Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

[Volkov Mansion]

As soon as they stepped out of the car, Kathleen sighed. She wasn't a big fan of her in-laws, especially her mother-in-law.

Helen was the first person who opposed when Daniel told his family members that he was marrying her.

According to Helen, she wasn't compatible with her son and her family.

But Daniel shut everyone up and married her anyway.

After their marriage, Helen did start behaving decently with her but after a couple of years when the couple started having troubles conceiving, Helen's behaviour also started getting worse.

Six years into the marriage and her behaviour with Kathleen had turned very ugly.

She never left a chance to taunt her and frown her for not being able to give her son and the family a child.

Though Daniel always stood by her side, fighting with everyone who tried to look down on her, Kathleen still felt bad.

"Don't overthink." Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist. "You just have to remember that I love you and nothing matters to me more than you."

"I know." She leaned against his chest.

"Right now, we need to be with Rachael," he remarked. "Andrew is not here, we have to be her strength and stand by her side."

"Don't worry about that," Kathleen chuckled. "Your mom doesn't like me anyway."

Just then Lokus stepped out of the mansion. "Master, madam, young madam." He greeted them simultaneously.

"Rach—" Kathleen hooked her arms around hers. "Come, let's go inside."

Rachael took a deep breath and nodded.

….

[Inside]

When they stepped inside, Helen was waiting for them right by the door.

"Mom—" Daniel stepped forward and hugged her.

"Oh so you remember that your mother still exists?" Helen scoffed as she returned the hug.

"Why are you always so dramatic?" Daniel sighed.

"I will stop being dramatic if you start showing me some respect." She pulled away and looked at Kathleen.

"You are here too."

"Mom—" Kathleen greeted her.

Helen nodded before looking at Rachael. "Come here dear."

Rachael hesitated for a while before stepping forward.

"I must have scared you," Helen sighed. "But you must understand I meant no harm."

"Maybe you didn't mean any harm but your ways were not appropriate," Rachael remarked. "Andrew was bringing me here anyway but by doing this, you strained your relationship not only with me but also your grandson."

Kathleen pursed her lips and leaned towards Daniel. "I don't think she needs our help," she whispered.

"I know right? She snapped right at her," Daniel chuckled.

"Maybe my ways were wrong but my intentions weren't," Helen defended herself.

Rachael did not say anything. She had nothing to tell her anymore. She had lost all the leftover hope or expectations she had from Helen. She could no longer trust her.

"Anyway, don't keep any hard feelings." Helen smiled and grabbed her hand. "We are family after all."

"You lucky that we are family," Daniel remarked. "If someone else had done what you did today, that person wouldn't be alive by now."

Kathleen pinched Daniel's waist and gestured him not to say anything.

"You know how things work in our world mommy," he added.

Helen sighed. "Well, what can I say? I have to opt for different methods to make my kids visit me."

Without waiting for anyone's reply, she added, "Come let's go inside, I made food."

She then grabbed Rachael's hand and pulled her inside.

"You are hungry, right?" Daniel asked.

Kathleen sighed. "Whenever I see your mom, I lose all my appetite."

…..

After dinner, Rachael accompanied Kathleen while Daniel left as he had something important to do.

"That was the most awkward dinner I have ever had," Rachael sighed.

"I know," Kathleen chuckled. "It's always intense with her."

"So Rachael, when are you planning to bless me with a great grandchild?"

"Here you go." Kathleen muttered as she took a sip of the wine.

Helen sat next to them. "The only thing this house lacks is little figures running around."

She then glanced at Kathleen before looking at Rachael again. "I did not get the satisfaction of a grandchild from one of my sons yet but I hope you will not disappoint me."

Kathleen chose to stay silent and kept sipping her wine. She was used to hearing such comments, especially from Helen.

"Andrew and I are not thinking about having a child right now," Rachael answered. "We have our own plans in regards to that matter."

"That's right but it's good to have kids early and—"

"We have our own plans and we will stick to it," she interrupted. "We don't wanna rush into doing something just because there are no kids running around this mansion."

Kathleen choked on the wine she was drinking and started coughing vigorously.

"Excuse me—" She stood up and left..

"You know Rachael, I thought I'll like you." Helen smiled. "But now I am not so sure."

"I never expected you to like me in the first place." Keeping quiet for a while, Rachael added, "I know you don't like me Helen. But it really doesn't matter anymore."

"Andrew loves me, he adores me," she stated. "And that is all that matters."

Rachael respected Helen as an elder but after what Helen had done, she had lost every ounce of respect she had for her.

"Remember you told me once that Andrew is your favourite kid?" When Helen nodded, she remarked, "Keep pulling your lousy tricks and you will end up pushing him further and further away."

"One thing about your grandson is that he is crazy about me. If something happens to me, he will go crazy," she added. "You know your grandson better than me, you know what he is capable of."

Helen pursed her lips and frowned. She didn't like the way Rachael was talking to her but she couldn't do anything about it.

Since Rachael was from a clean background, she had assumed it would be easy to scare her but she couldn't be more wrong.

She had expected her to be scared after today's incident but instead, she acted very bold and unaffected. This bothered her alot.

But at the same time, she was happy that her grandson did not disappoint her. He didn't marry a pushover, whom everyone could run over.

At least Rachael was capable of standing up for herself.

"You know Rachael, I am a little jealous of you," Helen chuckled.

When Rachael frowned, she added, "I have been waiting for my grandkids and son to come home for months. I even called them over but no one cared to respond."

"But today everyone is coming over because you are here." Helen smiled. "It's sad but at the same time I am happy because they are coming over."

"Even though I know they are coming for you and not me. Daniel is here with his wife for you and not me, I am still happy."

…..

[Garden]

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, just—" Kathleen sighed. "Did you finish talking to her?"

Rachael nodded. "Kind of—"

"It's hard isn't it?" She chuckled. "It's hard talking to her."

Keeping quiet for a while, she added, "You know Rach, I don't really blame her for taunting me like that. I mean, I am at fault here, isn't it?"

"It's not your fault," Rachael answered. "It's no one's fault."

"Daniel says that same thing," Kathleen sighed. "But I blame myself. Maybe not a lot but a little bit."

​ The pain of not being able to give her husband a child killed her little by little everyday. If not for the support and love Daniel showered her with, she would have broken down a long time back.

"Six months after our marriage, I got pregnant," Kathleen smiled. "It was the most beautiful feeling. And Daniel—I had never seen him so happy."

She looked at Rachael. "He went all crazy. He bought so many gifts for the baby, clothes. I literally had to scold him to stop."

"But during my 2nd trimester, I had a miscarriage." She wrapped her arms around her and sighed. "It was the worst feeling I had ever experienced."

"Daniel stood by my side all the time. He constantly told me it was okay and it wasn't my fault. He tried to act as normal as he could but I knew he wasn't okay. He was dying inside just like I was but he refused to show it to me."

Kathleen closed her eyes as her heart filled with sorrow and agony again. It had been more than 6 years but the wounds from that moment were still fresh.

Rachael wrapped her arms around Kathleen's shoulder. She couldn't say the right words to comfort her. She could only imagine the pain Kathleen and Daniel had been through.

"After that incident, I couldn't get pregnant again," Kathleen added. "The doctor said there was a slim chance but we should keep trying."

She then looked at Rachael. "We even tried IVF four times in the past years but nothing helped."

…..