Category: My Mute Bride Novel (Rachel Hudson and Justin Burton novel)

‘Holy smokes, how exciting this is! That’s Mr. Burton’s wife! What a cheater!’
‘Speaking of which, why would Mr. Burton marry someone who’s mute? It makes no sense whatsoever.’
‘The lady’s quite the looker herself. Just how specific are her tastes for her to go after a bald teacher like him? That’s just so gross!’
Instantly, Justin read a series of stinging comments. He stood up with a whoosh before picking up his jacket and leaving the office.
Meanwhile, Frankie hastily followed him.
Oh dear, Mrs. Burton is going to be in trouble.
Justin soon drove home in his Maybach, and he immediately flung his phone at Rachel the moment he stepped inside the house.
Rachel was taking an afternoon nap when he did so, her eyes suddenly fluttering open from his actions. Her eyes were still hazy with sleep when she quickly sat up and picked up his phone. She looked at it in confusion for a few moments before opening up the link displayed on the screen. As she scrolled further down, her expression sank.
Who was the one who posted all of that online?
Many people knew about what had happened back during her high school days, but she had lived a peaceful life for so many years since then. Why was it resurfacing now?
A frosty and low voice rang out above her. “What is going on here?”
Rachel pressed her lips together tightly, and her expression could not get any more tense. She quickly scribbled out her answer on a piece of paper. ‘I don’t know what’s going on either.’
Everything was pure fiction, be it the bald teacher’s claims, the lies that she had seduced a teacher, or the other slanderous stories!
Justin still didn’t make a sound. All of a sudden, Sue came into the room with Amber in tow. She charged over furiously and pointed at Rachel’s head while tearing into her by saying, “You shameless woman! You’ve completely ruined the Burtons’ name! All those ugly past deeds of yours are plastered over the internet right now!”
Amber stood behind Sue, and a look of schadenfreude flashed across her eyes when she caught sight of Rachel’s pale face. She then feigned worry as she spoke to her. “What’s going on, Rachel? Wasn’t he your PE teacher back in high school? Why would he say such scandalous things? Is he getting revenge on you because you broke up with him years ago?”

Amber had especially emphasized those triggering words such as ‘PE teacher back in high school’ and ‘broke up’. As such, Sue immediately blew her top upon hearing that. “Even Amber knows all about it! How are you going to explain yourself now?”
Rachel turned her head to look at Amber before writing down her response. ‘You’re lying. You said that I broke up with the PE teacher. Do you swear on your conscience that you’re not lying?’
Deep down, Amber wasn’t afraid of all those lies and blind beliefs. She feigned a hurt look on her face and said, “Why are you talking to me in such a way? I’m just worried about you.”
I guess Amber is just too into her role. It’ll be a pity if she doesn’t go on to become an actress, Rachel thought to herself.
Hence, she turned around to look at Justin. When she saw how his brows were furrowed into a tight frown as he stared at her with a probing gaze, Rachel gave the situation some thought again. She then wrote on her paper, ‘I’ve never done any of this. Please believe me.’
Sue pointed a finger at Rachel’s nose. “All right, you mute—you clearly ended up like this because you gave into temptation willingly and have no respect for yourself, and you’re here playing the victim? I’m going to kick you out of the Burton Family today. We do not want women who aren’t mindful of their conduct!”
Rachel thought that she had explained everything that she needed to. It didn’t matter whether Sue believed her or not, for the important thing was that Justin believed her.
After all, only Justin had the power to help her prove her innocence!
As such, she kept her eyes on his expression.
Sue nearly keeled over from anger when she saw how Rachel ignored her, and her words turned even more caustic. “Why didn’t he name anyone else in the video? Why was it only you? Your behavior is the problem! I’d advise you not to argue anymore; this matter has already caused a huge stir, and everyone out there knows about it. Don’t blame me for being cruel either—we, the Burtons, cannot allow you to stay any longer!”
All of a sudden, she shoved Rachel forcefully.
The latter stumbled from the force of the push, and she steadied herself with much difficulty. She reflexively looked at Justin, only to see that the man’s eyes were filled with bottomless cold apathy—there was no sign of concern at all.
Rachel’s heart immediately sank into the abyss.

