?Chapter 249:


    From the front seat, Doris began a tearfulment. “Brian, I’m sorry. I don’t understand what I’ve done to earn her dislike. If my presence is unwee, I can leave.”


    She nced toward Ronald and said, “Stop the car.”


    Brian hastened to reassure her. “You’ve misunderstood. If spicy food is what you desire, then spicy food we shall have.”


    Doris brightened immediately. “Brian, do you truly mean that?”


    “Of course,” he confirmed with a nod before turning back to Rachel. “Doris rarely makes requests. Let’s indulge in spicy food today, and afterward, I’ll take you wherever you wish to eat.”


    His words sounded like negotiation, but his mind was already made up. Rachel said nothing, gazing out the window while a cold numbness spread through her heart. She understood the futility of objection. Brian would invariably prioritize Doris above all else.


    Despite being his girlfriend, Rachel felt eclipsed by someone who wasn’t even family, someone who had been absent for years while she remained faithfully by his side almost daily. They arrived at the restaurant shortly thereafter.


    The noon hour had not yet drawn crowds, allowing them to secure a private dining room overlooking the street.


    Once settled, Doris attached herself to Brian’s side, regaling him with workce anecdotes that ranged from amusing to frustrating and everything in between.


    Rachel sat in istion, maintaining her silence until Doris deliberately drew her into conversation. “Rachel, have you encountered anything interesting at work recently?”


    Recalling theints several female colleagues had shared days earlier, Brian tensed immediately.


    To his evident disappointment, Rachel merely shook her head with deliberate lightness. “Just the usual routine—nothing worth mentioning.”


    Brian’s gaze intensified, his tone dropping to a cial register. “Is it truly nothing, or are you simply withholding information?”


    “Truly nothing,” she replied.


    The temperature in the room seemed to plummet with those words.


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    The server arrived with their meal shortly afterward.


    Rachel nced at the dishes only to discover they were liberally studded with chilies, far too spicy for her current health to tolerate.


    Unwilling topromise her wellbeing, she rose decisively from her chair. “You two enjoy. I have pressing matters to attend to and need to leave.”


    “Sit down!” Brian’s voice cut through the air like a frozen de.


    “I explicitly told you I cannot handle spicy food. If this is what you wish to eat, proceed without me. Why insist on my presence?” Rachel snapped, clutching her purse and moving toward the exit.


    “Is that so? You can embrace and cuddle with another man, but you cannot share a meal with me?” Brian’s unexpected usation stopped her mid-stride.


    She turned slowly, disbelief etched across her features. “What did you just say?” Her eyes widened, unblinking, as she demanded, “I want you to repeat that.”


    “A few days ago, at thepany—who carried you to the car? What? Do I need to reiterate the question?”


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