The Husband I Loved for Eight Years Never Loved Me-Chapter 104: When Do You Plan to Acknowledge Melissa?

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: When Do You Plan to Acknowledge Melissa?

Chapter 104: When Do You Plan to Acknowledge Melissa?

After finishing her work, Rachel Royce gave Mr. Fitzwilliam a call.

"You get into trouble and don’t even think to call me," Mr. Fitzwilliam grumbled.

Rachel quickly apologized. "Things have just been really busy with Rowan’s work lately, so I didn’t have time to deal with things here. Are you free tonight, Mr. Fitzwilliam? I’d like to visit and thank you properly."

Mr. Fitzwilliam replied, "I’m a retired old man. I have all the time in the world."

Rachel smiled.

"By the way, who did you manage to offend? Don’t tell me the Sterling family found out about you?"

Mr. Fitzwilliam knew it was Sylvia Shannon who had gotten Rachel’s show canceled. He had immediately called Harrison Sterling and, without any pleasantries, chewed him out about the woman in his family. Harrison Sterling could only listen without a word of protest, promising to look into it and get back to Mr. Fitzwilliam.

Rachel answered honestly, "Mrs. Sterling probably doesn’t know who I am. She just doesn’t want me getting too close to Melissa, and I didn’t listen to her."

Mr. Fitzwilliam couldn’t help but frown.

"So when do you plan to acknowledge Melissa? The child is innocent in all of this. She’s such a sweet, well-behaved girl. If Melissa knows you’re her mother, you won’t have to hide just to see her."

Rachel clutched her phone, her eyes downcast.

’Deep down, she was afraid. Afraid that if Melissa knew she was her mother, she would blame her for leaving.’

’She also couldn’t figure out what Tristan Sterling was thinking. He cared so much for Claire Ainsworth now. She feared that if he discovered her identity, he would be even less likely to let her see Melissa.’

"I don’t know either," she said, her voice tinged with melancholy.

Mr. Fitzwilliam didn’t press the issue. Some things could only be worked out by the people involved. "If you want to see your daughter, then go see her. What’s there to be afraid of? You have every right to see your own child. If the Sterling family dares to stop you, I’ll be the first one to settle the score with them."

Hearing Mr. Fitzwilliam’s words warmed Rachel’s heart, and suddenly, she wasn’t so worried anymore.

"Okay. Hearing you say that is enough for me."

...

After hanging up the phone, Rachel let out a long breath, her heavy mood lifting considerably.

「After lunch.」

Rachel drove to the university.

Her class started at 2:30 PM, so she needed to get there early to prepare.

Her car slowly came to a stop in the Kingsland University parking lot.

She strode toward the administration building.

「At the same time.」

A silver Bentley slowly pulled up behind her.

The driver quickly walked to the rear passenger side and opened the door.

A pair of thin, handmade Italian leather shoes stepped onto the pavement. A tall, handsome figure emerged from the car, his deep gaze instantly fixing on a tall, slender silhouette in the distance.

Today, Rachel was wearing a stylish white short-sleeved blouse, paired with pink straight-leg trousers and flat shoes. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. As the sunlight fell on her, her hair gleamed, and she radiated an intellectual brightness.

Only when the woman’s figure disappeared into the building did the man subtly withdraw his gaze.

Rachel took the elevator to Julian Jennings’s office.

Returning here after five years, she found that nothing had changed.

Julian Jennings now had a new male assistant who looked to be in his early twenties, likely a recent graduate.

The assistant had already received a call from Julian. When he saw Rachel, he was visibly startled.

Rachel greeted him.

"Hello, my name is Evelynn. Professor Jennings should have already told you about me filling in to teach his class."

The assistant’s earlobes turned red as he snapped out of his daze. He quickly said, "Yes, the professor already told me. My name is Liam Wallace."

Rachel smiled and nodded.

Afterward, Rachel confirmed the content of today’s lecture with Liam Wallace.

Today consisted of two long lecture periods.

Rachel arrived at the lecture hall ten minutes early.

The students had received a notification in their group chat that a substitute lecturer would be teaching for Professor Jennings today.

As students trickled in, they were all visibly impressed when they saw Rachel.

When it was time for class, Rachel gave a brief self-introduction and then began the lecture.

A course like this posed no difficulty for her.

The first period ended quickly. During the ten-minute break, some students approached her with questions, and she answered them with professional patience.

One female student couldn’t help but say to Rachel, "Professor Evelynn, you’re so beautiful."

Rachel’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Thank you," she said.

Just then, her phone started to vibrate.

Rachel picked up her phone and stepped outside to answer it. "Professor."

Julian Jennings’s voice came through. "Is everything going smoothly?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "You still don’t trust me?"

Julian chuckled. "Of course I do. I’m coming back to Kingsland tomorrow."

Rachel asked, "Is everything taken care of?"

Julian replied, "Mhm, it’s all settled."

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good."

After hanging up, Rachel was walking back to the classroom when she saw a familiar figure coming up the stairs, accompanied by the principal and two other administrators.

The man saw her, too.

Seeing the university administrators, Rachel greeted them politely.

Principal Zane glanced toward the classroom, and upon seeing Rachel, he asked, "Are you the instructor covering for Professor Jennings?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Evelynn."

For Julian Jennings’s public lectures, some of the university’s faculty would usually sit in. But since Julian was absent on short notice, only two teaching assistants were present today.

Just then, the bell for the next class rang.

Rachel nodded a farewell to the administrators and turned to walk back to the classroom, completely ignoring the presence of Tristan Sterling beside the principal.

Rachel returned to the classroom, and just as she was about to begin the lecture, a group of people walked in through the door.

It was none other than the principal and his group.

The principal looked at Rachel and said, "Professor Evelynn, please just carry on with your class."

Rachel nodded with a soft "mhm," then glanced at the man who walked in with a cold expression, his eyes fixed forward.

There were still empty seats in the front row.

The appearance of the university administrators made the students sit up straight.

When they saw Tristan Sterling accompanying the principal, the students couldn’t stop staring. With his physique, aura, and ridiculously handsome face, he was in no way inferior to Professor Jennings. They wondered who this VIP could be, to have the university’s top leadership personally escorting him.

The teaching assistants happened to be sitting in that row. The two of them quickly stood up to offer their seats to the principal and the other administrators.

She had faced plenty of situations where she had to give public speeches in front of important people, so having a few administrators sit in on her class was nothing. Rachel quickly composed herself and continued the lecture.

Rachel’s professionalism, outstanding teaching ability, and her skill at engaging the students and managing the classroom atmosphere earned continuous nods of approval from the administrators, their eyes filled with recognition.

’She’s certainly worthy of being handpicked by Julian Jennings to cover his class,’ Principal Zane thought. He had sat in on Julian’s lectures before, and her style was quite similar. It seemed likely she was one of Julian’s former students.

Principal Zane glanced at Tristan Sterling beside him. The man’s expression was focused as he stared at the podium. It looked like he was listening to the lecture, but it seemed even more like he was watching the person giving it. With such a profound look, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.

Principal Zane didn’t disturb him, instead whispering a few words to another administrator next to him.

The lecture finally came to an end.

Rachel’s tense nerves at last began to relax.

’Of course, her tension wasn’t because the administrators were there. It was because Tristan Sterling had been staring at her the entire time. His gaze felt scrutinizing and probing, as if he had recognized her, and it made her extremely uncomfortable.’