Meanwhile, Amber was savoring her freshly painted fingernails. She tucked her cell phone between her chin and her shoulder as she greeted, “Hi, Madam Parham.”
“It’s me, Amber. There’s something that I’d like to talk to you about.”
Amber straightened up upon hearing Sue’s words. “Please tell me about it, Madam Parham.” After listening to Sue’s words, she hung up the phone and stared blankly at a spot on the floor.
After Jefferey came back from his company, he waved his hand before her eyes. “What’s wrong with you, Amber?”
His daughter came back to her senses and grabbed his arm at once. “Dad! You must help me with the matter that I told you last time!”
Jefferey was startled for a moment before he knitted his brows. “Don’t fool around! Rachel is still of use to me in the Burton Residence, so don’t do anything foolish.”
Amber was unconvinced. “Dad, I can also help you if I win the two men’s hearts. Why must you count on Rachel, that mute? What can she do?”
Even though Jefferey doted on Amber, he was aware of her willfulness. “That’s enough, Amber. All you have to do is win Julian’s heart. It will be better if you can make him do whatever you say since that will enable my plan to be better accomplished in the future. Don’t think about everything else. Justin has a heart of stone, so you’d better not mess with him.”
Amber shook her head. “No, no, no. You’re wrong, Dad. Justin is very nice to me. He likes me, and I’m confident of making him fall in love with me. As for Julian, he’ll also be mine sooner or later—please say yes, Dad. If you get Rachel out of the Burton Residence, my plan will be halfway accomplished! Please, Dad!”

However, Jefferey didn’t want to see Amber making trouble no matter how much he doted on her. “All right, don’t say that anymore. I won’t help you with this, so you should stop having designs on Justin as soon as possible. I’ll never let him off, let alone allow you to fall in love with him. That’s impossible.”
In the end, Amber still couldn’t shake Jefferey’s determination; she glared at him from behind with a look of displeasure as he left. However, even her father couldn’t stop her when she became wayward. “I must get married to Justin by whatever means. He should have been my man! Rachel seized my husband for herself!” After that, she gritted her teeth. “Since you’re not going to help me, I’ll just do it myself, Dad!” Then, she dialed Rachel’s number.
Rachel was watering the flowers when she received a phone call from an unfamiliar number. It was not until she heard the voice on the other end that she realized it was Amber. “It’s me, Rachel.”
Rachel’s hand that was holding the watering can paused for a moment when she heard Amber’s malicious laugh over the phone. Amber then stated her purpose on her own by saying, “I won’t beat around the bush, Rachel. I want Justin, so please leave on your own initiative. Since you’re my sister, I won’t make things too difficult for you. How about that?”
Rachel simply wanted to laugh. They’re father and daughter, yet one is forcing me to stay at the Burton Residence while the other is threatening and asking me to leave instead. Does that make a fence-sitter who does whatever they want me to do? she thought to herself.
Of course, she wasn’t intimidated by Amber’s threat. Jefferey controlled her grandmother’s health, whereas Amber was only a wayward and self-centered little girl. Therefore, she hung up the phone directly without saying a word after Amber made this absurd request.
The other woman glared at her cell phone with an extremely gloomy expression, and her face was as black as thunder. Suddenly, she hit upon an idea, and the corner of her lips turned up. “You forced me to do this, Rachel!” The smile on her lips was as strangely and charmingly beautiful as a flower. Right after that, she called another person and said, “John, I want you to help me find a high school PE teacher. By whatever means, get him to come and see me.”
……
As expected, a video made it into the list of trending topics on social media by the third day. It contained a confession of a bald middle-aged man, who gave an account of how he had a relationship with a female student a few years ago when he was a teacher at a high school. Furthermore, he described a string of unscrupulous details, including how he and the female student had had sex in hotel rooms.
Rachel’s photo appeared in the lower corner of the video. After that, someone began to dox her, and netizens quickly dug up her name, her address, and her identity as an illegitimate daughter. As the incident escalated very quickly, another post titled ‘The Scandalous Story Between the Mute Wife of the Burton Group’s President and Her High School Teacher’ made it into the list of trending topics and was ranked first by the netizens.

The world spun around Rachel as she found herself being pinned down on the sofa by Justin, whose eyes were so sharp as if they could penetrate a person’s mind. “How dare you have designs on Julian, of all people? What is your purpose, to sow discord between us or to make me lose face? Or are you doing so to deliberately take revenge on Sue because of your hatred toward her?”
Rachel couldn’t move at all as Justin held her wrists in a vice-like grip. She panicked at once. What does he want to do?! she thought to herself.
Justin gently traced her brows and eyes with his thumb. “What a clear and beautiful pair of eyes you have. Unfortunately, they’re tainted with ill intentions and the filth of someone who would stop at nothing to get what she wants. How could a pretty and innocent lady exist in the Hudson Family?”
Surprisingly, his tone of voice betrayed a hint of strange hatred. Hatred? Rachel couldn’t understand where his hatred came from. She tried with all her might to break free of his grasp, and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she mouthed, “Let go of me… Let go of me…”
However, Justin grasped her so hard that it hurt her. As she thought of how she had been living in trepidation in the Burton Residence over the last few days and how he was slinging mud at her right now, all her grievances welled up inside her at once. While she struggled, the medical report issued by the hospital fell out of her pocket—it contained her grandmother’s medical history.
Justin picked up the report, took a look at it, and looked stunned for a moment. It turns out that she isn’t lying, he thought to himself. He then looked down at the woman beneath him who had already burst into tears. This was her first time shedding tears in front of him, and she cried without making a sound as tears flowed silently down the corners of her eyes. For some reason, his initial anger dissipated inexplicably. “I’ll let you off this time. If I see you getting too close to Julian again in the future, I will lock you up,” he uttered.
The last three words he uttered made Rachel tremble all over. After he left, she tremblingly picked up the medical report and put it away. Finally, she closed her eyes hard as a slightly hoarse crying voice came from her throat. If it weren’t for the fact that she had no choice, she really wished she could stay away from the Burton Residence and never see Justin ever again!
…
The next morning, Rachel woke up with her eyes puffy from crying. She had deliberately avoided meeting Julian since the night before; whenever she happened to run into him, she would pretend not to see him. In order to avoid suspicion, she didn’t even go downstairs until Julian had left.

