Chapter 151: A Complete and Utter Mistake
As soon as she spoke, a brief, tense silence fell over the room.
Tristan Sterling didn’t imdiately answer Madam Fitzwilliam.
Madam Sterling spoke up. "He’s certainly not as steady or as considerate as Franklin, but now that he’s a father, he’ll naturally co to understand these things."
Madam Fitzwilliam didn’t press the matter.
After all, when it ca to Tristan Sterling’s marriage, the elders could only say so much.
Franklin Fitzwilliam clapped Tristan Sterling on the shoulder. "Co on, let’s talk for a minute."
「Upstairs.」
Rachel Royce followed Master Fitzwilliam into the study.
"This is your first ti formally joining us for a family dinner, isn’t it," Master Fitzwilliam remarked.
Rachel sat on a nearby sofa and smiled. "I’m still just an outsider, really."
Mr. Fitzwilliam asked, "You still haven’t told lissa who you are?"
Master Fitzwilliam had wanted to say sothing during dinner, but after hearing what lissa called Rachel, he ultimately held his tongue.
He couldn’t make that decision for Rachel.
Rachel’s fingers tightened into a fist. She pressed her lips together and said, "It’s not ti yet."
"You want to wait for the divorce?"
Rachel humd softly in agreent.
"Then have you thought about what you’ll do about lissa afterward?"
A knot ford in Rachel’s chest. She lowered her head, unsure how to answer. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it—she just didn’t dare to dwell on it.
’All I know is that Tristan and I can’t possibly go on together anymore.’
’We were a complete and utter mistake. Our lives intersected by mistake, and we had a child by mistake.’
’And in the end, I’ll have to spend the rest of my life paying for it.’
Seeing Rachel fall silent, Master Fitzwilliam sighed helplessly before saying indignantly, "That scoundrel Tristan Sterling is the one who’s not good enough for you."
Rachel couldn’t help but crack a smile at Mr. Fitzwilliam’s words.
Master Fitzwilliam didn’t press her further on the topic.
Instead, he asked about her work.
When it was about ti, the two of them went downstairs.
Rachel was getting ready to leave.
Master Fitzwilliam was arranging for a driver to take her ho when Thomas Sterling spoke up. "Grandfather, I can take Rachel ho. You don’t need to call a driver."
Master Fitzwilliam nodded. "Alright, then."
lissa, Nina Fitzwilliam, and her cousin weren’t around.
Rachel wanted to say goodbye to lissa.
Just then,
Tristan Sterling approached with lissa.
"Aunt Evelynn!"
lissa ran toward Rachel.
"Are you leaving, Aunt Evelynn?"
Rachel crouched down and took the little girl’s hand. "Yes, I have to go ho now."
lissa’s little lips ford a pout. "Can’t you stay and sleep with tonight, Aunt Evelynn?" she asked, her voice laced with disappointnt.
Her eyes turning red, Rachel said, "How about next ti?"
lissa looked down, puffing out her cheeks without a word. It was clear she wasn’t happy with that answer.
Rachel reached out and pulled lissa into a hug. "When you’re off school for the weekend, I’ll pick you up and bring you over to my house to play."
No one in the room said a word.
They all quietly watched the mother and daughter, who were finding it so hard to part.
Everyone knew lissa’s mother was standing right there.
Only lissa herself had no idea.
All she knew was that she really, really liked Aunt Evelynn. She wanted to sleep with her, eat with her, be with her forever. She wanted Aunt Evelynn to be her mommy.
Rachel coaxed her for a long while.
Finally, lissa nodded in agreent.
Rachel said her goodbyes only to the Fitzwilliam family, then left with Thomas Sterling.
lissa’s eyes were red.
Tristan Sterling picked her up, and lissa imdiately buried her face in her father’s shoulder, falling silent. The happy, cheerful girl from monts before had vanished, replaced by a pitiful little creature.
Master Fitzwilliam couldn’t help but shoot him a glare.
Madam and Master Sterling didn’t know what to say, their hearts aching at the sight of lissa’s sorrow.
