she almost seemed indifferent. “Are there any reasons for me to stay in this house if not for Charlotte?”
“You’ve never told me about it!”
“What do you want me to tell you? I’m leaving with Charlotte? Or I’m ready to fight for the child’s custody? What would you say if you were me?”
Justin stared at the woman in disbelief. “Is this what’s on your mind all along? I thought you…”
He didn’t finish his words as he found what he was about to say laughable. He thought that since they had stayed in the same house for quite some time now, she would see him in a different light. With that said, he was aware that it might be difficult for her to forget the grudges between them. However, it never crossed his mind that all she wanted all along was the child’s custody.
“So, you’ve always had an ulterior motive and never been frank with me since your return.”
“Frank with you?” Rachel uttered with a disdainful sneer.
At this moment, she stared at the man with an indifferent gaze, but at the same time, she found him laughable and pitiful. He was the one who taught her not to be frank with anyone five years ago, but here he was accusing her of concealing her intentions from him now. In a slow manner, she uttered, “Do you think you’re suffering a loss, Justin? You’re still so conceited. You’ve never changed one bit.”
