Rachel opened it up. When she saw the contents of the envelope, she looked up at him in surprise.
"You want me to go to the charity dinner with you?"
In the envelope, there was an invitation to a charity dinner held by the Chamber of Commerce.
She set the invitation on the table. "I can't go with you. I could just give you the money for the books."
Back then, although she preferred not to, she had no choice but to attend these types of dinners with
Jack. Now, given that she had no sort of obligation, she would rather not attend one.
Besides, she knew for a fact that Jack would definitely go, and if she went, she would definitely run into
him one way or another.
At the thought, she gave the invitation back.
Bill didn't expect that Rachel would reject the idea so strongly. He leaned over. "You know how boring
the banquet is," he complained. "If I go there alone, I'd be bored to death."
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "So you want me to be bored to death with you?"
He grabbed her arm like a spoiled child trying to insist that his mother buy him a gift. "You wouldn't be
bored if you'd go with me. We can talk all night. Time would pass."
Rachel withdrew her arm. "No. How much are the two books? I can always just pay you back."
"If you don't go, I'll take the two books back," he pretended to threaten as he stared wide eyes at her.
"What do you think? I promise we'll be back soon."
'He threatens me with the books?'
Rachel frowned as she thought of the limited edition books he had given her. At this rate, if he took
them back, she might not be able to get them anywhere else. "Fine," she compromised.
The waiter placed their orders on the table.
Bill chuckled in satisfaction as he pushed the bowl towards her. "Try the noodles. If they taste good, I
can order another bowl for you."
"I don't have much of an appetite."
However, as soon as she tasted the noodles, it felt as if she had just discovered heaven. It seemed that
Bill was a great food critic, she noted as she ate up.
Soon enough, Rachel placed a hand over her swollen belly. The sadness she had felt almost
dissipated. She glanced up at Bill, who was too focused on eating his noodles. She pulled a piece of
tissue and handed it to him.
There were times when he was smart. However, there were also times when he acted like a child.
The next day, when Rachel just got off work, Bill drove by the gate of the hospital in time to take her to
a formal dress store. She selected a simple dress. Her long curly hair fell against her back.
Taking two steps back, he nodded thoughtfully. "It's the first time I've ever seen you look like a woman,"
he joked.
"Aren't you surprised? You've always look more like a woman than I do on a normal basis," she teased.
They talked and laughed all the way to the charity dinner.
When people reached a certain social status, they would do charities to increase their standing in
society.
Most of the guests who attended were the tycoons of Ninwell City.
Jack was one of them.
Arm in arm with Bill, Rachel slowly walked into the hall. She couldn't help but glance at Jack's group.
Celine was standing on his left side while Michael stood on his right side. There was also a man behind
Jack, but she couldn't see who he was as he was blocked.
The light reflected on Jack's face, showcasing the small smile that played on his lips. His face wasn't as
pale as the day before. In fact, it was filled with energy and charm.
Bill patted the back of her hand, knocking he rout of her daze. "Let's go say hello to the host," he
whispered. "We can leave in a bit after that."
This charity part was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Ninwell City, and the leader of the
chamber was the current president of DC Group, Louis Jiang. The man was famous for his
sophistication, and he was known for his principle of not offending anyone. It was for that reason that
he reached the position he had today.
With a large smile on his face, Louis strode over. "Bill, long time no see. How have you been?"
"I'm doing fine."
The two shook hands.
Louis nodded. "How's your mother? Is she doing fine?"
"She's good. Thank you for asking." This was what Bill hated the most in societal events. Everyone
seemed to be too interested as to how his family were doing.
'What if she's not so good? Would you have done something about it?'
Noticing Bill's irritation, Louis stopped asking. Instead, he glanced at the woman beside him.
The look in his eyes made her shift uncomfortably. Rachel wanted to turn around and leave
immediately, but at the thought of the books, she stilled.
"You look familiar, miss. What's your name?"
"Rachel Shen." She smiled faintly.
Hearing the name, his smile became strained as something flashed in his eyes. "Well, the charity event
hasn't begun yet, so why don't you eat something first?"
He was smart enough to point to the opposite direction where Jack had gone to.
Wanting to leave as soon as possible, Bill nodded. "We'll be having some food first."
Louis Jiang didn't expect that Jack's ex-wife would attend the dinner party. The only thing he could
hope for now was for everything to run as smoothly as possible.
Rachel picked up a chair and sat down.
This time, she could finally see the man standing behind Jack. It was none other than Eric.
'Why is he here?'
Although she had chatted with Eric on the Internet in the beginning after she went to France, she had
been so busy with her work, that she didn't get to catch up with him as much.
She had heard from Lucas that Eric had already matured into a young man, so she was ecstatic for
him.
Rachel was planning to give him a call, but she didn't expect to meet him at this banquet.
Michael's eyes were also fixated towards her. Without another word, he smiled and walked towards
her. He sat beside her. "When did you come back? You look good," he complimented.
At that point, he couldn't help but pity Jack.
It was obvious that Rachel was a much better choice than Celine.
She smiled. "I've been here for a while."
"When you're free, we should all hang out some time."
Although her relationship with Michael wasn't as bad, they weren't that close before. It might be
awkward if they spent some time together.
"Let's see." She smiled.
"Michael, someone's calling you." Eric came over and handed a phone to Michael.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Rachel couldn't help but gaze at Eric, whom she hadn't seen for so many years. It seemed that he was
no longer the young impulsive man she left behind, but a strong and mature man. Since the two of
them hadn't seen each other for so long, it felt a little strange.
They stared at each other, not bringing themselves to speak.
Rachel broke the silence as she patted the chair where Michael had sat on. "Come on. Let's talk."
Eric sat down, looking disappointed.
At the same time, Bill came over, holding up a plate in his hand. "I've brought you some cake. Would
you like some?"
When he was about to sit down, he saw that a man was sitting next to Rachel. Although he looked
extremely familiar, Bill couldn't remember his name.
"This is my cousin, Eric,"
she introduced.
No wonder he looked familiar.
He reached out his hand. "I'm Bill. It's nice to meet you."
However, Eric didn't budge. Instead, he curled his lip. "I know you."
'What the hell is wrong with him?'
Feeling embarrassed, Rachel tried to explain, "He's just a kid."
"I'm not a kid!" he protested.
"What's wrong with—" She was about to scold Eric when Bill stopped her.
"It's fine. Have some cake." Bill furrowed his eyebrows as he wondered what he had done to set Eric
off.
Feeling embarrassed for Eric, Rachel tugged the sleeve of his shirt. "Come with me."
As they reached the open-air balcony, the two of them stood face to face. At the sight of his disdainful
expression, she became even more furious. She had thought that Eric had grown mature, but it
seemed that she was wrong.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.
"Have you been with that sick man for the last three years?" he demanded back.
She gritted her teeth. "What did you say? His name is Bill."
"Well, he indeed looks sick."
Seeing that she was already furious with him, he couldn't bring it in himself to say it out loud. Instead,
the last two words were lowered into a whisper.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing," he said automatically. "Why did you leave all of a sudden three years ago? Hadn't Jack
mended his ways?"
Before she could react, he continued,
"Do you think that man is better than Jack? He looks so pale and weak. How could he even compare to
him? They're not on the same level!"
Eric continued to compare the two.
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. 'Didn't he hate Jack before? What the hell?'
Hearing his words, Rachel could already feel her head start to pound. It wasn't appropriate to talk about
this in this occasion. "Let's go eat and talk about this some other time, okay?"
Taking a bite from the cake, Bill gazed at the balcony. Seeing that she was back, he walked up to her
with a frown. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."
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