During the swimming competition, when Jack tried his best to swim to the other side, he heard chaos
from behind him. After straining his ear, he heard they shout, "Someone is drowning!"
He immediately came to a halt and turned around. He turned to look where people were looking and
caught sight of a struggling figure. He realized it was none other than Rachel. His expression froze.
Then he swam towards her using all his might.
Slowly, she was beginning to stop struggling. This scared him even more. "Rachel, hold on! I am
coming for you!" he screamed. He was so fast that he ended up reaching there before the lifeguard.
However, she had already lost her consciousness.
Her smiling face turned pale and her lips were bloodless. Soaked in ice-water, her body lacked warmth.
It was like she was dead.
Jack didn't dare to think further. He kept pressing her chest with his hands and growled, "Rachel, wake
up!" Even after she was okay, he thought about this dreadful scene. It was a nightmare from which he
would never get over.
Now at the hospital, looking at his tight muscles and trembling hands, Rachel couldn't help chuckling.
In a relaxed tone, she said, "Jack, why does it look like you are the one who almost drowned?"
"I wish I was the one who drowned. It wouldn't have hurt this much," said Jack through gritted teeth.
Rachel was quite touched by his words. "I'm fine, don't worry."
While they were chatting, the doctor entered the ward and began to examine her carefully. "Rachel, you
are all right. In fact, your fever has subdued and I can detect no lung infection. You can be discharged
from the hospital tomorrow," he informed with a smile.
Hearing this, Jack frowned. "Are you sure? Didn't she need to take an ECG or a brain CT? We are in
no hurry. You can look after her properly," he said, not letting Rachel to speak.
Seeing how anxious Jack was, the doctor and the nurse had a hard time holding back their laughter.
Even though they had seen several loving husbands, none were as concerned as Jack. Rachel quickly
shook her head and said, "Dr. Chen is quite a professional doctor. He makes no mistake."
Dr. Chen laughed, not a least bit offended. He shifted his gaze to Jack and promised, "She is doing
fine. I know you are concerned about Rachel, but rest assured, there is no need for these inspections."
After saying that, he couldn't help laughing. When he realized what had happened, he quickly took the
medical record to cover his face and hurried away.
Few minutes passed but Jack stood stock-still. Rachel couldn't get any reaction out of him. 'Perhaps he
is angry,' she thought and got ready to explain. But before she could do that, he looked at her in a
daze. "Is what Dr. Chen said true? Are those scans unnecessary?"
It turned out he was still fixated on that.
To be honest, this shocked Rachel.
She nodded her head and said, "Yes, Jack. It's true. It makes me anxious to see you look so nervous.
Cheer up, I'm fine."
"Okay, I see." But deep down, he was still worried.
Rachel came to realize how deeply he loved her. He was the sort of man who wasn't easily rattled. But
when she was involved, he would lose all his senses, like a primary school student.
Slowly, she took his hand in hers.
On the other hand, Lea couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried.
Every time she closed her eyes, the image of Rachel drowning would come to her mind.
Knowing fully well sleep wouldn't come, Lea sat up.
With her restlessness, even Henry couldn't fall asleep. Hence he also sat up, turned on the bedside
lamp, put the pajamas on and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
"I can't fall asleep!" she admitted with some frustration. Lea lowered her head, covered her face with
her hands, and said in a muffled voice, "Every time I close my eyes, I see Rachel struggling in the
water. It's my fault! If only I had paid more attention. How I regret! I was way too careless!"
She was wallowing in self-reproach and Henry didn't know what to do. After a while, he put on the
gentlest tone and said, "You shouldn't be blaming yourself for what happened. Besides, she is alright
now, isn't she?"
"But I made her suffer so much."
She turned around and held him tightly. "Do you understand me, Henry? When I saw her in the bed
wearing that oxygen mask, I felt so heartbroken. If I could switch places with her, I would do it in a blink
of an eye."
"I know. I am aware of the extent to which you care about her."
Henry gently patted her on the back. Ever since Rachel drowned, Lea hadn't managed to get a wink of
sleep.
At first, she had firmly stated her desire to remain at the hospital. Later, everybody convinced her to go
back home. Yet every night, she felt herself fall into the whirlpool of self-blame. No matter how hard she
tried, she couldn't extricate herself from it.
On the second day, somehow she managed to doze for half an hour. 'That's enough sleep!' she told
herself. Without wasting any time, she went straight to the kitchen. Her eyes were swollen and she was
in a pitiable state. Henry patted her gently from behind. "Don't touch me. I'm busy making breakfast for
Rachel!" she said, shooing him away from the kitchen.
