Jack buttoned up his shirt. Seeing that Rachel made no move to leave for the hospital, he raised his
eyebrows. "Aren't you going to work today?"
"I took a few days off. I'm exhausted." She shrugged indifferently.
Although that was reasonable, he still didn't understand why she looked so gloomy. Without prodding
further, he went to the bathroom to freshen up. When he came out and scanned through his phone, an
article popped up onto his screen.
"Is It Ethical For a Doctor to Perform Surgery on A Patient Without His Family's Consent?" the title
read.
Whenever Jack saw news related to hospitals and doctors in the city, he would usually be the first one
to read it. He even set up his phone to alert him every time there was news. Immediately, he clicked on
the article and scanned its contents. The more he read, the deeper his frown became.
The article had stated how the doctor operated on her patient without the consent of his family.
Although the news didn't mention any hospitals or doctors, there was one sentence that drew him in. It
said, "Is this doctor the same doctor who had been beaten by her patient? Find out soon!" His
eyebrows raised.
Now, everything seemed to have fallen into place.
That was why Rachel decided to take a break for a couple of days. It wasn't because she was
exhausted, but because she had been suspended from medical practice until the board had made a
decision.
"Breakfast is ready," she called out from the kitchen.
Jack put down his phone and walked out of the room as if nothing had happened. He inhaled the sweet
scent that wafted across the kitchen and sat down.
The two of them ate breakfast quietly, and he couldn't help but stare at her. A part of him wondered if
she was going to tell him about it. At last, she finally had enough of the silence. She touched her face
and furrowed her eyebrows. "Is there something on my face?"
"You just look breathtaking today,"
he said lightly.
He decided to drop it for now. If she didn't want to talk about it, then he wasn't going to bring it up.
Knowing Rachel, even if he did ask her about it, she wouldn't tell him anything until she was ready to
talk about it.
She shot him a reproachful look. "Just finish your breakfast and go to work." She sighed, looking
annoyed by his mere presence.
However, when he finally disappeared from her sight, a sense of loss climbed its way into the tendrils of
her heart. She scrunched her eyebrows together, confused as to why she felt lonely when she wanted
him gone. There were times when she just couldn't understand her own feelings.
Wanting to forget the loneliness, she used the free time to clean up her home. As she walked to the
corner of the table, something glossy caught her eye. She peered at the picture. It was a picture of
when Jack had been in France. Upon looking at the date scrolled on the corner of the picture, she
realized that it was when she had been in France for further studies.
At that time, she had rushed out of her dormitory and into her classroom. She had been in such a hurry
that she had no idea that Jack was also in the city. She pursed her lips.
Although they had already mended their relationship, he had never mentioned this to her. In fact, she
never thought that he would go to France to search for her.
Suddenly, her phone rang from the living room, snapping her out of her reverie. She rushed out and
answered the phone. Soon, Celia's voice sounded from the other end of the line saying, "Didn't you
hear the doorbell? Do you mind opening the door?"
As soon as she opened the door, Celia came barreling in. Seeing that Rachel was wearing an apron
and a pair of gloves, she frowned. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Taking off her gloves, Rachel looked up. "Did you come because of the incident?"
Celia had been absent at work the other day, so she only got the news about the controversy today.
She nodded and headed to kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of water, she looked up. "I ran here just
now, so I'm thirsty," Celia explained. "So, what happened? Everyone's saying how you've argued with
Executive Zeng and that you're going to be dismissed."
Seeing that Rachel picked up the mop from the corner of the room and showed no signs of answering
her question, Celia became even more uneasy. "Well? Is it true?
Tell me. I'm so worried about you." When she still didn't answer, Celia grabbed the mop handle and
wrenched it from the woman's grip. "Tell me," she demanded.
"You'll know in two days. As for Executive Zeng, we've already discussed the matter." Rachel thought
that everything had gone well with her discussion with Executive Zeng. Although they were a bit more
passionate when discussing the problem, they definitely weren't arguing.
Upon gazing at the indifferent expression on the woman's face, Celia felt even more anxious by the
second.
"You've just been suspended. Aren't you scared?"
Rachel shrugged. "There's nothing to worry about. We'll know the results soon anyway."
