Rachel rested backwards, relaxing on the sofa in the living room and stretched her legs. They ached a bit after folding them for so long. She reached for the book she was reading and flipped over to the next page.
She could feel George’s eyes on her, watching her as he sat quietly across the living room. Rachel knew she had been acting strange to him lately but she just couldn’t help it. If not that she had promised Sophia that she would stay here till the end of ‘everything’, there was no way she would still be in George’s villa.
She hated herself right now. For falling in love with him. She hated herself for ‘yearning’ for him despite everything she had discovered. Why couldn’t her body just cooperate with her at a time like this? Was it possible that he didn’t know anything about what his father did in the past? Thinking about it now, why didn’t he ever try to get her father out of jail all these years? Why did he wait until she married him before investigating her father’s case? Was he being honest with her?
Rachel blinked as she remembered that he was also investigating her father’s case. How had she forgotten that? She sat quietly, placing the book on her lap. Where had he reached in his investigation? Did he already know that his father was the ‘real’ culprit? Why was he not saying anything?….
What if he already knew but was hiding it from here? What if he chose his father at the end and decided to throw her aside? She had only been married to him for less than a year but Morris Scott has been his father for so many years. If at the end of every, George decided to stand against her when he discovered his father was wrong, her heart would not be able to take it.
Rachel sighed, completely exhausted. She was getting impatient especially now when she knew that the real culprit was living in the same compound with her and yet, she couldn’t do anything. She wanted to walk up to Morris Scott and smack him hard on his face over and over until he bled. That would not still be enough for all the pain and suffering he had caused her and her family.
For years, especially the first year after everything was taken away from them, she and her mother had scraped for food, barely surviving. People had mocked them, insulted them and called them ‘greedy thieves’ because they believed that her father, Arthur Reeves was so greedy to go into drug trafficking despite all the money he had made from running Imperial Hub Limited.
For years, she had suffered and all those same years, George and his family had been here, living lavishly, eating the best of meals from the finest chefs in America, sleeping on comfortable beds and drinking the best wines in the country. For all the years she struggled to finish her university degree due to financial problems, George had gone to the best school in America.
Despite how much her father gave his ‘all’ to grow this company to this point, he still had to be one to suffer at the end. Why? What did he ever do wrong to deserve such? All her father ever wanted was to build a good life for her and her mother, but at the end, Morris had used him and thrown him aside when he considered Arthur Reeves to no longer be useful.
Her father was in prison, waiting for the day of freedom, not knowing it was the man he used to call his ‘dear friend’ who was behind his misery. The man he called his ‘dear friend’ had ruined his life, destroyed his family and confisticated everything he had ever owned, making sure he had nothing left to his name in this lifetime….
“Are you alright? Why are you crying?” George’s voice snapped her back to reality as she processed what he just said.
Rachel touched her face and felt the wetness. She must have been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she was crying. “It’s nothing, I am fine”
“You can’t just be crying for no reason…”
“I said I am fine, you don’t have to worry about anything!” Rachel retorted coldly, her tone slightly high from her growing anger. She was so touchy right now and wanted him to just stay away from her. Thinking about the fact that she had to keep on acting like nothing was wrong until Sophia was able to open a court case made her so irritated. She didn’t want to stay here anymore. The ‘Scott’ family probably took her for a fool!
George blinked in surprise at her ‘tone’. “I was just worried about you. You don’t have to yell at me”
“I was not yelling at you. Besides, I don’t want you to worry about me. There is nothing to worry about!” Rachel replied him coldly, her eyes glazing in anger. It would be better if she left the living room for him. Turning around, she picked up her book and walked out of the living room, leaving George in a confused state.
George sat quietly, his mouth slightly open like he was in a daze. He felt like he just woke up from a dream. What exactly did he say wrong? He was concerned about the reason behind her tears and wanted to know what was wrong. But what did he get in return? Her anger!!
She had been acting this way for the past five days. Cold, angry, distant. She flared up easily, she was easily irritated and it seemed like she was avoiding him. She was not acting like the ‘normal’ Rachel at all. The Rachel he fell in love with seemed to be disappearing.
She started acting this way ever since they had that discussion about ‘his past and nicknames’. After she recovered from her panic attack, the ‘old’ Rachel disappeared and a new angry one emerged. He had been thinking for days, what exactly did he say that day? Did he say something wrong? What did he do? He loved her so much and missed her hugs, smiles and laughter. He was ready to fix whatever mistake he had made, if only she would look at him and talk to him.
~~~~~*~~~~~
An hour later, a maid walked into the living room where George sat. “Mr George, lunch is ready”
“Alright, I’ll be there soon”
After a few minutes, George stood up and walked over to the door. His phone shrilled and he reached for it, looking at the caller ID that showed ‘Tony’.
“Hello?”
“Hey. I just wanted to remind you about the business conference meeting tomorrow with the South Korean investors. It’s a very important meeting.” Tony muttered.
“Sure, I remember. I’ll do my best and make sure it goes well” Tony whispered quietly.
“Okay…” Tony paused and replied “… why do you sound down? Sad? Something like that”
George sighed, completely exhausted with the way things had been between him and Rachel these past few days. “It’s personal stuff. Rachel has been acting strangely lately. That’s all I can say”
Tony paused for a while before asking “Did it start within the last five days?”
George gasped in surprise “How did you know that?”
“How do I say this? I’ll tell you later. The thing is, I just discovered something very huge. I am still in shock b-”
“What are you talking about?” George asked, frowning in confusion.
“Oh sorry. I am referring to the investigation of Rachel’s father’s case. I have finally been able to hack the encrypted file. And not just that, I have discovered more things behind this case. You won’t believe it.”
“Are you serious? You discovered the real culprit behind her father’s case?” George asked, surprised by what he just heard.
“Yes. And there is more beyond all that. I have a lot to tell you.” Tony replied calmly.
“When are we meeting? I need to hear everything in detail.”
“End of this week will be fine. Till then”