Rachel had woken up quite early as well. She hadn't slept well. The truth was, she hadn't allowed
herself to sleep well. Every time she tried, she would see herself back in coma. So as not to worry
Jack, she pretended to be sleeping.
Now, it was finally dawn.
She sat up and felt much better.
With a smile at the corners of her mouth, Rachel patted Jack's hand and said, "How long has it been
since you have taken a shower? You stink!"
Of course, it was a lie. Jack always smelled good. This was her excuse to send him back home.
"Really?"
Jack lowered his head and smelled himself. He frowned and said, "I don't think so. However, I will ask
Austin to bring me a set of clothes. I could take a shower in the hospital bathroom."
The corners of Rachel's mouth twitched. Her plan failed.
At this time, with thermos bottle in her hand, Lea walked in. Her head was cast down.
"Watch out where you are walking!" Rachel said. She frowned slightly and asked, "Are you looking for
something? Have you dropped the money on the floor?"
In a miserable tone, Lea replied, "No, I didn't."
"So what's wrong with you?"
"Rachel, I'm sorry." Lea sobbed as she spoke.
Rachel burst into laughter and said, "Lea, what is wrong with you? You haven't done anything. What
happened to me has got nothing to do with you. Why are you apologizing? Hurry up and show me what
you brought! I'm starving."
"Rachel, are you sure you don't blame me?" Finally, Lea raised her head, but she looked dubious.
Rolling her eyes, Rachel said, "Of course, I don't. Can you walk a little faster?"
She reached out her hand, waiting to see what was inside. "Hurry up. Don't force me to get down the
bed and grab it from you," she added.
Jack and Henry had already left the ward, giving them the privacy they needed.
They stood in the corridor and lit their cigarettes at the same time. So far, they hadn't spoken a word.
Finally, Henry broke the silence. "Jack, I'm also responsible for what has happened. The work on the
site wasn't done well. On top of that, the lifeguards should have come sooner. I wish..."
Jack raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder. "Why are you both hell-bent on taking all the
blame? It was merely an accident. And accidents happen all the time. There is no need to take blame
for it."
When Rachel opened the thermos bottle, she spotted something black in it. She frowned and asked,
"What's this?" She had been expecting something delicious.
Lea smiled awkwardly. "I made porridge for you with some red beans. But it is a little burnt as you can
see."
'A little?' Rachel thought.
She covered the thermos bottle with the lid and said, "Lea, I think it would have been better for you to
order a take-out breakfast for me."
Lea realized her blunder. "I am sorry. And yes, let me find Henry. We will order something yummy for
you," she promised.
Just when she was about to leave, she stopped. Rachel, who couldn't see what had happened,
continued to look at Lea in confusion.
'What has happened? Why does she look like a deer caught in the headlights?' Lifting the quilt, Rachel
was about to get out of the bed. Just then, Marcus and Celia entered the ward with their fingers
interlocked. Even from the distance, she vaguely spot the blush on Celia's face.
When Lea had regained her composure, she asked, "What's going on? When did you two get back
together?"
"Rachel, are you okay? I just heard that you were drowned and hospitalized this morning." Celia
deliberately ignored Lea's question.
However, Rachel was as curious as Lea.
She waved her hand and said, "I'm fine, forget about me. Tell me what happened between you and
Marcus? Didn't you hand in your resignation and decide to leave Ninwell City?"
Lea joined in. "Exactly! What happened after that?"
With her crimson-red cheeks, Celia looked down at her toes.
"Okay, I will tell you," Marcus said. "I need to thank you for the prank."
"What prank?" Jack's voice came from the door. Next to him, Henry stood dumbfounded. "Yes, what
prank?" he asked.
Raising his eyebrows, Marcus asked, "Didn't they tell you?"
The two of them shook their heads in unison.
Seeing how curious they were, Rachel filled them in, explaining the encounter that happened between
Eric and Eden. Henry and Jack were speechless.
Marcus smiled and said, "Eden believed the prank to be truth. As soon as she went home, she asked
her parents to break the engagement. But the Chen family didn't want others to know they almost got
their daughter to marry to a gay. They knew it wouldn't be good for their reputation. Hence they called
off things but remained silent. My father was confused, but there was nothing he could do. Before he
finds another fiancee for me, I'm safe."
Jack handed a cup of water to Rachel and said, "What if he finds you a new fiancee soon?"
"Even though they haven't told anyone yet, I am sure this gay rumor might reach a few people. As long
as this rumor remains, I am pretty sure no girl will want to marry me," Marcus said
confidently.
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