The Silent Wife

Rachel was badly hurt by Justin's grip, yet she could only let out a hideous wail. Even the driver, who sneaked a couple of peeks, was pained by the view.

"What about the item Jefferey gave you?" His freezing voice echoed in the car. Justin was certain that Jefferey had handed her something, but they were interrupted by Amber just then. Rachel started tearing up as she continuously shook her head in an aggravated manner.

When her devastated look reached Justin's eyes, he subconsciously loosened his grip.

It had been so long since that particular exchange; even if he did give her something, she must've concealed it by now. There was no way she would show it to him.

"It's best if you remember that living with the Burtons means you're one of us. You'd better not waver your loyalty... or else."

After seeing her curl up in the corner of the seat with a face as pale as snow, he immediately let go of her.

He was aware of Rachel's position in her family. Although he wasn't sure back then, he had certainly confirmed his suspicions after having visited the Hudson Residence earlier.

If it weren't for the leverage her father had against her, she wouldn't have been so obedient toward him.

After being reminded of the matter with the hospital, Justin had already come up with a plan.

Meanwhile, Rachel, who was staring at him in terror, grabbed her aching neck with one hand as she pushed herself against the car door. It was not until she was sure that he had unhanded her that she finally dared to take a breath.

As a result, the strangling incident moments ago had left a scar in her heart-it was indeed a challenge for her to remain by Justin's side.

After dropping her off at the Burton Residence, Justin went straight to Burton Group.

Frankie, who was Justin's assistant, poured a glass of tea and entered the latter's office.

"I've talked to the hospital, Mr. Burton. Miss Amber can go for her internship first thing tomorrow."

"Have you informed Julian already?" Without lifting his head, Justin took a sip of the tea before turning a page of his book.

"Not yet. Doctor Peters is absent today, but the Dean will inform him soon."

He lifted his head slightly and asked, "Is Rachel's grandmother hospitalized there?"

"Yes." Frankie nodded. "Doctor Peters is indeed her main operator, but..."

Upon sensing the pause in his assistant's speech, Justin raised his head and asked coldly, "But what?"

"The hospital records show that he had paid for her operation bills."

Frankie was thoroughly baffled as to why Julian would pay for Rachel's grandmother to undergo surgery.

Upon hearing that, Justin revealed a frown.

As he continued to turn the pages, Frankie's face slightly froze.

After a while, he hesitantly stated, "You seem to care about your wife very much, Mr. Burton."

In fact, the book Justin was reading was a guide to sign languages-one that Frankie had never seen in his boss' office. Since having entered his office, Justin never once let go of the book.

As he pondered on Rachel's situation, Frankie couldn't help but feel confused.

"Should we call the hospital and request for a more refined surgeon?"

Just as Justin was thinking about something, he became distracted by Frankie's words and immediately shot him a cold leer.

His assistant was taken aback by this and hastily apologized, "I've spoken too much."

After he exited the office, the room became silent.

As Justin's fingers brushed against the pages of the book, he had reached its last page and noticed some words on an empty space there. Evidently, the book had its share of age given its faded texts, though one could still read it with ease. It was the lyrics of 'To the Oak'.

'If I love you, I won't climb over you like the vines, stepping over you to look refined...

As Justin read the elegant handwriting, the image of Rachel's weak, tranquil eyes popped up in his

On the other hand, Rachel had just entered the Burtons' home.

In the living room, Mrs. Duncan was cleaning the table alone. Although she had seen Rachel's return, she didn't even bother to greet her.

Rachel wasn't mad about this, and she simply signed. Where's Madam Parham?

If Sue wasn't at home, she could relax and go upstairs for a rest.

Sadly, Mrs. Duncan showed her a scowl. "What are you saying, Mrs. Burton? I can't understand you."

At that, Rachel was stunned because what she had just expressed wasn't actually sign language. A normal person would have completely acknowledged what she was trying to ask.

from behind. "My mom went out with her friends. What do you need?"

When she turned around, she saw Julian smiling at her.

Rachel turned toward him and nodded her head as her way of greeting him. Then, she proceeded to write in her notebook, 'Nothing much. I brought something from home, and I just wanted to give it to her In fact, the item she brought from home had been prepared by Jefferey's underlings under his order.

After all, she was a daughter of the Hudsons, and the family was depending on her although they weren't showing her any love. Hence, out of courtesy, Jefferey had prepared a simple gift for the Burtons. "I think she's going to come home late. Whatever it is, you can hand it to Mrs. Duncan."

She nodded her head to express her acknowledgment.

'Why are you home? Don't you have work today?'

"I'm on leave today," Julian explained. "By the way, I'm going to the hospital tonight. Do you want to come along?"

Rachel was surprised by his offer, but she shook her head after a short while, rejecting his offer with a beam. 'Maybe not today, but I'll go tomorrow.'

Upon remembering Justin's mistreatment of her after her interaction with Julian, she was immediately perturbed. Thus, she thought it was best for everyone not to cause any misunderstandings. After expressing that, Rachel pointed upward and made a sleeping gesture, suggesting that she was going upstairs for a rest.

In Julian's eyes were subtle traces of disappointment, though he still nodded his head. "Okay. Rest well."

Then, he watched as she walked up the staircase, noticing that she was visibly weak. For some reason, Julian's desire to protect her grew even stronger.

When night fell upon the city, the second bedroom on the second floor of the Hudson Residence still had its lights on.

"All right. Thank you, Dean. I'll arrive at the hospital first thing in the morning."

As she clutched her phone, she couldn't hide the merriness in her voice.

Shortly after the call disconnected, she received an employment notification on her phone and immediately sent a text to Justin. 'I've received the news from the hospital, Justin. It's such a pleasant surprise that you arranged this so quickly. Thank you so much!

After waiting for a long while, she had yet to receive a reply.

At that time, it was already eleven at night. Justin is probably home and is sharing a bed with Rachel right now. At that thought, the grin on her face froze.

No, wait! Rachel and Justin don't share a room! She remembered what Sue told her.

But Dad...

She seemed to have realized something, and she hastily picked up a tiny, white bag from her drawer.

Earlier that day, she had retrieved the bag under Rachel's bed before leaving her room.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Thanks to the fact that she majored in medicine and how she had been familiar with both traditional and modern medicine since young, she could easily determine the components that comprised the substance in the bag just by looking at it and taking a whiff.

If I'm not mistaken, Dad was the one who gave this to Rachel... Is he asking her to drug Justin with this?