Chapter 338 A Rare Moment of Peace
Night fell. By the time Justin arrived, Rachel had already been waiting inside one of the private rooms of Hotel Platinum for a while.
“Didn’t you say eight o’clock?” Justin glanced at the time. It was only 7:30 PM, so he thought he had remembered their appointment time wrongly.
She explained, “Yes, I did say eight o’clock. It’s just that I didn’t have many things to handle at the company today, so I came here directly after I finished my work.”
Those words stunned him as he couldn’t help feeling rather astonished. I even mentally prepared myself that she might renege on the meeting today. I can’t believe she came early.
“Have some tea.” She took the initiative to pour him a cup of tea. “I recall that you liked drinking the Earl Grey tea I brewed when I first entered the Hudson Family. Only by relying on this would you be nicer to me.”
Her words stunned him once more. Looking at his tea cup, he finally realized the reason for that inexplicable feeling of familiarity he experienced upon entering this room.
It has been a long time since I had this tea. He took a sip with a rather complicated expression. “It still tastes the same as before.”
He did not know whether it was because tea had a calming scent or whether it had been ages since they last met each other. Be that as it might be, both of them had calmed down considerably and it was a rare moment of peace.
“Rachel, I’m very happy that you are willing to call me out to discuss matters, but, why did you choose to meet here?” Justin looked around at the furnishings of the private room. The look in his eyes was slightly tense.
Hotel Platinum was where Rachel had met up with Dillon and his men the other day and where an accident had nearly occurred as a result.
“The incident occurred here the other day,” she elaborated. “I nearly dragged you down with me. Regardless of the circumstances, I owe you a favor. I decided to meet up here so that I can formally thank you.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I just hope that you don’t act too aggressively. It’s best if you don’t interact much with people like Jason or Dillon.”
“I will consider your suggestion now that Hudson Pharmaceuticals has stabilized.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Compared to her usual tough outward appearance but timid demeanor, Rachel looked much more at ease today.
Justin was overjoyed. “It’s great that you think that way. If anything happens to Hudson Pharmaceuticals, I will do my best to help you as Jason and the others are not walking on the right track.”
“I understand what you mean.” She acknowledged his words with a smile.
The serving staff knocked on the door. While serving the dishes, he brought out a bottle of red wine. “Miss Hudson, this is the wine you wanted. It has been prepped. Would you like to drink it now?”
Rachel raised her hand. “Serve it.”
“Okay.” The serving staff left after he finished serving the wine.
“Why did you suddenly want to drink wine?” Justin looked at the glass of red wine in front of him, his eyebrows furrowing slightly into a fine line.
She answered, “This wine was given to me by my client. I’ve been safekeeping it all this while. Today, I had the rare urge to drink with you. The first reason is to thank you for your help previously and the second is to thank you for all the care you’ve shown Charlotte over the years.”
“What happened the other day was an accident. You don’t need to be so hung up about it. There’s even less need for you to thank me for taking care of Charlotte. She is my daughter. It’s a given that I take good care of her.”
“So, are you going to drink this glass of wine?” The smile on her face greatly reduced and her voice became colder. “In the end, you still have your guard up against me. There’s actually no need for that.”
After saying that, she lifted her glass and downed its content in one go.
Justin could not stop her in time.
She turned the wine glass upside down, placed it on the table, and stood up abruptly. “I’ve finished drinking. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll be leaving.”
“Rae!” He stood up. “I have no intention of being on guard against you. Please let me finish talking.”
Her expression was sullen, cold, and indifferent.
Thus, Justin gulped the red wine down without another word. After he finished drinking, he started saying, “I simply wanted to discuss our daughter with you. I will accompany you as much as you want once we’ve finished discussing serious matters.”
Only then did Rachel sit back down. “I’m sorry. I forgot that you just had surgery and can’t take alcohol.”
“It’s nothing.” He was more concerned about the lawsuit. “The court hearing is the day after tomorrow. No matter what the outcome of the lawsuit, the victim will always be the children. I know you will never forgive me, but Charlotte is innocent. Can you bear to deal with the effect on her?”
“She is my daughter. You should be able to understand. I wish for her to grow up by my side.”
“I understand. That’s why I can send her to you any time you want to meet her.”
His words were exceptionally sincere, which resulted in the slight relaxation of her gaze.
Looking at the red wine on the table, he poured himself another glass. “You are angry with me. I know that. It’s my fault. I can use my entire life to repay you and our daughter. Please believe me just this once.”
Justin was not good with alcohol. After two glasses of wine, a red flush appeared on his face.
“We can skip the lawsuit, but I have a request. I hope you can help me with it.”
“What is your request? Please say.”
“This is a piece of land in Northlane that Hudson Pharmaceuticals bid for half a year ago. Unfortunately, the Burton Group obtained it before we could. If you are willing to transfer this piece of land to me, then I will drop the lawsuit.”
Justin was a little surprised. In his judgment, Rachel was not somebody who would give up Charlotte’s custodial rights for financial gain. Something was fishy. Even so, whether it was due to the effects of the alcohol or his guilty conscience, he couldn’t help agreeing to her request. “No problem. I can transfer that land to you. As long as you want it, I can even do it now.”
“Good. Then, sign here.” While speaking, Rachel took out a contract that she had prepared in advance and handed him a pen.
He held the pen in his hand. However, the words on the contract made no sense to him. “Where?”
She flipped the pages of the document all the way to the last page. “Here.”
Swish. Swish. With two strokes of his pen, he signed his name on the document.
As soon as he finished signing the last stroke, the last shred of patience in her eyes vanished. She put the contract away and whispered, “Don’t worry, you will surely be satisfied with the final outcome.”
“Rae, I think I had too much to drink.”
“You only had two glasses. Are you drunk?”
“A little. What was that wine?”
“It’s not wine. It’s tea.”
Before Justin lost consciousness, he vaguely heard the words ‘It’s tea’. In his dazed state, he realized that the originally demure and gentle woman now looked extremely distant and cold. Moreover, the expression of the woman separated by a long table between them was filled with indifference mixed with disgust.
The scene changed to reveal his surroundings turning into a forest.
“Run, Justin!”
“Katie, come back!”
Large licks of flames swept through the entire thatched cottage and gradually spread to the surroundings. The fire first spread to the bamboo forest, but it didn’t take long before the mountain forest caught fire after not seeing a drop of rain in a very long time. The dry and dead leaves blazed into flames. The fire soon became so hot that it scorched the very air itself.
Crackle. Pop. Crackle. The sounds of the bamboo exploding in his ears sounded like the screams of death, which made him panic.
“Katie!” Justin shouted and opened his eyes abruptly whereby his blurry vision gradually became clearer. What he was looking at turned out to be ceiling boards. The patterns were complicated, symbolizing the meaning of blooming flowers.
“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” A soft female voice suddenly came from next to him. A fair arm in the shade of snow was pressed against his chest.
The pupils in his eyes contracted abruptly before he shoved aside the unfamiliar woman in front of him and shouted coldly, “Who are you!?”
