Justin was startled. Rachel and he were both well aware of the situation they would face once they returned from Enistan.
She killed Dillon. With that, both Rachel and Justin had put themselves at odds with S, the largest international smuggling organization controlled by the Porter Family. As a result, they knew for sure that both of them would be hunted by S.
“As long as Rae leaves with me, the Yatruinia royalty will protect her. No one will ever dare to touch her,” Lionel said.
After a few moments of silence, Justin responded, “She will not leave with you, and I will not persuade her to do so either. I suppose you’ve heard about the smuggling case last year. I didn’t understand what Rae was doing at first and I, too, assumed that she was risking her life and doing the same thing Jefferey had done all because of Hudson Pharmaceuticals. But when I arrived in Enistan, I realized what she was actually doing.”
He didn’t say it explicitly, but they both knew what he meant.
And that was the exact reason why Dillon hated Rachel to the core.
“Since she has decided to do such a dangerous thing, she is not someone who is fearful of death. She has her own sets of values. There are some things she wants to do, even if it means putting her life in danger.”
Lionel was displeased with what Justin said. “But the situation is different now! She needs to keep her head down for the time being!”
“For the time being? But what you meant just now was for her to stay in Yatruinia indefinitely, no?”
“That, of course, would be the best.”
“I don’t think so. She would not be happy there. As I’ve said, Rae is a resilient and faithful lady, and nothing in Yatruinia deserves both her resilience and faithfulness, at least for the time being. That is why I’m not going to persuade her to leave with you.” Then, Justin stood up and continued, “Thank you for saving my life, but I have to leave now.”
“You’re just being selfish!” Lionel yelled furiously. “Do you think you can hide it from me? I know you just want to keep Rae by your side, but you’ve already hurt her once. You should make amends for that.”
Hearing that, Justin frowned and clenched his fists. However, he left right away instead of refuting Lionel.
Justin had indeed hurt Rachel, and he had been making up to her all this while. But forcing what he thought was good on her wasn’t a way to make amends.
Meanwhile, Rachel grabbed a taxi and headed home after she left the hotel.
“Just stop at the junction, Sir.”
“Sure.”
She then alighted at the entrance of her neighborhood. Just as she was about to close the car door, the driver shouted to her, “Hey, you haven’t paid yet.”
Hearing that, she subconsciously reached into her pockets, but she couldn’t find her phone or any cash.
“I’m sorry; I did not have my phone with me. I’ll get it right now. Please wait for me.”
“What if you did not return? Wouldn’t I be waiting in vain then?”
“That’s impossible. My house is right here.”
“Don’t you have any family or friends? Ask them to come over using the phone in the guardhouse.”
The driver grumbled with his lips pursed as he looked at the guardhouse which was quite a distance away. He appeared to be treating Rachel as someone reneging on the payment and mumbled, “I’ve seen a lot of people like you who ran away as soon as they got out of the car. Just a small amount of fare, but you still want to take advantage…”
Just as Rachel was feeling awkward and unsure of what to do, a female voice echoed from behind. “What are you saying? Isn’t it just some fare? Take this!”
And a stack of cash was handed to him.
The lady spoke arrogantly while glaring at the driver, “This should be enough! There is no need for change!”
“Yes, it’s enough,” the man replied, elated.
“Buzz off now!”
He then quickly drove away, leaving an unpleasant engine odor.
Regina waved her hand in front of her nose as she was disgusted with the smell. Then, she turned around to face Rachel. “Rachel, are you alright?”
However, Rachel merely frowned at that. “You followed me, right?”
“I did not! I can swear to that,” Regina replied with a swearing gesture of her fingers. “I was shouting for you at the hotel’s entrance, but you didn’t hear me. Hence, I can only follow you here to hand you this.”
Looking at the phone that Regina handed, Rachel loosened her fists, which had been tightly clenched earlier.
“Thank you.” She uttered these two words before turning around and walking toward her house.
“Why are you walking so fast, Rachel? Wait for me.”
“Why are you following me?”
“Since I’m already here, please invite me to your house.”
“What do you want?”
Rachel’s steps came to a halt in front of her house and she looked with dissatisfaction at the young lady in front of her, as well as the few strong bodyguards behind Regina. “What exactly do you all want?”
“Rachel, my dear sister, are you angry?”
“I am not your sister.”
Regina’s smile froze the second she heard Rachel’s words. Looking at Regina’s awkward and aggrieved expression, Rachel felt sorry for her.
Rachel was never someone with a stone cold heart. Though she couldn’t accept Lionel’s sudden appearance, not to mention Regina, a sister from nowhere, she knew it wasn’t Regina’s fault.
“I did not mean anything bad. With your special identity, you should not be roaming around outside. Leave now,” Rachel said, her tone much gentler than before. Then, she turned around, intending to leave.
Regina immediately shouted, “Rachel, Dad has his own reasons. He only knew about your existence two years ago.”
That made Rachel freeze.
…
The apartment was exactly as it had been before Rachel and Jolly left.
Jolly’s clothes, which she randomly tossed around, were still on the sofa, though they had been neatly folded by the cleaner, who came around every now and then to tidy up the house.
There was no sign of life at all. After all, Rachel had left for quite some time, but the white roses in the vase on the table remained fresh, as if they had just been placed there.
She felt a sense of calmness when she looked at them.
After pouring Regina a cup of tea, Rachel reflexively looked at the bodyguards, who were standing on the porch. “Do they want some drinks?”
To that, Regina simply waved her hand casually and replied, “You don’t have to be bothered about them. I’ve only seen such a place on television, Rachel. This is amazing.”
She then looked around, as if she was in a museum. “Where’s the living room?”
“The place you’re having tea with me right now is the living room.”
Rachel found it difficult to explain to this royal princess that commoners lived in such places, and her place was already on the higher end as compared with the others. Even if she tried, Regina would not understand it.
Hence, she cut to the chase. “What do you mean when you say he only found out about me two years ago?” Rachel would not have invited Regina to her apartment if it hadn’t been for this.
“Someone had previously hidden this from him. He always assumed your mother died a long time ago and had no idea you existed.” Regina regained her serious composure and responded.
“Someone hid my existence from him?” Rachel had no idea what this meant.
“My mom was the one who hid your existence.” Regina felt a tinge of guilt when her mother was mentioned, and her tone softened. “She only told Dad two years ago about what happened some twenty years back, and only then did he know that he has another daughter.”
Hearing that, Rachel clenched her fists tightly.
Perhaps that explained why he did not look for her all these years, but she still could not understand him.
“What about more than twenty years ago? Why did he leave Riverdale? Everyone thought he was dead, but he was actually living a good life in another country, raising his family…”
