Chapter 4
Andrew froze for a second, his eyes widening.
Rachel’s words hit a nerve. He thought about how he used to treat Jennie and, for a moment, felt a little guilty.
But the feeling passed quickly. When he looked at Rachel again, there was only disgust in his eyes.
“Rachel!” Andrew tightened his grip on her wrist, making her flinch in pain. “It’s because Jennie has a mother like you that she’s turned into such a liar. She’s mean, rude, and always picking on other kids.
“She’s nothing like Tracy–sweet and well–behaved. And you think she deserves gifts from me?”
Right on cue, Yedda and Tracy stepped up and stood close to Andrew like they owned the place.
“Andrew, don’t be mad at Rachel,” Yedda said gently, though she clearly wanted to stir things up. “It’s no big deal. Tracy already forgave Jennie. Kids fight sometimes.”
Andrew shoved Rachel away with a look of disgust. Then, when he turned to Yedda and Tracy, his face softened.
JIf you can’t raise her right, just give Jennie to Yedda. You two don’t need to see each other again,” he said coldly to Rachel, with no room
for argument.
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ཇོ་ཇ་ཇ༅་ཕོ་ཁྭ་རིི་
Rachel stumbled back, almost falling. But instead of breaking down, she sneered. “What a good decision. Tell Yedda to kill herself then.”
Andrew’s face twisted with fury. He reached out and grabbed Rachel by the throat, making her groan in pain.
“Rachel!” he growled through clenched teeth, his grip tight enough to choke her.
“No! Daddy, I don’t want Mommy to die!” Tracy burst into tears and ran into Yedda’s arms.
Andrew turned right away to comfort her, his voice and touch suddenly soft and gentle–like he hadn’t just tried to strangle someone.
Rachel collapsed to the floor, weak and heartbroken. Watching that scene, her chest ached like it had been torn open.
She thought about Jennie–how all she ever wanted was a little love and attention from her dad. But every time, Andrew twisted it into something ugly, accusing her of being fake or selfish.
It turned out that Andrew did know how to love a child. He just never gave Jennie the chance.
All Rachel felt now was sorrow–for Jennie.
“Apologize to Yedda,” Andrew said, turning back to her with a hateful glare. The way he looked at her–it was like she was filth. “Apologize?” Rachel stood up, eyes red. No tears fell.
“Jennie is dead,” she said with a cold smile, looking at Andrew in the eyes. “How else is she supposed to learn, if Yedda doesn’t die?” Seeing how crazy Rachel looked, Andrew couldn’t help but think back to that night–when she first told him Jennie had died. His heart skipped a beat.
He didn’t believe Jennie was dead, thinking that urn had been fake, just part of their little act.
ཝཱ ཝཱ ཨོཾཨཱ ཚ ལྟ ཟ ཤ ད འ
“Enough!” Andrew snapped. He was completely out of patience. Rachel’s behavior was getting on his last nerve.
But Rachel didn’t back down. She stared him down with a cold smile.
“Go to hell,” she said, like it cost her nothing.
Avein popped on Andrew’s forehead. He raised his hand, ready to slap her.
But, the hit never came. Instead, Rachel caught a whiff of something sharp and clean in the air. It smelled oddly familiar.
Then came a calm, chilly voice. “Mr. Zevon, don’t you know hitting someone is against the law?”
It was Charles. He grabbed Andrew’s wrist mid–swing and pulled Rachel behind him.
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Andrew didn’t expect anyone to get in his way–especially not Charles. And not here. This guy was starting to show up way too often.
“This is a family matter. Stay out of it,” Andrew said coldly, and that strong possessiveness of his crept in again. “Rachel, come here.”
But Rachel didn’t move. Instead, she glanced sideways at Charles, feeling a little confused.
Andrew’s face darkened even more. “What’s going on between you two? Is he the reason you’re trying to divorce me now? Rachel, you’re getting real bold!”
He stepped around Charles, trying to yank her back by force. But Rachel dodged and moved away. His hand grabbed nothing.
