The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 89: Mom

Chapter 89: Mama

Rachel Royce told Marcus Sheldon to call Victor Yates. "Tell him if I don’t see him in twenty minutes, he can start writing his resignation letter."

After acknowledging the order, Marcus Sheldon called Victor Yates.

Twenty minutes later.

Victor Yates, Leo Howard, and Sean Palmer appeared in the office one after another. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Victor Yates was thirty-nine years old, lean and wiry. He wore glasses and had a thin, scholarly appearance, but the overly narrow corners of his eyes marked him as a shrewd man.

When Victor Yates saw Rachel Royce, he rushed to apologize. "President Royce, my sincerest apologies. Mr. Howard and I had a meeting with the people from Procare today and weren’t able to inform you in advance. I’ll fill you in on the details of our discussion shortly."

The smile on Rachel Royce’s face didn’t reach her eyes. "Is that so? It seems I’ve misunderstood you, Mr. Yates. In that case, I’ll be sure to listen very carefully to your report later."

Victor Yates quickly agreed, "Of course, of course."

"Then have a seat for now."

Victor Yates sat down on the stool, and as he lowered his gaze, a vicious glint he couldn’t hide flashed in his eyes.

The meeting began.

After nearly two hours of discussion, everything went rather smoothly. Throughout the meeting, Rachel Royce expressed her admiration for many of Victor Yates’s ideas. She agreed with everything he said, creating an appearance of absolute trust.

The meeting concluded.

Everyone gradually filed out of the room.

Outside the conference room,

Victor Yates scoffed, "What can a woman possibly accomplish?"

Leo Howard said, "Mr. Yates, you still can’t be too careless. Evelynn is quite capable. She was the one who single-handedly resolved that business crisis in the United States."

Victor Yates retorted, "President Jennings was in the United States the whole time. Who knows if Evelynn really solved it or if he did? President Jennings is known for keeping his distance from women, but it looks to me like he’s fallen for her."

His tone was still full of disdain.

Even if Evelynn was capable, she wasn’t cut out for the position of Investment Director.

Hearing Victor Yates’s words, Leo Howard said no more.

「The following weekend.」

Rachel Royce did not stay idle.

She was either working overtime or attending dinner meetings, including one she had arranged with Mr. Zane of Procare.

Two years ago, Procare had undergone a corporate restructuring. She was the one who had written the adjustment proposal and the plan for a new round of financing, providing them with invaluable guidance.

It was precisely because of this restructuring that Procare was able to make major breakthroughs in research and development, which in turn attracted the attention of companies with deeper pockets.

The dinner meeting was a great success, and Rachel Royce and Mr. Zane got along wonderfully.

"I very much look forward to working with you in the future, Evelynn."

Rachel Royce shook Mr. Zane’s hand, smiling politely. "I look forward to it as well."

After the dinner meeting, Rachel Royce left by car.

Marcus Sheldon was driving and reported, "Vice Director Yates met with Mr. Young of Cedarwood at Eastmere for a game of golf today."

Rachel Royce gazed out the car window, the corner of her lip curling into a cold smirk. "Victor Yates had better do a good job of buttering up Dylan Young."

"..."

Instead of returning to the hotel, Rachel Royce went to a hospital.

Someone was standing guard inside the hospital room. A man with an injured calf lay on the bed. When the man saw Rachel Royce, his gaze met her cold, severe eyes, and he quickly looked away, not daring to make eye contact.

Rachel Royce asked Miles Sheldon, "Did Victor Yates call him?"

Miles Sheldon and Marcus Sheldon were twin brothers, only twenty-six years old this year. Though they were twins, they looked nothing alike. Marcus wore glasses and had the refined air of a white-collar elite. Miles, on the other hand, was tall and brawny, a trained fighter who had served in the military, and possessed a strong sense of counter-surveillance.

Victor Yates had arranged for someone to secretly tail her.