Even so,
they were still displeased with Rachel’s earlier attitude.
Thomas Sterling drove Rachel back to Hillcrest Villa.
On the way,
Rachel was in low spirits.
Thomas Sterling knew she was thinking about lissa.
He said, "This weekend, let’s ask June Jennings and Stella to go camping with lissa."
Rachel nodded. "Okay."
「The next afternoon.」
Rachel received a call from Lawyer Goodman.
Tristan’s side had already submitted the relevant docunts. Just as expected, they had brought up the division of assets and joint custody. They also argued that the five-year separation was only because Rachel had been studying abroad, claiming it was a special circumstance that didn’t constitute grounds for divorce.
Although she had expected it,
Rachel still felt incredibly frustrated.
Lawyer Goodman warned her to be prepared for a long battle now that finances were involved. Since Tristan’s side had brought it up, she could also file for a division of their marital assets.
Hearing Lawyer Goodman’s words,
Rachel realized that Tristan was now clearly trying to drag things out.
She had no other choice.
"Then I’ll leave everything in your hands, Lawyer Goodman."
「Early Saturday morning.」
Rachel went to Silvermist Bay to pick up lissa.
Tristan Sterling reminded her, "lissa ca down with a bit of a cold last night. Be extra careful with what she eats. I’ve packed her dicine in her backpack, so make sure she takes it on ti."
Rachel took the backpack from him. Hearing lissa cough a couple of tis, she gave Tristan a nod of acknowledgnt and then left with her daughter.
lissa stuck close to Rachel for the next two days. After working up a good sweat playing outside, her cold completely disappeared.
On Wednesday morning, Rachel went to the Cedarwood Group again, primarily to follow up on their previous collaboration.
However, Tristan Sterling wasn’t in the office, so she t with the vice president and a group of senior executives as before.
What she didn’t expect was the presence of Claire Ainsworth.
Rachel’s brow furrowed the mont she saw her.
The vice president introduced her. "This is President Sterling’s new assistant, Claire Ainsworth. She’ll be taking the minutes for our eting today."
’So, Claire Ainsworth is Tristan’s assistant now.’
A scornful smile touched Rachel’s lips. "Is that so? Your President Sterling’s hiring standards have certainly dropped."
The vice president froze for a second.
Claire Ainsworth’s expression soured. She wanted to lash out, but with so many people watching, she rembered Tristan Sterling’s warning and forced herself to hold back. She retorted, "Miss Evelynn, you’re not the only competent person in the world."
"Is that so?"
The vice president watched from the sidelines. The two won were clearly at odds, but given Claire Ainsworth’s position, he didn’t dare interfere.
He could only turn to Rachel. "Miss Evelynn, shall we head into the conference room?"
The eting lasted nearly an hour.
Throughout the eting, Rachel put forth nurous sustainable and forward-thinking proposals, her language precise and exceptionally professional.
Without extensive experience and a deep well of knowledge, it would have been difficult for anyone to keep up with her train of thought.
By the end,
Claire Ainsworth’s hands hovered over her keyboard, frozen. The color had drained from her face.
Rachel watched her, took a slow sip of water, and then turned to the vice president. "Should we wait? It seems Miss Ainsworth is having trouble keeping up with the minutes."
Claire Ainsworth stared at Rachel, her knuckles white from clenching her fists.
The vice president was well aware that Rachel had done this on purpose. He shot a troubled glance at Claire Ainsworth, unsure what to do.
Just then,
the door to the conference room opened.
All eyes turned to the entrance.
They saw a man in a sharp suit walk in.
The vice president and his team imdiately rose to their feet. The two Rowan executives beside Rachel, along with her assistant Marcus Sheldon, politely stood up as well.
"President Sterling."
Claire Ainsworth, however, imdiately looked at the man with an expression of pure grievance.
Only Rachel remained seated, leaning back in her chair. She leisurely lifted her teacup for a sip, a derisive smile playing on her lips. ’He certainly has good timing,’ she thought.
Tristan Sterling’s gaze fell on her, catching her fleeting, sarcastic smile.
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