?Chapter 346:


    “I’lle down and meet you. Let’s grab some afternoon tea.”


    “Sure.”


    Given everything that had happened earlier, Rachel expected Natalia to be feeling down. But to her surprise, Natalia seemed as upbeat as ever,pletely unfazed.


    Since she was heading out anyway, Rachel figured this was the perfect chance to check in on Jeffrey.


    “Miss Carpenter, let me treat you to something,” Rachel offered suddenly.


    Natalia blinked at the formal address, then waved it off. “Just call me Natalia. No need to be so formal.”


    Rachel hesitated. Were they even that close?


    “I don’t know why, but I just can’t bring myself to dislike you,” Natalia murmured, almost to herself.


    At the café, Rachel deliberately picked a seat outside. It was just far enough that Jeffrey wouldn’t spot her, but close enough that she could keep an eye on him.


    They had barely ced their order when Natalia suddenly looked up. The moment her eyesnded on someone, she lit up and grabbed Rachel’s hand. “Wait—is that your brother? What was his name again?”


    “Jeffrey.”


    Natalia raised a brow. “He works here? Don’t tell me you brought me here just for this?”


    “Yeah, it’s his first day, and I’m a little worried. But he doesn’t want me around, so this is the only way I can keep an eye on him.”


    As Rachel finished speaking, a sharp tter rang out nearby. A coffee cup had just crashed onto the floor.


    Rachel’s gaze darted over. Jeffrey was crouched down, hastily picking up the mess while apologizing over and over. “I-I’m so sorry… I’ll… I’ll get you a new coffee!”


    Rachel sat back and watched as Jeffrey hurried to fix the spilled coffee. The patron scowled, “What’s the problem? You can’t even talk properly?”


    Rachel’s hand immediately formed a tight fist, her restraint keeping her from confronting the harsh patron. If not for her self-control, she might have whisked Jeffrey away right there. Jeffrey, meanwhile, bowed deeply.


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    “I-I apologize, I’ll rece it immediately.”


    His words stumbled slightly, but his sincerity was clear. After a brief pause, the patron relented with a nod.


    “Fine, just be quick about it.”


    “Understood, I’ll handle it now.”


    Jeffrey’s relief was evident as he hurried off to fix the situation. When he sessfully served the recement coffee and the patron raised no furtherints, he exhaled deeply.


    From afar, Rachel let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. At that moment, Natalia, who had been stirring her coffee, turned to Rachel with a puzzled look.


    “I’m curious—why is your brother working, given his condition?”


    Rachel’s eyes snapped up, her look sharp. Natalia immediately sensed she might have overstepped and hurriedly added, “Please, I didn’t mean any disrespect to him. I’m just concerned that his condition might expose him to mistreatment or undue stress at work. Besides, wasn’t your financial situation quite stable? And Brian was quite generous during your time together. It doesn’t seem like money is an issue.”


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