Such a Rude and Noisy Woman

Chapter 362 She Would Become His Enemy

"Rachel, are you okay?" Carl asked, his brows furrowed in worry. He just got there and saw her

standing absentmindedly.

Rachel shook her head, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were fixed at the direction where the

strange man went. Dusting herself off, she said,"I'm fine, Carl. Let's go. Take me to the police station. I

want to see my mom."

On her way to the precinct, her mind was full of thoughts of her mom. She asked Carl to pull over at a

store and went inside. She filled a cart with all of her mom's favorite food, as well as some toiletries.

She paid at the counter and gripped the bag on her way out. It was less than ten days before the

hearing, but she had nothing that could possibly help.

Things just kept getting worse. Her mother would be staying in prison for at least ten years if she was

convicted guilty. She felt her chest constrict at the thought. She spent the rest of the ride in grim

silence. When it was her turn, she entered the visiting room and looked around her. She wondered if

the other people around felt as helpless.

Seeing the familiar figure of her mom walk into the room, she stood reflexively, but her voice was

caught in her throat when she saw her more clearly. Rachel grasped her mother's arms. She swallowed

and managed to choke out her words. "Mom, how are you doing the past days?" she asked. She

looked paler, and thinner. There were dark circles under her eyes. It seemed that she was getting

slowly defeated. Rachel felt as if stones were filling her chest. Nothing could assuage the guilt that

came over her when she touched her mother's bony fingers.

Fannie smiled at her, just like every single time she saw her daughter. Her eyes lighted up for a

moment, and she replied,"I'm fine, honey. We don't have much to do here, but things are going well.

Don't worry about me." She squeezed Rachel's hands, and gave her another small smile.

"More importantly," Fannie added more enthusiastically,"did you bring any new photos of Jonny and

Joyce now? I'm missing them so much!" It had been quite a long time after she last saw them. She

could only see their smiles and hear the tinkle of their laughter in her dreams now.

Rachel took out her phone and immediately handed it to her mother's waiting hands.

Fannie scrolled through Rachel's gallery. "Look at them, Joyce's face is getting more round and Jonny's

getting taller! They grow so fast," she exclaimed. Fannie held the phone closer to her face. She smiled

at the screen and traced her grandchildren's faces with her fingers, reliving for a moment the glow of

their eyes and the warmth of their skin.

Tears were threatening to fall from Rachel's eyelids as she looked at her mother stare lovingly at the

faces of her children. She took in her bent form, noticing the frailness of her frame, the creases on her

face, and the silver strands of her hair. Had it really only been a few days?

She had been living her life lie after lie, ever since her mom was imprisoned, even when Hiram was

around. Especially when he was around. She didn't want to complicate things any more than they

already were, but it was getting more and more suffocating each day.

She made sure that she maintained a good relationship with her father-in-law, especially in front of her

children. The sight of them fighting could leave shadows in their small hearts.

She closed her eyes against the difficulties of her emotions. 'I have to bear with it, ' she told herself.

Seeing her mother immensely pained her- she would be glad to take her place, but at the same time,

knowing that she was also suffering strengthened her resolve to keep her family together.

Her thoughts were cut short when she saw her mother's wrist. "Mom, what's wrong with your wrist?"

she asked.

Purple bruises coiled around her wrist, in stark contrast to her pale skin. Rachel saw it while her mother

was fixated on her phone, looking at the kids' photos.

Fannie jerked at this and tore her gaze away from Rachel's phone to pull her sleeves down. She

moved carefully, returning the phone to Rachel's hands. "Oh this? Nothing at all!" she tried to laugh, but

Rachel was quick to notice the hollowness in it. "I just knocked my wrist on the table the other night

when I got up. It doesn't even hurt now," she said.

Rachel knew it was not as simple. She reached for her mother's hand. "Mom, let me see it," she said.

Fannie avoided her hand. Rachel stood up and tried to grab Fannie's wrist again, but her mother hid

her wrist behind her back instead.

Rachel got more anxious. Why would she keep her from looking if it wasn't anything serious?

Despite her resistance, Rachel grabbed her arm. Looking at the bruise up close, she found it was

impossible to have come from a simple accident. The marks were far too distinct. "Mom," she started,

steeling herself,"Tell me the truth. Did anyone beat you?" She looked into her eyes. "Please. Tell me

what happened."

Fannie pulled her arm away. "Calm down, honey!" she said, trying to soothe her daughter. She let out a

deep breath at the worries she saw in Rachel's eyes. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. Two of my

roommates had a fight, and I tried to stop them. I got a bruise because of it. It was an accident. They

apologized after," she told her.

"Mom, please don't lie! Why would you put yourself in danger like that?" Rachel cried out. Her voice

was shaking. She knew her mother wasn't telling her the truth. It couldn't have been an accident. Her

mother would rather lie than make her worry. Rachel's chest tightened once again. For her sake, her

mother was wasting away in this prison, and wouldn't even tell her that someone hurt her, just so she

could protect Rachel's feelings.

"It's okay! Take it easy, honey! Please don't cry. It's just a bruise. This will go away in a couple of days."

Fannie reached out to touch her daughter's face and wiped her tears away. She looked at the clock

and said,"We don't have much time now, and I'll have to go very soon. Trust me and don't worry. Get

along well with Hiram and take good care of the twins. I'll be fine. I'd rather you leave me with a smile.

That would be the best comfort." The two women stood up and held each other's hands, mother and

daughter, looking into each other's eyes, both silently vowing to protect each other. Fannie gathered

her daughter into her arms.

As long as Rachel was happy, Fannie swore she would be able to endure anything, even if it meant

she would have to stay in prison for the rest of her life. For her daughter, she would willingly offer her

life and freedom.

