My Darling, My Dearest

'You piece of shit!' Eric cursed himself in his heart and trod slowly, hoping to disappear completely behind Rachel.

Jack was greeted by a queer countenance on Eric's face as he drifted past Rachel. Ignoring the strange expression, he pointed towards his watch and asked Rachel, "Rachel, do you wish to go back?" Rachel took a deep breath, and then she blurted, "Well, yes. And, thank you."

Jack frowned slightly and said, "You don't have to thank me, ever. And by the way, Hiram didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Lea's ears perked up as she heard Jack's words. "What happened?" she inquired. She wore a perplexed expression on her face as she threw a cautious look towards Jack and Rachel simultaneously. Michael, who was standing right behind Jack, was amazed by Lea's delicate features. He waggishly started whistling.

Lea was bewildered by his actions. As soon as Michael felt her burning eyes on him, he started whistling even louder. 'Just wow! I wonder how a girl like Rachel friends with such an alluring person,' Michael thought and chuckled to himself.

When Eric, who previously wished to disappear off the face of the earth, witnessed the ongoing ■3

events, his face turned a darker shade of red. He bellowed at Michael, "Shut up or else you'll face my wrath."

Michael smiled slyly as he saw the look on Eric's face. "Oh, it's you."

He then threw a casual glance at Eric's hand as he raised his eyebrows in astonishment and uttered, "Is your hand still attached to your body?"

"I swear!"

"Michael!" Eric and Jack yelled at the same instant, but Jack's hoarse voice clearly trumped Eric's. Michael looked over his shoulder in astonishment.

"Don't mess around with him," Jack said aloofly.

With a dubious expression, Michael made an unimpressive effort of saluting Eric and said sarcastically, "My apologies, boy."

"You bastard!" exclaimed Eric, as he clenched his fists in utter rage. "Who do you think you are? I am not a kid, you moron!"

"I shall have none of this anymore!" Rachel stated affirmatively as she pulled Eric back. Lea joined the duo, and she tried to comfort Eric. "Don't worry, we won't be talking to this man anymore," she said in absolute disgust.

Soon Jack had Rachel's undivided attention to him as she questioned, "Is there anything you wish to tell me, Jack?"

Jack threw her a serene look and said, "Do you want to go back with me or not? I'll gladly give you a ■3

ride."

"No, thanks for the offer, but we..." Rachel stuttered.

"Let's go, my car is nearby. I'll give you a ride," Jack insisted. He locked eyes with Rachel expecting her to agree with his demands.

Rachel was quite fazed by his constant bidding. She wondered whether it was appropriate to discuss the matter at hand with Lea and Eric here. "Thanks, Jack, but I won't be able to go with you as I am heading towards my parents' house," Lea stated, her voice filled with exasperation. "Lea..." Rachel muttered absentmindedly. Lea briskly rotated her cell phone in between her fingers and said, "Give me a call when you get home."

"Alright." Rachel then contemplated what Lea said, and the true meaning of her subtle words came to her like an epiphany. She made a mental note of calling Lea later to apprise her of the happenings.

Eric had already made up his mind of leaving with Lea. But before he could join her, Jack threw a dirty look towards him and stated affirmatively, "You are going with us."

Eric was dumbfounded by what Jack said. He locked eyes with him refusing to back down. But then, he gave in to his fear and reluctantly agreed to follow Jack into the car.

Jack's every action from there onward raised red flags. Out of the blue, he said, "Rachel, come and sit in the front seat." ■3

Eric was as helpless as a baby as he watched Rachel riding shotgun with Jack. He stood motionless as Rachel opened the front door of the car and got in.

He pondered over his next move but couldn't come up with any solutions. He had no choice but to sit in the back seat of the car. The idea of sharing the car seat with a person other than Rachel did not amuse Eric at all.

He was about to jump inside of the car when he heard a man yelling barbarically, "You better get in soon, boy. Or else some misfortune might befall you."

Eric froze, and a chill ran down his spine as he heard these unsettling words. He promptly got in the car. Fortunately for him, the seat of the Land Rover was sizeable enough for two people to be sitting on either side and would still have enough space in between them as to avoid any unnecessary contact.

Michael, who was also accompanying them for the journey, was amused by Eric's reaction. He wondered how the personalities of the siblings could be so contrasting to each other.

As Jack steered the car out of the parking lot and onto the road, Rachel reminded him, "Can we drive Eric home first? He lives near the Times Square."

Jack threw her a long look and then muttered, "Okay."

Eric was quite relieved when he heard Rachel's voice. He wanted to shed a tear of joy but ■3

maintained his composure, nonetheless.

The remainder of the journey was met by an awkward silence as no one uttered a word.

Suddenly, Rachel recollected what Michael earlier said. He informed her that Eric might have had something to do with Hiram abducting her.

She considered herself quite fortunate as she had safely gotten away from Hiram.

She knew all the ins and outs of how the society operated after she had closely witnessed the extent human beings could go to quench their thirst of worldly desires, and heard some rumors that were quite hard to swallow.

