The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 156: You Should Call My Brother and Ask

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: You Should Call My Brother and Ask

Chapter 156: Give My Brother a Call

Rachel Royce made a call to Marcus Sheldon to sort out some work matters.

Then she took Melissa straight back to the Royce family home.

On the way there,

Rachel Royce chatted with Melissa.

Melissa was still pouting, grumbling, "I’m not a kid with no mommy. I have Aunt Evelynn now. Aunt Evelynn, can you be my mommy, please?"

Hearing her daughter’s plea, Rachel Royce’s heart clenched painfully, and the tip of her nose tingled as she fought back tears.

’I am your mommy. You’re not a child without a mother, and I never, ever abandoned you.’

But in the end, she held it in.

When they arrived at the Royce family home,

Florence Preston and Wendy Royce saw Rachel Royce return with a listless and dispirited Melissa and immediately grew anxious.

Florence asked worriedly, "What’s wrong? Why is Melissa so unhappy?"

Rachel, holding Melissa, said, "Dad, Mom, I’m going to take Melissa upstairs first."

The two didn’t press further. "Okay, hurry and get Melissa some rest."

Since Melissa was a frequent visitor, Rachel’s room was well-stocked with her daily necessities and her favorite stuffed bunny dolls.

Rachel stayed in the bedroom with Melissa, coaxing her to take a nap.

After Melissa fell asleep,

Rachel lay on the bed with her, holding her small body tightly. Her heart was filled with endless guilt and unbearable pain.

She lowered her head and kissed Melissa’s forehead, her voice hoarse. "Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. It’s all Mommy’s fault. Mommy really, really loves you."

She slept beside Melissa like this for a while.

When she woke up again,

Melissa was still fast asleep.

Rachel didn’t wake her, carefully lifting the covers to get out of bed and go downstairs.

Florence Preston and Wendy Royce were watching TV downstairs.

Seeing her come down, Wendy Royce asked, "Rachel, what on earth happened with Melissa?"

Rachel didn’t explain much, only saying, "She got into a conflict with another kid at kindergarten, so I brought her home early."

"How could she suddenly get into a conflict out of the blue? Is Melissa hurt anywhere?"

"No, Melissa’s fine."

"That’s good."

"..."

「That evening.」

Florence Preston personally cooked a delicious meal for Melissa.

When Melissa woke up, Rachel held her and teased her until she was happy again. Melissa’s clear, giggling laughter echoed in the bedroom, and she was back to her old self.

Rachel helped her get dressed and led her downstairs.

Upon seeing Wendy Royce, Melissa greeted him.

Seeing that Melissa was happy again, Wendy Royce felt relieved.

Melissa played with her young uncle, Bobby, who seemed to adore his little niece. He watched Melissa and giggled happily.

Infected by Bobby’s laughter, Melissa started laughing too.

The more Wendy Royce looked at his granddaughter, the fonder he grew of her, but he couldn’t help feeling a sense of lament deep down.

"How are things progressing with your divorce from Tristan Sterling?" Wendy Royce asked in a hushed voice.

Rachel replied, "It probably won’t be resolved anytime soon."

Lawyer Goodman said the court hearing would be at the end of the month, but given the current situation, the verdict definitely wouldn’t be handed down that easily.

Wendy Royce’s expression darkened.

’Melissa is a good kid, and the child is innocent, but I still don’t want my daughter to remain entangled in this painful marriage.’

’How could a cold-blooded man like Tristan Sterling possibly live a stable life with my daughter? A family like that would only cause more harm to the child. All that matters is that both of them love Melissa enough.’

Wendy Royce said, "Since he wants to drag this out, Rachel, don’t get too hung up on it. Don’t let it affect your normal life. Just focus on spending more time with Melissa."

Rachel nodded in agreement.

"Has Melissa started to suspect anything about you?" Wendy Royce asked.

Rachel shook her head gently. "She’s still too young. She doesn’t understand anything yet."

’Melissa can sense the discord between me and her father, but she doesn’t understand the complicated relationships between adults.’

’Melissa doesn’t know I’m her mother, but she wants me to be.’

「During dinner.」

Peter Preston didn’t come home.

Rachel asked, "Is Peter not coming back for dinner tonight?"

Florence Preston said, "He’s busy at the company today and has to work overtime. We don’t need to wait for him. Let’s eat."

"Okay."

Because she had napped for a long time in the afternoon,

Melissa didn’t go to sleep until ten o’clock at night.

Before bed, Melissa had a video call with Tristan Sterling.

When Rachel went downstairs to get a glass of milk, she saw that Peter Preston had just gotten home. "Peter, why are you back so late? Were you that busy today?"

Peter grunted in affirmation. "Yeah, something came up. I heard from June that Stella and Melissa got into a fight with another kid at school today. Is Melissa okay?"

June Jennings and Peter Preston had exchanged contact information and were now talking quite a lot privately.

’Although neither of them has explicitly stated their feelings,’

’Rachel could tell her brother was definitely interested in June. A tech guy like him really needed an enthusiastic and cheerful girl like June in his life.’

Rachel was quite pleased with their progress.

Rachel said, "Yes, she’s fine now. I brought Melissa home today, and by this evening, she was back to normal."

Peter nodded. "That’s good. But for someone to say a child has no mother... a kid wouldn’t come up with that on their own."

Before dinner,

Rachel had chatted with June Jennings and told her the whole story.

June had been filled with righteous indignation. "It must have been that bitch Claire Ainsworth talking trash about Melissa behind her back. How can she be so vicious? Doesn’t Tristan Sterling adore Melissa? Is he just going to let it slide after Melissa has been wronged so badly? Besides her face, what does Tristan even see in Claire? Has he lost his mind?!"

As for what Tristan Sterling would actually do, Rachel didn’t know.

However, seeing how guilty Claire Ainsworth had looked yesterday, it was clear she was truly afraid that Tristan would hold this incident with Melissa against her.

’Even if Tristan were to remarry someday, she didn’t want it to be to Claire Ainsworth.’

「The next day, it was the weekend.」

June Jennings brought Stella to the Royce family home.

The two little girls were getting along exceptionally well when they met.

June laughed and said, "Melissa and Stella now share the bond of comrades-in-arms who’ve fought together. I never thought Stella had it in her to fight; I was always afraid she’d get bullied. And Melissa seems so sweet and well-behaved, but I didn’t expect she had a temper too. Now that Stella is rolling with Melissa, I won’t have to worry about her anymore."

’Melissa was Tristan Sterling’s child, after all. How could she possibly be the type to have no temper and let others bully her?’

The two women watched the children play in the yard.

Seeing Melissa’s happy smile, Rachel’s heart warmed.

"I was going to have my brother drive me here today, but it seems like something unexpected came up at work. I think it has something to do with Cedarwood. I asked him about it, but he just said I wouldn’t understand. But you would, Rachel. You should give my brother a call and ask."

Hearing June’s words, Rachel grew worried too. Julian Jennings hadn’t mentioned anything yesterday. She took out her phone and dialed his number.

The call connected quickly. Rachel asked, "Professor, June mentioned something happened at the company. What’s going on?"