Uncle’s Love

The next day, at the entrance of Uncle's house, Rachel hesitated before ringing the doorbell.

Uncle was doing some small business and their family was pretty well-off, with a small villa built on their own land.

Rachel felt nervous, but still reached out and rang the bell.

Nora opened the door in a red dress with full makeup on, looking like some rich lady.

She knew Rachel was coming today, and the moment she saw her, she looked at her with pure disdain.

She couldn't believe that after five whole years, Rachel, who even had a daughter now, still looked so innocent, with those clear, bright eyes that always made people want to protect her.

Nora hated that.

Rachel ignored her and walked straight in with Cora. Nora's heels clicked hard on the floor as she stormed in behind them, arms crossed tight.

Inside, Uncle was sitting in the living room, smoking, and looking kinda tired.

Aunt was flipping through a magazine. "Uncle! Aunt!" Rachel greeted them with a smile.

"You're back!" Uncle smiled warmly at Rachel.

Queenie scoffed. "Finally. Your uncle's been waiting all day for you to show up."

"Nora is a white-collar worker, she's very busy," Nora cut in sarcastically, throwing a quick glance at Queenie, thinking about how they talked about Rachel being a taxi driver.

"Mommy, guess who drove me home just now?" Nora looked all proud, holding Queenie's hand with a smug grin.

She wanted the whole house to know Rachel was a taxi driver.

"Why are you so happy?" Queenie looked at her curiously.

"It was Rachel." Nora raised her eyebrows like she just dropped a bomb. "Bet you didn't see that coming."

"Rachel? Are you sure? Didn't your dad just say yesterday she's doing well at some big company, earning a high salary?" Queenie was shocked, her jaw dropping.

"She's not a white-collar. She drives a taxi, with her illegitimate child," Nora snapped, smirking.

"Don't call her that," Queenie warned quietly. "If your dad hears, he'll yell at you again. But seriously, is it true?"

"Of course it is. She lied to you guys. What big company? I even sat in her taxi. 100% real. She even begged me not to tell dad. Said if I did, she'd spill everything about what really happened that night." Nora didn't believe she would actually dare.

Grady frowned. Just yesterday, Queenie had told him Rachel wasn't in some company. She was a driver.

Rachel's heart sank. She expected Nora to betray her but still acted like she didn't hear anything.

She looked down at Cora with a gentle smile. "Cora, say hi to Uncle and Aunt."

"Uncle, Aunt," Cora said sweetly, her soft voice like a little bell.

Her round cheeks were red, and she had two neat little braids today. Her lips were pink and her big black eyes sparkled, adorable, really.

"So well-behaved. What's your name?" Grady's frown faded as he looked at the cute little girl.

No way he could stay mad when he saw such a soft and sweet kid.

"My name is Alexis, but you can call me Cora," Cora said with a blink.

"What does your mom do?" Queenie suddenly leaned over with a smile, clearly nosy. She really wanted to know what Rachel was up to these days.

"My mommy works at a coffee shop in the day and drives a taxi at night. She's always working really hard," Cora said cheerfully, her smile innocent but her words stung like a slap.

Rachel didn't expect her aunt to ask that out of nowhere. Her face went pale and she bit her lip.

She'd planned to tell Uncle later, but now it was all out in the open.

"You work at a coffee shop and drive a taxi?" Grady's voice was cold. His face dropped instantly.

Rachel had refused to come back to this family no matter how hard things were.

Nora smiled smugly, watching Rachel like she was enjoying her own private drama series.

She thought her father would slap Rachel hard, just like he did five years ago.

"Uncle… I… I didn't mean to lie to you," Rachel said nervously. She just didn't want him to worry.

But where was she supposed to start?

"What have you been doing all these years? How could you raise a child in such a poor environment?" Grady's eyes widened in anger as he stared at her.

Rachel felt both wronged and scared as she looked at her uncle's furious face. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't talk about my mommy like that! My mommy is the best mommy in the whole world!" Cora shouted, unhappy to see her mother so sad, just like the argument she saw last night.

Grady and Queenie were both surprised by Cora's sudden outburst.

Cora stood in front of Rachel like a tiny shield.

Her fair little face was serious, her big bright eyes were firm, and her small soft hands were held out like she was protecting her mom.

She looked so cute and strong that no one could look away.

Rachel's lips curled into a small smile. She felt so warm inside.

The kid was honestly adorable, but for some reason, Queenie felt annoyed the more she looked at her.

"What a rude wild child," Queenie sneered.

Grady had been really mad, but seeing how sweet and protective Cora was, and thinking about how Rachel worked day and night, his anger faded.

"You should stop talking," Grady told Queenie.

"Uncle Grandpa isn't mad. He's just worried that I won't take good care of you. And he's worried about you too," Rachel said softly, half-squatting down to hold Cora's little hands.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Grandpa," Cora said after thinking for a second. Then she walked over to apologize, sticking her tongue out playfully at him.

Grady completely melted at that and picked her up lovingly.

"It's okay. Cora is really obedient," he said, then turned to Nora. "The cherries we bought yesterday are in the fridge. Bring them for Cora."

"That cherry costs over a hundred per kilo! Why should she get it? I won't even eat more than one!" Nora shouted.

Rachel seriously had some kind of luck. She told a big fat lie, and Dad just forgave her like it was nothing.

Nora was so mad she could scream.

"You shut up. You're always trying to stir things up," Grady said angrily.

How was she stirring up anything?

"This is all your fault! Why'd you come back? You eat our food, live under our roof, and now you want to ruin our family too? Haven't you done enough?" Nora screamed at Rachel, tears running down her face.

Then she stormed off, slamming her door hard.

She really hated Rachel.

"You always protect her. Nora's not wrong," Queenie said, heartbroken from seeing her daughter cry, and shot a glare at Grady.

"You're just spoiling her too much. She'll be totally rotten at this rate," Grady scolded.

"You just keep defending that wild child," Queenie snapped at Rachel before going back to her room to check on Nora.

"Uncle, I'm really sorry for causing you and Aunt to fight again," Rachel said, her heart aching from guilt.

She tried to hand him the fruit and gifts. "I brought some fruit and..."

"Sit down for a bit. I'll wash some fruit for you two. Your aunt's just like that. Don't take it to heart," Grady cut her off gently.

He picked up Cora and walked into the kitchen to wash the fruit.

Rachel knew her uncle was trying to get her to stay longer. Even though things got awkward, she still cared a lot about this family.

That's why she was scared of making them mad, and why she came back today to explain everything.

When her uncle came back with the fruit, they talked about family stuff. Rachel only told him good things, not the bad.

When it got close to dinner time, her uncle told her to stay over and eat more than once. But Rachel insisted on leaving.

Before she left, she handed him the gift she bought yesterday.

—

"Mummy! Uncle Grandpa gave me this! He said I have to open it when I get home!" Cora said excitedly, pulling out a small, neatly wrapped paper bag from her backpack.

Rachel figured it was just some small toy or something, but when she opened it, it was a thick stack of cash.

Rachel's heart got all warm. Her eyes turned red in an instant.

Her uncle really loved her. And being loved like this… it felt so good.