On the other hand, Sue felt even angrier when she saw how Julian was about to speak, yet he said nothing in disappointment. She went straight up to Rachel and warned, “No matter what your purpose is, you mustn’t get close to my son in the future. Do you hear me?!”
Since she had no intention of arguing with the older woman, Rachel nodded and was about to leave. However, Sue barked coldly and said, “Stay where you are!”
Rachel stood in place with her back to Sue. She listened as the woman let out a sneer behind her and threatened, “If you dare to harbor any improper and dirty thoughts, I’ll make your life worse than death.”
Rachel turned around and looked at her. She then explained with her paper and pen, ‘Dr. Peters and I met purely by chance; there isn’t any purpose that you’re thinking about. I’ll never speak to him again in the future, and I’ll stay away from him.’
Sue’s expression eased somewhat when she saw that Rachel had written down her pledge. “I don’t care whether what you said is true. In any case, if you dare to act counter to what you’ve said today, I will let you know that I, Sue Praham, am no slouch!”
Rachel put away her paper and pen and left in exhaustion. After she left, Mrs. Duncan came forward and said to Sue, “Madam, I don’t think what she said is believable.”
Sue raised an eyebrow. “Why would you say so?”
Mrs. Duncan’s expression was meaningful. “Young Master Justin loves Miss Amber, so he’ll divorce Rachel sooner or later. Rachel has probably predicted this, which is why she’s hitting on the kind Young Master Peters, foolishly attempting to take advantage of him to seek connections with those rich and powerful. Therefore, she wrote the pledge today just to keep you in check.”
Sue’s face darkened at Mrs. Duncan’s words. “In that case, how do you think I should deal with her?”
Mrs. Duncan thought for a moment and replied, “I think there are two things we should do. Firstly, we should stop Young Master Peters from meeting her. Secondly, we should get Miss Amber to drive Rachel out as soon as possible. That way, this scourge will not be able to continue staying at the Burton Residence. Otherwise, there might be untoward complications…”
Sue was lost in thought upon hearing Mrs. Duncan’s words. After a long time, she dialed Amber’s phone number.

Rachel was shocked. Who is helping me? she thought to herself. She wrote down on the paper, ‘Sir, could you tell me who paid the money so that I can thank the person?’

After recalling how Julian had told him not to let it slip, the hospital director could only refuse with a smile, “I’m sorry, Miss Hudson, but the person forbade our hospital to reveal his name, so please forgive me for withholding the information.”

Rachel nodded in disappointment. On her way back, she kept thinking about this. Out of the people she knew, no one could have helped her to pay the money in full. No matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn’t figure out who it was. Even though she didn’t understand why the person wanted to help her, she had to repay such an act of great kindness! I don’t need to worry. I’ll find a way to find the benefactor in the future either way, she thought to herself.
The car soon returned to the Burton Residence. At that moment, the sky gradually darkened; no sooner had Rachel arrived did Julian come back as well. As luck would have it, they met again in the living hall. “I was about to pick you up and send you back, Miss Hudson. I searched all over the hospital, but I didn’t find you; it wasn’t until I asked the nurse that I learned you had left,” said Julian as he greeted her with a smile. For some reason, seeing the fair and beautiful face before his eyes put him in a good mood. It was as if all the fatigue he felt after spending an entire day operating on patients had been swept away.

Rachel smiled apologetically and wrote to him. ‘Thank you, Dr. Peters. I had something else to attend to, so I left first.’
Julian waved his hand and smiled, revealing his white and shiny regular teeth, Meanwhile, his eyes sparkled as though there were stars in them. “You don’t have to thank me since it’s nothing. I can give you a lift again if you want to go to the hospital in the future. It’s all right.”

