Chapter 23
"Clean up this place and pour another cup of tea," ordered Sue.
After the woman left, Rachel fished her cell phone out of the kitchen sink. Unfortunately, the cell phone had been thoroughly submerged under water and could not be switched on anymore.
Rachel didn't expect Amber to have the nerve to be so reckless in the Burton Residence. However, when she recalled how Amber had just acted like a spoiled child in front of Justin, she was somewhat saddened. It wasn't because of Justin, but because she had seen Amber having her way in such a way as she grew up. Amber will get whatever she wants as long as she acts like a spoiled child before the people around her. On the contrary, I... Never mind, everyone has their own destiny, she thought to herself. After putting her cell phone away, she gathered the porcelain shards and threw them into the garbage can without saying a word. Then, she dished up the desserts again, made the tea, and brought them to the living room.
At this moment, the servants had treated the wound on Amber's hand. In reality, her injury wasn't serious. It was merely a small cut made by the porcelain shards, and it had stopped bleeding while the servant was bandaging it, but Amber's eyes were still teary. "It hurts so much, Justin. Is the wound not bandaged properly?"
Justin held her hand and looked at it carefully. Then, he replied impassively, "It's not a big deal. If you're worried, I'll have someone take you to the hospital."
"Will the wound be infected? I might have to get a tetanus shot."
Rachel felt like laughing deep down inside upon hearing Amber's words. The woman studied medicine herself, yet she pretended to be naive and ignorant.
"Why are you still standing over there, Rachel?" Sue snapped when she suddenly noticed Rachel coming out. "Not only are you mute, but you're clumsy and oblivious as well. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and come over to apologize to Amber."
Rachel was stunned. Why should she apologize? She didn't do anything wrong. After putting down the desserts and the tea, she silently stepped to one side.
Sue refused to let her off, though. "Did you hear me telling you to apologize? Are you not only mute but also deaf?"
"Never mind, Madam Parham." Amber leaned against Justin while assuming a magnanimous demeanor. "Rachel probably didn't mean it."
Upon hearing Amber's words, Sue took her hand and replied, "You're too kind-hearted. No wonder you were hoodwinked by some heartless people. If only you were the daughter-in-law of the Burton Family."
Upon hearing her words, all the servants in the Burton Residence had a peculiar look in their eyes.
Rachel clenched her fists secretly as she felt deeply humiliated. After all, Sue's attitude toward her was the most important reason why she had no position in the Burton Family.
"It's getting late. I came back to get something, and I have to go back to the company in a while. Have a nice chat." Justin's voice interrupted their conversation as his tall figure stood up from the sofa. He then shot a glance at Rachel before saying, "Come with me."
A startled Rachel looked at Justin in surprise. Is he helping me out of this predicament?
Sue's face darkened for a moment as she watched Rachel and Justin going upstairs. She said angrily, "This mute really does have some tricks up her sleeve. She has made Justin so protective of her!" Amber thought nothing of it, though. "Justin is only doing so because he pities her, Madam Parham. If he really was protecting her, why didn't he refute your words?" In her opinion, not only was Justin not protecting Rachel, he even loathed the woman very much. Perhaps he called her upstairs at this moment to give her a dressing-down. It's her fault that I'm wounded, after all, she thought to herself. She felt incredibly smug upon recalling how attentive Justin was to her just now.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
Meanwhile, after Justin closed the door to his study, Rachel took out the pen and paper she had brought with her, wrote down a sentence, and showed it to him. 'Thank you for helping me out just now.' Justin glanced at the sentence and snorted coldly. "Helping you out? That's just your imagination."
Rachel was startled.
"What happened in the kitchen just now?"
'I didn't do anything!
"How did Amber hurt her hand if you didn't do anything? What were you two arguing about?" Justin stared coldly at Rachel with stern eyes. "Did Jefferey tell you to search my place for something again?" 'No, he didn't' Rachel hurriedly shook her head. 'Amber... She suddenly stopped before finishing the sentence in her notebook. She hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether she should complete the sentence or not.
"Keep on writing." Justin's cold and deep voice sounded from above Rachel's head as he suddenly closed in on her, causing her to mark a dot on the paper as if the tip of her pen had been filled with lead. She could only bite the bullet and continue, 'Amber told me to ask you for divorce because she wants to marry you.' This was true, and everyone in the Burton Family could tell what Amber was thinking about even if she didn't say it.
"Are you unwilling to do so?" Justin's voice sounded in her ear.
Rachel was surprised at once. For a moment, she was at a loss for a reply. This wasn't a question of whether she was unwilling to do so or not. After all, she didn't marry him in Amber's stead on her own will back then.
"What? Has Jefferey Hudson regretted it so soon?" Justin let out a cold snort. "You Hudsons really are as shameless as usual. You marry their daughters off as casually as if you're selling cabbage."
His insulting remark was harsh to the ear, but Rachel had grown used to it. What puzzled her was how he sounded like he didn't care about Amber. Instead, he seemed to loathe the Hudson Family. But if he loathed the Hudson Family, why would he insist on marrying Amber back then? Why would he be so attentive to Amber in the presence of other people?
However, Justin didn't continue his speech. He stared at her coldly and said, "I called you upstairs to tell you something."
Puzzlement showed in Rachel's eyes.
"You've been married to me for such a long time, but you have not returned to your parents' home, right?"
Rachel's heart skipped a beat when she heard the word 'home'. She carefully nodded her head, though the Hudson Family really wasn't worthy of the tender sentiments meant by the word 'home' in her opinion.
"I'm free tomorrow, so I'll accompany you back to your parents' place."
Rachel threw Justin a look of surprise. Why would he want to accompany her back to the Hudson Residence?
Justin's eyes darkened when he saw her hesitation. "What is it? Do you not want me to go back with
you?"
Rachel quickly shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't want him to go back with her; it was just that she couldn't understand why he wanted to do so.
Justin waved his hand impatiently when he saw how inarticulate Rachel was. "All right, there's nothing else. You may get out now."
Rachel nodded. When she reached the door, she heard Justin's voice from behind. "I didn't mean that you should submit to humiliation when I told you to know your place. You're the wife of the Burton Family, so think over what you should do and what you shouldn't."
Rachel paused for a moment as she was closing the door. After a long time, she nodded her head and left.
As soon as the door closed, Justin sat down behind his desk and swiped his slender finger twice across his phone's screen. After he tapped the icon of an application unavailable in the market, Amber's voice rang from the phone. She sounded very different from just now with her biting and harsh words.
In reality, Rachel's cell phone had been tapped since the first day she married into the Burton Family. Therefore, Justin knew exactly who she had talked to on the phone, what the person on the other end had said, and what had been recorded on her device. However, he was truly surprised that Rachel would record her conversation with her own younger sister. I have underestimated this mute, he thought to himself.
"You probably don't know this yet-Hans has returned to the country."
Justin's brow furrowed slightly when Amber's threatening voice sounded through his cell phone's speaker. Hans? He let out a cold snort. None of the two Hudson sisters is easy to deal with. I'd like to see for myself during the visit to the Hudson Residence what Jefferey Hudson, that old fox, is planning, he thought to himself.