Chapter 17 From Now On, I Will No Longer Have Anything to Do with the Bennets

Mrs. Bennet had a bad feeling about the encounter. "What if I don't?" Rachel placed her chin on her hand and stared at Mrs. Bennet like she was watching a circus show. "Simple, we can just wait it out in here." She knew the Bennets. They loved their family assets more than anything in the world. If they were going to back her up into a corner, she had to retaliate by carving out their hearts to show them what that felt like. "Rachel! Don't be stubborn! You have to leave today, no matter what! I have even booked a plane ticket for you! You have to leave now!" In her desperation, Mrs. Bennet resorted to direct orders. However, Rachel was no longer as naive as she was before who would listen to everything her mom said. Seeing that Mrs. Bennet had already pulled out the air ticket from her pocket, Rachel applauded her. Even the applause itself was full of mockery. "Nice, very nice. You have prepared everything from the start! You’ve even anticipated my compliance to leave the Orange Country." Mrs. Bennet pressed her lips together tightly, but her outstretched hand did not falter. "This is better for both Rue and you. I have no other choices, and nor do you." Rachel took the ticket and her pretty eyes soon glazed over with a layer of frost. "'Mother', what is the meaning of this? Not only do I need to leave the Orange Country, but I have to go somewhere in Africa too?" Mrs. Bennet avoided Rachel's glare as she spoke because that was not her intention. However, Rue did say that Edward Bluemel frequented countries in Asia for work. If Edward met with Rachel there, the Bennet Group would be as good as bankrupt! That was the reason they decided to send Rachel to the poorest country in Africa. "So what about Africa? To you, as long as there are men, you’ll be able to stay alive." Her words were as sharp as an icicle in the winter that it pierced through Rachel's broken heart. Just like that, Rachel tore the ticket into pieces in front of Mrs. Bennet and replied with a sarcastic tone, "What a great speech. In that case, I really can't leave this place now." The paper pieces scattered from her hand as the wind carried them in the direction of Mrs. Bennet's face. Seeing the aloofness and passiveness of Rachel's behavior, Mrs. Bennet became anxious. Impatient, she immediately picked up the coffee cup in front of her and smashed it to the ground. The cup broke into a multitude of sharp shards in which Mrs. Bennet then grabbed a piece and placed it against her throat. She did not forget to look at Rachel after that. "Rachel, I'll ask you one last time, are you leaving or not?" Rachel looked at the scenario in front of her and silently laughed until her body trembled. "Are you really using the death threat tactic? This is not professional enough, 'Mom'..." She reached out suddenly and grabbed Mrs. Bennet's hand that was holding the broken piece, then slowly moved it toward Mrs. Bennet's neck. Mrs. Bennet did not anticipate Rachel's move at all and so, she began to tremble in fear while she tried to push the broken shard away from her neck. At this point, her face had turned pale. "Rachel, what are you doing? You traitorous child! Are you trying to kill your mother!" Rachel bit her lower lip hard until it was bleeding before she swung Mrs. Bennet's arm away from her. The shard, with the tiniest amount of blood on it, fell on the ground but its trace was unmistakable. Mrs. Bennet's skin was a little scratched and a little sanguine seeped out through the wound. With only such a tiny wound, she was already in shock as she sat in place, trembling. The other people who were watching the event unfold in the cafe were scared away and some of them had even called the police. Rachel clapped her hands together like she was not affected. "'Mom', if you don't have the courage to die, why are you threatening to kill yourself?" "Rachel, you’re an absolute lunatic! How else will you leave this place? You don't even budge even when I'm hurt, do you really want me to grovel to you?" Mrs. Bennet yelled out of desperation. Rachel pulled a chair to her and sat down. "Alright then, after you." Mrs. Bennet paused and placed a hand on her wound as she sank to her knees and knelt in front of Rachel, throwing away her pride and knocking her head on the ground. Rachel sat and watched as the woman in front of her groveled frantically until her forehead bled, just to beg her to leave the city. ... She felt a mixed bag of emotion — some confusion, some unwillingness, plenty of anger, and an ample amount of resentment. However, all these emotions vanished in the end, leaving behind peace and detachment. "From now on, I, Rachel, will have nothing to do with the Bennet family." When Mrs. Bennet understood what Rachel had said, she realized that the chair was empty and Rachel was nowhere to be seen. Mrs. Bennet took her phone out. "Rue, Rachel has promised to leave the Orange Country. But she's not planning to go to Africa, I don't know where she would go." On the other end of the phone, Rue narrowed her eyes that shone with ferocity. "It's alright, mom. As long as she's gone from the Orange Country, the danger of exposure will mostly be gone." After hanging up the call, Rue tossed her phone casually onto the table. She then sat on her sofa comfortably. Looking around the Bluemel mansion, she narrowed her eyes satisfactorily. 'Rachel, only after you're gone can I become Mrs. Bluemel without any worries. You shouldn't blame me for taking away what's yours time after time and instead, you should blame yourself for not having the fortune to enjoy this fate!' After returning from the trip, Rachel did not cry or vent, and neither did she mention anything about the Bennet family. Her heart was so numb that she did not feel the Bennets were deserving of her tears. "Rachel, what happened? Why are you packing?" Jodie was concerned for Rachel even when the baby was in her arms. On the other hand, the baby kept reaching out to Rachel as if he wanted mommy to carry him. "Ga, ga~" So Rachel held onto the baby and explained calmly. "Jodie, I'm leaving the Orange Country." It was as if the baby had sensed Rachel's mood, he reached up to touch her head like a tiny adult comforting Rachel. "Leaving the Orange Country? Why so sudden?! Did the Bennets say something to you? I'll go and get them to explain!" Jodie asked anxiously. Speaking of the Bennet family, her face turned red in anger. Rachel tugged at Jodie's arm in time and looked gently at the sleeping baby in her arms. "The Bennets want me to leave the Orange Country. They are right, though, my reputation here is ruined. If I stayed in this city, Ziggy might face unwanted attention in the future. I must protect my son, so leaving here will be good. Jodie balled her hands tightly in frustration as she tried her best to control her anger. "You're not a member of the Bennet family anymore. Why wouldn't they let you go?" Rachel tapped Jodie's shoulder lightly and smiled in indifference. "It's fine. What happened to the thing that I asked for help with?" Jodie nodded quickly and handed the bank card to Rachel. "This is your payment for the design you submitted. There are many companies that would like to work together with you long-term, some of them even wanted to hire you as their creative director!" Jodie tried to persuade Rachel to stay with those enticing offers. Rachel, however, only shook her head lightly. "I will take Ziggy with me, I'm going to Istituto Marangoni in Milan to study." Seeing Rachel's determination, Jodie was slightly taken aback. "Istituto Marangoni? That's not an easy school to be admitted to, how did you..." Rachel replied nonchalantly, "I've already gotten an offer letter two months ago..."