The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 137: Nothing But a Woman Trying to Marry Into the Sterling Family

Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Nothing But a Woman Trying to Marry Into the Sterling Family

Chapter 137: Just a Woman Trying to Cling to the Sterling Family

Florence Preston had injured her knee after being pushed.

The group went to the hospital first.

Since they had been drinking at lunch,

a chauffeur drove them.

Peter Preston, Florence Preston, and Rachel Royce rode in one car.

Thomas Sterling and Julian Jennings rode in another.

"Mom, what on earth happened?" Peter Preston asked.

Rachel Royce also looked at Florence Preston. She still didn’t know what exactly had transpired between her mother and Claire Ainsworth.

Florence Preston sighed heavily. "I happened to run into Claire Ainsworth in the restroom. After washing my hands, I flicked the water off and accidentally got some on her arm. She immediately started insisting I’d done it on purpose and wouldn’t let it go."

Rachel Royce’s expression darkened. All because of such a trivial matter.

It was obvious Claire Ainsworth had deliberately humiliated Florence Preston out of spite.

Peter Preston’s face was grim.

"What about Melissa and the others?" Rachel asked.

Peter said, "They’re at home now. Joanna Sutton and June Jennings are with them."

Rachel hummed in response.

They arrived at the hospital.

A doctor examined Florence Preston and treated her injury, saying it was minor and would heal in two days. He also disinfected and treated Rachel’s cut, prescribing ointment for both.

After leaving the examination room,

Rachel saw Julian Jennings on the phone.

She waited for him to hang up.

Rachel asked, "Was that Suzanne Sullivan?"

Julian hummed in acknowledgment. "The person who had you and Miss Preston sent to the station was my mother, Mrs. Ainsworth. Suzanne is personally very sorry about the matter."

Rachel Royce let out a sardonic laugh. "You’re quite the dutiful son and brother, aren’t you."

The group then returned to Hillcrest Villa.

Seeing them return,

Wendy Royce hurried forward to help Florence Preston. "Is everyone all right?"

Florence Preston shook her head.

"Aunt Evelynn!"

Melissa ran toward Rachel Royce.

Rachel went to her and steadied her.

Melissa tilted her head back, looking up at Rachel with wide, concerned eyes. "Aunt Evelynn, what happened to your face? Did bad people bully you and Grandma?"

Rachel picked Melissa up. "Auntie and Grandma are fine. Don’t worry."

"Let me blow on it for you, Aunt Evelynn."

Melissa puckered her lips and gently blew on Rachel’s wound.

Watching Melissa, Rachel’s mood instantly brightened.

After holding her for a moment,

she set Melissa down.

Joanna Sutton asked, "Rachel, what exactly happened?"

Rachel said, "We ran into two lunatics from the Ainsworth family."

"Claire Ainsworth and who else?"

Rachel said, "And her mother."

Joanna Sutton’s expression hardened. She had no love for Jane Sullivan, either. Claire Ainsworth was a terror entirely because her mother had spoiled her rotten.

In her eyes, even if the whole world was wrong, her daughter could do no wrong.

Melissa overheard their conversation. Although she didn’t understand everything, she heard Miss Sutton mention Claire Ainsworth’s name.

She knew in her heart that this must be the person who had bullied Aunt Evelynn.

Her little face immediately puffed out in anger.

Rachel didn’t notice Melissa’s change in mood at that moment.

Having a perfectly lovely birthday party ruined like this would leave anyone feeling frustrated.

It was almost one-thirty.

Rachel still had to take Melissa to her lesson.

The others stayed at the Royce family home.

Zachary Dudley drove the pair from the villa.

Instead of returning to Silvermist Bay, they went straight to a tutoring center downtown.

After handing Melissa over to her teacher,

Rachel waited outside.

Once in the classroom,

Melissa said to the teacher, "I need to call my dad first."

The teacher replied, "All right."

Melissa used her watch phone to dial her father’s number.

The call connected quickly.

