The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 44: Due Soon
Chapter 44: Due Soon, Right?
From his tone, Rachel Royce knew he was on the phone with Claire Ainsworth.
After he hung up,
Rachel looked at him without a word.
Tristan Sterling stood up, looked at her, and said, "I’ll have someone drive over to take you back."
Rachel calmly refused, "That won’t be necessary. I can have my own driver come pick us up."
Tristan Sterling looked at her indifference and distance. In the end, he said nothing and strode out of the lounge.
Rachel stood frozen in place for a few seconds.
"Rachel, come sit down for a bit."
Rachel snapped back to her senses and answered, then took out her phone to call Zachary Dudley.
The medical report was on the coffee table.
Florence Preston picked it up to look at it. The doctor went over a few key points with them in detail before leaving.
Twenty minutes later,
Zachary Dudley arrived at the hospital with the car.
Rachel didn’t go back to the villa.
She had made plans with Joanna Sutton to do a maternity photoshoot on New Year’s Day. As her due date drew closer, she wanted to have a memento.
Around two in the afternoon,
the studio she had booked for the photoshoot was located in a high-end shopping mall.
Joanna Sutton was waiting for her at the mall entrance.
Upon seeing Rachel,
Joanna Sutton went up and linked arms with her. "Let’s go!"
The photoshoot took nearly two hours. They selected the photos the same day. Rachel didn’t need any frames or anything like that, and the edited photos would be ready and mailed to her in about three days.
After leaving the photo studio,
Rachel asked, "What do you want to eat tonight? My treat."
Joanna Sutton smiled. "It’s not about what I want to eat, it’s about what you can eat right now."
Rachel said, "As long as it’s not too strongly flavored, I can eat anything."
"..."
In the end, they chose a Western restaurant inside the mall.
It was still early,
so the three of them decided to walk around the mall.
Joanna Sutton bought a pair of gold bracelets for the baby in Rachel’s belly. "I’ll just give the baby an early gift."
Rachel caressed her belly, her eyes filled with gentle affection. "Baby, hurry and thank Miss Sutton."
As soon as she said it,
Rachel felt a kick in her stomach. "The baby kicked me!" she exclaimed joyfully. "It seems she really understood."
Joanna Sutton leaned down, gently poked Rachel’s belly, and said, "What a smart little thing. Look how hard it’s been for your mommy to carry you. You have to be a good girl and listen to her from now on."
Hearing this, 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
a shadow fell over Rachel’s eyes.
The sales associate brought over the packaged bracelets.
Florence Preston took them.
Just as they were about to leave,
they saw the store manager hurrying toward the entrance. "Mr. Sterling, Miss Ainsworth, you’ve arrived," he said, greeting the newcomers. "The jewelry you ordered has been delivered. This way, please."
Hearing this,
the three of them looked up.
They saw four people enter through the doorway.
There were Tristan Sterling and Suzanne Sullivan. Walking ahead of them was Claire Ainsworth, who was intimately linking arms with a distinguished-looking noblewoman. The woman was tall and slender, dressed in a royal blue coat, and carried herself with an extraordinary air. A large sapphire and diamond ring on her thumb only added to her noble presence.
Her well-maintained, maturely beautiful face made her look as if she were only in her thirties.
Claire Ainsworth resembled her to a degree, but even with Claire’s own youth and beauty, her mother outshone her in both poise and appearance.
When she got a clear look at the noblewoman’s face,
Rachel couldn’t help but freeze.
The noblewoman’s gaze shifted toward them, and Rachel, still frozen in place, felt her heart tighten in a way she couldn’t describe.
"Joanna, long time no see. How have you been lately?"
Rachel snapped out of her daze.
Joanna Sutton looked at Jane Sullivan, a smile on her lips but a cold distance in her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Ainsworth. I’ve been doing quite well."
Hearing Joanna’s words, Rachel realized this was indeed Claire Ainsworth’s mother. Her aristocratic air was truly overwhelming.
Her gaze fell on Tristan Sterling, who was standing behind the two. ’So that was why Tristan left in such a hurry this morning—he was spending the day with his future mother-in-law.’
Tristan Sterling was also looking at her, his eyes as impassive as ever.
She lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze, and her expression soured slightly.
Jane Sullivan didn’t chat long with Joanna, nor did she spare Rachel a second glance before looking away and following the store manager toward the VIP room.
Claire Ainsworth kept her arm linked with her mother’s.
"Let’s go,"
Joanna said, helping Rachel walk past Tristan Sterling.
Suzanne Sullivan turned to the side, watching Rachel’s retreating figure as she walked away slowly, one hand on her lower back. He then looked at Tristan Sterling and asked, "Due soon, right?"
Tristan Sterling grunted in acknowledgment.
Claire Ainsworth turned back and called out to them.
Suzanne Sullivan said no more, and the two of them walked toward the VIP room.
Once they were out of the store,
Joanna Sutton sighed. "Kingsland isn’t exactly a small city, is it? Looks like I really need to go to a temple and pray to get rid of this bad luck."
Rachel chuckled. "It wouldn’t hurt to go pray. Ask for better luck next year."
"In that case, I’ll have to get President Jennings to approve half a day off for me when I get back. I should pray for some good luck for you, too."
"Then thank you, Joanna."
"..."
The two of them chatted and laughed, sharing a tacit understanding not to bring up the unpleasant people and events they had just encountered.
After having dinner at the mall that evening,
Rachel said goodbye to Joanna Sutton.
Back at the villa,
Florence Preston went to prepare hot water for Rachel to soak her feet.
While massaging Rachel’s feet, Florence Preston asked, "Did Tristan Sterling say specifically when he’s going to divorce you?"
She knew what kind of person Tristan Sterling was, and it was fine when she didn’t have to see him. But running into him like that still made her furious. She had been holding in her anger all this time.
’His wife is about to give birth, and he doesn’t have the decency to show a little restraint.’
Rachel said, "We’ll just wait until after the baby is born."
’He hasn’t given me a specific time. I guess he still has to explain things to the old madam.’
’Tristan Sterling is already openly accompanying his future mother-in-law. He definitely won’t drag this out.’
She reached out and caressed her belly.
An unbearable bitterness welled up from the bottom of her heart.
’I really want to take the baby and leave.’
’But I don’t have the ability to do that right now.’
She fought back tears, but Florence Preston saw her, stood up, sat beside her, and held her. "If you want to cry, just cry. Miss Preston will always be here with you."
Rachel couldn’t hold it in any longer and broke down, crying out in sorrow.
Listening to her sobs, Florence Preston’s eyes reddened as well. She gently patted Rachel’s shoulder and said, "It’s alright. We’ll both work hard to get better, and in the future, we can even fight for custody of the child."
Saying this was merely a way of consoling themselves.
But Rachel took those words to heart.
’Miss Preston is right.’
’Even if the hope is slim, I won’t give up.’
「The next few days.」
Every morning, a live-in doctor would come check on Rachel’s health, and a dedicated nutritionist prepared her meals, so Florence Preston didn’t have to cook herself.
Although Tristan Sterling was home every night, he and Rachel barely saw each other. Rachel could sense that he was very busy, as it was the end of the year, after all.
Of course, being so busy didn’t stop him from dating Claire Ainsworth.
Tristan Sterling had learned about Rachel’s current condition from the doctor and forbid her from going out casually for the time being.
