Richard Astor hesitated, glancing at Rain's determined expression. He ignored the protests of the Claytons and made a call. The room fell silent, and Rain enjoyed the tense expression on her family's face as they tried to eavesdrop on the conversation.
After a few moments, Richard's eyes widened. He hung up, his expression grim."It appears Rain is telling the truth. She is indeed married. Today's dinner is an utter waste of our time."
Disappointed, the Astor family began to gather their things to leave. Richard gave Tim a disdainful scoff. "Is this how you handle your family, Tim? I didn't expect to be embarrassed like this!"
Her father quickly stood up, trying to appease the mayor, but Richard ignored him and brushed him off as he left with his family. Rain remained stoic, ignoring the angry glares Michael threw at her as he followed his family out.
Dina, however, couldn't resist the opportunity to denigrate Rain despite how badly things turned out. She sauntered up to her with a smirk. "So, who's that useless husband you've married? Did you pick up a beggar off the streets to avoid marrying Michael? After all, given your background and status in our family, you could never marry into a prestigious family."
Rain maintained her composure and met Dina's sneer with a calm smile. "You'll find out very soon, Dina. But whoever and whatever he is, remember, he's much better than a cheating scumbag boyfriend."
With that Rain stood up to leave, but Sylvia was quick to block her path. She was filled with hatred and anger as her entire plan to benefit from Rain's humiliating marriage had gone up in smoke. She raised her hand to hit Rain, but this time, Rain grabbed her wrist midway and stopped her from slapping her.
She increased pressure on her wrist, causing her stepmother to hiss in pain. This would be the last time she allowed this woman to hurt her.
Rain's voice was low as she spoke, "You don't seem to be satisfied with the slaps you hurled at me during breakfast today, stepmother."
"You ungrateful bastard!" Sylvia staggered as Rain pushed her hand away.
"Looks like Rain is starting to grow horns, Mom. Is this because she passed the bar exam and is now an official lawyer?" Dina chimed in. She turned to their father and complained, "Dad, you have to do something about this unruly woman! She doesn't know her place!"
"You can save your effort. I am leaving now," Rain sneered, turning to walk out of the private room. However, her footsteps stopped when her father began to speak.
"The moment you walk out of that door, I will completely disown you!"
Rain fought back her tears. She turned on her heels to look at her father and said, "It doesn't matter if you disown me right now. I never felt like I belonged to your family in the first place. None of you have ever made me feel welcome. From today onwards, let's have nothing to do with each other."
With that, she walked out of the room in long strides. Tears started running down her cheeks, blurring her vision. She couldn't help but feel hurt. The only thing she wanted all her life was her father's love and acceptance, but she knew now it would never happen.
Her eyes stung as she drove her car to the Clayton Mansion to pack her bags. She stopped by the room of her aunt, Melanie Clayton, and released a heavy sigh.
If there was someone who held her back from leaving the mansion, it was her father's sister Melanie, the only person who treated Rain well like a family.
Aunt Melanie suffered from hemophilia and was currently in the hospital getting treated for a small wound she received while cutting fruits. Rain decided she would visit her there tomorrow to explain everything.
Not wasting any more time, she immediately left the mansion with the rest of her belongings to her new apartment.
As soon as she arrived, she carried everything up to her apartment herself. She grabbed a can of beer from the fridge and a packet of her favourite snacks then walked directly to her balcony.
Sitting on the balcony chair, she started eating and drinking. Her eyes welled up as she drifted into her childhood, how she wished to be loved by her father and stepmother but was ignored and insulted every day.
Tears ran down her face like a waterfall when she realized how much she had been tortured, punished, and ill-treated by them throughout her life. Yet they were not happy and wanted to sell her off!
Crying hard as she drank, Rain heard the doorbell ring. She wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and walked to the door to see who it was through the peephole. It was her friend Sanya, waiting outside. Sanya had rented the apartment next to hers.
She opened the door, and Sanya instantly barged inside, scolding, "How come you didn't tell me you were moving in tonight? If not for the building owner calling to inform me, I wouldn't have known. I'm glad she let me know since you didn't call me a—"
Sanya stopped talking when she turned around and looked at Rain's sad face. "What happened? Why are you crying? Your eyes are so red and swollen. Look at your red nose!"
Then Sanya went near her, sniffed, and exclaimed, "Are you drunk?"
"I'm not drunk, Sanya. Just drinking," Rain shrugged and said as she staggered away from her.
Sanya quickly held her hand, pulled her to sit on the sofa, and asked with a worried tone, "What's wrong? Tell me what happened."
Rain could feel Sanya's eyes boring holes into her as she waited for an answer. "Paul cheated on me with Dina," she finally said in a low voice.
"What?! That bastard!" Sanya exclaimed. "Is that why you're drinking alone?! You should have called me so you'd have a drinking buddy!" she added with a pout.
Rain smiled weakly at her friend and said, "I'm planning to call you, but I feel like I need some time alone to calm down a little."
"And cry and sulk by yourself? That can make you go crazy if you keep it all in. You need someone to talk to, so quick, spill out everything," Sanya urged, her tone laced with concern.
Rain took a deep breath before she started, "Today was an eerily weird day for me, a total chaos, Sanya. You wouldn't believe how many twists and turns I saw in a single day. My life has turned upside down in just one day."
She then narrated everything to her friend, from her unexpected discovery of being married to using that marriage to avoid the arranged marriage her father wanted for her.
When she finished, Sanya was unblinkingly staring at her, pale and wide-eyed. Rain had to wave her hand in front of her eyes, to get her attention.
"I… I don't know what to s-say…" Sanya stuttered, offering an awkward smile.
Her reaction was understandable, even Rain still couldn't fathom how things had spiraled so quickly. The biggest unsolved mystery was how she ended up in an unexpected marriage with a stranger.
Their brief silence was interrupted by the sudden ringing of Rain's mobile phone. She contemplated for a moment before deciding to answer when she saw an unknown number, wanting to avoid Paul's calls who had been trying to call her ever since she discovered his infidelity.
"Hello?" Rain slurred, ready to scold the bastard if he tried using a new number to call her.
"Meet me tomorrow. I want to talk about divorce…" Rain's body stiffened at the familiar masculine and deep voice. It was Alexander Lancaster!