Rachel truly thought that Julian was very kind as he was the only person in the Burton Residence who had shown her kindness. He was Sue’s son, but the mother and son were unlike each other. Compared to the stern Sue, Julian had an unusually great affability that made people unconsciously feel drawn to him. She wrote, ‘The hospital director said that my grandmother’s surgery has been scheduled for next Monday. Are you going to be the chief surgeon, Dr. Peters?’
Julian nodded with a smile at the sight of her beautiful handwriting. “Yes. Please be rest assured, for your grandmother will make a full recovery after the surgery.”

Rachel smiled in relief upon hearing his words.

They chatted for a while before Rachel went upstairs. As soon as she entered her room, she saw Justin sitting on the sofa. He lit a cigarette with dexterity while fiddling with the cigarette case and lighter in his hand. His expression was cryptic and hard to discern in the curling white smoke, causing the atmosphere in the entire room to be extremely strange.

Rachel was a bit surprised. They had met by chance outside the kitchen last time, so could this be a chance encounter too? But if this encounter happened by chance, why would he make a special effort to show up in her room?

Just then, Justin stood up from the sofa, moved close to her, and lowered his head. “You had fun outside with Julian for the entire day; when you came back, you two exchanged glances and chatted for a long time downstairs. You look soft and weak, Rachel, but I didn’t expect you to be so ambitious as to have designs on Julian.”

Rachel’s expression changed. She quickly took out her pen and paper and explained, ‘It’s not what you think it is. Julian is my grandmother’s chief surgeon, and we were talking about my grandmother’s condition.”

Justin took the paper and glanced indifferently at the words on it. Then, he tore it with both hands and threw it to the floor. His brow darkened, and his eyes were deep and chilling. “Do you think I’m blind?” he asked. This woman has never smiled ever since she came to the Burton Residence, yet she smiled more happily than ever at Julian downstairs just now. On the other hand, Julian was looking at her as if he was looking at the woman he loved. Only a fool would believe there’s nothing fishy about this! he thought to himself. “You couldn’t take advantage of me, so you approached Julian instead. Do you think he’ll really love you? Do you think he’ll really love a mute who is no longer a virgin?”
Rachel’s face suddenly turned pale. There’s nothing between Julian and me, so why would he misunderstand me? Is it fun to insult me in such a way? she thought to herself.

She was no longer in the mood to explain herself. Just let him believe whatever he thinks. Her expression turned cold. Not wanting to argue with Justin, she walked past him and moved ahead, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist!

Julian’s car was a gray Infiniti; it looked very inconspicuous on the outside, and it felt as gentle and peaceful as the feeling Julian gave Rachel. It was quite the opposite of Justin, for that unfeeling man always drove a black Maybach, a luxury car worth more than 20 million that drew the eyes of the crowd. Why am I thinking about him all of a sudden? Rachel thought to herself. She bit her lower lip in vexation and looked out of the window.

Meanwhile, Sue happened to come back with Mrs. Duncan as soon as the car drove out of the Burton Residence’s gate. Mrs. Duncan was stunned for a moment and said, “Madam, was that Young Master Peters’ car just now?”

Sue nodded. “What’s wrong?”

Mrs. Duncan replied hesitantly, “I just saw… Young Mistress Rachel in the car.”

Sue’s face darkened. “Are you sure you didn’t mistake someone else for her?”

Mrs. Duncan nodded seriously. “No, I didn’t. Young Mistress Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat, and Young Master Peters was talking merrily to her.”

Sue fell silent and glanced at the outside of the gate with a gloomy look in her eyes. “Find out how they know each other.”

Meanwhile, Rachel and Julian hurried to her grandmother’s ward after they arrived at the hospital. When she arrived at the door, Rachel heard her grandmother laughing; she saw through the glass door that the nurse was telling her grandmother a joke. As she looked at her grandmother’s gentle smile, she felt warmth in her heart.

Rachel pushed the door open, and her grandmother’s eyes lit up when she raised her head and saw her. “Rae!” As she got very emotional, Rachel hurried to her side and supported her. Then, she shook her head at her and gesticulated. You’ve just gotten a little better, so you can’t get out of bed just yet. You should get some more rest.

Rachel’s grandmother could only go along with her and lay back on the bed. She replied with a smile, “I’m in good health. In fact, I feel full of strength.”

Rachel peeled an apple for her grandmother with a gentle smile. Then, she scooped it out into a bowl with a spoon, put a tiny fork that she had brought with her in the bowl, and handed it over to her grandmother.

Rachel’s grandmother was old, and her eyes were lined with wrinkles. When she saw how filial Rachel was, her eyes couldn’t help but sparkle with tears. “I have been a burden to you, my dear granddaughter.”

