Chapter 262 There’s No Future
“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong, though. Could it be that you fractured a bone or something?”
“It’s not that serious, I guess.” Justin stretched out his hand toward Rachel. “Let’s go back with you helping me. I think Charlotte must’ve gone back by now.”
Rachel wanted to search for Charlotte, but she couldn’t leave Justin here in such a state. Having no alternative, she decided to take him back to the campsite first. If Charlotte didn’t return to the campsite, she would come back to search for her.
“Just rest assured, Rachel. Charlotte fears the dark more than anything else, so there’s no way she’ll wander outside on her own for such a long time. She must’ve gone back.”
“Let’s hope so.”
With that, the two headed back with Justin’s arm resting on Rachel’s shoulder as she supported him. As the man was nearly 190 centimeters tall, it didn’t look like Rachel was propping him up. Instead, it looked more like he was holding her hostage. In fact, there was no way Rachel could help him up if he didn’t hold himself upright.
“Actually, I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to talk to you.”
“Talk about what?”
“I’d like to formally apologize to you for what has happened in the past. I know that I used to be mean to you, and I can never make up for that, but I’ll do my best. Just give me a chance for Charlotte’s sake.”
Rachel frowned. “How much do you remember about the past?”
“I asked Frankie about it, and he told me part of the story. In short, I was mean to you.”
“Not really.” Rachel sounded frosty. “It was normal for you to resent me back then. After all, I wasn’t the person you wanted to marry at the time.”
“So, can you forgive me?”
“Now that we’re divorced, everything that has happened during our marriage doesn’t count anymore.”
“In that case, in the future—”
“There’s no future to speak of.” Rachel cut Justin short right away.
However, Justin still kept at the subject, as though he didn’t notice the impatience in Rachel’s words. “How could there be no future to speak of? Charlotte’s our future. Do you want to break her heart? Ever since she was little, her greatest wish has been to live with her own mother.”
Rachel suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Do you really want me to stay with Charlotte all the time?”
“Of course,” Justin replied with a straight face.
“Alright then. Give me Charlotte’s custody, and I’ll take care of her in the future.”
Justin was visibly stunned as the fallen leaves rustled in the woods all of a sudden.
“You can’t do it, can you?” Rachel’s voice broke the deadlock between her and the man as she walked on while helping him by the arm again. “I’m not interested in getting entangled with you any further. Our previous agreement to stay out of each other’s business is my biggest concession already.”
A hint of panic crept into Justin’s eyes. “Are you really not willing to marry me again?”
“No, I’m not.”
“In that case, are you gonna marry Hernandez?”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“Who else are you gonna marry if it’s not him? Don’t tell me it’s Julian.”
“Justin.” Rachel glared at him. “Aren’t you done yet?”
Only then did Justin shut up. After walking with Rachel for a while, however, he could no longer restrain himself. “No matter what you think, my desire to remarry you is my own business, and you have no right to interfere with that.”
“You…” Rachel stopped short of arguing with Justin upon recalling how he had always been like this.
The two returned to the campsite with Rachel supporting Justin. Upon seeing them from a distance, Victor immediately came up to them. The first thing he said was, “What’s the matter with this guy, Rachel?”
“Sprained his ankle.” Rachel glanced in the campsite’s direction. “Has Charlotte come back?”
Victor replied, “You mean Charlotte? She’s been here all the time. Did she go anywhere?”
Startled, Rachel looked puzzledly at the campsite, where sounds of people singing and chatting happily could be heard. A little girl’s voice clearly stood out above the others, and Rachel could tell at once that it was Charlotte’s.
“Ahem, ahem.” Justin suddenly hemmed twice. “I told you she would come back by herself.”
Vaguely realizing what had happened, Rachel shook off Justin’s arm angrily. “So you were fooling me, huh?”
“Hey! Rachel—”
Rachel brushed Justin off and left.
Justin wanted to go after Rachel to explain himself, but Victor mercilessly stopped him. “What are you doing? Pestering Rachel when she refuses to talk to you, huh? What’s the matter with you? Did you lose your sense of shame along with your memory?” Victor had become even angrier with Justin ever since he learned about the latter’s amnesia. He hurt Rachel so much at the time, only to forget about all of it thanks to a car accident, he thought. “I’m warning you, don’t keep after Rachel like a fly, or I’m gonna beat the sh*t out of you!” He put out his fist and waved it before Justin with studied ferocity before striding off.
That night, the school set up several bonfires and threw a bonfire party around them as the class’ students performed one after another.
Rachel and Victor sat side by side with Charlotte nestling in Rachel’s arms.
On the other hand, Justin was warned off by Victor, who bared his teeth at the former as soon as he approached the three because of how he had tricked Rachel just now. “Why are you behaving like a dog?” Justin muttered. After finding a spot to sit down in the distance, he listened to the children’s singing from afar.
The mountain was quiet and comfortable. A short while later, Samuel slipped away from the crowd and sat down next to Justin in a poised manner. “I told you long ago that Charlotte’s plan of having you save a damsel in distress wouldn’t work. I was right, wasn’t I? Now my mom doesn’t talk to you anymore.”
Justin shot a glance at him angrily. “Are you here to make sarcastic comments?”
“Nope. I’m here to help you.” Samuel sucked on a lollipop while handing Justin a lighter. “Here. This time, it’ll definitely work.”
“What are you giving me this for?”
“Come over here.” Samuel beckoned to Justin, who reluctantly leaned his ear toward him.
Halfway through the bonfire party, Charlotte began struggling in Rachel’s arms. “Mommy, I wanna take a pee.”
Rachel immediately took her hand and stood up. “Let’s go.”
There was no washroom where the school held outdoor activities, so everyone had no choice but to relieve themselves in the open. Charlotte walked a long way while holding Rachel’s hand.
“Alright, Charlotte. There’s nobody else here.”
“Let’s go a little further. What if there is somebody else who comes here to pee?”
“Okay, Charlotte, you’re right. It’ll be bad if you’re seen.” Rachel nodded, and she walked a little further with the girl. “Charlotte, if you go any further, I won’t be able to see you. Just relieve yourself here; I’ll stay here with you.”
“Okay, Mommy. Just give me a minute while I go behind the grass over there.”
“Alright, just go. Don’t go too far, though.”
After Charlotte left, Rachel stayed in place alone and inadvertently looked up at the sky. The weather was great, and the stars were shining brightly. Over the last 25 to 26 years since she left Somerset Mountain and came to Riverdale as a child, she had rarely had such pleasant leisure time.
Suddenly, a ray of light soared into the sky with a swoosh and burst into colorful halos in the night sky.
Rachel was slightly stunned. Right after that, she heard countless swooshes as numerous fireworks burst in rapid succession, illuminating the night sky in an instant as large fireworks bloomed one after another.
Is somebody shooting off fireworks at the foot of the mountain? Just as Rachel was stunned, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. “Rachel.”
