Chapter 20 An Excellent Mother-in-Law

Rachel's father passed away when she was still a high school student. It was already over a decade ago.

It had been a long time since she last called someone 'dad'. That was why she was so shy to call Gavin 'dad'.

But at that moment, all of them were looking at her, waiting for her answer.

Joanna had been holding the red envelop in her hands for some time. She would give it to Rachel as soon as she called 'dad'.

Gavin smiled kindly and said,"Alright, Joanna. This is Rachel's first time to meet me. Come on, don't make her feel so embarrassed."

"Dad..."

Rachel called him while biting her lip. She thought that even if it wasn't for the red envelop, she should do it. It didn't hurt anyway.

"Yes, yes!" Gavin exclaimed happily the first time he heard Rachel call him 'dad'.

Joanna smiled, finally handed the red envelop in Rachel's hands and said,"Ah! Good girl! Good girl! Rachel, whenever you are free, please come back here and chat with me. I will also prepare a good dinner for you."

Rachel accepted the red envelop. She pinched the envelop secretly. It was so thick; it might contain a lot of money. She felt that what she did had a great value.

After the dinner, Hiram and Rachel sat for a while. Hiram thought it was late and that they should leave. However, Joanna stopped them.

"Hiram, my boy, I understand that you are so busy with your work, and that you need to travel a lot for your business. But now you're here. Please stay for just one night so that Rachel and I can have a talk. You can also play chess with you father."

Joanna grabbed Rachel's hand, led Rachel to her bedroom and said,"Come with me, my baby, I really need to show you something."

Rachel realized that the better Joanna treated her, the guiltier she would be. She wanted to tell Joanna the truth several times, In particular the real attitude and character of her son.

After entering the room, Joanna took a box from her cabinet and waved her hands to Rachel. "Rachel, come and sit here."

"Mom, what is that?" Rachel asked. She looked at the dusty box curiously. The box looked very ancient. The red paint on it was worn out as if it had been touched many times.

"Well, this is my ancestral treasure. My mother gave it to me when I got married." Joanna opened the wooden box slowly with reminiscence in her eyes.

There was a complete set of jewelry inside that unappealing box.

The emerald necklace, though less delicate and gorgeous than the jewels today, looked fairly big and valuable. It showed a sense of immortality.

Rachel knew that Joanna was from an ordinary literary family. It was extremely difficult for them to have such set of jewelry passed on from generation to generation.

The necklace alone was expensive enough. Not to mention that there were also a bracelet and earrings that had the same color.

"Mom, I can't take them! They are too valuable for me to have. I just can't!" Rachel shook her head instantly. She decided that she would refuse to have the jewelry whatever Joanna would say.

The neclace was no doubt a symbol of inheritance.

Moreover, it was more like a validation of her status as the daughter-in-law of the Rongs.

How could she, a pretentious daughter-in-law for only a month, receive such precious gift?

Even though she could accept and put them on auction after she divorced Hiram,

When her boyfriend betrayed her, all light and joy was gone from Cherry’s life. Deserted, bereft of hope, she married a man that she had barely met, but she had never expected him to be her ex-boyfriend’s uncle.

Cherry thought that she had finally found her happiness, but she had no idea about the dark secrets that were bound to unfold and haunt her forever...

her conscience couldn't allow her to do that.

"Rachel, my dear baby. You will be the only daughter-in-law in the Rong family. Don't worry too much and just take it." Joanna persuaded her while patting her hands.

"Mom! How about you keep this for me and then give it to me on my wedding day. That would be much more meaningful, right?" Rachel quickly thought of a great reply, and pushed the gift back to her.

"Besides, if you send me this precious gift now, I don't have a place to hide it in yet."

Joanna nodded her head and compromised with her. "Fine. As what you have said, I will keep them for you until your wedding day."

Rachel was relieved after Joanna finally agreed, and thought she escaped her hard request.

"I understand the reason why you refused the jewelry. But, there are several clothes I bought for you. They are much less valuable than the necklace. I hope you will take them with you." Joanna said. Joanna stood up and put the wooden box back to its place. She then turned to the closet and took out some clothes.

Rachel looked at Joanna who was really meticulous and kind to her. Her heart was in a great grief. Joanna was a really good mother-in-law, she thought.

It would be quite amazing if she could have such a great mother-in-law in the future.

Although people always say that marrying a powerful person means living in the deep sea full of dangers, the Rong family was an exception.

What she saw was a sincere mother-in-law and a generous father-in-law.

Except for...

Hiram.

"These are the pajamas I bought for you in case you won't have any clothes to change when you come here. Take them back to your room and try them on!" Joanna said blissfully, and handed her the pajamas.

Certainly, Rachel had no reason to refuse them anymore.

After Rachel left, Joanna smiled more deeply. "Great, she passed the first test."

If she had accepted the jewelries, she would not feel relieved. After all, a Rong's wife should be able to resist the temptation of wealth.

Though the marriage was decided by an older generation, if Rachel was not good for Hiram, the marriage should be cancelled.

Rachel went back to the room which belonged to Hiram with a pile of clothes in her arms.

She just looked at the clothes for their style, then folded all of them and put them into the wardrobe, leaving the pajamas only.

She had no intention of taking all of them. She thought that she would come back here often this month, and it would be convenient to have clothes to change instantly. In addition, she felt that she didn't deserve them.

Rachel heard the chess board clattered when she passed by Gavin's study room. She thought that it would take them some time before they finished their game, so she took the pajamas and went into the bathroom.

Rachel was startled when she saw the man lying in the bed after she went out of the bathroom.

Hiram wanted to have a shower after Rachel came out, but he hesitated after seeing what Rachel was wearing.

Rachel's pajamas looked very normal under bright lights. However, it looked see-through beneath dim lights.

Rachel just finished taking a bath. She thought that loose pajamas wouldn't be a problem. But seemingly her inadvertently moving back and forth made her look very hot in Hiram's eyes.

Nonetheless, Rachel had no idea about it at all.