As Rachel returned to the banquet hall, Julian’s voice came from behind. “Rachel, the reason you don’t want to be with me isn’t because of everything I’ve done but because Justin has never left your heart. Have you forgotten how he hurt you in the past?”
“Do you think what you’re doing now is any different from what he had done back then?” Rachel asked without looking back at him. Alas, those blinded by greed always had their heads in the cloud.
Later, the chauffeur drove Jolly and Rachel away from the grand opening, and during the ride, Jolly sighed. “How has Julian ended up like this?” “People change.” Rachel had her gaze out the window, already able to accept all the changes openly.
Perhaps everything changed from when Julian realized he would have the entire Burton Group in his hands, and it was also then that they no longer belonged in the same world. “Chris, are you sad?” Jolly asked out of the blue.
“I am,” Rachel answered. How could she not be? In the past, she had thought even if she and Julian didn’t end up marrying, they would still be comrades and even family.
At that, Jolly held Rachel’s hand. “I don’t know how I can comfort you, but I was sad too when my bestie and I went our separate ways. My mom once told me that everyone comes to this world alone and will also leave alone. Be it a friend or a loved one, they can only accompany you for a part of this journey called life. The distance might vary, but as long as the journey together is a merry one, then it’s worth it.”
“Yeah.” Rachel nodded in agreement. No matter what Julian did or would do, it couldn’t eradicate how well he had treated her in the past. That, she was well aware of. “Let’s talk about something else.” Jolly smiled.. “Victor and Gloria are getting engaged, aren’t they? Have they picked out the engagement venue?”
“Not yet. It’s still early. Gloria can only come back from her nationwide tour by the end of the year.” “Well, it’s not that early; only a few months left. Also, didn’t you tell Victor to prepare a proposal?”
“That’s the plan.” Rachel took a deep breath and forced a smile. “So many things have happened lately that I’ve thrown it to the back of my mind.”
It had been a while since Gloria left Riverdale. When Justin was caught in trouble, her manager did everything to hide it from her. Later, Gloria and her manager had a terrible fight about this matter after it was over, and even now, she was still upset.
Judging from this situation, Victor deemed it a good time to propose. Later in the evening, Rachel ran into Justin at the school gates when she came to pick the kids up.
“Huh? It’s not a Friday today.” Rachel checked her phone in surprise. “What are you doing here?” “Frankie said you’re attending an event at Westhill. I thought you’d be occupied.”
“Well, as occupied as I am, I can’t just leave the kids in school, can I?” At that, Rachel coughed with a guilty conscience. “Even then, it’s sporadic. Also, their homeroom teacher’s Victor. It won’t be too much of a problem for him to take care of the kids every now and then, either.”
Justin smiled in response. “I’m not blaming you in any way. I don’t have anything better to do, so if you ever can’t make it in time, I can come and take them for a snack or something before sending them back to your place at night.”
“But won’t it be too much trouble for you?” So be it if it was just Charlotte, but there was Samuel as well, and the two had no relations at all. “No trouble at all. I have all the time in the world.”
At that, a thought came to Rachel. “I heard from Frankie that the chairman of Riverdale Charity Foundation came to see you in person, and a few times at that. But you turned him down every time?”
Justin was an influential figure in Riverdale to some extent, so he had always served as the charity foundation’s vice-chairman. However, because of the Jessica scandal, Riverdale Charity Foundation kicked him out. Now that the truth had come to light, the chairman came to apologize in person, which Rachel thought was already considerably sincere.
Too bad Justin kept his doors shut. “I should just be a loafer. Besides, my position in the charity foundation was just nominal; I barely did anything. So why not let someone else take on the role.”
“Honestly, I think you can think it over. I heard the Riverdale Charity Foundation manages all of Riverdale’s various charity foundations, and it can benefit many. I even heard they built a school for a group of deaf and mute children last year.”
Justin froze for a split second. What was he reminded of? Only he knew. Just then, Victor brought Charlotte and her classmates out, bringing their conversation to a halt.
Meanwhile, Charlotte was rendered. flabbergasted when she found both her parents had come. “Mommy, Daddy, why have both of you come?” The little girl threw herself at the pair after taking a long time to come to her senses.
“Are you not happy that we’ve come to pick you two up?” Rachel ruffled Charlotte’s hair. “Of course, I’m happy! Mommy, I got a gold star today!”
“Really?” This time, it was Rachel’s turn to be surprised. With how mischievous Charlotte was, she hadn’t gotten a single gold start despite having attended school for about half a year. Samuel, on the other hand, would bring one home nearly every day. There was even a box at home dedicated to his gold stars.
“Really, Mommy! Look.” With that, the little girl pulled out a crinkly gold star from her bag, leading Rachel and Justin to exchange a glance, shocked. Rachel picked her daughter up at once and praised, “That’s wonderful, Charlotte! Let’s make you sticky ribs for dinner.”
Charlotte was Justin’s biological daughter, after all, so he knew her personality far better than Rachel did. Thus, he turned to Victor. “Did a teacher really give her the star?”
“Not really, but she did win it on her own merit,” Victor answered helplessly. Stumped, Rachel asked, “What do you mean?” “Charlotte won the bet with Zack in the afternoon during gym class, so Zack gave her. his only gold star of the week,” Samuel explained. “Won it from a bet?” Rachel’s eyes widened. “She can do that, Victor?”
“We encourage the kids to use their gold stars as an exchange between themselves however they want. Provided that it’s not obtained through violence or force. You can see it as an early form of asset management for the kids.”
“Mommy, have I done wrong?” Charlotte rested her head on Rachel’s shoulder. “I didn’t snatch the gold star. He gave it to me.” Helpless, Rachel asked, “Then can I know what bet you’ve made with Zack?”
Charlotte giggled at that, announcing righteously, “I bet him our arts and crafts teacher’s panties are red, but he insists it’s black. I won!” In an instant, Rachel’s as well as the surrounding parents’ countenances became awful after Charlotte revealed what happened.
The arts and crafts teacher was a new intern, and she happened to be standing behind Victor, helping to escort the kids out. Immediately after hearing Charlotte’s words, blood drained from her face as she stared at Rachel and the gang for quite some time before running away in tears.
Oh, how difficult children could get at times. Alas, the hardship of being a teacher. Meanwhile, Rachel was mortified, and she turned to Justin. “Well, we’re not going anywhere now. I have to bring Charlotte to her teacher and apologize.”