Rachel slowly shook her head and gestured. We’re a family, so there’s no burden to speak of. Grandma, you have to build up your health and get better as soon as possible. I still want to travel with you in the future; didn’t you say that your greatest wish is to see Mount Fuji in Japan?

Rachel’s grandmother smiled with tears in her eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll get better as soon as possible.”

Julian sighed inwardly at the warm and touching scene before his eyes. He hadn’t had a father since he was a child, but Sue had been very attentive to him, and she had never denied him anything in terms of material needs. Even so, he was touched deeply by Rachel’s relationship with her grandmother. He comforted Rachel in a gentle voice and said, “I just talked to the nurse, Miss Burton—she said that your grandmother is fine. I’ll go to prepare the documents needed for the follow-up examination on her, so take her to my office later.”

Only then did Rachel recall that Julian was here as well. Upon realizing that she had ignored him for a moment, she felt somewhat embarrassed. Thank you, Dr. Peters. Thank you for your help over the last few days. You’re a kind person.
Julian couldn’t understand Rachel’s complicated sign language, but her grandmother explained it to him. “It’s nothing. It’s my duty anyway,” he replied with a smile.

After Julian left, Rachel’s grandmother winked at her and teased, “Is this handsome young man your boyfriend, my dear granddaughter? I have been in a coma for such a long time, so why didn’t you tell me that?”

Rachel was startled; she didn’t expect her grandmother to get the wrong idea about her relationship with Julian. Her grandmother had been comatose for such a long time and was totally unaware of what had happened to her. Moreover, she didn’t want to tell her grandmother that she had gotten married lest the latter became upset. Therefore, she shook her head and gestured to her. That’s not the case, Grandma. He is a kind-hearted doctor who has helped us.

Rachel’s grandmother was a bit disappointed, but she got over it nonetheless. My granddaughter is such an outstanding lady, so she’ll meet a partner who is truly nice to her in due time.

Rachel spent the entire afternoon with her grandmother before leaving the ward. She then went to the hospital director, intending to ask how much money would be needed for her grandmother to undergo her next major surgery. To her surprise, the hospital director replied with a smile, “Please be rest assured, Miss Hudson—someone has already paid the money on your behalf. Your grandmother’s surgery has been scheduled for next Monday, and you don’t have to pay for it again.”

After Justin came back, Sue explained the incident and made a few indifferent remarks. The man merely cast a casual glance at Rachel, who was standing in a corner, without stating his position. Even so, Rachel wasn’t disappointed since she had expected such an outcome long ago.

On the other hand, Amber couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. Doesn’t this show that he doesn’t care about Rachel at all? she thought to herself. With a big smile on her face, she walked up to Justin and held out to him the coffee she had brewed. “Have some coffee, Justin. You’ve been busy all day long, so let’s quench your thirst with this.”

Much to her surprise, Justin refused and said, “It’s not necessary. It’s late, so you should go home now.”

Amber’s smile froze on her lips. She deliberately acted cute, pretending not to understand that Justin wanted to chase her away. “I want to learn something from you so that I’ll do a better job of helping my Dad manage his company in the future, Justin. Can I do that?”

Normally, a man wouldn’t have the heart to refuse a coquettish plea made by such a pretty and graceful lady, but Justin narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t leave right now, you don’t have to come here anymore.” The scar on his face made him look very menacing when he looked at someone chillingly.

Upon that, Amber’s expression changed slightly. She hurriedly smiled in a placating manner to save herself from the embarrassment. “All right, all right. I know you are afraid that my Dad will be worried about me, right? You’re only saying so for my own good, and I understand that, Justin. In that case, I’ll be going home first. I’ll come again some other day.” She was still smiling when she left, but her face instantly darkened as soon as she left the place. In the end, she glanced at the Burton Residence’s gate with a look of determination in her eyes.

After Amber left, Rachel held a cup of brewed Earl Grey tea and placed it on Justin’s desk. She knew that Justin liked to make a cup of tea whenever he came home from work, which was why he refused to drink the coffee Amber had brewed. However, her body tensed up subconsciously as she could sense his dark gaze falling on her even with her head lowered.

“Why are you lingering around here?”

Rachel pursed her lips and looked up at him. Then, she put her palms together and placed them between her neck and her shoulder to make a sleeping gesture. Aren’t you going to sleep?

She merely asked the question casually, but the man had obviously misunderstood her. Justin furrowed his brows and asked, “Do you want to sleep with me?”

Rachel was stunned for a moment before she shook her head vigorously.

Justin then strode off and replied, “Since that isn’t the case, don’t disturb me.”

Rachel froze on the spot for a moment before leaving in silence.

However, neither of them spotted Julian standing outside the window. A hint of shock flashed across his eyes; he wanted to reminisce about the past with Justin at first, but he didn’t expect to witness this scene. Justin isn’t actually nice to her, he thought to himself. Upon realizing this, he immediately figured out what had been puzzling him. No wonder even Mrs. Duncan dares to lord it over her.