"So what? You're going to wait like this?"
"What else do you want me to do?"
Celia gaped at her.
With a sigh, the nurse took out a note from her coat pocket and handed it to her. "I found this from the
hospital computer. The number belongs to patient's family. Rachel, you can ask Jack to contact them.
There must be something we can do."
"There's really no need."
From the very beginning, Rachel had no qualms in telling Jack. They'd already had such a rocky
relationship. She didn't want to burden him with her problems when they still weren't together yet.
Seeing as there was nothing else she could do, Celia decided to hug her. "You've always been so
strong. I honestly feel sorry for you," she whispered with a sigh.
"You shouldn't. The best thing you can do now is to not follow what I've just done."
"You don't need to tell me that," Celia murmured in agreement.
After resting for two days, Rachel began to feel bored at home. Although she had been holding a book
for half an hour, she couldn't even process any of the words.
Her fingers fidgeted.
Before she could find something else to do, James called her unexpectedly. "Rachel? The matter has
already been talked about. Please come to the hospital."
When she arrived in his office, James crossed his arms and said, "Rachel, as the executive, I have to
criticize you for what you've done."
She frowned.
He continued, "In my opinion, what you did that day was brave and decisive. You've placed human life
above everything else. But have you thought about the rules?
If everyone disregards them, what's the use of having rules in the first place?"
Rachel was silent.
James leaned back against his seat and picked up the envelope on his desk. He handed it to her. "Now
that the matter has been solved, here's a warning letter from the hospital. You should learn from this
experience. Have you ever thought of his family? If your operation failed, what would his family say?"
She nodded. She had asked herself these questions in the past two days.
"I understand. Thank you."
"I also want to apologize to you. Back then..."
"You're trying to be a good father," she interrupted. "I understand."
James smiled. "The patient's family seem to have something to do with the Huo Family. Do you know
anyone related to them?"
The Huo family?
The only person she could think of was Bill. Suddenly, she wondered if this had anything to do with
him.
Because of him, the family members who had been unwilling to let her go suddenly cancelled the
report against her.
After contemplating about it for the whole afternoon, she finally called him up and asked Bill out to
dinner. When they were already at the restaurant, she confronted him, "Were you the one who helped
me solve the problem?"
"Miss, what would you like to order?" The waiter approached them.
Bill quickly changed the topic and said, "This restaurant is famous for its fish head. You should try it."
He knew about the matter. When he had gone to the other party and asked them to withdraw the
report, he was told that they had already done so.
He could only guess that it was Jack's doing.
However, as he looked at Rachel, who was scanning at the menu, he couldn't find it in himself to tell
her. He knew that she called him out to dinner because she wanted to thank him, but he didn't have the
heart to tell her the truth.
He wanted to spend more time with her.
Once they were finished eating, they stood by the door of the restaurant. Bill took his car keys from the
parking attendant. "Let me drive you home," he offered.
"No thanks. I actually drove here myself. The car's parked there." She pointed at her car.
"Well, are you free the day after tomorrow?" He opened the car door and gracefully pulled out a red
invitation. "One of my friend's daughter will celebrate her birthday. Would you like to come with me?"
'Is this the party that Jack had told me about?' she thought.
Usually, given that they were businessmen, their circle of friends sometimes intercepted with one
another.
She shook her head lightly. "I have plans that day. Sorry."
"I see..."
He pouted. "It seems that I have to find someone else to accompany me. But you know how I feel
about other people. They—"
Her phone rang, interrupting his words.
When she took it out, Bill could see Jack's name on the screen.
Clenching his fists, he looked away. Rachel took this opportunity to say her farewells as she headed
back to her car.
"She dismissed my call!" Jack glared at his phone.
He glanced at the two bowls of noodles he had cooked himself. After half an hour of waiting, there was
no soup left. Instead, lumps of swollen noodles greeted his line of sight.
When Rachel returned, she glanced at Jack. He was sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed. His face
was void of any emotion. She threw the keys on top of the cabinet and changed into her slippers.
"Have you had dinner?" she asked.
He snorted in reply.
"What's wrong?" When he didn't answer, she shrugged.
"I'm heading to my room."
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