"Okay. Thank you."
Rachel put the business card in her bag and took her car keys from the receptionist. She was walking
to her car when she saw a red sports car enter the shop's gate and approach her. She froze in shock.
A screeching sound reverberated the shop, and the vehicle suddenly stopped just about ten
centimeters away from her.
Even the receptionist was startled. She hurriedly came to Rachel and asked, "Miss, are you okay?"
Rachel shook her head. Although she looked calm on the outside, her heart was beating abnormally
fast. The door to the driver seat opened, and Eden, Marcus' nominal fiancee, got out of the car.
The receptionist seemed to know Eden because she bent over to Rachel and whispered, "Miss, I'm so
sorry. Miss Chen is actually a very kind person. I don't know what's wrong with her today. She seems to
be in a bad mood."
"It's alright,"
Rachel responded faintly and continued walking to her car. She heard the receptionist behind her ask,
"Miss Chen, how may I help you today?"
"I need my car to be checked. The engine is a little noisy when I start it."
"Our shop is already closed today, and all the mechanics have already left. I'm afraid we need to wait
until tomorrow for your car to be checked."
"Call them back immediately!"
Eden's voice was unusually sharp. Although Rachel didn't know her personally, she could feel that she
was in a bad mood.
For a woman like her, who had just announced her wedding to the public, it was strange to be so
irritable. Rachel could only think of one reason why.
Rachel's car just stopped in the garage when Jack pulled in beside her car. She was about to say
something when he suddenly said with a smile, "Tell me the truth, what did you and Lea do secretly?"
"What?" she asked.
Her brows creased as she looked at him confusedly.
Jack put his hand around her shoulder, and they walked towards the elevator together. "Marcus called
me this afternoon and told me that the Chen family canceled their wedding. Larry has no choice but to
agree. I think the issue was resolved temporarily."
"Really?" she asked. "No wonder she was in a bad temper."
He lowered his head and asked, "Who was in a bad temper?"
Her lips curved into a victorious smile, but she didn't say anything.
The next day was Saturday, so Jack and Rachel didn't wake up early. They were still sleeping soundly
when her phone suddenly rang.
She fumbled for her phone under the pillow and answered vaguely, "Hello?"
Lea's excited voice was heard from the other end of the line. "Rachel, get up quickly. We are on our
way to your house now."
"Huh? What's wrong?" Rachel turned over, eyes still closed.
Lea explained, "Henry's company is holding a winter swimming competition today. Bring Jack with you,
so we can let him and Henry join. Henry's belly is already getting bigger and bigger." As she spoke, she
reached out and pinched Henry's belly.
Rachel patted Jack behind her. "Jack, wake up. Lea is asking you to join the winter swimming
competition."
"I don't want to." Jack turned his back on her and continued sleeping.
Her mouth twitched. She was about to tell Lea that they wouldn't go when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Lea said on the phone again, "Hurry and open the door. We're outside."
In the end, Jack was dragged to the car. With a helpless smile, Henry said, "I was forced too."
The winter swimming competition was held in the western suburbs. It was a river with clear and steady
waters. Many people came here in summer, but it was also the most suitable place for winter
swimming.
When they arrived at the venue, a group of people was already standing beside the river.
Henry opened the trunk and took out two bath towels. He tossed one to Jack and said, "Lea prepared
everything for you."
"She's so kind," Jack replied with a smile.
He had swum several times in the winter before, but since he took over MK Group, he seldom joined
this kind of activity.
Lea suddenly came to them and held Henry's hands. She excitedly said, "Honey, you promised me
yesterday that it wouldn't be a problem for you to swim two or three rounds."
Henry forced a smile.
Rachel took a look at the group of people who had already taken off their clothes and were doing some
warm-up exercises beside the river. She rubbed her arms and said, "I feel cold looking at them. Jack,
will this be okay with you? You still have time to back out."
"Not a problem with me."
Jack patted his chest hard to show her his determination in case she didn't believe him.
Lea tapped Rachel's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. These two stay in the office all day long every
day. Now is a good opportunity for them to exercise."
But Rachel was still a little worried. She turned to Jack again and said, "If you don't feel comfortable in
the water later, don't push yourself too hard. Go back to the bank, okay?"
