CHAPTER 18
Rachel searched through the pile of poetry books she got from George’s personal library. She couldn’t find what she was looking for, it seems George didn’t read a lot of poetry. She picked the stack of books and walked over to the book shelf, arranging them just like she met them. To find the type of book she was craving for, she would have to go to the general library of the villa.
Murmuring under her breath at the ‘extra work’, she whirled around and marched to the general library. On getting there, she strolled in and came face to face with George’s stepbrother, James Scott who was sitting on a chair, his eyes distant from the open book in front of him. He looked a bit tired and stressed, whatever he was thinking about must be serious because he didn’t even notice when she walked over to stand in front of him.
Staying at a closer range to him, Rachel noticed the slight frown on his young face. His clenched jaw was also a sign that something serious was bothering him. Rachel stretched her hand and knocked on the wooden table between the both of them. The sharp sound jolted James Scott out of his deep thoughts.
“Hello…” Rachel waved her hand slightly “… we finally meet again”
James blinked, shocked for a moment before greeting back “It’s good to see you again, Rachel”
“It’s weird that we’re just seeing each other a second time in three months, even though we live close to each other” Rachel tilted her head to the side, still looking at him “Isn’t that right?”
James nodded slowly. She was right. They all lived together, but acted like strangers. His mother, Judith had banned him from going to George’s villa to see him, stating that there was no need for him to get close to George because he would be taking over his position at the end. She had clearly stated that if he went there, she would cause trouble in George’s villa. That made no sense to him, but he had decided to stay away all these years.
“That’s the way things are done here, sorry about that” James smiled at her. “How has your marriage to George been so far? It’s been three months, I think. Do you like living here?”
“It’s been good up to this point. He treats me well” Rachel pushed a chair back and settled on it, sitting opposite James “About liking it here, I think it’s cool living in a place like this, as long as you have people who really care about you. I have people like that”
“I see. Lucky you…” James muttered sadly and focused his attention on the book resting on the table.
Lucky her? What did he mean by that? She shifted closer and whispered “How am I lucky? What do you mean?”
James bit his lower lip, like he was trying to make up his mind if he should answer her or not. After a minute, he glanced at her “We’re different, I don’t have people like that. All I’m left with is a greedy mother and a bitter father. It doesn’t feel good”
Rachel paused, sitting there on her chair and staring at him. When he said ‘bitter father’, what did he mean by that? She could understand the greedy mother part, she had experienced enough proof of his mother’s madness to know what he meant. He looked so sad as he sat across her, his eyes showed he held some secrets. Secrets he wanted to run away from.
“I’m so sorry you have to go through this James” Rachel voiced out, hoping she could comfort him even just a little. “But your parents are not your only family, you have George, right?”
James laughed. A very sad, twisted laughter. “He hates me. He probably thinks I desire his position and can’t wait to get rid of him. I don’t blame him though, that’s what everyone thinks. Thanks to my mother”
“I don’t think he hates you. You don’t want to be the CEO of Imperial Hub Limited?”
“I don’t. Everything about this place irritates me.” James sighed “The conference meeting, the events, everything. It irritates me. George is supposed to hate me, he has suffered a lot because of me.”
Rachel frowned slightly. He wasn’t explaining anything, just leaving her with pieces to the puzzle. “Can you explain further? I would really like that”
James adjusted on his chair “Ever since the day my father brought my mother here, George has had a hard time. His mother disregarded his opinions and interest at the expense of pleasing his father. Back then, I was still young so I didn’t understand. But when I thought about it properly, Mrs Patricia was hurt by my father’s betrayal of bringing another woman in. She probably thought he had an affair because she was not making him happy. So she spent most of her time trying to do things to please him and she ignored George along the way.”
Clearing his throat, he continued “George’s father already despised him, so losing his mother’s affection was a heavy blow to him. He spent so much time trying to make his father proud, but everything he did was ever enough. Things became worse as I grew older. My father focused all his attention on me, making Mrs Patricia more unstable and she ignored George more and more. If you’ve noticed, the relationship between George and his mother is quite stiff”
Rachel nodded in approval. She had noticed it but couldn’t say anything about it yet.
“So many times, I’ve wished I wasn’t born. I’ve wished George had a normal life. So many times, I’ve been angry at my mother for being so greedy and wanting a position that doesn’t belong to her. I really want to leave this company and do what I want with my life”
Rachel leaned closer, her eyes filled with sympathy. “I’m so sorry you feel this way, that you’ve had to go through all this alone without George knowing how you really feel about him”
“Whenever you get the chance, tell George that I have no desire to take his place. If there’s something I really want right now, that would be to leave here and travel around the world” James replied and smiled “I hope I get a chance to do that”
Rachel returned his smile “At the beginning of all this, when you said a ‘bitter father’, what did you mean?”
James looked at his book on the table “I don’t know how to say this. But my father seems to hold a grudge with Mrs Patricia, I might be wrong but it’s almost like he hates her.”
“Really?” Rachel asked, wide-eyed in shock. It was strange hearing him say exactly how she felt. There was something weird about their marriage, she could feel it too.
“Yes…” James whispered calmly, a confused expression on his face. “I’m not really sure of the details, but I think he hates her and I believe my mother is also linked to the story that explains the mystery behind his bitterness towards her. There’s a lot going on that I don’t understand”
Rachel stayed silent, taking in everything he just said.
“I heard you’re the daughter of Arthur Reeves, the man who was wrongly accused of drug trafficking five years ago”
Rachel raised her head sharply and stared at him “Wrongly accused? Are you saying you know about it?”
“I don’t know the details…” James answered with a quiet tone “… all I remember is hearing two board members talking in the main hallway five years ago, after your father was arrested. And they were stating that Mr Arthur was innocent. One of the men said the person who threw him in jail is in this company and he knows who the person is -”
“Are you serious? Are you for real?” Rachel shouted, her eyes welling with tears. She was always a mess when her father’s case was brought up. He didn’t deserve any of that. “Did you see the man’s face? Can you tell me who he is?”
James watched as the tears trickled down her face “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to open an old wound. I never knew what the men looked like, I just stayed hidden in a corner, listening to everything they were saying. I’m really sorry that I can’t be of any help to you, Rachel”
Rachel wiped her face with her hands, drying her tears. “It’s alright. I just get emotional when my father comes up in a conversation. Thank you for opening up to me today and telling me all these things”
It was so strange how the enemy was so close, yet so far at the same time. And to think that some of the board members knew the truth….
She couldn’t wait for Sophia to start investigating the case properly. After her conversation with James, her desire for revenge seemed to have increased.
The same applied to her feelings for George…