Chapter 103: Quietly Handling It for Her
Suzanne Sullivan said, "Julian Jennings is in Portington right now, so it’s not a guaranteed win. Snatching food from a tiger’s mouth is never easy."
Tristan Sterling said coolly, "But at least it’s enough to give President Jennings a hard ti."
"I want to ask you sothing."
Tristan Sterling looked at him. "What is it?"
Suzanne Sullivan asked, "What are your true intentions for Claire?"
After a mont of contemplation, Tristan Sterling said, "Right now, I have to consider lissa. As long as she can accept Claire, that’s all that matters."
Suzanne Sullivan’s expression grew serious. "And what if lissa can’t accept Claire?"
Tristan Sterling’s gaze shifted to the window. Bright light reflected in his deep, dark eyes, which remained as unreadable as ever.
After a brief silence, Suzanne Sullivan sighed softly. "The real reason you still haven’t divorced your wife is that you want to give lissa a complete ho, isn’t it?"
’In his heart, there was probably nothing more important than his daughter.’
Tristan Sterling neither denied nor admitted it. "We’ll cross that bridge when we co to it."
「That evening.」
Rachel Royce was sitting at her computer reviewing course materials when her phone buzzed.
She reached for her phone.
When she saw the caller ID, her heart tightened. She answered the call and put the phone to her ear, hearing lissa’s voice. "Aunt Evelynn."
Hearing her daughter’s voice, Rachel Royce felt a pang of sorrow, imdiately followed by a rush of joy. "lissa," she said.
"Am I bothering you, Aunt Evelynn?"
"Not at all. Aunt Evelynn isn’t busy. What have you been up to lately, lissa?"
lissa didn’t ntion she had been sick. She just said she was afraid of disturbing Rachel’s work and that’s why she hadn’t called.
Rachel knew, however, that lissa was hiding her illness to keep her from worrying. ’My daughter really is such a good, thoughtful child,’ she thought.
Every ti she saw Stella, she couldn’t help but think of lissa. Just hearing her daughter’s voice now made her feel so much better.
lissa described all the fun she’d been having at Crestwood Resort over the past couple of days.
Rachel listened quietly, chiming in with a question here and there.
"I miss you so much, Aunt Evelynn. I want to co back to Kingsland to see you, but Daddy says it’s too hot and won’t let return yet."
Rachel replied, "It really has been too hot. You can always co back when the weather cools down. Besides, staying in an air-conditioned room for too long can make you sick."
lissa pouted.
Just then, she heard the sound of a door opening from outside.
She said hurriedly, "Aunt Evelynn, I have to go now, okay?"
Rachel humd in acknowledgnt. "Okay."
’It seed lissa had called her in secret.’
lissa put down her smartwatch, got up, and unlocked the door she had just bolted. Seeing her grandmother standing there, she called out, "Grandma."
Sylvia Shannon bent down and scooped up her granddaughter. "Why was the door locked?"
"I was calling Daddy and didn’t want to be disturbed."
’She knew her grandma liked Miss Claire and disliked Aunt Evelynn, so she couldn’t call Aunt Evelynn in front of her.’
’She had missed Aunt Evelynn so much today that she’d sent her grandma away just so she could make a secret phone call.’
Sylvia Shannon didn’t think much of it. "Your daddy will be here in a couple of days."
Rachel leaned back in her chair.
It took a long while for her heart to settle.
She got up and left the bedroom, planning to make herself a cup of warm milk.
Before she could even enter the kitchen, she heard June Jennings’s voice, "Miss Preston, this shredded chicken noodle soup is amazing!"
"If you like it, have so more."
The words had barely left June’s mouth when she looked up and saw Rachel standing in the doorway. June froze, mouth agape, suddenly unsure how to swallow the bite of braised pig’s trotter she was chewing.
She had sworn she would start her diet today.
After just one day on the custom diet plan Rachel had made for her, she couldn’t take it anymore. Her stomach was rumbling, and she couldn’t stop herself from sneaking downstairs for a snack.
As it happened, Florence Preston was in the kitchen mixing formula for Bobby.
Without a mont’s hesitation, Florence had made her sothing to eat. "You’re not fat at all. You’re cute with a little at on your bones."
Hearing that, June’s last line of defense completely crumbled.
Rachel walked over, glanced at the huge bowl of chicken noodles and the braised pig’s trotters, and said with a slight smirk, "Eating well, I see."
June laughed awkwardly. "Um, Rachel, want so?"
"If I eat it, what will you have?"
Seeing Rachel’s chilling smile, June felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. She imdiately grabbed Rachel’s hand and pleaded, "I was just so hungry! I swear, after this, I absolutely won’t do it again tomorrow."
She even raised her hand as if taking an oath.
Florence Preston chid in, "June really did eat too little today. Girls don’t need to be so thin, anyway."
Rachel sighed. "At least skip the pig’s trotter."
’She knew June would regret this tomorrow,’ she thought.
June imdiately pushed the plate of pig’s trotters far away.
Florence smiled helplessly and asked Rachel, "Are you hungry, Rachel? Would you like sothing to eat?"
Rachel nodded. "I’ll have a bowl of noodles, too. I’ll keep her company."
June imdiately shot up and pulled out a chair for her. "Have a seat, my lady."
With Rachel eating a bowl of noodles alongside her, June could finally enjoy her own al without any guilt.
「Early the next morning.」
Rachel woke June up.
When June ca downstairs and saw Peter Preston in a black tank top and shorts, his body lean and muscular, she was instantly motivated. She wanted to slap herself for not controlling her appetite last night.
She greeted him cheerfully, "Morning, Peter!"
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Peter looked at her. "Morning. Did you sleep well here last night?"
June’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "Of course! It felt just like ho."
"That’s good."
Peter turned to Rachel. "Make sure you get so good rest these next few days."
Rachel glanced at June and readily agreed. "Alright. Then I’ll count on you to look after June. Make sure she doesn’t slack off."
Peter nodded. "Alright."
June winked at Rachel gratefully, then waved goodbye. "I’ll leave Stella in your hands, then, Rachel!"
"Okay, go on."
And with that, June followed Peter out the door for a run.
After breakfast, as Rachel was leaving for work, Thomas Sterling quietly asked her, "Is June interested in Peter?"
’It’s not surprising I noticed,’ he thought. ’A tech guy like Peter would never pick up on it.’
"My brother is an amazing guy. What’s so strange about that?"
Thomas clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Talk about having a ho-field advantage!"
"Don’t you dare say anything ridiculous in front of my brother," Rachel warned.
"Am I that kind of person?"
That morning, Rachel went to the television station.
The station director had asked to see her.
The issue with her show’s suspension had been resolved. Starting next week, she would be back to hosting the Saturday night financial news program.
As for why, apparently soone from on high had made another call on her behalf—soone from the Fitzwilliam family.
The station director had finally realized it: this Evelynn’s connections were anything but ordinary. No wonder she had been so calm and composed after her show was suspended.
Rachel understood what had happened, too.
Mr. Fitzwilliam watched her show on Saturdays. He must have noticed its sudden suspension and had soone look into it. He hadn’t called her; he had simply taken care of the problem for her, quietly and behind the scenes.
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