When the drums and gongs sounded, all contestants gathered on the shore, ready to go into the water.
With a whistle, everyone jumped down.
The family members of the contestants gathered around the riverside and cheered with all their might.
"Go! Go! Go! Come on!"
Rachel and Lea immediately got carried away, and they started screaming out as well.
As the atmosphere got heated, the swimmers also tried their best to swim faster to reach the other side
first.
While cheering, Rachel felt her mobile phone vibrating. She tapped Lea's shoulder to tell her that she
would find a quiet place to answer her phone. However, before she could even say a word, someone
bumped into her from behind. She stumbled, so she tried to grab Lea's hand, but her body was already
pounced forward involuntarily.
When Lea noticed, Rachel had already fallen into the river.
"Rachel!" she screamed.
Rachel couldn't swim, so she kept on snorting and waving her hands on the water. She wanted to call
for help, but the water kept pouring into her mouth.
She felt like a force was pulling her down very hard.
Fright enveloped her.
It was getting darker and darker.
Rachel opened her eyes slowly. She looked around and felt familiar with the place. When she saw a
family photo hanging on the wall, she realized that she was at her home. In the picture, she was with
her parents.
It was taken in a studio during her last birthday before they died.
As she stared at the photo, she felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes gradually moistened.
She reached out her hand to touch the photo, but she suddenly heard the screeching sound of a car
outside. She quickly wiped her eyes and turned around to see who came. She then saw her parents
enter the house.
They both looked serious. With a frown, they went straight to the sofa and sat down. They seemed not
to see her.
She heard her mother sigh and say, "What do we do next? Considering the relationship between our
families, why don't we try to talk to them? Perhaps they can give us a few more days."
"Let's talk about that later." Her father lit up a cigarette and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is Rachel?
Is she still sleeping?"
Her mother stood up. "I think so. I'll go and have a look."
Seeing her mother wiping her eyes and forcing a smile, Rachel felt a sharp pain in her heart. She
followed her into her room slowly and saw her sit on the edge of the bed, gently waking the little Rachel
up.
The little Rachel, who was lying in bed, slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
Rachel knew that she would stretch her arms around her mother's neck and rub her body for a while as
her morning routine.
She was always clingy when she was a child.
All of a sudden, a familiar voice was heard outside her room. "When can you pay your debt?"
She then heard her father's pleading voice, "Please give me some time. I'm trying my best to find a way
out now. Since we have known each other for a long time, are you still worried that I won't pay you?"
Her mother's smile suddenly froze. Patting her little head, she said, "Baby, be a good girl, okay? I have
something to deal with outside. Just stay here and lie down for a while."
Rachel couldn't help frowning.
'Pay the debt?
Are my parents having some financial problems?'
Her young mind had thought about it for some time. But even when she became an adult, she still
wasn't able to find out about it.
She was about to follow her mother to the living room again and see who their unexpected visitor was,
but her body suddenly twitched. This time, Jack's worried voice kept ringing in her ears. "Rachel,
please wake up now."
She kept telling him that she was already awake, but he didn't seem to hear her. He still kept on waking
her up.
Gradually, she felt tired and soon lost consciousness.
After a long time, Rachel finally woke up. She opened her heavy eyes and saw a familiar place again.
This time, she knew that she was in the hospital.
Jack was sitting beside her. When he saw that she was awake, his eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed
her hand and kissed it again and again. "Rachel, you're finally awake!"
"I'm fine." She wanted to raise her other hand to touch him, but she felt weak all over.
Feeling powerless, she asked, "Jack, how long have I slept?"
"One day and one night." His voice was husky, and there was a trace of starlight in his dark eyes. He
touched the messy hair near her ear and asked, "Do you feel uncomfortable?"
Rachel shook her head. Although she felt sore all over her body now, she didn't complain. As much as
possible, she didn't want Jack to worry about her anymore. She tried to smile at him and said, "I'm
fine."
Jack held her hand tightly. She could feel that he was trembling slightly. "I'm sorry, Rachel. We
shouldn't have gone to the winter swimming competition. You've met an accident because of me. It was
all my fault."
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