Julian heard from the nurse who looked after Rachel’s grandmother that someone had paid for the old woman’s treatment at first, but the financial support had been cut off for no reason. Thus, he speculated that Justin was probably the one who cut off the financial support, which was why Rachel was worried. Furthermore, he heard what Mrs. Duncan said during the daytime and witnessed Sue’s manner toward Rachel. What else could he not understand? Come to think of it, any woman would find herself in a very difficult situation if she was a mute who couldn’t speak, was detested by her husband, and had an awkward position in the Burton Family, let alone a weak and helpless woman like Rachel. How could she afford her grandmother’s expensive medical bills?

Rachel was only a stranger whom Julian had met twice, but for some unfathomable reason, Julian found his heart aching for her. Perhaps I should help her, he thought to himself.

……

When Rachel woke up the next morning, everyone else in the Burton Residence continued to ignore her. Sue had stopped asking her to do the household chores ever since she did it and was stopped by Justin. Rachel finished her lunch under the servants’ contemptuous gazes, but when she got up, Julian called her, “Miss Hudson.” He did not address her as his cousin-in-law. Instead, he kept calling her ‘Miss Hudson’ so that she didn’t feel so embarrassed.

Rachel’s face showed a look of confusion. Then, she heard Julian reply, “The hospital director told me that your grandmother has regained consciousness. As it happens, I’m going to the hospital to do a follow-up examination on her, so I can give you a lift.”

Rachel was first delighted at the news of her grandmother regaining consciousness, but she then hesitated somewhat. She asked with sign language. Can I go with you?

Since he knew what she was worried about, Julian shook his head with a smile. “It’ll be fine.”

In the end, Rachel’s eagerness to visit her grandmother got the better of her.

Sue frowned in displeasure. This mute simply won’t back down! she thought to herself. “The servants around have seen you pushing Amber into the pond. Do you still want to make excuses for yourself?”

These people were far away in the front hall when Amber fell into the pond. Do they have clairvoyance? She didn’t even bother to tell a more convincing lie, Rachel thought to herself. Her jaw was set. Evidently, she didn’t believe such a ridiculous excuse.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment; the Burton Family purposely said that the surveillance camera was broken, yet Rachel couldn’t forcibly have the surveillance videos checked. Just then, a familiar and gentle voice spoke from behind them. “I can prove that she didn’t push the other woman.”

Rachel was stunned when she saw who the visitor was. Isn’t he… Dr. Peters?

The slender young man walked toward them and came to Sue’s side. He said, “I’m back, Mom.”

Sue beamed with delight at once as she affectionately held her son’s arm. “Weren’t you supposed to come back this afternoon, Julian? Why did you come back in advance?”

Julian answered with a smile, “Actually, I came back half a month ago—it’s just that I interned at the hospital for some time. I came back today to give you a surprise at first, but I didn’t expect to see such a scene.” As he spoke of this, his eyes fell on Amber, and his smile faded somewhat. “I clearly saw you falling into the pond yourself. Why did you accuse Miss Hudson of pushing you into the pond?”

Everyone was stunned upon hearing his words. In particular, Amber had a slight change in countenance, and she bit her lip. “I… I… I felt like Rachel pushed me. P-Perhaps… I was wrong.”

Mrs. Duncan was about to say something, but Sue instantly silenced her with a glance. After all, she knew how stubborn her son was. Now that he had seen it, the tension would only rise if others continued to mislead him. At the thought of this, she turned to look at Rachel in a disapproving attitude. “You and Amber are sisters. She isn’t an outsider, so a little misunderstanding isn’t a big deal.”

Amber nodded vigorously as she took the opportunity Sue had given her to get herself out of the awkward situation. “That’s right, Rachel. I must’ve mistaken someone else for you, and I’m sorry about that. Don’t take it to heart.”
However, Rachel didn’t want to accept Amber’s perfunctory apology, so she didn’t give the latter even a look in response. Instead, she fixed her eyes on Julian. This man has helped me once again, she thought to herself. As she was really grateful, she thanked him with a gesture.

Since he understood what her gesture meant, Julian nodded at Rachel. In reality, he was also surprised at first. He didn’t expect the lady whom he had met once at the hospital and felt well-disposed to would be his cousin-in-law. For some reason, he had a strange feeling; it was as though he found this regrettable. However, he didn’t give it much thought as he could only turn his eyes back to Sue. “Let’s drop the matter here, Mom.”

Sue understood that Julian didn’t want them to go on. That’s the kind of person he is. He always steps in whenever he encounters an injustice because of his particularly strong sense of right and wrong, she thought to herself. Since she didn’t want to upset her son over such a trivial matter, she nodded with a smile and replied, “Let’s go. I haven’t seen you for so many years, so let’s have a nice chat.”

