My Darling, My Dearest

Rachel's watchful eyes followed their retreating backs, and once they were far enough for her comfort, she stepped to the side and shook off Jack's hand. "You can go shopping by yourself. I'm going home." "Where's the fun of shopping alone? Besides, if the baby knows that we brought the baby bed together, it would be really happy." Jack took advantage of the silence before Rachel could even try to refute him, and grasped her hand firmly again. Giving her much slimmer hand a warm squeeze, he led them towards the baby-care shop located downstairs.

Such displays were very much in line with Jack's character. He was the type of person who would never be bothered by stretches of awkward silences and judgmental glances. Even if Rachel kept her silence the entire day, he would find it easy to keep the one-sided conversation going.

Feeling a prickle of annoyance rush through her at Jack's actions, Rachel rolled her eyes. But when he saw, the edges of his lips tilted upwards in the form of a gentle smile and the fondness in his eyes only increased in intensity. There were no traces of anger towards her eyerolling. "I want the baby to listen to its father's voice more, so that it can recognize me the moment it is born." The minute Jack finished talking, a voice as clear as a summer day's stream pierced through the white noise of the chattering crowd. It was a sweet reprieve from the graceless voices that surrounded them, and when Rachel located the source of the voice, she saw Scarlett rushing down the escalator. Her clothes billowed in the breeze in her haste of trying to get to the pair. Upon reaching them, Scarlett wrapped her hands around Jack's arm in a death-like grip. "Jack, what are you doing here? Are you here to look for me?"

"Get off!" Jack didn't expect to bump into Scarlett during his trip to the mall with Rachel. Unease caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up, vigilant against Scarlett's approach. He took a cautionary glance at Rachel subconsciously and averted his eyes quickly. The cogs in his head were whirring rapidly, trying to think of a solution out of the current sticky situation. He had seen the sliver of disgust in Rachel's eyes, her gaze fixed at the arm that was trapped by Scarlett's hands.

Another tight squeeze and his face darkened to the extent where it could be likened to the sky on a stormy day. His brows twitched in irritation and he did not expend any effort to hide the frostiness in his expression. "Scarlett, I thought I made it crystal clear to you. Get out of my sight!

"Get out?" Scarlett raised her head to take stock of Jack's frigid expression and moisture gathered at her eyes. She suddenly burst into howls of laughter and tears streamed down the corners of her eyes. She resembled a deranged madwoman as her previously melodious voice broke into pained whimpers. Hands trembling at Jack's aggression towards her, she reached out again to pull on his sleeves, and said in a tone that was clear she wouldn't accept his rejection, "Jack, I'm not a robot. I'm a person, and I have feelings too. We obviously were deeply in love, how can we break up just because you said so?" The quarrel between them was not silent, nor did any of them try to keep their voices down. The cacophony of their argument drew the attentions of others, and soon, shop attendants previously busy with their tasks streamed out of their shops to witness the spectacle. They stood in front of their respective stores, not daring to stray too far in fear of being told off by their superiors, but their curiosity pushed them out. Whispers started, and Rachel's sharp ears caught onto certain words, like "mistress" and "love triangle." Her face flushed from being in the center of attention, shame and

embarrassment dyeing her skin a color similar to a tomato's.

Her hand darted out of Jack's warm grip like a startled deer and she quickly schooled her expression into one of indifference. "You guys can take your time. I'm going to leave now. I won't disturb you." She didn't see much reason to stay where she was, nor did she like being the subject of gossip. She had experienced enough shame for the whole year. Jack's empty hand reached out in her direction, his heart yearning to catch up with her, but he relented. He understood that the current situation was indeed not suitable for such an action, as it would only fuel the gossip further. His attention returned to Scarlett and he said coldly, "Stop your crying. Come with me!"

After finding a relatively quiet place devoid of prying eyes and mouths that only spewed gossip, Jack finally looked at Scarlett, who was sobbing non-stop, her cries getting ever louder. It was as if she enjoyed having people watch her disgraceful conduct! There was not a trace of pity for the woman in Jack's heart, but only disgust.

"Scarlett, I have already made myself very clear to you. If you do this again, you know the consequences."

As he said this, Jack's face remained

expressionless, not bothered at all by Scarlett's bawling. His voice was equally as cold as his demeanor towards her.

Scarlett was stunned silent. She had just come out of the clothing store and went around the mall asking several shops, but their answers were the same. She wasn't allowed to return her clothes. She had been looked down upon by many shop assistants during her trip. Sneers and whispers hounded her as she exited the shops, her clothes still in her possession. Being at the receiving end of such treatment, it made her feel defeated.

But she would never have thought in her wildest dreams that she would see Jack being with Rachel.

She was dumbfounded by the warmth and gentleness that radiated off Jack as he talked to the woman beside him. Resentment washed over her. She had never seen this side of him before!

Her mind was going crazy as her thoughts tortured her. When had he ever been so gentle and caring towards her? No, she couldn't think of one time she had received a thread of kindness from him. From beginning to end of their relationship, it was her who went to her wit's end to try to please him. The hours she thought of ways to make him smile, make him happy were all useless. Jack had never even bothered to look at her!

When she came to her senses, shaking off the unpleasantness that came from her thoughts, she was already holding Jack's arm. Her body had moved without thinking.