"Melissa."

Melissa’s voice was full of grievance as she cried, "Daddy."

Tristan Sterling’s voice tightened. "Sweetheart, what’s wrong?"

Melissa said, "Aunt Claire bullied Aunt Evelynn today, and Aunt Evelynn’s face got hurt."

Tristan Sterling wasn’t surprised to hear this, as Claire Ainsworth had already called him.

He was silent for a moment, then, without answering her, he asked, "What are you doing right now, Melissa?"

Melissa replied, "Aunt Evelynn just dropped me off at my piano lesson. Today is Aunt Evelynn’s mother’s birthday."

Tristan Sterling hummed. "In that case, you should focus on your lesson for now, Melissa."

Melissa asked, "But what about Aunt Evelynn getting bullied?"

"Can we talk about it when Daddy gets back, okay?"

Melissa mumbled, "Okay, then. When are you coming back, Daddy?"

"I’ll be back in a few days," Tristan Sterling said.

The father and daughter chatted for a little longer until Tristan had cheered Melissa up.

Melissa’s piano lesson would last until two-forty.

Rachel took advantage of the free time to review some documents sent from the United States.

NS’s parent company had been acquired for one billion US dollars, and all equity under NS Corporation was being transferred. The acquiring party was an extremely powerful capital firm in North America, with its largest shareholder being the Fix Family, an old, established family-run company.

A transfer of equity was a major event for any company, but for now, it didn’t seem likely to cause any immediate, significant impact.

She then reviewed the financial data from the last quarter.

「Meanwhile.」

Inside the villa where the society wives were gathered,

Jane Sullivan was on the phone with Suzanne.

She had just learned that Rachel’s group had been released from the police station.

It was Suzanne who had called the police station.

"Suzanne, what do you think you’re doing? Your sister has been bullied by that woman time and again! When has your sister ever been subjected to such humiliation in her entire life?"

Suzanne replied, "Mom, Claire started it. If this really blows up, what good will that do Claire?"

Jane Sullivan said coldly, "And what status does that woman have? She’s just another social climber trying to cling to the Sterling family."

Suzanne said, "Julian Jennings is protecting her."

’Julian Jennings?’

Jane Sullivan, who of course knew who that was, couldn’t help but frown. "What is her relationship with Julian Jennings?"

Suzanne didn’t elaborate, only saying, "Mom, you need to tell Claire to stop being so impulsive."

Although Jane Sullivan was inwardly indignant,

hearing Suzanne’s warning, she had to swallow her anger for now.

She was in a dilemma. Things within the Sullivan family were unstable, with her eldest child on one side, and her husband and younger son on the other.

Tristan Sterling was very close with Suzanne. If this situation wasn’t handled well, who knew when Tristan would finally decide to marry Claire.

She had spoken with Sylvia Shannon about this before.

Although nothing was stated explicitly,

the implication was clear: Sylvia Shannon was fond of Claire Ainsworth, but she couldn’t make the final decision regarding Tristan Sterling’s affairs. That would require consulting Madam Sterling.

After all, it was Madam Sterling who had made the decision about Tristan’s marriage in the first place.

However, the most urgent matter was to properly handle the internal affairs of the Sullivan family.

Tristan Sterling met all her criteria, and she would only be at ease once Claire married a man like him.

It was just that Suzanne absolutely refused to back down.

At this thought,

she said earnestly, "Suzanne, your sister is twenty-five this year. You should think about her future a little more."

Suzanne replied, "I know. I have something to take care of, so I’m hanging up."

Listening to Suzanne’s dismissive reply, Jane Sullivan heaved a heavy sigh.

*

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

"Aunt Evelynn!"

Melissa’s voice rang out.

Rachel looked up, put away her tablet, and rose to walk over.

After a brief chat with the teacher, she left with Melissa.

Melissa politely waved goodbye to her teacher.

Rachel first took Melissa to a dessert shop in a nearby mall.

Melissa got a call from Nina Fitzwilliam.