Instead of answering Jack's question, Rachel asked back, "How about you?"
She put down the magazine and gave him a bright smile.
He poked her forehead with his finger gently and replied, "Well, you know that I'm always obedient to
your orders."
Jonathan had already settled almost everything about their wedding. And since Linda met them now,
things were all finalized. It turned out, their wedding would be held two days later.
The day before the wedding, Rachel sat in front of her dresser and looked at her beautiful bright eyes
in the mirror. She recalled all the things that happened in the past and couldn't help feeling as if she
was still in a dream.
She was so absorbed in her thought that she didn't notice when Jack pushed the door open. She only
felt his presence in the room when his hand gently touched her shoulder. Patting his hand, she said,
"Didn't Mom tell you not to come here tonight?"
"I'm here to check if my bride is now ready for tomorrow's wedding." The smile in Jack's eyes became
more and more apparent.
Rachel turned back and smiled at him. "Of course, I'm ready. Besides, this is not the first time I'm
marrying you. I don't see any reason to be nervous."
"This one is different."
With a seductive smile on his thin lips, he pulled her aside and opened the drawer. There, he took out a
necklace with two rings as pendants.
She recognized the two rings at a glance, so she asked in surprise, "Why are they here?"
Those were their wedding rings before. She thought that he threw them away when she left last time.
She didn't expect that he had kept them.
Jack took her hand and put the necklace in her palm. He then said in a gentle tone, "I am giving this
necklace to you now. Every time you get angry at me in the future, just take this necklace out, and I will
immediately apologize to you."
While saying these, he raised his hand and swore like a child.
The rings were not only the symbols of their first marriage but also his reminder of how difficult his life
was when Rachel left him.
With a sly look in her eyes, Rachel nodded. "Okay. Do you have anything else to say? If none, you
must go and rest. It's late now. I'm afraid that Mom will call and look for you."
He was still smiling when he unconsciously exerted a little strength holding her hand. She felt the
sudden pain, so she screamed in surprise, "What's wrong?"
There was a trace of hesitation on his face as if he wanted to say something. Eventually, he just
stroked her hair and said in a low voice, "Nothing. Go to bed early."
The next day, the morning sunlight bathed the ground. The rain these past few days had finally ended,
and the sky was clear today.
Rachel checked her watch, and it was still early, so she decided to go back to sleep. But as soon as
she closed her eyes again, the doorbell rang. She put on the robe and opened the door hurriedly. Celia
and Lea were standing on both sides of the door outside.
Lea curled her lips and said, "Are you not excited? You are getting married today!"
"Not really," she answered with a yawn. She had been feeling drowsy recently as if she didn't get
enough sleep every day.
Celia grabbed her arm and exclaimed happily, "Rachel, I'm so excited. I have been waiting for this day
to come."
"Silly girl!" Lea tapped Celia's shoulder. "It's not your wedding. Why do you look more excited than the
bride?"
But as soon as she finished her words, she laughed and added, "Actually, I am excited too. More
excited than during my own wedding."
Looking at how crazy her friends were, Rachel couldn't help rolling her eyes. She opened the door
wider and motioned for the two women to follow her to the living room. Her plan of going back to sleep
was already ruined, so she let them sit on the sofa while she went to the bathroom to wash her face.
A few moments later, the makeup artist and the stylist that they hired arrived. One of them was holding
the wedding dress while the other was dragging a suitcase full of all kinds of cosmetics.
Rachel sat on a chair like a doll and let the makeup artist work on her face.
She didn't feel much at the beginning. But as time went by, she gradually became nervous, and her
heart beat faster and faster.
After a while, several nurses from her department rushed over.
She actually didn't invite them because she didn't want her wedding to be the talk of the town.
However, Celia told them about it, so they all came to congratulate her.
Mindy put down a gift on the dresser and in a voice less dignified than usual, she said, "Rachel,
congratulations on your wedding. This is a simple gift we prepared for you."
"Thank you," Rachel answered with a gentle smile on her face.
This was how she was. The more nervous she got, the calmer she looked.
