Chapter 186
My Mute Bride
Rachel crossed her arms. âMary bought some honey right after you wired her a hundred thousand, and Charlotteâs allergy acted up right after that. Yet youâre trying to⦠shift the blame.â
âNo. I didnât do this.â Amber tried to explain herself. âJustin, I didnât do this.â
âIâll get someone to look into this.â Justin looked at her icily.
âDaddy!â Charlotte called out to Justin. He quickly wiped off his fury and went into the ward.
âJustin!â Amber wanted to go inside too, but Rachel stopped her. âWhat do you think youâre doing?â
Amber looked irritated.
âI know what you were trying to do. You did this to Charlotte so you can put the blame on me, right?â
âNonsense! What proof do you have?â
âOh, I have a lot of it. I can show it to you if you want. Itâs a one-way ticket to prison, and I donât mind giving it to you early.â
Amber was getting mad. âWhy did you come back? What do you want?â
âWhat rightfully belongs to me. Justin and Charlotte.â
Amber stared at her in disbelief. So sheâs here for Justin! Fury overwhelmed her, and she raised her hand against Rachel, but Rachel caught it before she could even move.
âIâm not the old Rachel from five years ago anymore. You canât do as you please to me now.â
âLet me go, Rachel!â
âListen up, Amber. Lay a finger on Charlotte again and Iâll make sure youâre ruined.â Rachel shot her a terrifying glare. âI wonder if Old Mr. Burton will let you marry Justin if I were to, oh I donât know, upload the video where youâre having sex with Noah?â
Amber stopped moving all of a sudden and stared at Rachel in disbelief. There wasnât anyone in the staircase. Julian was pacing outside, leaving only Rachel and a terrified Amber inside.
Rachel was playing Amber and Noahâs sex video from five years ago on her phone. There was no sound, but judging from the clear resolution, she knew itâd be loud enough for everyone to hear. âE Enoughâ¦â Amberâs voice was shaking. She tried to snatch Rachelâs phone, but Rachel dodged her.
Rachel looked at her icily. âStand right there. You donât want Justin to see this, right?â
âWhat do you want?â
âThat doesnât sound like begging to me.â
Amber bit her lip, almost drawing blood. A long while later, she finally said, âPlease. I beg you.â
âKneel before me,â Rachel answered calmly.
All the color drained from Amberâs face, but she knelt before Rachel in the end. âI beg you, donât upload the video. Weâre sisters, right?â
âHold on a second.â Rachel turned on her phoneâs camera and aimed it at Amber. âAlright. Repeat what you said earlier.â
Amber froze up, and an awkward silence fell between them. A long, long while later, Amber finally said, âI beg you, delete the video. Donât upload it, Rachel. Weâre sisters, right?â
âAnd what about Charlotte?â
âIâm sorry. I wonât do it again.â
With a beep, Rachel stopped recording and kept her phone. But before she left, she said coldly, âAmber, I donât want any trouble, but that doesnât mean Iâm scared of you. Do anything funny again and I will wreck you.â
The door slowly creaked shut after Rachel left. When she was gone, Amber gritted her teeth and glared at the door darkly. Rachel!
When Julian saw her coming out, he gave Rachel a bottle of water. âYouâre letting her off just like that?â
Rachel answered, âSheâs not a threat. Obviously the Burtons donât like her either. Sheâs been dating Justin for five years now, but sheâs still not married to him.â
âIâve heard about that. My mom doesnât really want her either. Old Mr. Burton only mentioned it in passing, though he never did anything for her.â
Rachel was surprised, but then she realized something. âOh right. Youâre also a Burton, technically speaking. Almost forgot about it.â
âYou should have forgotten about it.â Julian smiled. âOnly then youâll see me as your friend.â
âAm I that merciless to you?â Rachel winked. âYou saved me and cured me of my condition. Not to mention you took care of me over the years. Iâd be heartless if I didnât see you as my friend.â
âWhen did you come back anyway? Jolly didnât tell me about it.â
âTwo days ago. Had a seminar so I couldnât tell you in time. But I heard youâre in trouble, so here I am.â
Julian worked overseas after he was done studying, but he kept in touch with the doctors back home, so he came back a lot.
Rachel then remembered something. âOh, I never heard you talking about Justinâs amnesia.â
Julian stopped. âTo be honest, I donât know a lot about that. I didnât tell you because you were still shocked after going overseas. It wasnât the best time to bring it up.â
âHas this been going on for a long time?â
Julian nodded. âNot long after you went overseas, he got into a car crash. He has a clot in his brain that wonât go away. Stayed in the hospital for three months and woke up without memories.â
âAll his memories?â
âAside from you, he forgot about Amber, the grudge between him and the Hudsons, and even the time he was abducted as a child.â
Rachel stared ahead in disbelief. âImpossible.â
âPost-traumatic amnesia. PTA for short. The human brain will delete some memories if it recognizes the body canât take the shock that comes from it.â
They finally came back to Charlotteâs ward while Julian was explaining everything that happened.
Julian knew Rachel was shocked, so he reminded her, âHeâs not the same man you saw five years ago.
Thatâs why I wasnât worried when you wanted to come back alone.â
Rachel clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. âSo he forgot everything and lives like nothing happened for five years?â
âTechnically, yes.â
âHow dare he?â Her eyes red, Rachel teared up. He ruined my life and nearly killed me! Whyâd he have a second chance at life? Why?
âYou have to look ahead, Rachel.â
Rachel said, âYes, but I have to make sure the people who died can rest in peace before I can do that.â