Crazy Rich Canadians

Never Enough

March 27, 2018

11:38 am

Hotel. Toronto, Canada.

Rachel's POV

I had just been dropped off at the hotel from Ashley's bachelorette party. I think it's safe to say I didn't have fun. Justin was on his way back from Ryan's party, and I plan to tell him that I met his ex-girlfriend and the surprise she left for me in my bed. After I finished putting my stuff back in the room, I came back down to the lobby and waited for Justin. As I sat there on one of the couches, my phone vibrated to let me know I had a new text.

Justin: Hey. I'm almost at the hotel, where are you?

Rachel: I'm sitting on one of the couches in the lobby where the piano is. Come here when you arrive, I need to talk to you.

Justin: Oh boy. What'd I do?

Rachel: Nothing... I just want to tell you a couple things I found out this weekend.

Justin: Okay. Well, I'm getting out of the car now so I'll see you soon.

Sure enough, I felt someone tap my shoulder two minutes later. I turned around to see Justin standing over the couch. "Hi." I sighed. "Are you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. "No. I'm not. Here's why. I thought I was here to meet your family, go to your best friend's wedding, bond with Stephanie again, and eat some good food. Instead, I feel like I'm a villain in a soap opera that wants to steal your family's money." I said as I crossed my arms. I heard him sigh before coming around the couch to sit next to me.

"What happened?" He asked, waiting for me to vent. "I met Anna. She told me that your family was so devastated when you didn't move back to Canada last year when I didn't even know you were supposed to come home." I said and waited for his reaction. "You have every right to be mad at me." He said, placing his hand on my leg.

"I'm not done yet." I said and continued talking. "Then there were these flipping dead cockroaches that Anna and her friends left for me on my bed in my hotel with the words 'YOU DESERVE THIS, YOU GOLD DIGGING BITCH'. Written in big red letters like in horror movies." I said. "Is that all that happened? I mean, please tell me nothing else happened." He asked, sighing. "You know what, I don't even care about those stupid girls and their stupid designer flip flops and purses. I don't care that your ex-girlfriend told me all this shit. But, I do care that you didn't tell me any of it. Why?" I asked, getting very upset.

"Listen, when we first met, you had no idea how much money my family had or who they were. You didn't care." He said. "Yeah, I don't care. I couldn't care less about materialistic things." I said, sighing. "Exactly. Look, you make me so happy. I love who I am around you and I don't want that to change. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with dead cockroaches on your own." He said, sitting closer to me. "I technically wasn't all alone. Jessica helped me through it." I said, laughing.

"Great." He replied, rubbing my knees. "But, they were so gross. But, I buried them." I said, looking at him in the eye. "You dealt with it. That's all that matters. But, I'm here now. No matter what happens, we'll get through it together. Come here." He said, opening his arms for me. I smiling and leaned against him, resting my head on his chest. "You know what, we need to do something tonight. We need to do something that's just you and me." I said against his shirt.

"I absolutely agree. But, we do need to go make some cupcakes first." He said, kissing my forehead. "Can we eat them afterwards?" I asked immediately. "We can eat as many as you want." He said, laughing. "Okay, fine." I said, relaxing on him.

*An Hour Later*

I sat next to Justin at the big dining room table at his grandma's house with Pattie, Josh, Jessica, Jaxon, Jazmyn, Allie, and her mom Chelsea. We each had a little cupcake tray that we were pouring the batter into as well as anything else we wanted to put in it.

"Is it a family tradition for you guys to make cupcakes?" I asked, looking around at all of them. "Yes. Our grandmother used to own a bakery, and so she taught us growing up. Now, we make it a thing to get together every once in a while and make them." Jessica replied. "Wow, that's amazing." I smiled and put chocolate chips into my batter.

"Grandma says if we don't pass down traditions for each generation, they'll disappear." Justin said. "She's right. When Justin's father was a kid, his mother would always bring him to the bakery and he would 'help' her make the different pastries. As he got older, she decided to actually teach him. But, she eventually sold it to a young family. That company has since been renamed to 'Tim Horton's'." Pattie said, causing my mouth to drop. "'Tim Horton's'? You guys own a series of hotel chains across the world and you started the Starbucks of Canada? Wow, that's incredible." I said in disbelief.

"Yep. Sometimes, grandma wishes she didn't sell it. But then again, she doesn't need all the extra money. Look at this house." Jaxon said. That was the first time I've ever heard him talk since I've been here. He's usually too occupied making out with his girlfriend, Maria. I looked up a couple of her songs and she's a terrible singer. She's lucky she's pretty.

"Wow. That's amazing. I honestly love seeing you guys all hanging out together ever so often. When I was growing up, it was just me and my mom. I absolutely loved that, but I didn't have a big family like this. I never knew my father, but sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would've been like if I did. But, my mom gave me everything, and I love her so much for it." I said, smiling. "It's nice that you appreciate all of us sitting here making cupcakes. But, it doesn't just happen." Pattie said.

"Um, how'd you and Justin's father meet?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "They met at Harvard. They were studying law together." Justin added. "Oh, I didn't know you were a lawyer." I said, surprised. "I'm not. I dropped out after we got married. I decided that I needed to put all my time and effort into making the family business into what it is. My schooling got into the way of that. Like I said, all of this doesn't just happen. Your mother has it engraved in your brain that passion gets you where you want to go, and that's typical for Americans nowadays. They all believe that passion will make them millionaires. But, that is so far from the truth." She said, causing me to look down.

"That's a beautiful ring. Where'd you get it?" I asked, looking at her distinct engagement ring and changed the subject again. "Justin's father gave it to me when he proposed to me. It's been in the family for many generations." She replied.

A few minutes later, I was walking around the house trying to find a bathroom. Once I was about to go up the staircase, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see Pattie walking up the stairs as well. "Oh, hi. I think I'm a little lost. This house is pretty big." I smiled, trying to keep the peace. "I'm glad I found you here. You asked about my ring. I told you it's been in the family for many generations, but that's not true. Justin's father had it made when he wanted to propose to me. His mother refused to give him the family ring. She didn't like me from the second I met her. She didn't think I would give Jeremy the life that he deserved." She said.

"But, she came around, right?" I asked. "It took many years. After all, she had every right to be concerned. I guess I have that in common with her. After going through that experience, I do know this. You will never be enough for my son." She said, looking at me straight in the eye before walking back down the stairs.

"Let's head back to the table. I wouldn't want Justin to worry." She said, disappearing from my eyesight. I sighed and went up the stairs to go to the bathroom, since that's what I initially wanted in the first place; Pattie's voice echoing in my mind.

Once I was back in the rental car with Justin so we could head back to the hotel, I felt his hand go on my leg. This caused me to turn my attention to him. "Are you good?" He asked, rubbing my knee. "Yeah." I replied, deciding not to tell him what his mother told me. "I know my mom can be rough at times, but there's nothing she wouldn't do for me. Let's go do something, anything you want. Movies, go explore downtown, sushi, anything you want." He said, focusing back on the road.

"Movies sound good." I replied.