Chapter 259

Rachel felt reassured enough to take out some dog treats from the bag. Ray’s eyes lit up at the sight of food, and his tongue hung out. He drooled so much it looked like a puddle was about to form.

Rachel handed him a treat, and the dog snapped it up without hesitation. While feeding Ray, she turned to Tyler and asked, “Mr. Hunt, do you not feed your dog enough or something?”

The way Ray was acting, one would think he hadn’t eaten in days.

Tyler glanced sideways at Ray with a disdainful expression. “Probably starved to death in his past life. No matter how much I feed him, he’s never full.”

Ray looked like he understood him. He slumped to the ground with a pitiful look in his eyes and stared at Tyler in quiet protest.

Rachel’s heart melted. She reached out and gently patted Ray’s head. “There, there. He was just teasing you. No one’s judging you. Go ahead and eat.”

Ray nodded and happily resumed chomping on the treats.

Tyler snorted and smiled. “Sure, go ahead and listen to her. Why not just go home with her tonight?”

Ray remained silent.

Tyler’s face twitched slightly. He scoffed again. “Traitor. Can’t even walk straight when there’s a woman around.”

Rachel couldn’t help but laugh at how seriously Tyler seemed to be arguing with the dog. “What’s wrong with you? You’re seriously fighting with a dog now?”

Tyler leaned to one side and crossed one long leg over the other. “Who said I was arguing with it? Does he even deserve that kind of attention?”

Rachel thought Tyler seemed on edge tonight. Every word out of his mouth was laced with thorns. But she didn’t bother arguing. She was leaving soon anyway, and just thinking about that made her feel oddly liberated. She didn’t feel like wasting her energy bickering with Tyler.

While the dog was still distracted with its treats, Rachel retrieved her phone to check the message she’d sent earlier. There was still no reply. She wasn’t sure if it hadn’t been seen yet, or if the other person was deliberately ignoring it.

Either way, she had no other plan. She was already here. If she turned around and left now, things would only get messier. She might as well use this opportunity to reset the narrative and build a better foundation for the upcoming press conference. That way, it would all seem more believable.

Just as she opened a news page on her phone, Rachel froze. William had moved fast. Within the mere forty minutes it took for her to get here, Arsen had already posted the photos and the official announcement.

The pictures showed her and William appearing intimately close, including one of them standing by the window as William wrapped his arm around her while they watched the fireworks. From the outside looking in, it looked like the two of them were very much in love. If she didn’t know the truth herself, even Rachel might have believed the illusion.

Especially the way William looked at her in the photos. His eyes were full of tenderness.

Rachel now truly believed that love could be faked. She didn’t even need to look at the caption to guess that it was full of fluff about how in love they were, but it never mentioned Tyler.

Rachel understood why. If Tyler was mentioned, people might assume the whole post was just an attempt to do damage control about her relationship with him.

She put her phone away. Her expression turned from calm to cold.

Tyler happened to glance over and catch sight of what was on her screen. “William’s got quite the talent for putting on a show, but judging by your face, I guess it didn’t work on you.”

Rachel snorted as she slipped her phone into her pocket. “It’s all staged. I’m just a pawn.”

It had looked like a carefully planned surprise, but in truth, it was a well-orchestrated scheme.

Suddenly, Tyler stood up from his chair. As he walked past her, he gently patted her head. “I’m going to take a shower. You’d better get ready. Figure out what kind of lullaby you’re singing tonight. Make it a cheerful one. Don’t bring all your gloomy energy into my dreams.”

Rachel looked up. “Mr. Hunt, can I ask, is it safe to get a cab from here this late?”

Tyler stopped walking. He turned and looked at her. “What do you think?”

Rachel could already tell from his tone. “Then how am I supposed to get home tonight?” she mumbled under her breath.