Chapter 32
My Mute Bride
My Mute Bride Chapter 32 There was a tinge of coldness coming from his fingers onto her cheeks that were held with force.
However, the voice ringing next to Rachelâs ear was even colder.
At this moment, she felt her head ringing as it went blank. Anxious, she quickly turned to look at Justin.
It was only then that he gradually let his grip off and took his seat on the sofa again. With his chin slightly tilted upward, he said with an arrogant, cold look, âI thought that you were lying. Now I see that youâre willing to do anything to help with your grandmaâs illness.â
After a few moments, she suddenly remembered that she had to breathe, so she took a deep breath in too quickly. Due to that, she choked hard and ended up holding her neck with her body leaning against the wall as she had a consecutive string of coughs.
She choked so badly that tears welled up in her eyes. Amidst her coughs, her hand that was holding a pen trembled. âWhat do you mean?â
Seeing that, he calmly took a breath in before letting it out. As he tucked his crossed fingers between his knees, he looked up at her before saying, âI want to make a deal with you.â
There was a brief pause before he continued his next sentence.
âI want the Hudson Familyâs prescription.â
Itâs the prescription again! Heâs indeed coming for the Hudsonâs prescription!
When she heard that, her face turned pale as she shook her head several times. What prescription? I donât know.â
The Hudson Familyâs prescription was a trade secret that serves as the key livelihood of Hudson Pharmaceuticals. Even Amber didnât know much about it, much less Rachel, the neglected daughter who was born out of wedlock.
âWeâre not in a rush.â
Of course, he was aware of the limitations of her capabilities.
âThe Hudson Family owns many prescriptions, but I only want one-the one in Jeffereyâs private safe.â
Upon hearing that, she shook her head helplessly. âYouâre asking too much from me?
No matter which prescription heâd ask for, she wouldnât be able to obtain any of them.
âToo much?â As he looked at her neat handwriting on the notebook, his face turned dark. He then looked at her with a cold gaze before he blurted, âThatâs right! Iâm asking a lot from you because itâs what you Hudsons owe me!â
Years back, they were the ones who caused Katieâs death in that fire. It was a blood debt that had to be paid back, so there was no way heâd be asking too much from them.
As his train of thoughts ran through his mind, his face turned even darker. In a cold tone, he continued, âJefferey will be celebrating his birthday at the end of the month. If you manage to get it, Iâll help you eliminate the evidence he has against you. You will no longer be restricted by them.â
Hearing his deep voice echo in the room, she shuddered.
Justin wants to do something to Grandma⦠No way!
âHave you considered it?â
âGive me some time? She could only compromise.
Nevertheless, she knew that she was unable to do what he asked of her. Not to mention, she didnât even know where the safe he mentioned was. How could she get the prescription?
âAre you trying to negotiate with me?â
Gritting her teeth, she held onto the pen tightly as she wrote, âGrandmaâs operation is next Monday. I can only do that after her operation ends.â
Looking at her determined look, he knew that heâd gained nothing if he were to push her further. After giving it some thought, he briefly replied, âOkay.â
After waiting for so many years, he didnât mind waiting for a mere few days.
âDonât try to pull anything funny.â Before he left, he gave her a warning. âDonât forget. No one is going to have your back if you screw up.â
Right after that, the door was slammed shut with a bang, causing Rachel to tremble.
After a few seconds, she held onto the arms of the chair before she sat down as her legs felt weak.
It seemed that she could no longer reside in the Burton Family nor in Riverdale, so she must bring her grandma and leave as soon as possible.
The next day.
When Justin was about to head out in the morning, he bumped into Julian at the door.
âMorning.â
âWaiting for someone?â Justin nodded in acknowledgment as he gazed past Julian and noticed that he was leaning against a car like he was waiting for someone.
Without bothering to evade, he replied, âIâm going to work. On the way, Iâll bring Rae to see her grandma at the hospital.â
âRae?â The nickname sounded extra unpleasant to Justinâs ears as the look in his eyes turned cold.
