Jack listened to what Lea had to say.
The more she spoke, the more ridiculous she sounded. He couldn't help but sympathize with Henry.
With firm resolution, Lea said, "You can leave. I'll stay with Rachel tonight."
"We'll bring Rita here as well. The three of us can comfortably sleep here. I guess you won't mind
sleeping in the children's room tonight, Jack," Rachel said.
'Children's room?' he thought furiously.
"No," he said, unwilling to let this happen.
The two ladies looked at Jack with a grave expression. In unison, they demanded, "Why not?"
He didn't give a reply. Instead, he pulled Rachel from the bed and brought her close to his body. Soon,
she was cocooned in her strong arms. "She wants to sleep with me tonight," he answered looking
straight into Lea's eyes.
His voice was brimming with possessiveness.
For a second, Lea was confounded. And then she let out a laugh and said, "I want to hear this from
Rachel. Does she want to sleep with you? It doesn't look like it." Her tone was challenging.
Rachel had told her they had an argument. This was what made her sound so confident.
But it turned out the victory wasn't hers after all.
Instead of answering Lea's question, Rachel looked at her and said, "Lea, how about you sleep in the
children's room with Rita tonight? I think that would be more convenient."
"You!" Lea couldn't believe her ears. What a traitor!
Jack would have let Rita and her child to sleep with Rachel if it wasn't for her words. He realized Lea
would manipulate Rachel. That was the sort of woman she was. Letting them alone wasn't a good idea.
He raised his hand and looked at his watch. "It's still early. If you don't mind, I would book you a hotel
room."
Lea refused his offer and saying, "Never mind. I would rather save money! It's so expensive these
days." Before leaving, Lea passed Rachel an incredulous look and said, "Rachel, it looks like you are
living a happier life than before!"
Once she left, Jack said, "I will be back soon. But don't wait for me. Go ahead and sleep." Rachel didn't
know what to say so she nodded her head. Moreover, she was quite sleepy so she fell asleep as soon
as her head hit the pillow. When she woke up, she noticed that the sunlight had crept through the
curtain, intruding her peaceful sleep.
She turned her head slowly and looked around for Jack. His side of the bed was empty, just as she had
expected. His anger hadn't cooled off. It turned out she would have to work a little harder to appease
him. He was sleeping on the couch.
Rachel got out of the bed, went close to him and stared at his handsome face.
Even though he was asleep, there were lines of frown on his face.
She reached out her hand and gently touched him. She didn't like to disappoint him so she promised
herself to be more careful in the future. On the surface, he was strong. But he had a fragile heart.
Her touch woke Jack up. Opening his eyes, he grabbed her hand and gently kissed her fingertips. In a
childish voice, he demanded, "Rachel, I'm still cross with you. Don't you want to coax me?"
'Coax him?
This man is acting like a baby!'
But her eyes were glimmering. "Wouldn't it be easier if you tell me how I shall coax you?"
"Coax me like this," he replied quickly.
He wrapped her in the quilt and took her to the bed.
A stream of heat rush passed through their hearts. Leaning against the pillow, Rachel put her hands on
his chest, trying to maintain a distance. However, her heart aching with passion.
"Jack, I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday. After all, Lea didn't know that we have a new start.
I didn't want to tell it to her at once.
But now she knows. It is all okay," she said, trying to placate him.
Jack burst out laughing. A mischievous smile played on his lips. After thinking for a while, she raised
her hand and punched him on the chest. "You're just messing with me!" she screamed.
It turned out he wasn't mad at her anymore,
but he was feigning anger so that she would pay him more attention.
"Jack—" But before Rachel could finish, he placed a firm kiss on her lips. This shut her up. Everything
disappeared and she forgot what she wanted to say.
The temperature in the room rose gradually, and even the sun seemed to have sensed the romantic
atmosphere as it sank back obediently. Even the nature had decided to leave them alone. But an
intruder pushed the door open and came in bursting. Fortunately, it was only Rita.
Startled, Rachel quickly wrapped herself with the quilt, totally forgetting that Jack didn't even have a
shirt on.
Rita climbed onto the bed with great difficulty. She sat down between the two lovers, pulled the quilt on
her body with her tiny hands and babbled, "I want a hug."
Rachel was speechless. After the hot scene they had, she needed a little time to compose herself.
She patted Rita and said, "Be a good girl and sit in the living room. I'll come out to hug you, okay? I
need to change my clothes."
"But I want it now," Rita demanded, blinking her eyes.
