Love’s Cruel Stroke Chapter 37
Damian was infuriated to hear his brother’s advice. “Do you really think it’s appropriate for you to put me down like that after I poured my heart out to you, Dmitri? I won’t speak to you ever again. Hmph!”
Dmitri, who was presently abroad, turned to look at the assistant next to him coldly and said, “I would like to return to Seaview City tomorrow. Book me a homebound flight ticket.”
“Young Master Dmitri, we will be dropping by the subsidiary for an evaluation tomorrow, and then there’s the shareholders’ banquet the day after. These are all tasks assigned to you by President Ford himself.”
“Then get me a ticket for a flight three days from now,” Dmitri said indifferently. He had to go back home and make sure Rachel, the scheming woman who popped up out of nowhere, stayed far away from his defenseless mother. More importantly, he needed to keep an eye on Damian, who was gullible enough to be swayed by Rachel and fall into her trap like the shortsighted fool he was.
Vivian’s birthday banquet was held this Friday.
After Rachel had dropped her kids off at school, she drove over to the Yates Residence.
Given how the Yates had borne the brunt of harsh rumors over the past few days, they were keeping things low and went with an understated theme for Vivian’s birthday banquet. The only guests who were here were mostly close family relatives.
When Rachel showed up at the door, she instantly became the center of attention.
“Oh, my, it really is Rae! She’s alive!”
“Is it me, or have you gotten even more gorgeous over the last four years, Rae? Come here and let me take a look.”
Soon, the aunts swarmed around Rachel and tugged on her arm, thereafter patted the back of her hand affably as they asked how she had been coping all this while.
The aunts were far more enthusiastic and exuded a warmth that Francis lacked. It put. Rachel at ease as she smiled and said, “Aunt Portia, Aunt Greta, the both of you are aging backward! I could hardly recognize you at all.”
She kept up her demure and angelic front as the other relatives from the Yates Family crowded around her and made small talk with her.
Meanwhile, Shirley was standing at the doorway with barely concealed malice shining in her eyes. She was seething with rage as she watched Rachel greet and smile at each guest. Five years have passed, and this wench is still the center of attention wherever she goes. It‘s like nothing has changed! I‘m the one the guests are supposed to fawn over, not her! I‘m the one who stands to inherit the Yates‘ family fortune!
Shirley was so angry that she nearly ground her teeth to dust. She didn’t swallow her fury until Miranda walked over and tugged her arm to remind her to maintain composure.
“Shirley, you are about to become the young mistress of the Ford Family, so you’ll have to learn to take things in stride and hold your head up high. You have to be elegant at all times, especially during a banquet like this. Don’t mess this up,” Miranda whispered, then walked over to Rachel.
She had looked cold and impassive at first, but her face quickly lit up with a warm smile when she came to a stop in front of Rachel. Fat teardrops began to spill from her eyes as she said, “Rae, you’re home at last.” She stretched out her arms and pulled Rachel into her embrace, sobbing, “It was my fault that I allowed you to be locked in the storehouse and left you to fend for yourself. Rae, you don’t know how much I’ve regretted doing that; these past five years have been more than enough to remind me of my mistake. I haven’t been able to sleep since you left. I’ve missed you so much, and now that you’re back, we can be a family again!”
Miranda cried relentlessly, and anyone who didn’t know better would look at her and think she was Rachel’s biological mother.
Rachel, however, had an imperceptible smile playing on her lips as she assessed the crying woman before her. If she wants to put on a show about a happy mother–daughter reunion, then I‘d be more than happy to play along with her.
As such, she stayed in Miranda’s embrace for a while, then gently pushed the woman aside as she asked piteously, “I’ve missed you, too, Mother. I was all alone out in the world for the past four or five years. I had no place to call home, and I missed having you to protect me. Now that I’m back, will you still love me like before?”
A pleased look flashed in Miranda’s eyes. This stupid wench is still as naive as she was five years ago! I only need to show her a bit of kindness, and I‘ll have her eating right out of my hand. How could a simpleton like her ever dream of getting revenge on us? Hah! Dream on, Rachel!
Even as she thought that, her smile grew even more compassionate as she clasped Rachel’s hand in hers and crooned lovingly, “Of course, I will, my darling. I never stopped seeing you as my very own daughter, and no matter what you’ve done, I’ll always love you.” With that, she led Rachel further into the house.
Presently, a number of guests had already taken their seats at the dining table. There was Rachel’s Uncle George and Uncle Bernard, both of whom sat together with
Francis as the three of them surrounded Vivian. Miranda, on the other hand, brought Rachel to the other side of the dining table and pulled out a chair for her.
When Rachel saw the gray-haired Vivian, she felt tears spring to her eyes. She tried to keep her voice steady as she said softly, “Grandma, it’s me. I’m home.”
Vivan’s hand was shaking as she gently patted the back of Rachel’s hand, then sighed. “As long as you’re home, I won’t ask for much else.” After that, she didn’t say anything more.
It was like a cold breeze had drifted through Rachel’s heart, though she didn’t blame Vivian for being so distant. After all, she had disappeared for four years, and she had left the family home under rather extreme circumstances. Besides, there was no telling just how many lies Miranda and Shirley had fed Vivian over the last few years.
Vivian might even be convinced that Rachel was the one who started that horrific fire all those years ago, and that she had had children outside of marriage, thus bringing shame on the family. If Grandma has made up her mind to believe in those lies but does not ignore me entirely, that would mean she still cares about me, right?
“Rae, look at how much weight you’ve lost. Here, have some meat,” Miranda said as she heaped a generous amount of food onto Rachel’s plate, playing the role of a loving mother.
Despite the mess that had happened five years ago and the family scandal that had broken out over the internet just a few days before this, there appeared to be some kind of an unspoken rule for everyone to keep hush about these two topics.
Portia and Greta, in particular, were eager to make small talk with Rachel like she was their favorite niece.
But Rachel knew that the main family in the Yates had taken sole charge over Yates Corporation, which put pressure on the relatives who were already angling to inherit a share of the fortune. However, she intended to use both her aunts as pawns against the main family. Surely there would be nothing to lose for each of them to work together for a common goal.
However, Rachel had yet to sow the seed for her grand revenge scheme when Shirley spoke up. Shirley had been all smiles since the start of the dinner and putting on the most elegant front a proper dinner host should have, but when she saw how swimmingly Rachel was getting along with everyone else in the Yates Family, she could sit still no longer,
“Rachel, whatever happened the last time was a misunderstanding,” she began softly. “I’m now the heir to the Yates Family, and it only made sense that I traveled everywhere with my bodyguards. They were hired to protect me and not to ambush you on the day of the incident… After all was said and done, we couldn’t locate the graves of both your children. Should we go and look for them again today?”
When Rachel heard this, she snorted. She knew what Shirley was implying, and it certainly wasn’t to clarify the incident where the bodyguards ambushed her; she was trying to tell everyone that Rachel had given birth to two kids of dubious backgrounds.
