"Yes," Rick answered. When he failed to Lea, he joked about it. "Lucas came with two beauties. The
other one is like fire while this one is like ice. He is really fortunate to be able to bring two beautiful
women here."
The last sentence was meant as a hidden taunt that men could easily comprehend the meaning.
It was the kind of joke that Jack would normal laugh upon hearing it.
However, this one sounded a little harsh to him. It seemed that Rick wanted to imply that there was
there was something between Rachel and Lucas.
He pursed his lips, not saying anything more.
Rick never expected that he had invited Jack's wife and mistress to the party.
Jack's disinterest was eventually noticed by Rick, and it made him wonder whether his jests lacked its
usual kick.
He lightly cleared his throat and immediately shifted the topic. He started to talk about corporate plans
and Jack's interest was finally piqued by the new topic.
Rick paused to think about the plans and eventually decided to get it all done with Jack. Although he
had already signed contracts with several hospitals, the health care hospitals of the MK Group and the
Zhou family's hospital were his two major targets because of their longstanding reputation.
Rick was an ambitious man, and he wanted to capture fifty percent of the medical market of Ninwell
City.
The lights on the host platform finally lit up.
The host walked up to the stage, approached the microphone stand and adjusted it. Loud applause
filled the area as Rick was about to start his speech.
Rachel turned towards the direction of the balcony. She wondered how Lea could be so heartless and
leave without warning.
"What brings you here?" Michael asked.
"My friend was invited. And I came with him," she replied casually.
Michael burst into laughter at her reply. "Do you know that Jack is here too?" he asked with a wink.
He briefly looked around the gathered crowd until his sight stopped at the row right in front of the stage.
He turned to Rachel and twitched his lips to direct her to look at where his lips were pointing. "There,
front row," he said to her as she leaned forward to look.
Rachel followed the line of seats in front of the small stage. At length, she saw someone familiar
among the crowd.
And true enough, Jack was there. He listened attentively to the speech that was being delivered on the
stage. One hand was in his pocket and the other held a glass of champagne. He looked downward for
a moment and suddenly turned his head towards her direction when he sensed that someone was
looking at him.
Their eyes met despite the distance between them and locked on each other. Rachel eventually looked
away as if her eyes were burned by his stare.
She felt ashamed as if she was caught peeping at someone.
As she turned her head, she saw Michael with a hand on his lips, trying hard to hold back his laughter.
It made Rachel's face even redder than strawberries.
Although she was not aware how red her face had become, she decided to look away before anyone
else noticed how embarrassed she looked.
Rachel was unable to understand what was being said at the stage at all.
She pretended to look at the decorations and forced herself to be calm as she waited for the blush on
her face to fade away.
She blushed like a little girl who saw her crush. The teasing glances of Michael and Marcus exchanged
were made obvious for her. They stared and smiled meaningfully.
The crowd suddenly burst into warm applause. Rachel turned towards the stage and saw Rick in a
black suit talking in front of the microphone.
The people applauded once more when Rick completed his speech.
He was silent for a moment on the stage as the applause faded. He twisted his lips into a slight frown
as he weighed what he was going to say next.
"We will have cooperative relations with many hospitals in time for the Mother's Day celebration this
year. This project is both a springboard and a foundation for us to attract more cooperative partners in
the coming months and years.
This is one of the reasons that I'm holding the party today. The other reason is that today is my
mother's death anniversary."
He suddenly paused as silence filled the area. What he said just surprised everyone present. They
thought rick's mother was living abroad. They didn't expect her to have already passed away. But the
Ying family never posted an obituary for her death.
A moment later, Rick continued, "When I returned home to start my career, my mother passed away in
an accident. And it happened on a special day."
He bowed his head and closed his eyes after he spoke as he tried to hide the buildup of emotion on his
face. After a brief pause, he raised his head once more with a smile.
