Him?
At first, Regina did not realize who the man Rachel was talking about was until she noticed where Rachel’s eyes were.
Justin?
“How could it be him?” Regina asked.
“I thought you knew everything?” Rachel did not want to reveal too much to her.
Since she was young, Regina was a pampered princess and had everything she ever needed and wanted. She would not be able to understand what transpired between Rachel and Justin. She would not have said with so much conviction that Justin had hurt Rachel if she did.
After he turned 13 years old, he only had eyes for Rachel. He was the one who truly never lived for himself. Even in the five years that he lost his memory, he was still living for Charlotte and the vague figure in his mind.
Justin was talking to the owner about extending their stay beside the counter of the homestay.
“Sure, no problem. It’s the off-peak season now. The rooms are empty anyways. Make yourself at home. It’s cool if you’re bored and want to change rooms too.”
“Thanks. Please also prepare our daily meals. Rae and I aren’t picky eaters. So we’ll have what you all have. As for Regina, she’ll probably be leaving in a few days. Sorry for the trouble.”
“No problem. We’re not that busy. It’s only a couple more mouths to feed.”
“Oh, right.” The owner took out a thermal bottle from under the counter. “This was what you requested in the afternoon. I’ve heated it up, so you can drink it now.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Justin went back to the restaurant with the bottle.
Rachel asked, “What’s that?”
“Milk.” Justin got a new glass and poured a cup of warm milk for her.
It was early spring but still freezing in the mountains. It was about five or six degrees lower than Riverdale, and the temperature went down to sub-zero degrees at night.
“Where’d you get it from?”
“There’s a farm in the town. So I asked the owner to get some from them.”
“Isn’t it troublesome?”
“It’s fine. You should stop drinking too much tea. Else, you won’t be able to sleep at night.”
As they were chatting, Regina looked on. It was a wonder she did not interrupt and only observed. It seemed like she understood what Rachel talked about, but she wasn’t entirely sure about it.
The night sky fell, and after dinner, the whole town grew silent. Rachel and Justin were strolling in town as the shops were about to close. The locals usually turned in early.
She rubbed her tummy and muttered, “I overate during dinner.”
He looked around. “If you feel uncomfortable, we could get some antacids at the pharmacy up front.”
“It’s alright. I just need to walk a bit more.”
She did not want to rely on medicines too much. Besides, she would rather him accompany her on walks. As they were walking, his phone suddenly rang.
“Hello?” He picked up the phone in front of her. It was a call from Frankie.
Justin slowly furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the news from the other side of the phone. “Are you sure? Is the news reliable?”
Rachel heard Frankie’s muffled voice through the phone but couldn’t determine what he had said.
“Alright. I got it. I’ll be staying in Somerset Mountain with Rae for a while. We won’t be returning to Riverdale in the meantime. You’ll have to look after the northern division.”
Frankie answered Justin and bade his goodbyes.
As Justin hung up the phone, Rachel asked, “Was it Frankie?”
“Yea, I asked him to investigate something yesterday.”
“What is it about?”
“Your father, and Yatruinia’s royalty.”
Rachel’s eyes darkened when she heard what he had said. “What did you find out?”
“Regina’s mom is called Natasha and was appointed a Countess by the Yatruinia royalty. She has a high position and works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also, she was the first female Foreign Service Officer. She’s known to be an outstanding female.”
“Really?” Rachel clenched her fists by her side.
When her biological mother, Selena, passed away on Somerset Mountain, no one came to collect her body and give her a proper burial. They only set up a cenotaph in the Hudson Family Cemetery back at Riverdale. Yet, the man she died for married another woman in a different country. So, it was not important if the woman was outstanding.
Justin continued, “Natasha died two years ago from cancer.”
“What?!” Shocked, Rachel turned and looked at Justin.
Regina had never mentioned this to her.
“Yea. Frankie did the investigation himself. It couldn’t be wrong. Natasha’s funeral wasn’t widely announced. It was done secretly within the royal family, but it’s not hard to find out about her death.”
“Two years ago?”
“Yes.”
Rachel felt a tug in her heart.
Justin knew what she was thinking about and added, “Your father also left Yatruinia two years ago and came back here.”
So, this meant that Natasha only told Lionel the truth on her deathbed that Selena was still alive and pregnant with his child. So, all these years, he was kept in the dark.
“I think there’s one more thing you need to know.” Justin did not hesitate. “After your father went missing that year. He was unconscious when Natasha took him away. He had been in a coma for ten years abroad.”
Rachel asked incredulously, “What did you say?”
“Frankie couldn’t get hold of the royal medical records, but your father wasn’t married to Natasha then. So, his records were kept by a hospital. It was true that he’s been in a coma for ten years.”
In other words, whatever happened here during those ten years, he did not know and had no way of knowing. Then, after regaining consciousness, he had to deal with muscle atrophy from lying in bed for so many years and rehabilitation. Even if he could complete that quickly, he was faced with the news that Selena had passed a long time ago.
“If my guess is right, Natasha probably really loved your father. It could be due to selfishness or other reasons that she told your dad that your mom had passed and prevented him from coming back.”
All these were uncontrollable external factors.
Technology then was not as advanced as it is now. Natasha could only get her hands on so much information because she was royalty and a foreign diplomat.
“So, he didn’t even come back to confirm the news?” Rachel countered with a question, “Knowing that your loved one has died, even if it was someone you trusted who told you the news. Shouldn’t he have made a trip to see it for himself? Even if it was to look at the tomb.”
“Rae.”
Rachel could not control her emotions. She felt her mother deserved more than this. Even if her mother had passed, Lionel should have paid a visit. Instead, he stayed abroad for so many years and cut off ties with everything here. He had not been back for 20 years, yet he wanted to make up for his regret now.
How dare he? she thought.
“Why do I need to cooperate just because he said he wanted to make it up to me? Let me put it this way. What would the situation be like if my mom didn’t die in that fire then? Huh?”
Just because of what Natasha said, Lionel accepted it and married that woman and even gave birth to a child.
Rachel was getting worked up, but Justin held onto her hand. “Rae.”
The night was cold, but his warm hands covered the back of her hand. Rachel gradually cooled down, but her eyes were still red. She took a deep breath and looked at the moon in the sky. “If Mom was still alive, what do you think she would do?”
“Maybe she would blame your dad, but if your dad were still alive, she would have been glad too.”
Nothing was more important than the life and death of a loved one. Everything else did not matter.