The crowd then left slowly, leaving only Rachel and Amber at the scene. Amber got up from the ground and stared at Rachel with a slightly peculiar look in her eyes. “Do you know Julian in person?”

Rachel ignored her, though.

Amber quipped, “Rachel… As expected, you and your mother are people of the same sort.” She then left, leaving a cold-looking Rachel behind.

Ever since Rachel went to live with the Hudson Family more than ten years ago, Amber had been accusing her of being the daughter of a homewrecker, insinuating that her mother had given birth to her by seducing Jefferey. When Rachel was little, she wished she could tell them that her mother wasn’t that kind of person. Her mother was not only of gentle disposition but also talented and well-versed in literature; she was the best mother in the world! However, it wasn’t until she had grown up that she found how foolish she had been. Why would a bunch of bloodsuckers who couldn’t tell right from wrong care about the truth?

Before long, Amber’s cries for help had drawn a group of people from the front hall. As Rachel had expected, the first thing Amber did after being rescued from the pond was to question her tearfully, “Why did you push me, Rachel?”
Rachel frowned at the sight of the reproachful eyes from the people around her. However, with so many people watching, what ought to be explained had to be explained. She shook her head while explaining with sign language. I didn’t push her.

Amber, the only person at the scene who could understand what she was signing, snickered in her heart. She pretended to look shocked and replied loudly, “Did you say that you hate me? Rachel… Why would you hate me? We’re blood sisters… How could you be so cruel?”

Rachel’s expression turned cold, for Amber had wilfully distorted the meaning of her explanation. Judging from the peculiar expressions of those around her, they obviously believed Amber’s lies. Thanks to the lies that Amber deliberately spread, everyone in the Burton Residence knew that Justin loved Amber but ended up marrying Rachel—the one who had schemed to get married to him. As a result, they loathed Rachel and sympathized with Amber. Moreover, the latter won their favor with her honeyed words.

“The way I see it, she did it because she’s envious of Miss Amber.”

“What a vicious woman she is! She even laid a hand on her sister.”

“She looks pitiful on the outside, but she has such a wicked heart.”

Amber felt smug deep down inside upon hearing the comments around her, yet she pretended to look aggrieved as she turned to Sue. “What happened isn’t what you think it is, Madam Parham. My sister didn’t do it on purpose!”

Sue’s eyes were as piercing as knives as she scolded Rachel harshly, “What a dishonest and vicious woman you are! A woman like you doesn’t have to stay at the Burton Residence anymore!”

Amber even added fuel to the fire as she said, “Please let my sister off, Madam Parham. I understand her; if it weren’t for my sudden visit to the Burton Residence, she wouldn’t have been provoked to the point of doing this to me.”

Rachel looked even colder upon hearing what everyone had said. How could she not understand Amber’s purpose in doing this? She simply wanted to drive her away from the Burton Residence, and Sue, who happened to have the same idea in mind, played along with her. The two women clicked instantly as they took advantage of each other.

Nonetheless, how could Rachel let herself be made a scapegoat? She took out the pen and paper that she had brought with her in her handbag and wrote, ‘I’d like to request to have the surveillance videos checked to prove my innocence.’
However, Amber didn’t get nervous at all; instead, she was emboldened by Sue’s support. “I really won’t blame you, Rachel. Just admit it; even if you have the surveillance videos checked, you’ll only get humiliated even further.”

Just then, Mrs. Duncan chimed in, “The surveillance camera is broken, Madam.”

Sue glanced at Mrs. Duncan and nodded. She lied through her teeth, “That’s right. It has been broken for several days, and the repairman will be coming to fix it tomorrow.”

All of a sudden, Rachel wanted to laugh; this was clearly the crappiest set-up. These women were from wealthy and distinguished families. Crafty as they were, they couldn’t have possibly been unable to tell what actually happened, yet they deliberately ignored the truth. They probably had the surveillance cameras switched off in advance, which was why they didn’t have anything to fear. It wasn’t that Amber had succeeded in setting her up; it was just that everyone here never accepted her. To them, it didn’t matter whether she was right or wrong. All that mattered was that only Amber was worthy of Justin, and she—a mute—was not!

Rachel initially thought that Amber was the only person behind this set-up, but she didn’t expect that everyone in the Burton Residence would gang up with her sister and target her. Perhaps this has been premeditated? she thought to herself.

As it turned out, Rachel was right. Sue took advantage of the situation and demanded, “Now that you’ve done something so wrong, it is useless no matter how you explain it. You must apologize to Amber!”

