“Are you surprised to see me?” Roger moved closer to Rachel and eyed her. He pulled every strength
he had to restrain his urge to pull Rachel into his arms.
Rachel looked past Roger and asked, “Are you the investor who’s interested in the Bennet Group’s
welfare house project?”
Roger showed a gentle smile as he hung his coat on the coat rack standing on the nook of the private
room. No words gushed from his lips, but his smile gave away his answer to Rachel’s query.
On other hand, Rachel was genuinely surprised. She didn’t expect that the investor would be Roger. Of
all people, it had to be him! ?
“Don’t just stand there. Why don’t we take our seats first? What do you want to eat?” Roger asked
thoughtfully. Just as though time had not passed, he was as gentle as before.
“I ate something before heading here.” Rachel took a sip of the orange juice. She lifted her gaze from
the beverage to Roger with mixed feelings. The harsh words she told him on the ship four years ago
rose from their graves and rewound vivid scenes in her mind.She had just come back, and the thought
about whether she would meet Roger in Apliaria had just crossed her mind. How coincident was it to
bump into him in such a circumstance?
She remembered Clara mentioning to her that Roger stayed in the subsidiary company abroad and
spent most of his time working there in the past four years. Rachel had thought maybe Roger hadn’t
been back when she left Apliaria.
“It was already late when I came back yesterday, not to mention I had a meeting this morning. I haven’t
eaten anything yet, so I’m quite famished.” Roger’s gaze fell on Rachel, which sent her a different
feeling. She reminisced how Victor would look at her aggressively.
Meanwhile, here was Roger, looking at her gently and mildly.
“If there’s something that whets your appetite, you can just eat with me.”
As soon as Roger finished speaking, he handed Rachel the iPad containing the menu to let her order.
Rachel parted her lips and mumbled, “Okay.”
Roger had been kind enough to encourage her to eat, so it was hard for Rachel to refuse him again.
She took the iPad and scanned the dishes displayed on it. After choosing two desserts, she handed the
iPad back.
Roger’s smile didn’t oscillate even for a second. He said, “I remember that you used to like mousse
cake very much.I heard from my friend that the Crown Club hired a very good dessert chef. Would you
like to order one?”
It had been years, yet Roger could still remember Rachel’s preferences like the back of his hand. To be
exact, he remembered the real Rachel’s taste.
That small gesture seemed too alluring to most individuals, but it was not for a select few. Sometimes,
a gentle and kind man might put more pressure on people than a domineering man.
Roger was that kind of man that people always thought it was unforgivable to refuse him. Who would
be so heartless as to crush a thoughtful soul?
“No, thanks. I’m not in the mood for it now,” Rachel said indifferently. Only then did the smile on
Roger’s face freeze imperceptibly, but that only lasted for a short-lived moment. He straightened his
back and said, “That’s fine. People’s taste changes. After all, it’s been so long.”
Rachel smiled and lowered her head.
Roger didn’t have to be a genius to understand that she was somewhat avoiding her. His eyes
darkened, but he quickly recovered before she could steal a glance at him.
“Rachel, I’m really happy to see you doing good now.” Roger sat opposite Rachel. He supported his
chin with his elbow that rested against his thigh, propping himself forward slightly. He was staring at her
intently.
“Rachel, in the past four years… How have you been?” He wanted to ask where Rachel had been in
the past four years. It was the kind of curiosity that had been eating him alive by keeping him up all
night, thinking where she could have been. But seeing that Rachel was fine from across the table,
Roger didn’t think his eagerness to know mattered anymore. To him, nothing was more important than
Rachel’s safety.
“I’ve been fine.” Rachel smiled and looked up at Roger.
“That’s good to know.”
After a while, the waiter served their orders, interrupting their conversation. It was good timing.
Rachel looked at the desserts on the table. They were all the real Rachel’s favorite desserts.
Rachel was not that naive when it came to love. She could feel Roger’s affection for her from the way
he was treating and boring his gazes at her, and it seemed to be more obvious than four years ago.
Looking at the desserts on the table, Rachel didn’t know what to do.
“Rachel, have you gotten used to the life of Apliaria after coming back? A lot has changed during these
years. Oh, wait! Do you remember our literature teacher back in high school?”
Their literature teacher in high school? Rachel recalled but only vaguely thought of someone standing
on the platform, with his back facing them.
Although Rachel and Roger were not in the same class in high school, they had the same literature
teacher. Moreover, this teacher had been the bridge to Rachel and Roger growing connected to each
other.
At that time, Rachel’s and Roger’s compositions were always taken as the model compositions by the
literature teacher. The two of them were always called together by the teacher, either to ask them to
prepare for competitions or preparing speeches for important events.
In Rachel’s memory, this teacher wore a pair of rigid and black-framed glasses. Perhaps it was
because he was one of those traditional male teachers who taught literature, he always carried a
straight face and was very strict with everyone. But no matter how strict he was, he was known for
protecting and being on his students’ side.
When he heard other teachers mention Rachel and Roger, he would always favor the two of them,
partly because of how gifted they were.
However, these were the memories that belonged to the real Rachel that she shared with Roger.
Although Rachel had the real Rachel’s memories, she had never experienced them firsthand, so it was
difficult for her to have the same feelings as or at least connect with Roger.
“Yes, I do.”
“He retired some time ago. I and several classmates planned to invite him to dinner, but because I was
busy, i sadly wasn’t able to attend.”
It seemed that Roger finally found a topic to get close to Rachel once again. He smiled and offered,
“How about we go see him today? He misses you so much…”
Roger suddenly paused, then he looked at Rachel seriously, and said every word with sincerity, “I also
miss you very much.”
In the Sue Garden The red and flamboyant Ferrari entered smoothly and stopped at the open space in
front of the villa. Carson got out of the car, wearing sunglasses.
“Mr. Scott, why are you here?” Hearing the servant’s report, Lukas walked out to personally welcome
Carson.
“I came here to catch up on some sleep,” Carson said as he entered the room.
‘‘Catch up on sleep?’’ Lukas wondered.
‘‘Why does he have to come here to catch up on his sleep?’’
“Mr. Scott, Mr. Sullivan went to the company early in the morning. If you want to see him”
“I’m not here looking for him. Lukas, I’m seriously here to catch up on sleep.” As Carson spoke, he took
off his sunglasses, revealing the dark circles around his eyes.
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