The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 88: She Just Felt Terrible in Her Heart

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: She Just Felt Terrible in Her Heart

Chapter 88: She Just Felt Awful

Tristan Sterling patiently explained, "Grandma wasn’t trying to trick you. She’s just worried Melissa will get hurt."

Melissa let out another sob. "But Aunt Evelynn wouldn’t hurt me."

Tristan said, "Your grandma told me you call her every day. Grandma doesn’t know Aunt Evelynn, so she’s worried that you trust a stranger too much. What if you get hurt? Don’t you know how much your grandma loves you?"

Melissa fidgeted with her little fingers and puffed out her cheeks, not saying a word. ’She was sure Aunt Evelynn liked her and would never, ever hurt her.’

She loved hearing Aunt Evelynn’s voice, hearing her sing. It sounded just like when Nina’s mommy sang to her.

But she understood what her dad was saying. She just didn’t know how to explain that Aunt Evelynn wouldn’t hurt her; she couldn’t put her feelings into words.

"How about we wait until Dad has a chance to look into this, and then Melissa can contact her again, okay?"

Tristan patiently coaxed her for a long time before Melissa finally agreed.

After he hung up the phone, Tristan immediately had someone arrange his return to Kingsland for that same day, even though he had originally promised Claire Ainsworth he would go back on Monday.

Sylvia Shannon apologized to Melissa.

Melissa wasn’t an unreasonable child. She knew how much her grandma doted on her, and she loved her grandma very much.

So she accepted her grandma’s apology.

She washed her face and went to eat breakfast.

But not being able to contact Aunt Evelynn still made her feel awful.

*

Rachel Royce arrived at the office.

She then went to Julian Jennings’s office.

The two of them talked for nearly an hour.

When they finished, he said, "Anyway, call me if you have any problems."

Rachel Royce smiled. "I only plan on calling you when it’s over."

Julian Jennings smiled back. "Alright."

Because some last-minute work came up for Rachel, her departure was scheduled for two in the afternoon.

Accompanying Rachel on this business trip were Deputy Director Victor Yates, Team Leader Leo Howard from Division One, and her assistant, Marcus Sheldon.

When the investment department learned that Victor Yates was accompanying Rachel to negotiate the deal, their private group chats started buzzing with discussion.

Deputy Director Victor Yates was a mainstay of the company. He had been headhunted from another firm during Rowan’s early days and had made significant contributions over the years.

The previous director had been promoted to deputy general manager a year ago, and everyone had assumed the director position would naturally go to Victor Yates. But to their surprise, the position had remained vacant.

Then, three months ago, an internal announcement stated that the head of the New York office would be transferred back to headquarters to serve as the new director.

No one had expected this new director to be so young and beautiful.

Perhaps it was due to a natural condescension toward women, especially one so beautiful. They felt that no matter how high her academic qualifications were, no matter her experience in the United States, and no matter how much praise she received for her performance at the financial summit or for her rigor and professionalism as a program host, some people would always suspect she hadn’t gotten there on her own merits.

These people were mainly the male managers in the company who were older than her but ranked lower.

The speculation was that Julian Jennings was probably worried she couldn’t handle it, so he arranged for Victor Yates to go along. This way, once the deal was secured, all the credit would go to Evelynn.

Around one o’clock, Rachel Royce and Marcus Sheldon took a company car to the high-speed rail station.

Taking the high-speed train was the most convenient way to get to Athera from there.

Victor Yates and Leo Howard had already gone to Athera the day before.

「Half an hour later.」 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The car arrived at the high-speed rail station.

However, Rachel first headed to the arrivals gate.

June Jennings had called her earlier.

Over the past two days, June Jennings had taken Stella on a trip to another city. They had visited a temple that was said to be especially efficacious, where she had specifically prayed for a career charm and a peace charm for Rachel.

Knowing that Rachel was heading to Athera for a business project, and seeing that their train schedules would line up, June had insisted that Rachel wait for her so she could take the charms with her.

So, Rachel waited at the arrivals gate.

「Ten minutes later.」

She received a message from June Jennings saying she was off the train.

A few more minutes passed. Rachel looked up and, of all people, saw the very last person she wanted to see.

Tristan Sterling.

The man was wearing a white T-shirt that revealed his strong, well-defined arms. One hand was tucked into a pocket, and an expensive-looking watch adorned his wrist. Black trousers encased a pair of long, straight legs. He wore sunglasses that hid his eyes but showed off the smooth, handsome lines of his lower face, and he radiated a cold, unapproachable air.

He strode forward with steady, powerful steps.

Rachel couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She averted her gaze, pretending he was nothing but thin air.

But she could feel Tristan Sterling’s gaze fixed on her.

Just then, June Jennings emerged, pushing a suitcase with Stella sitting on top.

Rachel hurried forward.

Stella shouted happily, "Godmom!"

The man, who had been striding forward without pause, couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment when he heard Stella’s cry.

Rachel swept Stella into her arms and couldn’t resist kissing the little one. It had been a while since she’d seen her goddaughter.

"Did Stella miss her Godmom?"

"Yes! Of course I missed you, Godmom! But Mommy said you’re super, super busy every day."

"How about I spend lots of time with Stella after I’m done being busy, okay?"

"Okay!"

"..."

June Jennings gave both the career charm and the peace charm she’d prayed for to Rachel. "These will guarantee you smoothly close the deal."

Rachel took them, tucked them safely into her bag, and said, "Well then, if I close this deal, you’ll be the real hero!"

June Jennings laughed. "If you want to call me a hero, I’ll accept it."

"..."

The two didn’t chat for long.

Rachel first saw the mother and daughter off into their car.

Meanwhile, the car that had been there to pick up Tristan Sterling was already gone, though she hadn’t seen when it left.

After saying goodbye to the mother and daughter, Rachel hurried toward the high-speed train platform.

「Inside the Rolls-Royce.」

Tristan Sterling was on a business call, his handsome face cold and serious.

The call was about Procare Meditech.

The company had grown explosively over the past two years, and its pharmaceutical R&D had achieved a breakthrough with a new technology this year. The investment department had designated Procare as a key investment target, with Deputy Director Dylan Young directly in charge of the project.

Tristan Sterling asked, "Who’s handling it on Rowan’s side?"

The person on the other end replied, "It’s Rowan’s newly appointed Director of Investment, Evelynn. I hear she was transferred back from their United States office."

Tristan Sterling’s handsome face was inscrutable, revealing none of his thoughts. He asked, "How confident is Dylan Young?"

"Mr. Young says he’s one hundred percent confident he can secure it."

"Then I’ll be waiting for his good news."

*

「The high-speed train departed on schedule at two o’clock.」

It was a two-hour journey.

They arrived in Athera at four in the afternoon.

A company car was waiting for them.

Rowan had a branch office in Athera, so Rachel and her assistant went there directly.

A temporary office had already been arranged for her.

Rachel took a moment to settle in, then called an impromptu meeting.

On the way there, she had already contacted the head of the branch office, Sean Palmer.

But when the meeting was supposed to start, she learned that not only were Victor Yates and Leo Howard not at the office, but even Sean Palmer wasn’t there.

Of course, Rachel knew exactly what they were implying.