Rachel stretched out her feet and kicked Jack, who was lying next to her with a faraway look. "Get up
and hold Rita."
"Why should I? She asked for you." He wasn't good with kids.
In spite of this, Jack was already out of the bed, picking up the pajama he had just thrown a while ago.
And then he approached Rita and held her in his arms. Before he walked out of the bedroom, he
looked at Rachel naughtily and said, "Let's do it this evening!"
When Rachel went to the hospital, she felt that all eyes were on her. Every time she felt their eyes on
her, she would look up. And they would look elsewhere.
'Are they actually staring at me or is it a figment on my imagination?' This was a mystery to which she
had no answer.
No matter how hard she tried, this strange feeling kept lingering in her mind. At last, Celia saw her and
covered his mouth instantly. "Wow, Rachel, you are so hot!" she hollered.
"What?" Rachel asked looking a bit uneasy. She glanced at her clothes and realized there was nothing
hot about it. They were regular attire. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Celia, is there anything wrong with me today? Why is everyone giving me these weird looks?"
"No, no, no! You look absolutely fine,"
Celia assured her. "In fact, you look gorgeous today! I guess that explains all the staring."
Her words were unconvincing.
Rachel flashed her a dubious look. Before she could query her more, she got a call from Jack saying
they would be having dinner with the Fu family tonight.
It turned out he was waiting for her outside. Informing Celia about this, she was about to leave.
However, Celia caught her hand and asked, "Rachel, are you sure you want to go out like this?"
"Why? What's wrong with my outfit?" Once again, Rachel lowered her head and analyzed her attire.
She couldn't find any fault with it.
In fact, she had worn this suit several times before.
With a sigh, Celia pointed her finger toward Rachel's neck and said, "You didn't look in the mirror today,
did you?"
Entering the bathroom, Rachel stared at herself in the mirror. The marks on her neck were hard to
miss. They stood out on her fair skin.
No wonder people were giving her weird stares. Humiliation rushed through her. Standing in the empty
bathroom, she screamed, "Jack, you bastard!"
At the moment, Jack, who was patiently waiting for her in car, sneezed.
He wondered if he had caught cold again. He quickly turned off the AC in his car.
Rachel was busy applying foundation to cover up the marks. Every now and then, she turned to Celia
and asked her if they had faded. She wouldn't put the make-up back into her bag until she was sure
that they were gone.
Jack called several times, but Rachel had no desire to talk to him. Since she wasn't picking his calls, he
wondered if she was in some sort of danger. He was about to go to the hospital to look for Rachel. Just
then he saw her coming out of the door. He quickly opened the door of the passenger seat, but she
paid him no heed and sat behind. After the game he had played with her, she couldn't trust herself to
not kill him. It was best for her to be seated away from him.
A little confused, he went back to the driver's seat. From the rear-view mirror, he glanced at Rachel and
deduced her mood was off. There was a gloomy look to it. "Rachel, did anyone mess with you?" he
asked, sounding, genuinely concerned.
There was no response.
He continued, "You'd feel better if you tell me."
There was still no response.
Jack turned around and reached out to touch her hand which lay limply on her lap. At his touch, she
instantly moved it away. His heart suddenly sank. "Who on earth is bold enough to make my girlfriend
angry? Tell me, I will show that person the consequences of hurting my Rachel."
Finally, Rachel looked up and passed him a death glare. "What are you going to do to that person?"
she challenged.
"Beat him up! Or do to him what he did to you." Jack's answer was carefully measured. He was afraid if
he wasn't careful with his words, it would do more damage than good.
Rachel said, "I think beating him up would be the right thing. You can get out of the car now."
Jack knew better than to refuse. He got out, rolled up his sleeves and asked, "Where is he?"
With a snort, Rachel turned her head and avoided looking at him. After a while, she felt the door open.
Jack had entered the back seat and was now sitting beside her.
The truth was, Jack had noticed that the marks on her neck were covered with foundation. He knew he
was the person responsible for her sour mood.
When they had had breakfast, he had deliberately kept the observation to himself. He hadn't told her
because he wanted people to know that Rachel was in a relationship.
'Am I in trouble now?' he thought, regretting his mistake.
Jack leaned towards her, looked straight at her and said with a smile, "Please don't be angry."
"Didn't you say that you would help me beat that man up? Why are you still here?"
She was not willing to let this matter slide so easily.
Looking at her bright eyes, Jack raised his thin lips and lowered his voice, as if he was whispering, "Are
you really going to beat me?"
His voice was brimming with sorrow.
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