Chapter 90 Beating Her at Her Own Game
What message? Rachel asked in return.
“Oh no.” Julian’s face darkened, for he heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the door.
“This is the room, Justin. I saw them heading in with my own eyes. They’re even doing this in the middle of the day! They don’t show any respect toward you at all,” the voice said. Rachel’s expression grew stern the moment she realized that the voice belonged to Amber. Their visitors jabbed on the doorbell continuously, each ‘ding dong’ followed by the next.
“Unlock the door.” Justin’s ice-cold voice sounded from behind the door.
“Sure, Mr. Burton,” Amber replied.
Right then, Rachel turned to see Julian looking as pale as a ghost. She couldn’t imagine how things would turn out if Justin saw her dressed in a robe and sharing a room with Julian.
Beep beep. The door was opened from outside. Amber was the first to cry out at the top of her voice. “I can’t believe you’re actually doing such things behind Justin’s back, Rachel!”
Justin strolled into the room with his long legs, and the look in his eyes made him look like he was about to murder someone. The scar on his face made him seem more sinister than ever.
Rachel felt a shudder down her spine. Amber, on the other hand, was pleased with herself. She had initially intended to snap a few pictures and let them be, but she happened to hear that Justin was back in town after a business trip. Therefore, she decided to change her plan and get Justin to drop by instead.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Justin.” Julian frowned.
“A misunderstanding?” Justin muttered in a hostile tone. “Give me an explanation then. What sort of misunderstanding is this?”
For some reason, Rachel felt a sense of hopelessness when she saw the look on Justin’s face. You won’t believe me regardless of what I say, right?
“I believe in my own eyes,” Justin replied flatly. The air was silent around them for a while before Amber shifted her gaze upon Rachel. “Your acts are an embarrassment to the Hudson Family. Rachel, I can’t believe you’d still do this even though Justin has been so nice to you all along.”
Nice? Rachel thought bitterly. There was a tight lump forming in her throat. He hurt me one time after another, and he left injuries all over me. He even has other women outside! He has never trusted me before. Is this what others would consider as a ‘nice’ person?
Justin’s gaze shot toward Rachel when he caught a whiff of the alcoholic scent in the air. “Were you drinking?”
No.
“No?” Justin asked again.
“Wait a second, guys.” Julian spoke up to cut Justin off before looking at Amber. “You seem really certain that Rachel and I came over to get a room. I was wondering… How did you find out about this?”
Amber’s expression stiffened immediately. “I… I had a friend that happened to pass by. My friend told me about this, so I immediately gave Justin a phone call.”
“Your friend? Does this person look like your friend?” Julian pulled his phone out and played the footage he had obtained from the hotel lobby. An hour ago, a man in a raincoat was seen carrying Rachel out of the car. The man brought Rachel all the way up to the hotel room, and soon enough, Amber was seen rushing up behind them.
Rachel’s expression fell when she realized what had happened. She realized that Amber was the one who had knocked her out, and also the one who brought her over to the hotel, so she turned toward her. Why did you try to harm me?
“Who’s harming you right now?! Stop talking nonsense,” Amber replied indignantly.
“I knew something was odd even before I came here, so I obtained the CCTVs for the hotel area. It’s obvious that Rachel had been forcefully kidnapped and brought over to this place. You were the one who planned this all out,” Julian declared.
The look on Amber’s face was no longer as bright as before. “That’s not it, Julian. Rachel had a lot to drink, so I had no choice but to find her a hotel. I went downstairs to call Justin immediately after arriving here because I was hoping Justin would pick her up, but… I can’t believe Julian showed up! That’s right. Rachel must have called Julian to come over. Perhaps she’s a little more honest after drinking. I’m sure she has feelings for Julian.” Amber hastily came to that conclusion while she looked at Justin’s stone-cold expression.
“Only a woman as evil as you would have her head filled with such dirty and nasty thoughts!” Julian let out a light scoff as he glared at Amber. He didn’t bother to conceal the hatred he felt toward her. “There are so many loopholes in her story, Justin. Are you really going to believe her words?” Julian asked.
Amber was starting to get flustered. “It’s the truth! Rachel did have a lot to drink, Justin. I don’t know what is going on here.” Everyone—even Rachel—shifted their gazes toward Justin. Things couldn’t be any more obvious, so there didn’t seem to be a need for them to say anything more.
However, Justin merely threw Rachel a glance before he addressed her in a flat tone. “You should get changed and go home since you’re feeling fine now.”
Rachel froze as she couldn’t believe her ears; even Julian was rather taken aback. “Justin,” he muttered.
“I have matters to handle in the office. You can send her home since you’re here, Julian.” With that, Justin took a final stare at Rachel; there wasn’t a hint of warmth in his gaze. Rachel felt as if someone had poured a bucketful of cold water on her head as she watched Justin leave.
Amber was extremely pleased with that outcome at that point. “Wait up, Justin!” she cried as she went after him. Their voices gradually disappeared down the corridor.
“Are you okay, Rachel?” Julian asked.
Rachel tugged her lips into a bitter smirk. I’m fine, thanks.
Julian clenched his fists in anger. He felt extremely sorry for Rachel then.
…
Rachel didn’t return home to the Burton Residence that night. Instead, she paid her grandmother a visit. The wide smile on Nancy’s face refused to leave after she found out that Rachel was there to visit. “I had a feeling that you’d come back today. I only thought about it for a while earlier, and here you are now!” Nancy said with a smile. “Are you the only one here?” Nancy glanced over her shoulder. “Didn’t you bring that man?”
At that moment, Rachel stuffed her head into Nancy’s chest in order to conceal the tears gathering in her eyes.
“Aw, what’s this? You’re a grown woman. Do you still want to act all childish in front of me?” The old lady only recognized that something was odd when she noticed that Rachel’s shoulders were trembling. Nancy still had her hands stained with flour from making dumplings. “What is it, Rachel? Did someone bully you?” Nancy asked.
Rachel finally burst into tears after she heard her grandmother’s concerned and loving tone. She felt sorry for herself. After getting married into the Burton Family, Rachel hadn’t been concerned even when they shot her cold glares. She didn’t even feel too sad when Tina slapped her in public, or when everyone gave her judgemental stares. She wasn’t even troubled by the fact that Amber had tried to frame her. However, for some reason, Rachel felt as if her insides were filled with sorrow after she saw how cold and heartless Justin was toward her. That was when she lost control of her emotions.
Rachel nearly passed out after crying for a long while. Nancy had to pat the younger girl’s back and wait until she was done crying before pouring a glass of water for her. “Tell me about it, Rachel. Who was the one who bullied you? Was it Justin?”
No. I’m just really stressed out at work. Rachel made a sign while letting out a sob.
“You’re still trying to lie to me at this point, huh? I watched you grow up. Don’t you think I know the sort of person you are?” Rachel had always been an obedient and thoughtful child, and she had been independent and strong-willed since she was young. So, how could her job stress get her to cry so badly?
I’m really fine, Grandma. Let me help you with those dumplings. With that, Rachel brushed her tears off before she walked toward the kitchen. It was clear that she wasn’t going to tell Nancy about anything.
