#54

“What does it matter? We’re over, aren’t we?”

Rachel gave a sly smile. Zakari had no retort because she was right. As he clamped his mouth shut, Rachel continued.

“Better for me to choose my next husband than to let my father pick him, right? Besides, you know my preferences better than anyone, so it wouldn’t hurt to get your advice. Isn’t that right, my dear daughter-in-law?”

“Of course!”

Cersia responded with an adorable smile, echoing Rachel’s words. Zakari wondered if she even understood the implications of what she was agreeing to.

‘She’s not even trying to stop this… Not that she has any reason to.’

Right, how could she possibly grasp the situation?

Moreover, Rachel and I are already divorced. Whether she remarries or not, it has nothing to do with me anymore.

I’m only here temporarily for our son’s wedding. Once the ceremony is over, Rachel will return to where she came from.

And when she does…

‘She’s really planning to marry one of these worthless fools?’

Zakari’s gaze drifted over the scattered portraits on the table, his eyes narrowing as if he could set them aflame with a glance. His expression was half-lost to fury, a clear sign that his rationality was slipping away. But Rachel, rather than backing down, continued to provoke him.

“Anyway, if you’re not going to help, don’t get in the way.”

How could he possibly remain silent after that?

“No, I’ll help. A man’s judgment is best when it comes to these things.”

Zakari forced a smile, pulling his chair closer to the table, ready to involve himself in the process.

* * *

I couldn’t help but smile secretly to myself as I watched things unfold more smoothly than I had anticipated.

I had worried he might just walk away, but Zakari had pulled his chair right up to the table and was now actively involving himself in choosing Rachel’s potential suitors.

Or more accurately, he was pretending to help while subtly sabotaging every option, using every piece of information he had.

“The Briz family has a long history of womanizing.”

“What? Well, that won’t do! I’m not marrying someone who can’t keep it in his pants!”

“And the Hazel family is about to declare bankruptcy; they’re drowning in debt.”

“What, did they propose just to use me as a meal ticket? Do they think I’m a fool?”

To an outsider, it might have been shocking—an ex-husband helping to pick out his former wife’s next husband. Who could have imagined such a bizarre scenario?

But here it was, happening right before my eyes, all according to my plan.

‘If I can convince Zakari, then Rachel can stay at the Jabis estate without having to go back and forth.’

‘Sure, but you know how stubborn that man is. He’s got a head like a rock.’

‘Hmm. How about using the remarriage card?’

‘You want me to actually remarry?’

‘No, just pretend. Start by gathering all the portraits of suitors that your father has sent.’

‘And then?’

‘Start dropping hints to Zakari. He’s bound to react strongly.’

‘I don’t know… He might just push me toward it, that lion of a man.’

‘Trust me. Jealousy is the quickest way to make someone honest about their feelings. And I think the Jabis family is full of jealous types. Just look at Zerakiel. To get Zakari to change his mind, nothing works better than a jealousy tactic.’

‘Oh my, is our Rikie really the jealous type?’

I’ll never forget the sparkle in Rachel’s eyes back then.

‘Rikie, jealous? My goodness, that would be a sight to see!’

Her expression had been one of utter disbelief, as if saying, “Could my son really be like that?” Meanwhile, I, the one orchestrating this plan, could only think, “Why is this so surprising? It’s everyday life for me!”

And true to form, Zakari’s jealousy was on a whole different scale—just like everything else about him.

“Only I can bite, only I can call your name, only look at me, only give me flowers.”

Zerakiel’s peculiar stubbornness was hard to fully grasp, given how fixated he was on such strange things even as a child. It was no surprise that Zakari, who passed down this tendency, wasn’t much different.

* * *

“Ahem. Anyway, Lady Rachel, just trust me this once. He’ll definitely take the bait.”

“Alright. But seriously, can’t you call me ‘Mother’ already?”

“Um, what?”

“‘Lady Rachel’ sounds so cold. It feels like you’re putting up a wall, just like Kiera does.”

It wasn’t unusual for our strategy meetings to veer off into strange topics. Rachel rarely took anything too seriously.

It wasn’t until I called her “Mother” a good ten times that we could finally get back to the main topic.

“This family is full of stubborn people, that’s for sure.”

And that included me, who was soon to become part of the household. In the end, Rachel and I came up with a plan to ensure that the “runaway mistress” would make a grand return to the Jabis estate.

Honestly, I was half unsure about the idea, but it turned out to be spot-on. It was clear that Zerakiel’s possessiveness wasn’t just his own; he had inherited it from Zakari.

Look at him now, blinded by jealousy, nitpicking every single flaw in Rachel’s potential suitors like a master with a scalpel.

“Ugh! These are all so inadequate,” Rachel said, reacting to Zakari’s criticisms by tossing portraits aside one by one. Each time she did, Zakari’s smirk grew more pronounced, making his intentions obvious.

As more and more portraits were discarded, only a few remained.

Noticing my subtle cue, Rachel pointed to one of the remaining portraits and said, “Hmm, what about this leopard? He seems quite handsome, don’t you think?”

“You shouldn’t associate with cats.”

Excuse me, Father-in-law, technically, you’re part of the cat family too.

I stifled a laugh. This was all the confirmation I needed that Zakari still had feelings for Rachel.

In fact, Rachel and I had timed our tea break perfectly to coincide with Zakari’s return, all to gauge his reaction. If he had simply walked by without a care, we would’ve had to move on to Plan B.

Luckily, Zakari couldn’t just pass by. He had settled in and taken over the entire process, trying to sabotage Rachel’s choices.

Rachel, aware of this, couldn’t hide her satisfaction as she spoke, “Hmm, well, I do have a thing for big cats. After all, I married you, didn’t I?”

“Are you seriously comparing me to a mere leopard?”

“Why? A leopard, a black lion, what’s the difference?”

“They are completely different.”

“There’s a saying, ‘If you can’t have a pheasant, take a chicken instead.’ Why are you so sensitive? It’s not like you’re going to remarry me.”

“Are you suggesting that you’d use a leopard as my replacement?”

“If you’re so upset about it, why don’t you go find yourself a nice badger?”

Rachel scoffed as she pushed the leopard’s portrait to the side, placing it in the opposite direction of the other discarded portraits.

Despite Zakari’s attempts to disrupt things with all the information he could muster, Rachel remained resolute, setting aside a few more portraits.

“Hah! Do whatever you want!” Zakari finally snapped, pushing his chair back and storming out of the room. As he disappeared in a puff of frustration, Rachel and I exchanged glances.

The moment we were sure he was out of earshot, we both burst into laughter.

“Pfft!”

“Hahaha!”

Rachel pounded the table, laughing so hard she almost cried. Meanwhile, Kiera, standing nearby, maintained her usual stoic expression, not even cracking a smile. Truly, she was a master of the poker face.

After a few moments, Rachel wiped the tears from her eyes and said, “I’ve never seen Zakari so flustered! It feels like I’ve finally gotten rid of a ten-year-old weight. Haha!”

“Didn’t I tell you it would work? I knew this would have an effect.”

“Oh, you’re such a darling.”

Rachel pinched my cheeks with a beaming smile, looking more pleased with having pranked Zakari than with confirming his feelings. My cheeks squished like soft rice cakes, I gave an awkward smile.

“Hehe.”