Love’s Cruel Stroke Novel - Season 1 Episode 46

The sun shone in from the balcony as Rachel sat up, smoothing her hair. She zoned out for 3 seconds, then got up to tidy herself and wash up.

After dropping off the children at kindergarten today, she would make her way to Sinclair Group to attend a launching event. Then, in the afternoon, she would go to Ford Inc. for a partnership talk.

She opened her closet and selected a set of business attire, and as soon as she finished changing her clothes, she heard noises coming from downstairs.

“Who gave you permission to stay here? You have three seconds to get lost!”

Caleb stood in the living room, his face full of fury. He had come here today so that he could fetch Rachel and take her to Sinclair Group to attend the launching event.

He never expected that when he walked in, he would be greeted with the sight of a man in underwear lying on the couch, fast asleep. Immediately, he flew into a rage.

Meanwhile, Asher was furious as well. Last night, he had slept in the study, but it was infested with mosquitoes, so he couldn’t help but move to the living room and sleep on the couch instead.

He was a rich kid raised in a wealthy environment, so he couldn’t get used to sleeping on the couch at all. Still, he had finally managed to fall asleep near dawn.

In the end, as soon as Asher started dreaming, he was startled awake by a man’s angry voice shouting. He opened his eyes to see Caleb dressed in a suit, looking smart.

He squinted, after which he leaned on the couch and snorted. “I’m Rae’s man, so why can’t I live here?”

Caleb was so pissed that his face turned red. “Don’t you dare ruin Rae’s reputation like that? If you don’t get out right now, I’ll get the security guards to throw you out instead.”

“Hmph, if you throw me out, Rae won’t forgive you,” Asher said boldly, “What about you? Who are you anyway, barging in without a knock? You’re trespassing on private property, and according to the law, you’d be jailed for at least 15 days for that.”

Caleb said in chilly anger, “This house belongs to my family. What makes you think I have to get your permission to enter?”

“But of course. I’m the master of the house here!” Asher announced in self-conceit. Suddenly, he froze. “Wait, did you just say that this house belongs to your family?”

Last night, Rachel seemed to have mentioned that this house belonged to her grandmother’s family. So this man must be…

Asher hastily grabbed the blanket and covered his naked body.

Oh no, this is her cousin…

Caleb was seriously angry. Even though Rachel already had two children, she was still just an innocent little girl in his eyes. So, how could he not be angry when he suddenly saw a stranger lying naked on the couch in Rachel’s house?

Caleb’s glare was like an ice pick that bore right into Asher’s face.

Asher, who was boasting mere moments before, had realized the terribly huge mistake he had made. Hence, he got up in shame and tried to sneak back into the study.

Upstairs, Rachel was already making her way down to the ground floor.

She exclaimed in surprise, “Caleb, you’re here so early!”

Asher felt his heart drop.

It really was her cousin!

“Who is this man?” Caleb tried to hide his fury as he asked. “Rae, tell me the truth.”

Rachel didn’t even bat an eye as she said nonchalantly, “His name is Asher Kingsley, a friend I knew overseas. He just arrived in Seaview City yesterday, and he had no place to stay, so I let him stay for the night.”

Seeing her honest expression, Caleb sighed in relief and said in an indifferent voice, “He claimed that he’s the master of this house.”

“I-I never said that!” Asher shrank back and explained meekly, “You’re mistaken, Caleb… I mean, it’s not appropriate for a guest like me to show up like this. I-I’ll go change my clothes…”

After he explained himself, he ran away in shame.

Caleb said patiently, “Rae, you’re a single mother, so it’s not a good idea to let a man stay the night in your home. If he didn’t have a place to stay, you could let him spend the night in the Sinclair Residence.”

Rachel nodded obediently. “Don’t worry about me, Caleb. I’ll go to Sinclair Group after sending the children to kindergarten.”

Asher popped his head out and shouted, “Rae, you can go and focus on work. I’ll take Casper and Olive to school.”

In the past, when they were staying overseas, Rachel often let Asher babysit her children. Even though this man didn’t normally look very dependable, he was extra considerate in his treatment of the two children.

She placed the school bags at the door and said, “You can only leave after watching them enter the kindergarten, understand?”

“Come on, Rae, I’m not a baby. You don’t have to remind me. Just go and work!”

Rachel finally took her bag and got in Caleb’s car.

The car had just left the villa area when Rachel sensed that a car was tailing them again.

Before she could speak, Caleb said, “Rae, when I came over in the morning, this car was already parked at the entrance to the community. Now, he’s following us as soon as we leave. We’re being tracked.”

“Someone was already following me when I fetched the children from school yesterday.” Rachel had a serious expression on her face. “I just came back a few days ago, so who could I have provoked?”

“Who else but Shirley?” Caleb said coldly, “You just obtained 25% of Yates Corporation’s shares, which is equivalent to biting a huge chunk of flesh off that mother-daughter duo. Why would they let you off the hook?”

Rachel frowned, feeling a chill in her heart.

“Don’t be afraid, Rae. After the launching event, I’ll get some skilled bodyguards to protect you,” said Caleb, “I’ll also send a few men to keep watch at the kindergarten. I definitely won’t allow the Yates to hurt those children.”

Rachel nodded. “Thank you, Caleb.”

The car behind them didn’t seem to have any intention of giving up as it tailed them persistently at a constant distance.

After arriving at Sinclair Group, Rachel got out of the car, and the car behind them pulled up at the entrance to Sinclair Group as well.

Caleb gave Rachel a comforting look, then led her upstairs.

Sinclair Group’s launching event this time was heavily promoted. It was held in the hall on the first floor, and lots of journalists were already there before the event started. Rachel stopped by the lounge first.

As soon as she walked in, she saw Tiana toying with a little robot. “Dad, I told you Rachel lied to you. This product isn’t smart at all; it can’t understand anything I say. Everyone will laugh at us at the launching event later.”

John looked at her coldly. “Don’t talk if you don’t understand anything. Go do something else instead.”

“Oh, so now I don’t understand anything?” Tiana snorted. “It’s just a smart home robot, isn’t it? I don’t know how to develop one, but am I not allowed to understand how to use it either?”

“You’re really clueless, Tiana.”

Rachel walked in, her high heels clicking. Her lips curved into a smile as she took the little robot around 4 inches tall, saying, “Claire, Claire, sing me a children’s song.”

The little robot immediately began playing a song.

“Tiana, this is a product developed independently under Sinclair Group. How could you not know that you have to call the robot’s name twice before giving any commands?” Rachel said as she smiled lightly. “You don’t even know your own products well enough, so how did you get to be a marketing manager for so long?”

Tiana’s face immediately fell.