"It has been several years since she passed away," he said and then paused briefly. "After all the years
that have passed by, I thought that the wait was over to take back what was rightfully ours. But
unfortunately, it's too late. My parents are all permanently gone."
Nobody expected that Rick would reveal his past to the crowd and during an occasion such as this.
"I feel sorry for them. And I want to do something to help people like them.
I am not a savior. I know that I will not be able to help everyone, but I will do my best to help as many
people that need help as best I can."
Rick was eloquent and expressed himself well,
but Rachel thought that his speech was not as stimulating as it should be.
"And these are not just words that will die after this gathering."
He paused slightly once more for effect. He then raised his voice slightly as he delivered the next lines
of his speech. "I invited all of you to come here because I want us to reach out and make more people
interested in joining me!"
After Rick's speech was over, Jack clapped his hands. A loud burst of applause followed his example
soon after.
Michael gently scratched his nose with his finger and leaned forward to whisper into Marcus' ear. "Rick
is..."
But Marcus knew what Michael was trying to say and touched him slightly as a signal. Michael
understood what Marcus meant to say and immediately became quiet.
Although they were at an almost isolated area and it was difficult to for the rest of the people to notice
them, walls have ears.
Michael suddenly straightened his back and suit. He then cleared his throat and began to applaud with
the rest of the guests.
The speech of the host was over and yet Lea was still nowhere to be found. Even Lucas had
disappeared without notice.
The three of them came to the party together, and yet Rachel was left alone.
When Rachel was about to sneak away from them, Michael suddenly turned to her.
"Let's go and find Jack together, shall we?" he suggested.
Rachel hesitated for a moment as she realized that her chance to slip away had come and gone. She
felt embarrassed to join Michael and refused politely. "You go ahead. I need to wait for my friends."
A look of exaggerated surprise masked Michael's face. "Your friends?" he asked, confused. He looked
around but couldn't find Henry and Lea. He nudged Marcus with his elbow.
"Look for the bastard!"
"Wait, don't call him a bastard," Marcus snapped. "I don't want to be known as a bastard's friend."
"Well, you are right," Michael agreed with a nod.
The phone call was soon connected and Marcus shouted, "Where are you, scumbag?"
Both Rachel and Michael turned to look at Marcus when they heard his words. But Marcus maintained
his countenance and continued, "Well, I'm not interested with your explanations. Just tell me where she
is."
There was a pause as he listened to the person speaking on the other end of the call. "Okay, I know."
He ended the call and turned to Michael and Rachel. "That scumbag said he is just chatting with your
friend at the garden. Don't worry, Henry is a gentleman, unlike Michael here."
Rachel smiled. "Don't bother them. Let them talk all they want."
"What did you say?" Michael asked Marcus unhappily. "You'd better explain the last sentence to me
clearly. Which side are you on anyway?"
Rachel was just a bystander to the two. She found them to be different from the people that they were
when she first met them. They were interesting people nonetheless.
A voice suddenly came from behind them that took them by surprise. "Why are you hiding back here?"
Jack asked.
He kept walking until he was at Rachel's side. "And you are here too."
"Yes," Rachel replied in a soft voice that was almost drowned by the sound of the gathering. But she
had nothing else to say beyond that.
Michael rolled his eyes at them in a mischievous way as he slightly shook his head. They might freely
throw jokes at Henry but they knew well enough to keep their jokes away from Jack.
'Several days ago, he said that he was going to divorce Rachel. And yet, the atmosphere between
them is no longer as tense as before. What's really going on?' he wondered.
Marcus had no idea that Jack was divorcing Rachel. They were hiding in this place, away from the
crowd. But as soon as Jack walked over to their location, he attracted the attention of many people.
They suddenly felt exposed. If they continued to stay here, people would come to talk to them.
"Can we stop standing here? How about we have a seat?" Marcus suggested as he looked around for
a place where they could sit.
"I think that would be nice." Jack took a quick look at his watch. It was still early. He then turned to
Rachel. "Are you here alone?" Later, maybe we could..."
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