Rachel’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. After all, an apology would be an admission of wrongdoing in a different form. Right now, she was enduring everyone’s scornful and contemptuous gazes like a universally condemned vicious woman. She took a deep breath, looked at everyone in a dignified manner, and wrote down her stance. ‘Why should I apologize for something that I didn’t do?’

Rachel stayed in the hospital the whole time. However, Jefferey called her again at 10.00PM. She stared at the phone for a long time without answering it, but the screen continued to flash rapidly. In the end, she gritted her teeth and answered the phone.

Jefferey’s voice was unusually cold. “I heard from Amber that you left the Burton Residence this morning, so I figured that you must be at the hospital with your grandmother. You should know why I stopped paying the hospital bills, right?”

Rachel pressed her lips together, knowing it was because she had failed to accomplish what he previously told her to do.

Then, she heard Jefferey sneer. He threatened, “Do you not want to go back to the Burton Residence anymore? I’m telling you, Rachel—you must go back! If you refuse to return, I’ll make all the hospitals in the city afraid to take your grandmother in. You know that I can do so. Of course, if you don’t believe me, you can give it a bold try. If your grandmother dies unexpectedly, you’ll be the one killing her.”

Rachel’s expression changed; she held her cell phone tightly and breathed rapidly in fear. At this moment, she wished she could speak and vent all the resentment she harbored against this father of hers.

Having achieved his goal, Jefferey smiled in satisfaction. “You’d better be obedient, or else you won’t be able to bear the consequences.”

After Jefferey hung up, Rachel looked at her grandmother as she continued to lie on her sickbed. She thought bitterly to herself, Had I been a little more successful in life, I wouldn’t have been at Dad’s disposal, nor would Grandma’s illness have dragged on until now.

Soon, it was 11.00PM. After taking a deep breath, Rachel took a taxi back to the Burton Residence. The servants had gone to rest by then; since Rachel hadn’t had anything to eat since this morning, she walked lightly to the kitchen to grab a quick bite. However, as soon as she reached the living room, she was startled by a dark silhouette leaning against the wall in a corner. Apparently, the man had spotted her as well. Why is Justin here? Where’s Amber? she thought to herself.

When he saw her looking around, Justin narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you looking for?”

Rachel took out her pen and paper and wrote, ‘Amber.’

Justin’s eyes darkened. Staring at the woman’s face, he then asked, “Aren’t you afraid that I might replace you with her?”

Rachel was stunned by Justin’s question. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Justin lightly flicked the cigarette butt between his fingertips that hadn’t burned to the end with his fingers, and the cigarette butt fell to the floor, its sparks dying out bit by bit. Then, he raised his eyes and looked at her. “Amber is staying at the Burton Residence. I hope you’ll understand what to say and what not to say in front of her in the future.”
Rachel was startled. Was he warning her not to make Amber angry? She slowly dropped her eyes upon recalling how Amber looked like she was determined to win Justin’s heart during the daytime. Her sister had always bullied her over the years, so why would Rachel cross Amber on her own accord? If possible, she wished she had no dealings with Amber forever. Unfortunately, things turned out contrary to her wishes.

As it turned out, Amber knocked on the door of Rachel’s room the next morning. “Rachel, I heard from Madam Parham that the pond in the backyard is quite a fun place. Would you like to go with me to have a look at it?” She looked at Rachel expectantly like a vivacious and harmless little girl.

Rachel looked around imperceptibly and found that Mrs. Duncan and the other servants were keeping a close eye in their direction. Perhaps the Burtons might say something about me again if I refuse to go, she thought to herself. Therefore, she nodded in agreement.

The two sisters walked together in the Burton Residence’s courtyard. It had to be said that the Burton Residence was simply too magnificent, for even Rachel sighed to herself. It was said that Arthur stepped down from his position ten years ago and had been recuperating physically and mentally at the Burton Residence since then, whereas Justin managed everything and was even more powerful than Arthur had been back when he was in his prime. No one could take advantage of Justin in the commercial world, and numerous people were eager to ingratiate themselves with him.
The pond in the backyard of the Burton Residence—the residence of a family with an abundance of manpower and wealth—was as large as an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and there were all kinds of precious fishes swimming in it. Rachel stood on the classical-style bridge with Amber as they looked down and appreciated the scenery.

For the next one or two hours, Amber happily enjoyed the scenery, and both sisters got along well enough without any trouble. However, as they were about to leave, Rachel—who had been walking ahead of Amber—was suddenly pushed by the latter from behind. She nearly tripped, but when she steadied herself and looked back, Amber had fallen into the fish pond with a splash. “Help! Help—”

Rachel was stunned on the spot as Amber’s cheap trick was too obvious. How could the large Burton Residence not have any surveillance cameras installed? Amber would give herself away once the surveillance videos were checked. However, she had always been a clever one. Could she have not thought about this?