When Jack arrived in the hospital, Celine's injured hand had just been bandaged up by the nurse.
Celine had been wailing like a banshee for the past half hour, and Rona stayed by her side the entire
time. Rona was the first one to notice Jack. She poked Celine's shoulder and pointed at him. Celine
kept her head down when she realized that it was him.
Celine didn't want Jack to see her like this, much less interact with him. She tried to hide her face by
leaning her head on Rona's shoulder, but it was ultimately useless.
Upon seeing Celine, Jack pursed his lips and sat next to her.
Rona nudged on Celine's shoulder to push her closer to Jack but Celine avoided her. Celine did not
want to pay him any attention, nor did she even want to turn her head towards him. She didn't want him
to see her like this. Her cheeks had become swollen.
"Turn around and let me see your face," said Jack.
But Celine bit her lips and didn't move.
"Look at her face! Look at what they did to her," Rona shouted. She carefully raised Celine's injured
hand and showed it to Jack. "Look at her hand. Because you weren't there to protect her, this
happened!
The doctor said that her hand had been dislocated. It will take weeks or even months for her hand to
completely heal. Look at what Rachel did to her!"
Hearing Rona's complaints, Jack remained calm and said patiently, "Please let me see your face."
Jack had not been so kind to her for a long time. When she heard him speak so gently, she felt that
some of her burdens had been eased, but she didn't want him to know she felt relieved. Instead she
gnashed her teeth and shouted at Jack. "Look at me! This is all because of Rachel!"
Jack had not seen it clearly earlier, but now that he had gotten a second look, he was shocked at how
swollen her face was. "Did she slap you?" he asked.
"Who else would dare to hit Celine like this?" Rona intervened. "She even threatened that she would
break her hand!"
Jack looked at Rona. She was in disbelief that he seemed like he still wouldn't believe them.
Jack wore a grim expression on his face. "I'll talk to her. But before that, I want to know what happened
between the two of you."
Celine was happy to hear to first half of his sentence, but she was disappointed to hear the rest of it.
"Why can't you just believe me, Jack?"
"Listen, I believe you, okay? I just want to know the whole story behind this."
Celine wiped her tears and told him her side of the story. "I ran into Rachel and her friend in a cafe. I
just went down there to get a cup of coffee, but Rachel's friend suddenly walked up to me and slapped
me out of the blue." She tried to sound as pitiful and sincere as she could be, hoping that Jack would
buy it.
She even shed a tear to look more believable. But Celine was not as well-versed in the art of lying as
she thought she was. She didn't know the right timing and execution of her lies. Jack wasn't so stupid
to believe anything he heard without trying to find out more about it.
When evening came, the rain started pouring down from the cloudy skies of the city. The raindrops
cascaded on the windows of houses and cars, and they started a rhythmic beating as they fell down. It
was like the sky knew what had been happening to the city for the past few days.
Rachel leaned over to close her windows. It was starting to get dark. The setting sun had disappeared
behind the rainy clouds.
When she stared out of the window, she saw how every house in the community lit up almost
simultaneously. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, until the light from the houses could barely
be seen from her house.
Rachel didn't turn on the lights. She stood before the window in silence, held a glass of warm milk in
her hand, and gazed at the drops of rain. The rainy night was a comfort that she had been longing for a
while now. In her brief moment of quiet contemplation, she received a call from Jonathan.
When she picked up the phone, she was expecting that the matter with Celine had already been
settled. "Rachel, from now on Celine Duan won't come to bother you anymore," he said. "But there
might be a little trouble with Jack. If he dares to give you a hard time, you can tell him to come directly
to me. I won't let him do anything to harm you!"
Rachel was touched by how much Jonathan was doing for her. "Okay, thank you Dad. I'm glad I could
always count on you."
She wanted to express her gratitude more, but she didn't know how to put it into words. She realized
that this was the first time that she had ever used Jonathan's influence and power to her advantage.
Everything was going smoothly, but she still had one problem. If Jack confronted her, she wouldn't
know what to tell him.
