Tyler tightened his grip on Rachel’s hand comfortingly. “He’s adept at being shameless. You don’t always need to give in to him, alright?”

Rachel almost couldn’t stop herself from bursting out laughing.

Thomas blushed and bellowed, “Tyler!”

“Go on ahead. Just don’t hold her back for too long and make things difficult for her,” Tyler said irritably.

He waved them away, as though he might just change his mind if they stayed a second longer.

Thomas led Rachel to the other end of the corridor, which was quieter with fewer people milling about.

Rachel didn’t bother with pleasantries. They were certainly familiar with each other, and Thomas had expressed much of his disapproval toward her when she was married to William.

He was like that to her when she was with William, not to mention Tyler, the backbone of their family and business.

What a joke this entire fiasco turned out to be, Rachel chuckled inwardly. Cutting to the case, she said, ”Mr. Lewis, I suppose you want me to leave Tyler?”

“Since you know what I called you here for, name your price. I’ll do whatever I can to give you what you ask for.”

Thomas’ tone was calm, almost pleasant.

Rachel had the urge to laugh at Thomas’ offer.

“Mr. Lewis, do you still remember asking me the same question when I was with William? You still haven’t kicked the habit even after so many years. Haven’t you come round to it yet? I’m never the one with any say in the matter, and neither am I the decision-maker. Tyler is the one with the right to decide.”

Rachel wasn’t selling herself short. When Thomas tried to make her leave William with the same approach, she had naively agreed to it.

She admitted that she was too easily swayed by what others said at that point.

Back then, she didn’t want to be a burden to William. The Lewis family was powerful and influential. If William married a deaf woman, he would become the butt of everyone’s joke in Yurelia City.

She didn’t want William to be looked down upon.

In the end, William put his life on the line by going on a hunger strike, insisting on marrying no one else but her.

Chapter 565

+15 BONUS

When he was eventually sent to the hospital, the doctor said that had he been sent in ten minutes later, he might have lost his life. That was when Cassandra and Thomas finally relented and allowed her to marry William.

Thomas’ callus-covered hands rubbed against the handle of his cane as a solemn look overtook him.

“Then disappear from the face of Yurelia City as you’ve done five years ago. Since you could hide from both Tyler and William, I’m sure you can go back to where you were hiding again. Just tell me what you want in return.”

Rachel barely hesitated for a few seconds before nodding.

“Sure, I can do that.”

Delight filled Thomas’ eyes, and he asked excitedly, “That’s great. What do you want in return?”

“I want William’s name removed from Lewis Enterprise’s board of directors, and Tyler named as the successor of the company,” Rachel said without a hitch in her voice.

The air around them froze the moment she raised her request.

A few seconds later, Thomas looked visibly upset after recovering from his initial shock.

“You’re asking for too much! Tyler has his own company. If I gave mine to him, what would William be left with?”

Rachel retaliated calmly, “Since you already have William holding the reins, why interfere with Tyler’s freedom to be with whoever he wants? Why, I heard that your family abandoned him a long time ago. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have left him all alone in a foreign land when he was just a teenager.”

Although Rachel couldn’t claim to understand what Tyler went through, the mere thought alone sounded horrible enough to her.

Other children enjoyed the care and concern of their family during their childhood, but….