Yedda picked the perfect moment to stir the pot. “This gentleman… he kind of looks like Jennie, doesn’t he?” she said sweetly. “Maybe there’s some connection?”
It sounded like a question—but she was clearly planting seeds of doubt about Jennie’s real father.
Jennie had suffered enough in life from ugly rumors, and Rachel wasn’t going to let people drag her through the dirt now that she was
gone.
“Shut your mouth,” Rachel snapped, glaring at Yedda. “You’re just a homewrecker. Who do you think you are to talk about my daughter?”
She stared at Yedda, voice low and sharp. “My daughter’s not like your little bastard. Would you dare announce Tracy’s real parentage to the world?”
Rachel and Andrew were still married. That made Yedda the other woman–and her child, illegitimate.
Rachel let out a mocking smile. She didn’t believe for a second that Andrew had the guts to admit Tracy was his, not in public.
After all, he only ever cared about himself.
Charles blocked Andrew again, his lips curling in the faintest smile.
“Thanks, Mr. Lopez,” Rachel said. “But next time, don’t bother.”
She turned to leave, not sparing Andrew or Yedda another glance. But Charles stepped in front of her.
“I think I’ll say a few things, since this seems to involve me,” he said calmly.
Rachel looked up, and for a second, she was frozen in place. Charles was nothing like Andrew. His eyes weren’t cold–they were deep, like staring into a black ocean. One glance, and Rachel felt like his eyes would swallow her whole.
He seemed warm and easygoing at first, but the closer she got, the more she sensed danger. That made Rachel shiver inside. She could tell Charles wasn’t a man to be trifled with.
Charles noticed her reaction, but just smiled faintly. Then he looked at Yedda.
“Miss,” he said, “I’m not sure if you have any proof for what you just said. If not, you should know that making things up like that can count as defamation. I’d be happy to send you a legal letter on Ms. Sampson’s behalf.”
Andrew stood there, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. His eyes were full of scorn and disgust.
“I…” Yedda looked like a kid who got caught doing something wrong. She turned to Andrew for help–but he wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were locked on Rachel.
Right then, Yedda saw it clear as day. Even if he hated her, Rachel still mattered to him. She still had a place in his heart.
Yedda cursed Rachel in her head. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to swallow all her anger, and said awkwardly, “I was just talking nonsense. Maybe I was wrong. Don’t take it seriously, Rachel.”
“Daddy, I think Mommy doesn’t feel well… I’m tired too. Let’s go home, okay?” Tracy tugged on Andrew’s hand, trying to smooth things
over.
Andrew snapped out of it. He looked at Yedda–her face was pale–and couldn’t ignore Tracy’s little voice. He bent down, picked Tracy up in one arm, and took Yedda’s hand with the other. “Let’s go home.”
Rachel watched Andrew and Yedda acting like a loving couple. It made her stomach turn.
Just before leaving, Andrew stopped beside Rachel. “If you don’t hand over Jennie, forget about the divorce. Rachel, my patience has
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limits. Don’t push it.”
And with that, he walked off without looking back.
But his coldness didn’t stir anything in Rachel anymore. Jennie was gone. Andrew couldn’t hurt her with threats anymore.
Rachel stood there, thin and exhausted. She felt like all the strength had drained from her body, and the world spun around her.
“Ms. Sampson?” Charles reached out to steady her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She was so slim, almost weightless, and her scent drifted through her hair–clean and soft.
Rachel blinked and stepped back quickly, gently pulling away from his touch. It was polite, distant. But Charles could still feel the lingering warmth in his palm.
“This is my card. If you decide to file for divorce, call me,” he said smoothly, handing the card over. Every move of his looked perfectly practiced–refined, composed, and just the right amount of distance.
Rachel looked down at the card. Charles was a lawyer. Before she could say anything, he’d already turned and walked away.
She watched his back for a moment, lost in thought. Then she turned around to leave too. There was no way she could go see Chloe now–not like this.
Just then, the hospital room door opened. Liam’s voice came from inside. “Rachel, you’re really gonna leave just like that?”
