The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 178: His Attitude Grew Firmer

Chapter 178: His Stance Grew Increasingly Hardline

Rachel Royce glared at him, then walked straight past him.

She got into Lawyer Goodman’s car and left.

Tristan Sterling stood where he was, watching Rachel Royce leave. His face was devoid of emotion as he turned to his lawyer.

"President Sterling."

"We’ll talk back at the company."

"Yes, sir."

Back at Lawyer Goodman’s office.

Today’s outcome was entirely expected.

In today’s domestic divorce cases, infidelity and emotional breakdown alone weren’t sufficient grounds for the court to grant a divorce, especially now that Tristan Sterling had clearly stated his refusal to divorce.

Of course, it wasn’t a hopeless situation, but it would certainly take time.

Since it had already escalated to a financial dispute, they might as well fight for a share of Tristan Sterling’s assets in the divorce settlement.

Rachel Royce had calmed down by now and accepted the current situation.

"Alright."

After leaving the law firm.

Rachel Royce received a call from Thomas Sterling.

"Rachel, was your divorce hearing today? How did it go?"

Rachel replied, "The verdict will be announced on a later date, but it’s unlikely they’ll grant the divorce."

It was the expected outcome.

"Rachel, the more you go against my cousin, the more you’ll provoke his need for control. He’s not someone who accepts defeat. When it comes to the divorce, giving it the cold shoulder might be the best approach. Don’t argue with him about it face-to-face."

After thinking it over last night.

Rachel Royce finally understood that every argument she had with Tristan Sterling only resulted in his stance becoming more and more rigid.

Confronting Tristan Sterling head-on was, without a doubt, like throwing an egg against a rock.

"I know."

"So when are you coming back?"

"I’m already in Kingsland."

"Have you had lunch?"

「An hour later.」

Thomas Sterling and Rachel Royce had lunch together at a Chinese restaurant.

They talked about Peter Preston’s company; Ascendant had already taken the initiative to cancel their partnership, so Raymond Reynolds naturally had nothing more to say.

The partnership with the car company was basically settled. If they could secure a few more major projects, winning the valuation adjustment bet wouldn’t be a problem.

This was, at least, some good news.

After lunch.

Thomas Sterling drove Rachel Royce home to rest.

When they arrived at the Royce Family estate.

A Rolls-Royce was parked outside the gate.

Rachel Royce couldn’t help but frown.

Thomas Sterling parked the car, and the two of them entered the villa.

They happened to run into Tristan Sterling, who was walking out of the living room.

Tristan Sterling saw the two of them, his gaze landing on Rachel Royce. He said, "Melissa wanted to come back and wait for you."

Rachel glanced at him but said nothing, walking straight into the living room.

As Thomas Sterling started to follow her in.

He heard Tristan Sterling say, "Thomas."

Thomas Sterling stopped and turned to face his cousin.

Tristan Sterling’s tone was serious. "Thomas, I’m reminding you one last time: don’t waste your time and energy on something hopeless."

Thomas stared at him and asked, "Cousin, do you plan to keep stringing Rachel along like this for the rest of your life?"

Tristan said, "Even if she and I divorce, between you and Julian Jennings, who do you think she would choose?"

"Don’t forget that you will always be a Sterling."

Thomas Sterling couldn’t help but clench his fists.

There were some questions.

He didn’t want to think about them too deeply, but Tristan insisted on laying the facts bare before him, forcing him to face reality.

Thomas glared at him, a long-suppressed hatred seeping into his eyes. "If you didn’t like her, Cousin, you could have just refused back then."

Tristan met his gaze, his expression still calm. "What’s done is done. There’s no point in discussing it now. Thomas, face reality. Don’t delude yourself with fantasies."

After saying this.

Tristan strode out and drove away.

Thomas Sterling stood silently in the courtyard, his face grim, his heart growing heavier.

That night, Melissa stayed at the Royce family home.

After Melissa fell asleep that evening.

Rachel went downstairs.

Wendy Royce and Florence Preston were in the living room and saw her come down.

Wendy Royce asked, "Melissa is calling you ’Mommy.’ Have you two acknowledged each other?"

Rachel Royce explained briefly.

Wendy Royce and Florence Preston could only sigh helplessly. They saw their daughter’s pain but could do nothing about it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

’If it weren’t for the Royce Family back then, Rachel wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.’

"Rachel, it’s Dad who has wronged you." Wendy Royce’s eyes turned red.

"Dad, this isn’t your fault. I don’t regret giving birth to Melissa. This is all what I deserve."

The living room fell into a brief silence again.

"Rachel, what was the result of the hearing today?"

"The verdict will be announced later, but they definitely won’t grant the divorce."

「Two days later.」

Julian Jennings returned to Kingsland.

That evening.

Rachel Royce was dropping off some documents for him, and after they finished talking about work...

"You don’t look so well lately. Should I give you a couple of days off?" Julian Jennings said in a joking tone.

Although she had accepted the outcome, she couldn’t help but feel anxious whenever she thought about it.

Rachel Royce smiled. "If I take time off, Joanna will be the one who suffers."

Julian Jennings took two concert tickets from a drawer, slid one across to Rachel, and said, "Maybe you can go listen to some music and relax."

Rachel picked up the ticket and looked at it. "Okay."

"Do you regret coming back?" Julian Jennings suddenly asked.

Rachel paused. ’If I hadn’t come back, if I hadn’t come into contact with Tristan Sterling again, maybe getting a divorce wouldn’t be this difficult.’

But then she thought of Melissa.

’Perhaps this is the price for finally being able to acknowledge Melissa.’

She shook her head gently. "Since I made the choice, there’s no room for regret."

Julian Jennings didn’t say anything more. "Go on, get back to work. Let’s go together tonight. I’d like to relax a bit too."

Rachel Royce agreed, "Okay."

After Rachel left the office.

Julian Jennings looked at the other concert ticket, then took out his phone and opened a photo from his album.

It was a picture someone had taken at the birthday banquet.

The moment he saw that photo, he understood why Tristan Sterling had acted the way he did that day.

Rachel returned to her workstation.

She received a call from Melissa’s head teacher, who said that Melissa had barely eaten lunch and seemed very down.

Rachel knew why. Melissa wanted to go home—she wanted to live with both Rachel and Tristan—but Rachel had gently refused.

Melissa had suddenly become very upset.

When Rachel dropped her off at school that morning, Melissa’s eyes were still red from crying.

So all morning, Rachel had been worried and completely unable to focus on work.

Now, after the teacher’s call, her heart felt even heavier.

"Have you contacted Melissa’s father?" Rachel asked.

The head teacher said, "Not yet. I wanted to inform you first."

The head teacher had greeted Melissa this morning and could tell that the girl’s bad mood was related to her mother.

"I see. In that case, Teacher Chandler, could you please call Melissa’s father and explain the situation to him?"