Chapter 296
My Mute Bride
Chapter 296 Their Only Photo Together Rachel suddenly took a step back while furrowing her brows. Even though the obvious resistance in her eyes had quickly flickered away, Justin was able to capture it. âIâll pretend that I didnât hear what you said earlier.â After that, she turned around and walked off.
He was left dumbfounded for a few seconds before he suddenly caught up to her with annoyance and blocked her path. âIâve always wanted to ask you what you think of our relationship. You are Charlotteâs mother, and you live in the same house as me. Doesnât that make us lovers?â
âNo,â Rachel answered firmly. âIâm glad that you know Iâm Charlotteâs mother. After Jefferey was imprisoned, I said that I wanted to move out, but I decided to stay in the end. Have you forgotten why?â
Justin was slightly infuriated. âI thought it was because you were angry at me.â
âIâm sorry, but I donât have the time to play these childish games with you.â
âArenât you angry at me now?â
Looking at the raging man in front of her, she felt that she needed to draw a line between them.
âTo me, youâre just my ex-husband in a legal sense and Charlotteâs father. If you really want to know what our relationship is, I want us to be business partners. We are just friends.â
Friends? Justin gritted his teeth. âSame as Hernandez and the others?â
A frowning Rachel reluctantly nodded her head.
She hated to admit that to her, Hernandez and Julian were friends that felt like family whereas Justin wasnât even close.
However, she didnât wish to be too harsh on him since it wouldnât benefit her future plans if they had a fallout.
âWhat if I donât want to be your friend?â
âThen, Iâll just move out of the house?â
âYouâ¦â
âCharlotte and I have talked about it before. We can take turns taking care of her every week. No one will be at a loss. What do you think?â
âWho says that Iâm not at a loss?â
âThen, what do you suggest?â Rachel calmly crossed her arms.
After holding back his anger, Justin gritted his teeth and responded, âWho said that you can move out?
If you want to be friends, then weâll just be friends.â
I need to look at the bigger picture and endure this for the moment. I donât believe that I canât break through her icy heart.
Then, a familiar sound of cheering was heard in the distance.
Gloria and Jolly were now competing to see who could hold their breath the longest with Victor as the judge. There were also a bunch of onlookers around them.
â2 minutes⦠2 minutes and 15 secondsâ¦â
Finally, Jolly could no longer hold her breath, so she emerged from under the water. âThis doesnât count. We choose the best out of three rounds.â
Gloria raised her brow and clarified, âEven if we play 30 rounds, you still wonât beat me. Itâs best if you just give up now.â
âShe learns music, so her lung capacity must be larger than any normal person. Youâve miscalculated,â
Victor murmured to Jolly after suddenly realizing this loophole.
However, she was still dissatisfied with the result as she pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head.
âNo, letâs play one more round.â
âYou still wonât give up? Fine, letâs have one more round then!â Gloria didnât panic at all since she was full of confidence. âHowever, if I win this time, you have to promise me that you wonât bring anyone to mess with me whenever I start a game.â
âAlright. Itâs a deal.â
When Jolly winked at Victor, he nodded his head in agreement.
After he let out a scream, Gloria and Jolly quickly pinched their noses and sank into the water. Then, Victor took down the rubber crab toy hanging around his neck and sneakily reached into the water to approach Gloriaâs calf.
Pfft!
Gloria immediately lifted her head in panic.
Meanwhile, Jolly calmly wiped her face and announced, âItâs a draw!â
Gloria wasnât stupid enough not to have noticed the rubber crab toy in the water, so she pointed at Victor and shouted, âYou cheated. Both of you cheated!â
He hid behind Jolly and made a funny face at Gloria. âHehe, you didnât say that we are not allowed to cheat! Itâs a draw anyway!â
An angry Gloria then jumped. âThereâs still one more round!â
âIâm not playing anymore. Letâs go and play something else.â
âHey, donât run away!â
In the meantime, Rachel and Justin saw Julian piling sand with the two children on shore.
She asked, âWhat are those three doing again?â
Julian smiled. âThey are just playing around.â
âMommy, come and help me build a castle!â
When Charlotte saw Rachel, she quickly pulled Rachel aside.
When Julian saw Justin behind her, his eyes darkened a little. âJustin, why do you look like you are clinging onto something?â
Justin had just suffered defeat from Rachel and was now enraged, so after listening to his sarcastic words, it was enough to make Justin infuriated. âWhat about you? I didnât see you achieving any success when you were alone with her abroad for so many years. Not only that, you even let the Curly Weirdo approach her.â
âA curly weirdo?â Julian chuckled. âDid you learn that word from Charlotte? How old are you?â
When did he become this childish?
âJust mind your own business!â Justin glared at him.
Listening to their squabbling, Samuel breathed a thoughtful sigh. Even though he was playing with the sand, his face radiated a sense of calmness that exceeded his peers. âYou two are the same, so quit the squabbling!â
Julian was happy to hear his words, so he moved closer and asked seriously, âSamuel, out of the men present here today, who do you think has a better chance of winning your mommyâs heart?â
Samuel looked around with his huge eyes before unfolding his hands. âNone of you.â
âIf you have to choose one, though?â
âIf I have to choose one, thatâll be him.â Samuel pointed his chubby finger at Justin.
At first, Julian thought he had a good chance of winning, but when he saw the direction that Samuel was pointing at, the smile on his face instantly froze. âWhy him?â
âI saw his photo in mommyâs notebook before.â Both Julian and Justin were startled. âIt was a wedding photo. After staring at it, Mommy cried and threw it in the trash can, but she picked it up afterward.â
Therefore, Justin subconsciously looked into the distance and quickly found Rachelâs extremely skinny back. Her swimsuit had revealed her butterfly-like silhouette as she built a sandcastle with Charlotte.
Some time ago, he searched every corner of the house, but he still couldnât locate the photo he had taken with her. After asking Frankie, he retrieved a photo from their previous wedding certificate.
They were both wearing white shirts in front of a red background in the photo, but it was unsurprising that it was the only photo that they shared together. If Rachel had never loved me before, why would she take that photo with her when she left?
Suddenly, a slimmer of hope was suddenly ignited inside his heart and it gradually grew into a huge flame.
âThank you, kid!â
Justin suddenly pinched Samuelâs cheek before walking toward Rachel and Charlotte in the distance.