When the makeup artist finished doing her makeup, she looked at her in the mirror and nodded with
satisfaction. She then asked, "Miss Shen, what do you think?"
"I like it." Lea propped her chin in the palm of her right hand. "Rachel, it's such a waste of your pretty
face when you don't wear make-up."
"Really?" Rachel asked with a frown. Before the makeup artist had started working on her face, Rachel
had especially instructed her not to put too much makeup on her.
After all the preparations were done, Rachel sat on the bed. Her hands were on her lap, and they were
already a little sweaty. She only listened to the happy chatting and laughter of everyone around her.
All of a sudden, someone shouted, "It's so late now. Why hasn't the groom arrived yet?"
It was only then that Rachel realized it was already past ten o'clock. She planned to talk to her aunt at
nine o'clock, but she hadn't arrived yet either. She picked up her phone to call Linda, but her phone
was off.
Jack had finally arrived, and the wedding ceremony started. But it was interrupted by the sudden
ringing of Rachel's phone. She answered the call that seemed urgent and received the bad news from
the caller, who was a doctor.
"Hello? Are you Linda Shen's family?"
"Yes, I'm her niece. What happened to her?" Rachel asked in a trembling voice.
"Linda Shen is in the emergency room right now. She had a car accident. Please come here as soon
as possible."
Rachel was silent for a long time, stunned. "Alright!" Shock was written all over her face when she
turned to Jack. "Jack, something happened to Aunt Linda. I'm so sorry, but I have to go to the hospital
now."
The wedding needed to be stopped. Although Jack felt uncomfortable about it, he must understand.
After all, Linda was Rachel's aunt.
"Okay. I'll drive you there. Let's just continue the wedding ceremony after we come back."
"Thank you." The trust and understanding in his eyes made her feel at ease.
His eyes were something unique for her.
When they arrived at the hospital, Linda was already in the operating room. They waited for quite a
while before the doctor finally came out.
"Doctor, how is my aunt? Is she awake now?" Rachel was so anxious to know her aunt's condition as
soon as possible.
"You must be Linda Shen's family. Don't worry. She's fine now. Fortunately, she wasn't badly hit. She
only needs a few days of rest."
"Thank you." When Linda was transferred to the ward, Rachel sadly came to her bedside.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," she whispered to her unconscious aunt and also to herself.
Linda finally woke up. She squinted her eyes and looked around. She then stared at Rachel for a while,
and her eyes welled up in tears.
"Rachel..." Her weak voice woke Rachel up. She had fallen asleep at her bedside while watching over
her.
"Aunt Linda? Are you awake now? Can you hear me?" Rachel was surprised but happy at the same
time.
"Rachel, I can remember everything now." Linda turned her gaze away from her and looked out of the
window. The sky was blue outside.
"The sky that day was as blue as today." Linda's eyes became melancholic as they reflected the blue
sky outside. Although she was still very weak, she started to say something. "That day, your parents
were forced to death by Jack's parents."
Her tone was so gentle, but every word she said was like a knife that stabbed Rachel's heart.
"Aunt Linda, whose parents did you say?" Her voice was weak and trembling. She wanted to make
sure that she didn't mishear what Linda had said.
"Rachel, they are Jack's parents." Linda stressed the word "Jack" intentionally.
"Wait. Stop it!" She didn't want to listen anymore. For so many years, she had suffered from so much
pain and despair upon losing her parents. Knowing that the people responsible for her parents' death
were Jack's parents was too much for her to bear.
"Rachel, you have to accept the fact. You can't ignore it. It's impossible." Linda's sobbing was like
saltwater that poured into her wounded heart.
Eventually, she decided to face the truth. She went outside to look for Jack. But as she looked into his
gentle deep-set eyes, she was at a loss for words.
"Is something wrong?" Jack asked intermediately. "How is your aunt now? Why do you look so awful?
Do you feel tired or you just missed me?" Jack tried to tease her to lighten her mood, but she couldn't
even afford to smile.
"Jack..." She gave him a pleading look. "I want to ask you something. Please answer me honestly."
He held her in his arms, trying to soothe her sadness with his tenderness.
"What do you want to know? I am willing to tell you anything."
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