At this moment, Rachel came out of the house carrying a minimalistic white tote bag. Seeing the two men looking at her, she was stumped.
What are the odds of such a coincidence?
She had even deliberately decided to leave a little later than usual just to avoid these two men.
âMorning, Rae!â Julianâs voice traveled past Justinâs figure and entered her ears.
Out of instinct, she looked up and offered the source of the voice a smile, but her smile quickly faltered when her eyes met Justinâs. Hence, she tentatively gave a nod in response without budging.
âLetâs go. Iâll take you to the hospital.â
Julianâs voice could be heard once again. It was as warm and gentle as the morning sunlight âThereâs no need for that. Iâll drop her off on my way to work.â At this moment, Justinâs voice echoed in the front porch, somehow dimming the warmth of this morningâs sunlight.
Hearing that made her face freeze.
âRaeâ¦â Julianâs gaze turned serious.
Inevitably, she didnât have the guts to look at Julian in his eyes as her clutch on the tote bag strap tightened. Under Justinâs pressuring gaze, she slowly threaded toward him and got into his car.
He didnât even have to say anything else.
Meanwhile, Julian seemed like a kicked puppy as he watched her sitting in Justinâs car.
As Justin walked past Julian, he put his palm on Julianâs shoulder firmly before saying in a cold tone, âYou should call her Rachel; she is your in-law, not your friend.â
Upon hearing that, Julian froze in his tracks.
As the MPV left the front porch, the atmosphere at the scene seemed too heavy for a day in summer.
The white figure standing at the front porch became smaller and smaller in the rear mirror, and Rachel couldnât help but sink into a state of guilt.
âWhatâs wrong? Are you unwilling to be in my car?â
At this moment, a cold voice spoke up from beside her. At once, she snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head in denial.
âThen, are you disappointed because you didnât get to ride with Julian?â
Once again, she shook her head. âI donât want to ride in his car. Even if I didnât get into yours, I wouldnât have gone with him.â
âOh? Really?â
âMadam Parham doesnât like it when I get too close with Julian, so I will keep my distance from him.â
After being around Justin for some time, she learned that it was vital for her to get things straight so that unnecessary misunderstandings wouldnât happen.
Hearing that, he couldnât help but scoff. âVery sensible of you.â
Sue had always taken Julianâs marriage seriously. Usually, she wouldnât even approve of normal girls, much less Rachel.
After taking a glance at her, Justin turned his attention away to the view outside the window before he said monotonously, âStay away from Julian. Donât get into trouble.â
She nodded immediately to indicate that she had understood.
Seeing how obtuse she seemed, he no longer felt like talking to her. Hence, he shut his eyes and leaned back into the seat.
The view outside the window was moving backward at a high speed, and it was silent in the car.
Hearing the steady and soft breaths coming from the man sitting next to her, Rachel no longer felt anxious.
At this moment, she tentatively turned to look at him.
The scar on his face seemed to have faded a lot, and he didnât look as scary and tenacious in his sleep.
Just as she was observing his features, she suddenly saw from her hindsight that the driver was checking her out from the rearview mirror. At once, she was stumped. Not knowing what else to do, she quickly bowed down to reach for her tote bag that had fallen between the two seats in hopes that the awkwardness would dissipate.
The moment she picked up the tote bag, her wrist was grabbed by a big hand.
Inevitably, she was caught off guard. She initially thought that Justin must have woken up, but he seemed to be still having his eyes closed when she turned to check on him. Nonetheless, she also noticed that droplets of cold sweat trickled down his forehead where the scar was imprinted on his skin.
He must be having a nightmare.
Would a person like him get nightmares too? Though she couldnât understand why, she felt a little bad for him.
After a few moments, she finally calmed herself back down and decided to carefully retract her hand back.
âKatieâ¦â
After a string of murmurs, he suddenly opened his eyes. At this moment, his gaze was as cold as a sharp sword, puncturing into her eyes in a swift action. Stupefied, she couldnât help but shudder as she held her breath.