The Silent Wife

Shaking her head, Rachel gave her grandma a blank look.

She couldn't remember most of the things that had happened when she was young. All this while, she suspected she learned the ability to recollect memories a little later than other children since she couldn't remember much. Besides that, she only remembered a little of the time before she arrived at Riverdale.

Seeing her reaction, Nancy reached out her frail, bony hand to brush several strands of Rachel's fringe behind her ear, revealing her neat, beautiful face.

As if she was talking to herself, she murmured, "It seems that you don't remember. If you did, you wouldn't have followed Jefferey here."

Hearing that, she was dumbfounded. Why? Didn't Dad bring us over to Riverdale because he thought that our old place wasn't safe?

When Rachel was young, she lived in the mountains with her grandma and mother. After a huge forest fire happened which resulted in her mother's death, Jefferey brought her and her grandma over to Riverdale. "Of course not, that old dog, he did it because..."

Because of what?

After the accident was brought up, Nancy looked uneasy. Sadness seemed to have emanated from her clouded eyes.

At this moment, Rachel tugged on her grandma's sleeve. Grandma, are you okay?

All of a sudden, Nancy snapped out of the trance before she replied, "Yeah."

She then gently patted the back of Rachel's hand as she said, "Rae, you must live a happy life. We just have to be honest and true to ourselves. That suffices. Your mom who's looking over you from above will want you to be safe and sound."

Upon hearing that, Rachel nodded obediently.

"Right, Rae, do you still keep the box that your mom left for you?"

Yes. She nodded once again.

"You must keep it well."

Grandma, what's inside the box?

From what seemed to be the beginning of her memories, Nancy had been asking her to keep the box well. However, the box was square like a cube, and there was no opening to it. It looked like a piece of wood that had been tinkered on.

Nevertheless, Nancy referred to that as a box.

"One day, when you open it, you'll know."

She said that meaningfully, but Rachel was still confused. She couldn't help but feel that her grandma was hiding something from her.

As the operation was scheduled to take place in the early morning, Rachel could only catch a wink of sleep for a brief moment.

The fact that Julian would be the lead surgeon for the operation made her feel so much more at ease.

The light of the operation room was on while she waited alone. At the break of dawn, the operation was finally done and the door of the operation room was pushed open, revealing Julian who walked out as he was taking off his mask.

"The operation was successful. Your grandma is fine." With his gaze fixed on her, he told her with a smile.

It was only then that Rachel could heave a sigh of relief as she lay back against the chair.

"Are you okay?" Instinctively, he quickly reached out, making a gesture to help support her.

She then shook her head. Thank you.

"Don't mention it. It's my job as a doctor. You should go catch some sleep since you didn't rest very well last night. Your grandma's still on anesthesia and she won't be waking up so soon." Hearing that, she nodded without shifting her body.

Throughout the operation, she had been tense as she waited. Now that she could relax, her legs felt so weak that she couldn't even walk.

Seeing that, Julian felt his heart ache. "Let me help you."

She then waved him off. 'I'll rest here for a while. I'll leave my grandma to you then.”

Needless to say, he could clearly feel she was distancing herself from him. He was about to ask her something, but he held it back when he saw how weak she seemed. After debating with himself, he didn't speak up about what was on his mind.

"I'll buy you some food then."

Before she could reject him, he had already handed her a bottle of water and left.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Once again, she was alone in the empty hallway.

Since the operation was over, she now had to face the things that she dreaded. She couldn't help but feel nervous about it.

Meanwhile, in the morning, at the Burton Residence.

"Justin, go easy on the caffeine. It's bad for your health."

At this moment, Sue placed a cup of fruit juice in front of him before taking a glance in the direction of the second room. "Rachel didn't come back for the past two days. I wonder what she is up to that she can't even take care of her husband. This is absurd."

As Justin read the newspaper, he said disdainfully, "She's taking care of her grandma at the hospital."

"There are caretakers in the hospital. Is it really necessary for her to be there 24/7? Julian hasn't come home for these past two days too. Every time I called him, he said that he was busy. I'm sure that Rachel is bugging him."

Hearing that, Justin looked up from behind the newspaper with a dark gaze.

"Justin, don't get mad at me if I say this as I know that you feel sympathy for the mute, but the Burton Family isn't doing charity. We don't just take in anyone. Not only is the mute not behaving herself, she ever goes out to do inappropriate stuff. I'm sure she has some ulterior motive."

Sue got more agitated as she went on. "Julian's always helping her, and he doesn't even listen to his mother now. You remember how soft-hearted he always was, don't you? It must be the mute who seduced..."

Suddenly, a loud thud sounded from the coffee cup colliding with the dining table. Sue's ongoing nag stopped at once as she looked up frantically to meet with Justin's cold expression.

"Justin, I may have said a little too much, but... I'm doing this for you."

He then cut her off, "Aunt Sue, you can start thinking about Julian's marriage if you're free."

That caught Sue off guard.

"I'm done eating. I'm heading to the company now."

With that, he grabbed his coat and left the dining room in large strides.

Hearing the roar of the engine starting from the porch, Sue blurted out as her face sank, "That mute is such a scourge! Justin made it obvious that he doesn't want my input on this, so it seems that she won't be going anywhere for some time. What a bummer."

As Mrs. Duncan tidied the table, she consoled Sue. "Madam, there's no need to let her bother you. After all, she is mute. That's all she is. Julian won't be interested in her. However, are you really interested in Ms. Amber?"

"Amber Hudson?" Sue scoffed. "What's so great about the Hudson Family? They just run a traditional medicine business. If it wasn't for Justin's proposal, they would've never had the chance to enter our family."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Duncan was confused. "Then you mean..."

"We'll just watch them fight. It'll even be great if they both end up losing. The thing is, I'll have to talk to the Tuscan Family if the mute stays any longer."

At the mention of the Tuscan Family, Mrs. Duncan was stumped. "Are you still dealing with the Tuscans-"

Before she could finish, Sue suddenly recalled something and she beamed. "It's been some time since we last visited Old Mr. Burton."

With a nod, Mrs. Duncan agreed. "Every summer, he'd come from his hometown to the summer villa in

Riverdale for vacation. We have just missed the season."

At this moment, Sue looked like she had an idea. "Ever since Justin got married, Old Mr. Burton has yet to meet his new daughter-in-law. I should go visit him and give him a heads up."

Hearing that, Mrs. Duncan was stunned for a moment before she quickly reacted with a smile on her face. "That's right. You're the one who raised Young Master Justin. Everyone in the Burton household respects you-even Old Mr. Burton listens to you."

What Mrs. Duncan said had sent all of Sue's worries out of the window. With a triumphant look, Sue announced, "This weekend then. Prepare some presents. I'll pay Old Mr. Burton a visit." "Yes, ma'am."