Rachel’s face turned frigid after listening to Vivian’s words. “Do you mean to say it was all planned by Evelyn?”
“It was her who invited me to the opera house. Other than her, there’s no one else I can think of,” Vivian answered straightforwardly.
“That’s impossible. Evelyn is a kind-hearted person. How could she possibly orchestrate such a thing?” Rachel raised her voice and said, “Vivian, did you misunderstand something? You can’t unjustly accuse Evelyn without proof. I firmly believe she wouldn’t do something like that.”
“How am I unjust?” Vivian’s gaze turned agitated. “It’s not the first time she’s done something like that. Five years ago, she kidnapped me and arranged for others to humiliate me. She had already confessed to doing so!”
Rachel’s face fell. “But you can’t blame it on Evelyn simply because she’d made a mistake in the past. It’s been a long time. You didn’t suffer much anyway. You shouldn’t hold a grudge to it anymore.”
Vivian couldn’t conceal her disappointment as she stared at Rachel stiffly. Is our bond of over two decades this unworthy that she felt nothing for my plight?
Noticing Vivian’s sorrowful gaze, Rachel knew what she said was unfair. “Vivian,” she said in a coaxing voice, holding onto Vivian’s hand, “Evelyn was insensible back then. What she did was indeed somewhat out of line. I’ll apologize on her behalf. Will you forgive her this once and stop holding her accountable for it?”
Vivian let out a bitter chuckle. Somewhat out of line? Not only did Evelyn orchestrate her kidnapping, but she also caused her to divorce Finnick and fled abroad for five years while she was pregnant. Larry had to grow up without a father. These were all unforgivable matters in her heart, yet Rachel made it sound like they weren’t even worth mentioning.
“I got it,” Vivian said in a low voice. She refused to say anything else, for she knew it was meaningless.
Hearing Vivian’s response, Rachel grinned in contentment. “That’s right. You and Evelyn are both my daughters. It’s only right to love and care for each other. Vivian, Evelyn has a mind of a child and is handicapped. You should give in to her a little. Don’t fuss over minor matters with her.”
Vivian hummed, too emotionally drained to even feel upset about it.
She had already made up her mind. As soon as Rachel got better, she would have returned the favor of her upbringing. She was prepared to let their two decades of kinship come to an end by then and stop visiting her in the future.
“Furthermore, Evelyn—” Before she could exhort Vivian to show more concern for Evelyn, her phone rang, interrupting her.
She whipped out her phone and saw the display flashing Evelyn’s name. She took no time to accept the call, smiling from the bottom of her eyes.
Vivian smiled bitterly on the inside. Witnessing how blissful Rachel was from a mere phone call from Evelyn. Her years of concern for her felt ludicrous.
Unexpectedly, Rachel’s expression turned sullen in a blink of an eye. Her voice became anxious as she said, “Don’t cry, Evelyn. Tell me, what happened?”
Vivian couldn’t hear what Evelyn was saying through the phone. All she could see was Rachel’s tears dripping like tap water, her gaze filled with distress.
“Evelyn, stay there! I’ll go pick you up right now. Wait for me!”
Having hung up the call, Rachel hurriedly got off the bed in an attempt to get to the door. To her dismay, she hadn’t balanced herself well and immediately fell to the floor.
Vivian rushed up to help her up. “What’s the matter with Evelyn?”
“Evelyn said she was chased out by Finnick with nowhere to go. I have to go pick her up,” Rachel cried. She pulled herself up onto her feet with the sole goal of getting to Evelyn.
It was raining cats and dogs out there, and Rachel was in a fragile state. She was supposed to undergo surgery soon. How could Vivian possibly let her leave?