When she had left the hotel today, someone had been following her. Miles Sheldon had simply rammed his car into theirs. The other person was injured, so Miles took his phone and called for an ambulance.

Miles Sheldon replied, "He made the call. Victor Yates didn’t suspect a thing."

"Good."

"You keep a close watch on him. Call me if anything happens."

"Yes."

Afterward, Marcus Sheldon drove Rachel Royce back to the hotel.

On the way back to the hotel, Rachel Royce’s phone began to vibrate.

She picked up her phone, and for a moment, she froze when she saw the caller ID.

Even after five years, she still recognized the man’s phone number at a single glance.

After a pause of a few seconds, Rachel Royce pressed the answer button and raised the phone to her ear. She heard Melissa’s hoarse, pitiful little voice call out, "Aunt Evelynn."

It was obvious from her voice that she had just been crying.

Hearing it, Rachel Royce’s heart tightened. "Melissa, were you crying?"

Today was Saturday.

Melissa had been waiting to watch the show Rachel Royce hosted at eight o’clock, but the host had been replaced by someone else. When Melissa didn’t see Rachel, she immediately grew upset, crying and throwing a tantrum.

Tristan Sterling had waited for Melissa to calm down before giving her the phone to call.

Melissa asked, "How come I didn’t see you on TV today, Aunt Evelynn?"

Rachel knew that Melissa watched TV every Saturday waiting for her. ’Perhaps it’s true that a mother and child’s hearts are connected,’ she thought. She could feel Melissa’s affection for her.

She felt gratified, yet also guilty—guilty that she couldn’t respond to that affection as her mother.

Rachel Royce took a quiet, deep breath, forcing herself to calm down before she spoke. "Auntie had other work commitments today, so someone else had to fill in for me."

Melissa said, "Oh. Well, I didn’t get to call you yesterday, Aunt Evelynn. Did you miss me?"

Rachel Royce smiled warmly and said, "Of course I did."

Hearing Rachel Royce’s answer, the pout on Melissa’s little face instantly brightened.

The two of them chatted all the way until the car stopped at the hotel.

Melissa was still reluctant to hang up.

Just then, Tristan Sterling’s voice came from the other end of the line. "Melissa, it’s time for your bath."

Rachel Royce coaxed Melissa to go take her bath.

Melissa said, "Aunt Evelynn just promised she’d sing to me! After I take my bath, will you sing to me then, okay?"

Rachel Royce hummed in agreement.

Only then did Melissa hang up the phone.

She put down the phone, looked at her father, and urged, "Daddy, hurry and take me for my bath."

Tristan Sterling bent down and picked up his daughter.

Lisa Lawson had already drawn the bathwater.

Rachel Royce returned to her hotel room.

She went into the bathroom to quickly wash up and get ready.

When she returned to the main room, her phone began to vibrate again.

Rachel Royce walked over to the nightstand, unplugged the charging cable, got into bed, and leaned back against the headboard before answering the call.

"Aunt Evelynn, I’m all tucked in bed now!"

She was back to her usual happy, lively self.

’I wonder if Tristan Sterling is there with her.’

Rachel Royce didn’t ask. Instead, she adjusted her mood and began to softly hum a lullaby for her—the same song she used to hum for Melissa every night before bed when she was pregnant.

Melissa held the phone and listened quietly.

A few minutes later, Rachel Royce slowly stopped humming. The other end of the line was unusually quiet, with only the faint sound of soft breathing. She called out gently, "Melissa."

All she heard was a man’s deep, detached voice. "She’s asleep."

Rachel Royce hummed in acknowledgment, her tone just as indifferent, and then hung up the phone directly.

Tristan Sterling put down the phone, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.

He looked at his daughter, who was fast asleep in bed with her hands raised, and gently took her hands, tucking them under the covers.

As he was pulling the blanket up to cover her, he heard his daughter murmur in her sleep, "Mama."

Tristan Sterling’s hand froze, and his eyes fell upon his daughter’s sweet, peaceful little face.