"You can go back first." Rachel loosened her grip under the coat and took a step back without saying
anything.
"Mommy? Why?"
The smile on Joey's face froze.
He had thought that since Rachel didn't mind eating lunch with Victor, she wouldn't mind riding in the
same car as him.He was taken aback when Rachel declined.
Somehow, he felt that Victor and Rachel's relationship had gotten worse.
"Joe, you should head back first.Mommy has something to deal with."
Joey got out of the car and trotted over to Rachel when he heard this.
"Where are you going, Mommy? I'll come with you."After saying that, Joey turned to Ivan and said,
"You can go now.
I'll stay with Mommy.
We'll go home together later."
Ivan was in a dilemma as he stood by the car.
He glanced at Victor inside, only to find that he had no expression on his face, as if he hadn't heard
Rachel and Joey's conversation at all.
lvan had no idea what was on his mind.
However, the more he acted like this, the more lvan began to suspect that he was suppressing
something.
"Miss Bennet, you should get in the car.I can drop you off to where you're headed," Ivan said.
"There are so many reporters outside Waterfront Hotel, so getting a cab will be difficult.Also, there are
paparazzi out there who would do anything to gain first-hand information from you.Taking the child with
you isn't going to be safe, Miss Bennet." Ivan had a point.
Paparazzi were crazy.
It might not be such a big problem if Rachel was alone.
In the worst-case scenario, she would only have to answer a few questions and everything would be
over.
But if Joey was with her...
Rachel exhaled and looked at Joey.Her lips slightly quivered, but before she could respond, the little
boy held her hand tightly, without any plans of letting go.
It was as if they were connected in their minds.
"Let me go with you, Mommy." Rachel looked at him helplessly.
She couldn't bear to watch Joey with such pleading eyes.She had to prioritize his safety.
In the end, Rachel got in the car.
Ivan was right, indeed.
A huge number of reporters and media personnel were waiting outside Waterfront Hotel.
The reporters’ eyes were fixated on each passing vehicle.
Among the crowd, there were also a lot of Susan's fans.
However, no one dared to stop Victor's car because they were too scared to offend him.
Sue Garden was almost a half-hour drive from Waterfront Hotel.
During the ride, Joey made himself comfortable in the middle and was fiddling with Rachel's hair.
But he soon dozed off.
He was really exhausted and didn't sleep well last night.
Joey sat on the stairway waiting for Rachel because she hadn't returned last night.He soon realized it
was late, so Lukas urged him to return to his room and sleep, which he did.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall sleep.
He was pestered with nightmares about the press conference.
In his dreams, Victor shielded him under his body and gunshots were fired.
The little boy was currently sleeping soundly as he leaned on Rachel's arm, and holding her finger in
his hands.
Rachel's arm became a little sore when she realized he was sleeping.
She smiled softly and pulled her finger out of his grip, and was about to give him a cushion.
Suddenly, a shadow feil over her, and before she could react, Victor took Joey from her side and held
him in his arms.
"Victor..."
"He's heavy," Victor remarked in a low voice as he met her gaze.
It was the first time he had spoken to Rachel since she got in the car.
Rachel was surprised to see him being thoughtful.
However, Joey would be furious if he found out what Victor had said about him.
"Hmm..." Joey seemed to feel uncomfortable in his sleep.
He mumbled as his eyelashes moved.He unconsciously intended to grab something, but he grabbed
Rachel's hair instead.
Only then did Rachel notice that her hair was still tangled around Joey's finger.
Feeling the pain in her scalp, Rachel took a deep breath and moved closer to Victor.
She had to lower her head to untangle her hair that had become knotted around Joey's finger.
The two of them got closer and closer to each other.
Victor could even smell the faint scent emanating from her body.
He looked down and noticed a hickey on her neck that he had marked up just last night.
Thinking of how he pressed her on the sofa last night, his body felt hot again and he wanted to kiss her
on the neck.
Rachel felt someone looking at her as she was carefully fixing her hair.
She came to a complete stop knowing that it was Victor, and she realized she was too close to him
right now.She immediately drew her hair back and moved away from him.
At the same time, Victor also turned his head on the side.
Victor remained still for the next half minute.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rachel took a glance at Victor and noticed that his arm was slightly bent,
and his elbow was on the window ledge.
His hand was curled into a fist as his head was resting on it.
At the same time, Joey was laying on his other arm.
Rachel wondered if she was mistaken about him staring at her just now because he appeared to be
calm.
Was she overthinking things? Rachel had thought that what had occurred was merely a figment of her
imagination, but the Band-Aid on Victor's hand reminded her that it was all real.
The awkwardness continued through the entire drive.
As soon as the Maybach came to a stop at Sue Garden's courtyard, Lukas hurried over to them and
greeted, "Miss Bennet, Mr.Sullivan, you're back."
Rachel gave him a slight nod.
Victor came out of the car right after, carrying Joey in his arms.
"Is Joe sleeping?"
Lukas took the initiative to approach Victor and was about to take Joey from him.
"It's okay," Victor said as he swerved Lukas’ hand and walked inside while cradling Joey.
Rachel was standing by the car with her arms crossed, looking troubled.
Was he going to stay here? It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't have any idea where Victor had
been staying for the past two weeks.
Realizing what she had been thinking, she shook her head.
What did it have to do with her, exactly? He was the CEO of Sullivan Group, and obviously had a lot of
places to stay.She didn't need to be concerned about him.
"Miss Bennet, let's go inside."
Noticing that she had been standing still on the side, Lukas came over and invited her in.
"Alright."
Despite saying that, Rachel looked very hesitant.She remembered what Victor had promised her.
As long as she stayed with Joey in Sue Garden, Victor shouldn't show himself at all.
If he went against this agreement, she had the choice to leave at any time.Thinking of this, Rachel bit
her lip and followed Lukas behind.
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