"When they rushed her to the hospital. She started having premature labor and gave birth to Edward. Unfortunately, she also passed away right after giving birth to him," Andrew sighed. "Edward had many complications because of the premature birth. He had to stay in the hospital for one and a half months before we could take him home."
"It must have been so hard for Justin." Raising a baby while grieving for the death of his brother and sister-in-law, Rachael's heart ached for him.
"Abraham was more like a father figure to Justin than just a brother. If not for Edward and the need of taking care of him, he would have definitely broken down. Edward is the only reason why he could overcome such a big tragedy."
One could only imagine how hard it must have been. But Justin was still trying his best. Though this was the first time they had met, Rachael could easily say he adored Edward alot. The initial respect she had for him had increased to ten times.
"Owen and I were always around since Edward was small. We took turns in taking care of him. This is why he calls all three of us his dada." Reminiscing about a funny incident, Andrew chuckled, "You know once when Owen was changing his diaper, Edward peed right on his face."
"What?" Rachael chortled. "What did he do after that?"
"Of course he couldn't do anything to the baby. But he stopped drinking apple juice," he smiled. "He still doesn't drink it."
"Did something like that happen to you too?"
He shook his head. "No, Edward was always very gentle with me. He only troubled Owen a lot."
Tucking a strand of hair, behind her ear, he said, "Justin wants to settle here with Edward. He asked me to look for a house."
"Is he from Russia too?" When he nodded, she curiously inquired, "What about his family?"
"His father passed away when he was still in college. His mother passed away not long after," he answered. "He only has distant relatives from his father's side but they live in Norway."
"Then settling here is a nice idea. With you and me around, we can help him take care of Edward."
Though it was one of the reasons why Andrew wanted Justin to settle down in the same city, he did not expect Rachael to think the same way.
"You don't mind taking care of him?" he asked.
"Of course not, I don't mind keeping him with me forever," she exclaimed.
Andrew shook his head in disagreement and immediately rejected the idea. "I can't allow that. If you spend all your time with Edward, when will I get to spend time with you?" Though he adored Edward a lot, he was very sure that if he brought him home, Rachael would spend all her time with him. That would be like shooting himself on the foot and never recovering.
Rachael: " "
She was speechless.
"It's okay if he comes and plays around for a couple of hours but he can't stay here forever," he shamelessly stated.
Rachael sighed and helplessly shook her head. Her fully-grown mature husband was all ready to fight with a toddler for her time. She had nothing else to say.
"What about Justin's work? Will he be able to manage it from here?" She changed the topic.
"We three used to work together there. After Justin shifts here, Owen will handle everything. We will also fly back whenever needed."
"That's nice, this way Justin will be able to spend more time with Edward."
"Not really—" Without waiting for her reply, he asked, "Do you know Hans Corporation?" When she nodded, Andrew said, "Justin will take over Hans Corporation."
Rachael raised her brows. She was very surprised.
Hans Corporation was one of the prestigious companies of the country. It had managed to stay in the top five for decades. The Hans family was one of the most reputed and well-respected families in their society.
In fact, the elder of the Hans family was on good terms with her father. She had even met him once. Their company also had many on-going projects with them.
"Justin's mother was the only daughter of the elder Han. He also had a son but he passed away at a very young age. To secure his daughter's position in the family and the company, he gave her a major part of the company shares. Later, elder Han gave both Abraham and Justin company shares too," he explained.
"Later when his mother and brother passed away, all the shares landed on Justin's hand making him the biggest shareholder."
"So all he has to do is take over the company?" When he nodded, she asked, "Then why didn't he do it earlier?"
Keeping quiet for a while, Andrew said, "Let's just say he wasn't interested but now he is."
"It will be nice if he takes over. Last time I heard from dad that elder Han's health is not so good and the workload is making it worse. The doctors advised him to retire but it seems he doesn't want to trust anyone in the family with the company." Though she didn't know elder Han that well, her father had told her that he was a very righteous and kind man who cared about his family more than anything in the world.
Running his fingers through her hair, he asked, "Are you tired?"
She shook her head. "No, I still have to arrange my things." Her suitcases were still lying in a corner untouched. She had only taken out a few sets of clothes for her to change.
"Okay, let's go do that. I'll help you."
…..
[Bedroom]
Dragging the biggest suitcase near the walk-in closet, Rachael said, "The clothes are already neatly folded, we just have to arrange it. Can you take out the clothes and give it to me?"
Andrew nodded and started doing what she had asked him to. He grabbed a nearby suitcase and placed it on the bed.
When he opened the suitcase, he widened his hand in shock. His hands, which were ready to grab whatever was stuffed inside the suitcase, froze in the air….
….