Chapter 29

Rachel’s fingers twitched slightly against the documents she was reviewing.

Samantha hurried to explain, “Rachel, please don’t misunderstand! It’s just, given your current… delicate position, William can’t afford to show you favoritism. Imagine the gossip if people thought he gave you special treatment as his wife.”

Rachel withdrew her gaze with a quiet, humorless smile.

Right. Taking her along would raise eyebrows, but taking Samantha? Perfectly acceptable.

Rachel forced her thoughts back into order and said, “Go ahead. I’ll email you the compiled files later.”

Samantha smiled brightly. “I knew you’d understand! I’ll get William to bring you coffee when we’re done.”

With that, Samantha bounced out of the room, leaving Rachel to chuckle bitterly. It was amazing how fast someone’s “severe injury” could heal when they wanted it to.

By the time Rachel finished organizing everything, it was already 10pm, and William hadn’t called her once. She took a cab back alone. With only a few days left before her departure, it was time to pack and tie up loose ends.

Upon returning home, Rachel’s first act was to sell the ring William had given her, along with every luxury gift he had ever bought for her. All of it went up on a secondhand marketplace. At this point, those items were just worth money to her. Nothing more.

She carefully packed her favorite clothes into a suitcase, then glanced at the photo on her desk. It was from college, back when they were together. She stood in front, with William behind her, looking at her with such love in his eyes.

Even though it was just a picture, she could still feel the love he had for her. Yet, when standing face-to-face with the living man himself now, she couldn’t feel any of that. All she saw was emptiness and fake smiles.

When William came back, he noticed the suitcase right away. His face shifted, and he hurried into the room.

Rachel had just finished selling the items William had given her, and the money was already being transferred to her account.

He sat down beside her, his expression softer now, no longer the coldness from earlier in the day. He gently squeezed her arm, a touch that felt strangely out of place.

“What’s all this? Are you planning to go somewhere?” he asked.

Rachel glanced at her phone, watching the transfer notification pop up. The amount was 800,000. She couldn't help but feel like the things she had sold weren’t just material objects; it was as though she was selling away her love too.

“It’s nothing, just some old clothes I don’t need anymore,” she calmly replied.

William didn’t ask any more questions and instead grabbed the paper bag next to him. “I saw your favorite pastry and coffee when I was out buying gifts for the business partners. Samantha promised she’d bring your coffee today, so I got two cups.”

Rachel fought back a bitter laugh. In the past, William would never have let her drink coffee at night because of her bad sleep habits.

She gently pushed the bag away. “I’m not feeling well, I don’t want the coffee.”

“Just take a sip,” William insisted.

But before Rachel could respond, William’s phone buzzed, and a video call from Samantha popped up. To Rachel’s surprise, he answered it right in front of her.

Samantha appeared on the screen, waving her hand with excitement. “William! Did Rachel drink the coffee? You’ve got to tell her that we waited for two hours to get it! At least have her try a sip!”

Rachel had never seen someone so insistent about watching her drink in real time, and the fact that William was actively enabling this absurdity made it even more infuriating.

She bit back her irritation and deflected, “I’ll drink it later.”

But Samantha’s face changed immediately. She frowned and her voice softened, almost as if she were on the verge of tears.

“William, does Rachel think I asked too much of her this afternoon? Did I upset her? If she’s angry, she can just tell me. I didn’t mean to make things hard for her. I feel really bad about her losing her position… Could you explain to her, William?”