Cold Husband Burning Regret: The Divorce He Couldn't Handle novel Chapter 643

As the atmosphere grew frigid, Mr. Rayburn began to cough. The butler entered with a bowl of herbal medicine and, seeing his state, hurried to the desk. “Patriarch, it’s time for your medicine. You have your nebulizer treatment soon.”

Mr. Rayburn took the bowl and drank the contents.

The butler turned to Caleb. “Mr. Caleb, you know the patriarch’s condition. Why must you keep arguing with him?”

“Rest well,” Caleb said, offering no further argument before turning and leaving the study.

The butler tidied up the empty bowl and then asked quietly, “Patriarch, what if Mr. Caleb insists on bringing them into the family?”

“Of all my children, he has always been the most obedient. If he truly chooses to defy me this time for that woman and her son, then I will have no choice… but to strike first.”

***

Back at Midvale Estates, Sean Rayburn had been home less than two days and was already completely won over by Evander Howard’s cooking. The man who usually scowled at the mere mention of Evander’s name was now offering rare praise.

“If you enjoy it, sir, I’ll be happy to cook for you more often.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that,” Sean said playfully between bites. “If I’d known you had skills like this, I might have lowered the bar for you a little back then.”

Wesley couldn’t help but interject. “That’s not what you said before.”

Sean put on a serious face. “A man has to be flexible!”

“More like you’re easily bribed with a good meal,” Wesley retorted.

“You little rascal,” Sean feigned offense. “All this time at home has made you bold, talking back to me now?”

Just then, Charlotte walked in from outside, surprised to find the three of them in such a harmonious mood. Evander was actually sitting next to her father!

“Lottie, you’re back?” Sean waved her over. “Look at this! It’s a real shame Evander isn’t a professional chef. We need to have the kitchen staff learn a few tricks from him.”

The two of them hurried out, leaving Charlotte behind before she could even process what was happening. She didn’t understand the full extent of the situation, only that it was bad.

Evander calmly rose and walked over to her. “Don’t worry about your father and brother. They’re Rayburns, after all. It’s easier for them to handle these things.”

She bit her lip and turned to him. “I just don’t get it. After everything that happened with Kate, Uncle Quincy, and my brother, why is the patriarch still so set in his ways? He was willing to kill Shane Rayburn because he thought he was a threat, but now he can’t accept an innocent child?”

She didn’t know the full story, or why Mr. Rayburn was so opposed to a child who shared the Rayburn bloodline. Was it simply because his mother was a controversial figure from the entertainment world?

“Even if status is important to a family like ours, I don’t think Nannie is unqualified. Her family background might not be on par with high society, but at least she worked hard to change her life. No matter what people say about her past, the fact that she, as a single mother, has gotten this far on her own makes her stronger than most.”

Evander gazed into her clear, earnest eyes, seeing her admiration for Nannie and her empathy as a fellow woman. But as she worried about others, he found himself worrying about her.

Did family background really matter? In the past, he wouldn’t have cared. Whether it mattered or not, his family would have chosen for him anyway. But now, he wondered—if he had recognized Charlotte back then and they had fallen in love, what would he have done if Rosemary had ordered him to marry another woman instead?