The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 177: The First Court Hearing

Chapter 177: The First Hearing

Professor Bellamy grunted in acknowledgment and reminded him, "Your last physical exam report looked good. Remember to get a check-up every year."

Tristan Sterling replied, "I know."

At noon, they had lunch at the Bellamy Family’s home.

After lunch, they didn’t stay long before saying their goodbyes and leaving.

Melissa wanted to go to Ocean Park to see the dolphins.

So, Tristan drove them to Ocean Park.

Ocean Park was huge, and Tristan carried Melissa most of the time. But Melissa wanted her mother to hold her.

Tristan said, "Aunt Evelynn can’t carry you for too long, Melissa. Daddy will hold you."

Rachel Royce heard the obvious sarcasm in his voice when he said the name "Evelynn."

Melissa said, "Oh. Then I want to hold Mama’s hand. Hold my hand, Mama."

Melissa held out her little hand, and Rachel had no choice but to take it.

Along the way, she kept calling out "Mama," looking so happy and excited, as if she wanted everyone in the world to know she had a mother.

Tristan took photos of the two of them with his camera.

The family’s good looks drew many stares along the way, with Tristan carrying Melissa’s backpack and their things.

To any outsider, they looked exactly like a happy family.

That evening, the three of them had dinner out.

「On the way back.」

Melissa had fallen asleep in Rachel’s arms.

Rachel said flatly, "Take me to The Grand Monarch Hotel."

Tristan glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Now that Melissa was asleep, all the gentleness vanished from the woman’s face.

Only a dead silence remained between them.

Tristan looked away and didn’t ask any questions, turning the car around to take Rachel to the hotel.

Rachel didn’t take Melissa with her. She carefully placed her on the car seat and gazed at Melissa’s sleeping face, her eyes filled with reluctance. She had gradually gotten used to sleeping with Melissa every night.

She caressed her daughter’s cheek, then closed the car door and turned to enter the hotel. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Tristan watched her retreating figure before looking away and driving off.

Rachel checked into a room at the front desk.

She took the key card and went up to her room.

She pushed the door open and went inside.

Rachel received a call from Lawyer Goodman. "The hearing is tomorrow at ten in the morning. Will you be attending, Miss Royce?"

Tristan, for his part, would certainly not be attending.

Rachel thought for a moment before replying, "I’ll do my best to get back by tomorrow morning."

"Alright."

Rachel then asked, "Lawyer Goodman, if I wanted to fight for custody of my child, what are the chances of winning?"

’If I could get custody of Melissa, I would never remarry. I would just devote my life to raising her.’

Lawyer Goodman said, "Miss Royce, you were separated from your child for five years, during which she was raised by the father. The chances of winning a custody battle are slim to none."

Although she had expected it, hearing those words still brought an inexplicable ache to her heart.

"I understand."

She hung up the phone.

Rachel sank limply onto the sofa.

She thought for a long time that night.

’She was willing to spend the rest of her life making up for what she owed Melissa, which meant she had to make a clean break with Tristan.’

Rachel booked a flight to Kingsland for six-thirty the next morning.

Afterward, she made a call to Julian Jennings.

Julian answered quickly. "Rachel."

Rachel said, "Professor, I’m heading back to Kingsland tomorrow morning."

’She definitely had to let Julian know she was going back.’

Julian grunted in acknowledgment. "You really don’t need to worry about things here anymore. Just go back and focus on your own work."

He then asked, "Are you going with Melissa?"

Rachel replied, "I’m going back alone first. The hearing is at ten tomorrow morning, and I want to be there to see how things go."

Julian said, "Alright. Be safe, and send me a message when you get to Kingsland."

"Okay."

「Five in the morning the next day.」

Rachel was already on her way to the airport.

She boarded the plane, settled into her business-class seat, and closed her eyes to rest.

She felt someone sit down beside her.

She didn’t open her eyes.

It wasn’t until the flight attendant came by to serve breakfast that Rachel opened her eyes. She saw that the person sitting next to her was none other than Suzanne Sullivan.

Seeing Rachel staring at her in surprise, Suzanne offered a polite, smiling greeting. "Miss Evelynn."

Rachel quickly composed herself and took the breakfast from the flight attendant. She ate quietly, showing no intention of striking up a conversation with Suzanne.

Suzanne didn’t try to disturb her either.

During the two-hour flight, Suzanne was busy with work the entire time.

Rachel rested quietly.

At 8:40 AM, the plane landed on time at Kingsland International Airport.

Suzanne picked up her laptop and stood up, and Rachel stood up as well.

Suddenly, Rachel’s plane ticket slipped out of her bag. As she bent over to pick it up, Suzanne glanced back instinctively, her gaze lingering for a moment on the name printed on the ticket.

Rachel stood up and, seeing Suzanne staring at her, asked, "Is something wrong, President Sullivan?"

Suzanne’s lips curved into a faint smile. "It’s nothing."

After they deplaned, Suzanne and her secretary quickly walked ahead and left.

Rachel immediately switched her phone off airplane mode. She had sent Melissa a message earlier, but she already had four or five missed calls from her, as well as one from Tristan.

Rachel called Melissa back as she walked.

Melissa picked up right away. "Mama," she said, her voice choked with sobs.

Hearing Melissa’s voice felt like a knife twisting in Rachel’s heart. "Melissa, Aunt Evelynn had an urgent matter to attend to. You stay with Daddy for now, and Aunt Evelynn will wait for you in Kingsland, okay?"

Although Melissa was heartbroken that her mother had left without her, she didn’t throw a tantrum, knowing her mom had to work.

"Then Daddy and I will come back to find you right away, Mama."

Rachel hummed in agreement.

She exited the terminal and hailed a cab, going straight to the courthouse.

When she arrived at the courthouse entrance, it was exactly ten o’clock.

Lawyer Goodman was waiting for her at the door.

Because the hearing was not open to the public, it was held in a small, private courtroom.

No one in the outside world knew that the divorce case of Tristan Sterling—the head of Kingsland’s top conglomerate, worth hundreds of billions—was proceeding here.

The hearing began.

Both sides submitted relevant materials as evidence.

The hearing lasted for over two hours.

Tristan’s legal team was formidable, their arguments on par with Lawyer Goodman’s. The opposing counsel clearly stated that their client did not want a divorce and was even willing to make amends.

The most crucial point now was that Tristan was financially entangled with her through their overseas companies and had even increased investment in her company’s projects. This was presented as evidence that Tristan was not entirely without feelings for her.

Hearing this, Rachel’s expression grew increasingly grim.

After the hearing ended, the verdict was scheduled to be announced at a later date.

When she walked out of the courthouse, Rachel saw a familiar Rolls-Royce.

Upon seeing her, the car door opened.

Tristan got out of the car and strode toward Rachel. Seemingly oblivious to her dark expression, he walked right up to her and said, "Get in the car first."

Looking at them, who would have thought they were a couple in the middle of a divorce lawsuit?