Chapter 57: Not Like You
The moment those words left his mouth, the room reacted sharply.
Finished
Yelena stepped protectively in front of Raquel, glaring at Caleb. “Are you suggesting that Raquel stole from the Sherman family out of resentment toward Gianna?”
“That’s right!” Yelena snapped, her eyes narrowing as she sensed Caleb’s growing confidence. For reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she felt an urge to jab at him. “Raquel’s not like you. Only someone petty would hold a grudge over something so trivial!”
Her words were loaded with subtle implications. Caleb’s expression turned cold as he sneered. “Oh, so I’m the only petty one? Is she not? I wonder who was flirting with Jesse right in front of me just a few days ago.”
Yelena shot back instantly, “That’s because she harbors no ill intentions! She and Jesse are engaged, with a formal agreement binding them. What’s wrong with a little affection?”
Caleb’s smile was almost mocking. “All right then. Five years ago, she was blackmailed by a mechanic. Not long after, she ended up smashing that mechanic’s car. Care to explain that?”
Everyone in the Quixall family remembered that incident vividly.
It had started with a mechanic who had laid himself down in front of Raquel’s car, refusing to move. Furious at the obstruction, Raquel had stormed out, confronting him.
The mechanic, however, made baseless claims, insisting that Raquel had hit him, a claim she vehemently denied.
In frustration, Raquel called Caleb, asking him to intervene. When Caleb arrived, he did everything he could to resolve the situation, but the mechanic remained defiant, stubbornly refusing to move.
The standoff escalated until the traffic police arrived. Both parties were taken to the station, and after reviewing the surveillance footage, the truth was revealed–the mechanic’s lies were exposed. The matter was seemingly resolved, but that wasn’t the end of it.
A few days later, Raquel passed by the mechanic’s shop and saw him working on a small red sedan. A thought formed in her mind–she would teach him a lesson for slandering her.
Fueled by her anger, Raquel approached the car with a steely resolve. Grabbing an axe and a wrench, she savagely destroyed the vehicle’s windshield and hood.
The mechanic, shocked, immediately called the police and demanded compensation for the damages.
Raquel, however, refused to back down. She bluntly told him he had brought this upon himself and refused to pay a single cent.
The mechanic lodged a formal complaint. Eventually, under pressure, Raquel was forced to compensate the mechanic several hundred thousand, along with an additional thirty thousand for emotional distress.
Back then, George had been furious about the situation. He thought Raquel lacked the grace and composure expected of someone who could be Caleb’s wife.
It was only after Caleb’s persistent persuasion that George grudgingly accepted Raquel as his son's wife.
The example Caleb provided was unforgettable, and Yelena fell silent. Caleb had won the second round, but his expression remained unchanged–he knew the real conflict was still ahead.
“At the end of the day…” His gaze sharpened, locking onto Raquel. “You were jealous of my relationship with Gianna. When you saw us at the bar, you were green with envy.”
A cold shiver ran down Raquel’s spine. She gasped, “Jealous? Me? There’s absolutely nothing about you two that I could possibly be jealous of!”
Caleb scoffed, a mocking smile curling on his lips. “Everything we have, you have too. Of course, you wouldn’t care about our status. What really bothers you is seeing me with someone else. Even if you don’t have feelings for me, you can’t bear the thought of me marrying and having children with someone else. Am I right, Raquel?”