She could tell him that Celine harassed her all of a sudden, and that she hurried back home to ask her
father-in-law for help. If Jack still wouldn't leave her alone, she thought that she could suck up to
Jonathan and coax him into taking her side. Rachel stifled a laugh, she couldn't imagine putting herself
through something that ridiculous.
After saying that, she fell into silence.
Jonathan was a cunning man. He had known Rachel since she was a little girl. It was no wonder that
he could tell exactly what she was thinking.
"Rachel, you don't need to think too much. You are my daughter-in-law, I consider you my own child,"
he said, breaking the silence between them. "As long as I live, nobody can bully you."
"I know, Dad. Thank you," she replied.
"You're welcome, dear. Let me tell you what I'm going to do. If anyone dares to bully you, come tell me.
Jack is no exception!" Jonathan sounded proud of himself.
Then Rachel heard Jonathan sigh at the other end of the line. "Sometimes, I feel like this is all my fault.
I did nothing to deal with this fiasco between Jack and Celine because you never tried to ask me for
help. If you have any more grievances, feel free to talk to me," he groaned. "To tell you the truth I..."
Even though Jonathan didn't finish the end of his sentence, Rachel understood what he meant.
He would do anything for her as long as she asked for it.
Jonathan was a sly old man. Rachel knew that there was no man that could outwit him in his lifetime.
The rain started pouring even heavier as it got darker.
A flash of lightning struck down from the distance, lighting up Rachel's dark room. When she turned on
the light, she heard some enter from the front door. She took a peak and saw a man standing in the
hallway.
Half of his face was hidden in darkness, and Rachel couldn't make out his expression. She already
knew why he was here.
She just didn't know how Jack would confront her, but she was ready to face him. She knew this would
happen, given that she had deliberately hurt Celine's hand and ended up telling Jonathan what had
happened.
Rachel was surprised that Jack didn't say anything right away. She tried to remain calm. "You're back,"
she said.
Jack didn't respond. He stood there with such complex emotions written all over his face.
They stood in silence, staring at each other and waiting for the other to say something. Rachel was still
holding the cup of warm water in her hand. They kept looking at each other as if they were having a
staring contest.
Finally, one of them couldn't take the silence anymore and took the initiative.
A bright lightning streaked across the windows. It was followed by the loud drumming of thunder.
Jack was inching closer towards her. He looked at her with condescendence in his eyes.
Rachel's heart skipped a beat. She clenched the cup in her hand and tried to remain calm. When she
looked up to meet his eyes, she saw the deep look in his eyes. It was like an abyss that would pull you
in if you stared too long.
Jack raised his hand and was about to touch Rachel's face.
Rachel managed to step back and dodge Jack's hand. She looked at him vigilantly. Fear was written all
over her face.
Jack pursed his lips and tried to come closer to Rachel. "I didn't mean to hit you," he said.
Rachel said nothing. She wanted Jack to come no closer to her.
She acted like a cornered wild animal, ready to bare her fangs if the need arose.
Jack sighed and stepped forward. Before Rachel could do anything, he touched her cheek his hand.
Rachel's eyes widened. Her back was against the wall, and she had nowhere to retreat.
She closed her eyes, preparing for the pain that was about to befall her.
However, instead of the burning sensation of a palm to her face, she felt a gentle touch on her cheek.
Rachel was taken by surprise. She didn't even open her eyes. Jack's hand was cold but soft. He slowly
caressed the redness on her face.
Jack brushed her hair to try and calm her down.
Rachel still couldn't say a word. Her eyes remained closed.
He withdrew his hand with a sigh. "Why do you hide from me?" he asked. "What makes you think that I
would hurt you?"
When she heard him speak, Rachel opened her eyes. She expected to see an angry demon, but
instead she saw him looking at her with eyes that were clouded by so much emotion. She saw the
kindness behind the beautiful smile drawn on his lips.
Rachel's heart skipped a bit. She tried to control her breathing.
"You traumatized me," she said frankly.
She knew what Jack was capable of. Last time, he almost cut off Eric's hand because he touched
Celine. She thought that Jack would take his anger out on her after she hurt Celine's hand.
The corner of Jack's lips twitched. He couldn't remember what he had done that traumatized Rachel.
"I don't hit women," he said, pursing his lips.
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