She knew that she had to be cautious. After all, the occurrence of recent events almost cost Eric his hand.

Rachel was convinced that Jack allowed Eric to leave solely based on the fact that he was her cousin.

Hiram's people who forced her to go to him liked to play with fire, and thus, weren't the ones who did things by the book. Rachel was clear that these men wouldn't let her off.

She was sure that hadn't Jack come here today, she would have been at Hiram's mercy and would have been forced to do his unjust bidding.

Fortunately for her, it all turned out just fine.

Rachel made a promise to herself that she'd never step foot inside any bar ever again.

Jack, in his head, recalled the happenings of the tiring day. He pondered the motive behind ■3

Hiram's preposterous actions and thus, deduced that his vexation towards him might have been based on his conduct towards his so-called cousin. He was also assured that whatever Michael had said was correct.

Jack also contemplated over the fact that Hiram's cousin was one of the people who had forced Celine to drink. He chuckled to himself when he thought about how he had punished Eric that night. Not only Eric, but he also made an example of Hiram's cousin.

Before long, Hiram's cousin and MK Group went neck to neck and bid for the same site.

But Jack had a trick or two up his sleeves. He, with his shenanigans, made sure that Hiram's cousin would lose the bidding war.

This enraged Hiram. Although it seemed as if Hiram's cousin was the brain behind the bidding, it was actually Hiram who was pulling strings, even though he had other businesses to attend to.

Hiram had everything under control and devised an effective plan to win the bidding war. It wasn't even in his wildest dreams that Jack would sabotage his perfect plan.

He had yearned to acquire that piece of land for a long time. When he found out that Jack had stolen the property from right under his nose, he swore vengeance. Although he was enraged with Jack, he arbitrated that the latter didn't beat his cousin for nothing.

After learning the whole story, Hiram found it quite difficult to swallow his anger towards Jack. ■3

Though his cousin bullied Jack's woman, Jack beating his cousin was something that he couldn't bear.

Jack was told that Hiram was a vengeful man who was quite ruthless. His barbarity lay no bounds when he was aroused. He was also informed to avoid dealing with a man like Hiram.

At first, Jack paid no heed to the people who warned him about Hiram. But he was flabbergasted when Hiram sent him a message.

The message was a picture of an elegant woman, who was sitting in a secluded corner of a bar.

Before he could figure out the motive behind this abrupt message, he received a call from Hiram who said, "What a strange coincidence! I saw Ms. Shen in the bar. Does she happen to be your wife? Anyway, I'm inviting her over for some drinks. Would you do me the honor of joining us?"

Jack was unaware as to how to react to what Hiram had said. Without uttering a word, he ended the call.

It was by chance that Hiram decided to pick on Rachel. One of his friends accosted her, but she turned down the man. Then the man took her pictures with the sole intent of malice towards her before he went upstairs in a fit of rage.

Those pictures were seen by Hiram, who somehow recognized Rachel. Identifying an excellent opportunity of dealing with Jack, he called upon the men who were going to teach her a lesson, and asked them not to hurt her. ■3

Rachel had no idea what had happened. Otherwise, she would have broken out in a cold sweat. Jack's presence enabled her to barely escape Hiram's evil clutches.

They were about to reach the Times Square when Jack broke the ice and asked, "So, are you working these days?"

Rachel, who was absentmindedly gazing at the scenery, said, "Yes, I am."

Before Jack could ask another question, Eric pointed at a spot and muttered, "There! You can drop me off on the side of the road."

But as he felt Jack's eyes gleaming at him menacingly through the rear-view mirror, he succumbed back to his seat and zipped his lips.

As soon as Jack stopped the car, Eric instantly went for the handle of the door and pushed the door open. He then jumped out of the vehicle and bade Rachel farewell before he trod as fast as his legs would carry him and disappeared into the dark night.

Witnessing Eric's abrupt departure, Michael burst into laughter and remarked, "Rachel, you and your cousin are total opposites."

Rachel ignored what Michael had said and continued to gaze outside the car window. Jack was aware that it was unwise to stop the car here. He immediately drove away down the road.

Suddenly, Rachel felt worn out. The events of the day left her debilitated. She couldn't wait to jump into her cozy, warm bed.

"Jack, what is it that you wish to ask me?" she ■3

inquired.

Jack didn't respond at first, but then he said in a low voice, "Take good care of yourself, especially in these days. If you find someone stalking you or if you find yourself in hot water, just give me a call." Rachel was left speechless. She asked, "Why, what is happening? Why will someone stalk me?"

"The person who took you upstairs is Hiram Yi.

I have had a problem with him. He is an absolute savage and would waste no chance of harming you. Just be careful."

Jack's words turned Rachel's blood cold. She let out a sigh of exasperation and said, "Why can't you work things out once and for all?"

Jack didn't reply at first and continued to drive. Then he looked at her and said, "Do you really think that I am from the underworld?"