When the signal for the end of the visit sounded, The two of them reluctantly let go of each other.

Fannie gave her a small smile, and Rachel nodded. She followed her figure until it disappeared behind

the door. When Fannie had gone, she sank down on the chair and didn't move. It was like a dam broke

inside her and tears kept flowing like a waterfall. Her fingers curled into fists. Suddenly, a thought came

to her and she stood up, wiping her tears and walking out of the visitation room.

Carl was waiting for her outside. A worried expression flashed across his face when he saw her. "What

happened inside, Rachel? Why are you crying? Is there anything wrong with Aunt Fannie?" Carl asked

anxiously, noticing her red eyes and the blankness in her face.

Tears were falling down again and she wiped them off with her sleeves. Looking at him, she said,"Carl,

can you call Kun for me? Ask him what was going on in my mom's cell. She has bruises in her wrist,

and I don't think it was an accident."

At this, Carl's expression changed into a hard look. "Are you serious? Okay, I'll call him right now!" He

took out his phone hurriedly and dialed. After a few ringings, she could hear him talking to Kun Rong.

She went inside the car. The moment she sat down, her feelings took a toll on her and she couldn't

stop her tears from running down her face.

The way her mother looked, she couldn't forget it even if she tried. Taking deep breaths, Rachel tried to

calm herself down. She knew that she needed to stay calm now.

Her mind raced with her thoughts.

Should she take Gavin's offer?

If she agreed to leave, would her mom stop suffering?

Carl's voice interrupted her mid-thought. "Rachel, Kun said he had no idea what happened, but he'll

look into it right away. He'll transfer Fannie to another room and she'll be alone there. Don't worry," he

told her. He kept looking at her, as if he wanted to say something more but stopped himself, and sighed

upon seeing Rachel's tear-stained face. He handed her a tissue.

Rachel took the tissue from Carl to wipe off her tears and took a deep breath before saying,"It's getting

late. Let's go home now, Carl."

"Okay," Carl said, at a loss of what else to say to comfort her.

The entire ride back home was quiet except for Rachel's tearful sobs. When they got to the entrance,

Carl suddenly pulled over instead of driving inside.

Rachel raised her head and saw Charlie Cui standing at the road side. He had been waiting for her.

Rachel got down from the car.

"Madam, Mr. Rong sent me to ask whether you have made your decision,"

he asked. The two of them were standing alone under a big tree.

Rachel looked at him, her eyes burning with rage. "I thought I had already made it clear last time. I am

not leaving if my daughter, my son and my husband are here!"

Charlie remained silent, challenging her gaze with his own. "Are you sure that this would be you

decision? Your mother…" he paused before adding,"It might be more than a bruise next time," he said

slowly.

Rachel's head was ringing. She grabbed Charlie's collar with both hands and shouted, her teeth gritting

in her anger,"What did you just say to me? Was that a threat?"

Charlie remained unfazed at her screams. Taking her hands off his collar, he said nonchalantly,"Relax.

Mr. Rong wants nothing but the enemies of his family leaving." He straightened his collar and

continued,"As long as you agree to his terms, he will set your mother free at once and leave the two of

you in peace." Charlie stood in front of her, his face devoid of any expression.

Rachel laughed coldly in understanding and said,"Thank you for clarifying things for me. At least now I

am sure that what happened to my mom was all his doing." She laughed again and added

sarcastically,"I wonder whether I should call him Dad the next time we meet."

It was Gavin, the father of her husband, and the grandfather of her kids, who was causing her own

mother to suffer. She felt as if she would explode with the fury inside her. She would never forgive him.

If this was how he wanted things to be, from this moment, Rachel would sever ties with him and be his

enemy.

"Madam," Charlie said, unaffected with her anger. "There are eight days left before the hearing. Three

days from now, I will send a car here. The moment you get on the car, your mother will walk out of the

police station safe and sound. Then both of you can go wherever you want.

Please take the time to make your decision," he finished.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

He bowed before turning around to leave.

Rachel stood rooted to the spot, and closed her eyes slowly.

'Why is Gavin pushing me so hard'? she asked herself, but could not arrive at any answer.

After a while, she went inside.

The twins were playing together happily, but Rachel couldn't manage herself to smile even with her

children in front of her. Looking at their faces, she remembered Charlie's words. She knew Gavin

wanted her to get on the car first to make sure that she wouldn't take the kids with her after he let her

mother go.

He was determined to keep her children away from her.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Joyce asked worriedly and wiped off the tears on her mother's cheeks

with her little hands. Rachel was unaware that her tears had fallen.

She saw her daughter's worried face and felt her heart squeeze. She forced herself to smile and

said,"It's nothing, honey. Look, I'm fine!" She picked Joyce up in her arms. "I'm just wondering how time

flies so fast. You and your bother are growing before I could notice it," she said.

Joyce's big eyes stared into her own with all the seriousness of a child. "Mommy, you're crying because

you're worrying that I'll leave you when I grow up and get married, right?" she asked, her brows

furrowed. It was something she saw on TV. Mothers get sad when their daughters leave them.

Rachel smiled at her and said,"Mommy is just moved to tears with your sweetness."

"Mommy, you don't have to worry! I promise. I promise that I'll never leave you and Daddy and Jonny.

We will stay together forever. So you don't have to cry." Joyce patted Rachel's cheeks. Seeing her

daughter made Rachel remember her earlier visit to her mother. She closed her eyes as tears started

to well up in her eyes and hugged her daughter tight. She understood perfectly what her mother felt.

She could endure anything. Anything, if it meant this precious person in her arms would be happy.

As Rachel was holding Joyce, the door suddenly opened.

Hiram came in and was startled with the scene he arrived at.

"What happened? Why are you crying, honey?" he asked, looking at her face.