Rachel, who looked perplexed, eventually uttered, “Not too late to have a wedding ceremony in the future? It’s funny how you have the nerve to say this.” Justin felt feeble, asking, “What do you think of this then?”
“The wedding ceremony has to take place. Despite the fact that both the bride and groom do not have that many relatives, they still have their friends to invite, right? Like you, me, Jolly, and Hernandez, who are quite close to them. We can even invite Gloria’s friends from the orchestra and also Victor’s schoolmates to the wedding.”
“Hmm. Well then, do you have any ideas on the wedding ceremony if we are really having one?” he asked. She then patiently explained to him about the plans of the wedding ceremony.
Rachel was a traditionalist at heart. When her grandmother was still alive, she was told by her grandmother that a wedding ceremony was a must in a marriage. Her grandmother even mentioned that she was going to walk Rachel down the aisle when Rachel was getting married. Even though her grandmother had passed away, she held her grandmother’s words close to her heart.
“The only problem now is actually just about the venue. I was going to ask them where they wanted to have it, but they decided to not have one now.”
“I’ve been thinking about this but I can’t seem to figure it out.” Rachel let out a sigh. “So, I have to come and discuss it with you.”
After all, Justin was Gloria’s only relative. “Hold on a second.” Then, he stood up and went to his study room. After a while, he returned with a heavy booklet and placed it in front of Rachel, saying, “Please take a look at this.”
“This is…” she exclaimed as she opened it. “Previously, I thought that they would want to get engaged first. So, I sought some advice on banquet planning. This summer villa has more than enough space to accommodate all the guests. It is also quite convenient for them to be picked up or dropped off. Since they mentioned that they do not want a wedding, this means that they would want to keep it as simple as possible. What do you think about this?”
Rachel flipped through that big booklet, and the more she read, the happier she became, gasping, “It’s very beautiful.”
In the booklet, there were two sets of wedding. plans-a garden wedding and a church. wedding. The summer villa was ideal for a garden wedding because it had a nice and large lawn outside the villa. The villa was also suitable for a church wedding because of its location which was near to a church.
“I think this is wonderful,” Her eyes were locked on the booklet, and she was hesitant to close them even though she had finished reading. “When did you arrange this? You should’ve told us.”
“Well, I had plenty of free time.” Rachel let out a sigh of relief. “I was just thinking, if you don’t take this matter seriously. as well, how am I supposed to plan for the rest of this wedding ceremony?”
“So, do you feel better now?” Justin asked.
“Yes, I feel better now.” All of a sudden, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation. “Sir, do you want to have dinner now or later?’ Justin’s butler, Franco, inquired.
Hearing this, Justin and Rachel both looked at their watches at the same time. Without them even noticing, it was already past 6.00PM. The sun had set, and it was getting dark outside.
“I’ll leave now,” she said. “Miss Hudson, are you not staying for dinner? Sir had instructed the chef to prepare extra dishes,” Franco asked curiously. She was a little taken aback. Hearing the question, Justin frowned as he shot a glance at Franco.
Justin did tell the chef to make a few extra dishes in case Rachel stayed for dinner. However, the way Franco phrased it made it sound as if they were forcing her to stay. But what was said could never be easily undone.
“I have a new chef. He’s only been here two days, so I asked him to prepare a few more dishes for the taste test. He’s already been making extra dishes since the past few days, not just today. Do you want to try the dishes. together if you have time? You can give your opinion on those foods.”
“No, it’s getting late. I’ll come by on Friday and bring Charlotte and Samuel over. They’ll be delighted to be your taste testers, Rachel rejected as she looked at the sky outside which was getting darker.
When Justin heard her rejection, he nodded slightly. Disappointment flashing across his face as he lowered his head.
After she left, Franco couldn’t help but wonder, “Sir, you obviously wanted Miss Hudson to stay for dinner. Why did you ask her if she wanted to taste test those dishes? Women love blatant favoritism. She certainly would be mad at you if you acted like that. So, why would she stay?”
Justin didn’t make any explanations; rather, he simply said, ‘Please make an appointment with the banquet planner tomorrow.”
Franco had no idea what had happened between Justin and Rachel in the past. He could never understand why the more Justin expressed his favoritism and love for her, the more she would try to stay away from Justin.
As he watched Justin leave, he scratched his head, puzzled. Was it because the so-called charm of a mature man always had to be so enigmatic?
His charm, however, was pointless because he was still single after all. He couldn’t even. persuade his ex-wife to join him for dinner! Very soon, Friday afternoon arrived. The charitable foundation’s election began as scheduled.
Jolly and Rachel were both dressed formally when they arrived at the venue. “My father said he will vote for Justin, but I don’t see much hope.”
Julian has been busy socializing for the past two weeks, and he has contacted almost 99 percent of the people who attended the election today. He tried to convince them to vote for him by telling them that once he takes over the foundation, the reputation of their companies would definitely be boosted in the market. He painted a rosy picture of it. I believe that the vast majority of these people will vote for him,” Jolly whispered to Rachel from their seats.
Julian’s strength, according to my father, is that he didn’t do anything himself. Instead, he let Robin handle the matters. Therefore, even if the means that they used are deplorable, he will still have a scapegoat when something goes down in the future.”
“How did I not realize Julian is so cunning?”. Jolly grumbled, adding, “If I had known, we would have canvassed for Justin. My father said there might be chances of success if we do it a week earlier.”
“We’ve done our best. Let’s leave the rest to fate, Rachel replied with a frown. She would not assist Justin in canvassing votes even if it was a week earlier. She backed him up just to bolster her position. The initial goal of the charitable foundation was not to raise funds, but to help those underprivileged. Julian presented everyone a rosy picture of how the future would be if they voted for him. If those people listened, the foundation would be doomed, and she would definitely quit the foundation.
A voice came from the microphone out of the blue to remind everyone to maintain order, and it was followed by an opening speech by the foundation’s director.
“After our thorough evaluation, three candidates who are suitable to lead our foundation have finally been selected.”
They were introduced one by one, and the crowd gave a thunderous applause. During Julian’s introduction, the host mentioned that he was previously the resident doctor of Tran-Q, and Rachel froze for a moment upon hearing this. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she saw the familiar back in the front row. “Next, let us welcome all candidates running for the election to give their speeches.”
A figure walked up the stairs unhurriedly, it was in a different manner than in the past. Her brows furrowed tightly. She could only hear Jolly’s voice summarizing Julian’s speech, “His. speech revolves around the foundation’s charitable measures, and he acquitted himself well. It’s very easy to be duped by his words if it weren’t for my father, who knows about the inside story”
“I believe I will fully fulfill the role of the foundation in giving back to society and promoting social welfare to benefit more people in need, Julian said into the microphone. Following his speech, tumultuous applause erupted.
