Rachel was in shock as she clenched her fists. Then, Ryan’s voice resonated from the table as he wore a mere smile and asked, “President Hudson is going to vote for President Peters too, right?”
She just had a deal with President Sanchez. If she embarrassed the host now, how could she continue with the collaboration? Certainly, Ryan did this on purpose to land her in a difficult position.
She immediately recalled Jolly’s comment about him-he never did things without a purpose. How could he be so kind to help Rachel pull strings and save the ruptured capital chain of Hudson Pharmaceuticals? This was obviously a trap that he set up with Julian for her. It went without saying how many of the Chamber of Commerce’s members here were bribed, as well as how many of them had their weaknesses in Julian’s hand.
“I don’t feel so well. I should head back first.” Rachel stood up all of a sudden without batting an eyelid at the surprised expressions of the others and she left right after saying so.
“Sorry, everyone. You guys should continue while I go after her.” Julian followed behind the woman. With the thought of staying out of trouble, she rushed out of the place but was stopped by him. “Rachel.”
Rachel bluntly swung his hand off. “I really have something to do. Jolly is waiting for me outside.” “Are you holding up your guard against me? Do you think I’d do anything to you?”
“I wasn’t before this; I was simply being cautious of Ryan. I didn’t think that I’d need to be guarded against you now, though.” She had a complicated look on her face. “I don’t understand how you ended up like this, Julian.”
“How did I end up?” When she heard that, she just gave him a gaze without saying anything. At this moment, Julian looked at her calmly and said, “I’ll say it for you if you don’t want to. I’ve become a greedy, despicable, and avaricious person that you despise and scorn.”
Rachel could feel her brows ticking. Even when she had some of those thoughts, she would keep them to herself and wouldn’t really comment on a person in this way since her mannerisms didn’t allow her to do so. However, she didn’t feel delighted at all when he said it out loud. She just felt worse. “You don’t have to do this, Julian.”
“Why not?” Julian looked at her. “If I don’t do this, would I be able to hold onto my status in the Burton Group? Do you know that since the day I received the will, there’s been no turning back for me anymore?”
Jason had committed adultery with Julian’s mother and made him into an illegitimate child. In fact, they even drugged Arthur and killed him. “Do you think that I don’t know how they talked about me in private despite not saying it in front of me? In their eyes, I’ll forever be an illegitimate child who appeared out of nowhere.”
“You can just ignore what they say.” “Then, what? Ignore them and continue to be a mediocre surgeon? Should I just pretend I never heard all those rumors?” He was getting hot- tempered all of a sudden. It was probably because he had drunk a few glasses of wine, and there was a trace of him being drunk on his face.
He stared at Rachel and sadded, “I want to replace Justin completely. Not only that, I want to outperform him and have a higher status than him so that those people who hold grudges against me wouldn’t dare to say a word in front of me anymore!”
When she heard that, she had mixed feelings. Rachel looked at the man in front of her, her gaze turning pitiful. “If that’s really what you want, I’m not in the place to interfere with you either.” She turned around and left right after she said that.
“Wait.” Julian stopped her. “Who are you going to vote for during the election?” “I’ll vote for whoever is fit for the position.”
“Justin? Just say it. He’s the most suitable candidate in your eyes, isn’t he?” Julian was becoming clear-headed. He then said coldly, “However, you’ve seen it with your own eyes too. Half of the people who are going to vote are here today, and the result is already obvious.”
Then, he continued, “I purposely invited President Sanchez here when I heard that Hudson Pharmaceuticals was in trouble. Rachel, I told you that I’d help you out. I will never go back on my word.”
Rachel took a deep breath upon hearing that. “Had you not become who you are now, I would’ve happily accepted your favor. However, I don’t dare accept anything from you anymore when you’re like this. People should keep to their boundaries, Julian. Where’s yours? Where’s your boundary?” After leaving that sentence in the air, she gave him a stare and left.
As Julian saw her figure disappearing from the elevator, he turned around and landed a punch on the wall with a ghastly expression on his face. At this moment, a tall figure slowly approached him from behind. “Are you okay?”
When Julian heard the voice, he raised his head and saw Ryan. “I’m fine.” “Do you still need President Sanchez to keep in touch with Hudson Pharmaceuticals?”
“There’s no need for that. Julian had a gloomy look. “Let her suffer a little. Only then she’ll know that no one can help her except me.”
Ryan didn’t express his opinion as he looked at the elevator far away and raised his brows. “Well, just don’t regret it later. Not everything needs to be honed, you know.”
Never underestimate a woman’s resilience. When she’s capable of solving a problem on her own, that’s when you’ll really lose her. However, it was obvious that Julian didn’t understand this right now, just like how he hadn’t back then, On the other hand, Rachel left the hotel. As soon as she entered the car, Jolly jumped up from the reclined seat. “Why are you out here: so soon? I didn’t even finish playing two rounds of my game.” “Ryan’s not the one who organized this gathering.”
“What? Who organized it, then?”
“Julian,” Rachel answered bluntly. “What the hell?” Jolly was stunned for a moment after that. “When did they come together?”
“Didn’t you say that Ryan’s someone who wouldn’t do things without a purpose? He has the voting invitation for the election this time, so Julian naturally drew him in. It’s mutually beneficial for them, so they’ll surely band together.”
“How despicable.” She was filled with indignation. “Are you okay? Did he do anything to you since he tricked you into coming here?”
“Of course I’m fine. There are so many people inside, after all.”
“I mean, did Julian say anything to you?” When Rachel heard Julian’s name, she still felt a little upset on the inside, and her voice became heavy too. “He didn’t say much. I think. he just wanted to show me how good his life is now and how many people are flattering and buttering him up. Also, he’s hoping I’d understand his actions.”
“Well, how did that turn out?” “We’re parting ways.” These concise words made Rachel ambivalent. Jolly sighed upon hearing that. “What is he doing? Why can’t he just focus on inheriting the Burton Group? Why does he need to be involved in the Riverdale Charity Foundation? Great, he’s fallen out with you again.”
“I’ve decided to vote for Justin in the election two days later.” Jolly was in total shock after hearing what Rachel said. “You’re going to do a one-eighty on Julian?” After all, many people in their circle thought that they were going to get married soon.