Emboldened by the weight of his hand in hers, Scarlett took two steps forward, wanting to get closer to the man. But when she saw the look in his eyes, she froze like a deer in headlights. She retraced her steps, putting some distance between them.

She looked at him almost pleadingly, her doe-like eyes darted left and right as she tried to memorize the man she was looking at. "Jack, I don't want anything. I'm just asking for you to let me stay by your side. Don't drive me away, please?"

Jack's gaze didn't even meet hers and without a word, he left Scarlett standing alone, facing an empty space where she wanted him to be. He had just wanted to stop the gossiping, nothing more, nothing less. Only Rachel occupied his mind.

After stepping through the automatic doors of the mall, Rachel stood to the side as she tried to plan her next steps. Since Jack had asked for leave for her, she should just directly head home instead of going to the hospital.

Her belly had grown in size over the last few months and after an hour's of shopping, she felt exhausted. She stumbled around her room and into her bed, sighing as her back hit the softness of the mattress. Not a second later, the bedroom door opened slowly from the outside. It was Jack. With a flattering smile on his lips, he asked, "Are you feeling better, Rachel? I just passed by a dessert shop and bought your favorite dessert. Would you like to have a taste?"

"No, thanks. I want to rest now." Rachel slowly lay down back onto her bed.

He still came in regardless, the dessert in his hands. He put them down gently on the side and asked, "Did you take a taxi back just now?" His voice was quiet and soothing. Rachel yawned and asked in faux confusion, "So I should come back on foot instead then?"

"Rachel, don't worry. This kind of thing won't happen again." He bent over and gently tucked her in, arranging the duvet so that it fell comfortingly across her body. During this, he didn't notice the expression that flashed on Rachel's face.

After finally deeming Rachel was properly tucked in, Jack stood by the bed silently for a moment or two, thinking hard. "It was my fault for what happened at the mall. Can you forgive me?"

He had done so many things to piss her off, such as the divorce agreement. Now that he took the time to think about it, he thought he was like a fool. He didn't know why, but when his problems became related to Rachel one way or the other, he would instantly lose all his senses.

What was more, he had only heard about what happened between Jimmy and Rachel from Tracy. Although he knew that it was impossible and not true, he had unconsciously begun to believe it.

At his words, there was a slight change in Rachel's heart, but her expression remained unchanged; she was still expressionless towards him. She pulled off the duvet and rested her chin on its softness. Her voice was light and free from any anger as she said, "There's no need to apologize to me. Anyway, we won't have any contact in the future." It was like nothing had happened in the first place. "I was wrong, and I have to apologize to you." Jack quirked a small smile, knowing full well in his heart that he still had a long ways to go before he obtained Rachel's forgiveness. Rachel let out another yawn. "Now that you've finished what you were saying, I need to rest. Please close the door for me."

After saying that, she shut her eyes. Not another word escaped her lips. However, after she had lain down for a while, she realized that she was fully awake. All traces of the sleepiness she felt before had suddenly disappeared. She tossed and turned for a long time, but she couldn't fall asleep. In fact, it only served to make her more awake. On the contrary, her bones ached with a deep soreness. Just in the middle of adjusting her position once more, she heard some noises coming from the room next to hers, so she got up again, deciding that she was no longer in the mood for a nap. She put on her coat, and followed the sound, only to find that Jack was assembling a baby bed in the empty room.

He had rolled up his sleeves, so that Rachel could clearly see his muscles as he worked. There was a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other. Just as he got ready to hammer the nail into place, the bead of sweat that collected on his forehead started to slowly make its way down his handsome face.

At the sight, Rachel asked, "When did you buy this bed?" "Ah!" Jack suddenly let out a scream, bringing the hammer down towards the nail in his fright. Gone was all the steady preparation and focus and instead of hitting the nail, he had hit his finger. The hammer then fell heavily on his feet.

Rachel had never thought that there would be such a series of consecutive reactions. She hurried forward, and grabbed his hand to examine the injury. The color of his fingernail had instantly turned black, which must be very painful. She bent down slightly, as far as her bump would allow her, and said, "Take off the socks. Let me check."

"I'm fine." Jack grabbed her hand. The pain on his face was gone, but there was a trace of joy on it. "Rachel, you still care about me, right?" Rachel was speechless.

She silently pulled her hand back out of Jack's grip and looked away with a strange expression. She didn't say anything to his claims.

Jack knew that he couldn't walk too fast to give chase, in fear of putting too much pressure on his injured foot. He turned his head to look at the baby bed which had just assembled and answered, "I bought this bed after you left. You have found a lot of information about this bed before. I guess this is what you want to buy, right?"

Rachel was surprised to find that Jack was so observant. At his question, she deigned to give him an answer and nodded. She couldn't deny that she was touched at this moment.

Jack looked at her intensely and asked softly, "Did I wake you up with all the noise? I didn't expect assembling the bed would be so loud."

"It's fine." She shook her head. "Actually, you could have just asked the staff at the store to assemble it for you. You don't have to do it yourself."

"But it's more meaningful to do it by myself, isn't it?" Affected by the gentleness of their exchange, Jack's hand rose without his command and habitually tried to tuck Rachel's hair behind her ear.

As soon as Jack reached out his hand, Rachel's eyes swept over him. Their eyes met and he subconsciously withdrew his hand, lowering it to rest beside his hips. He wiped at his trousers awkwardly as silence ensued between them, feeling very much like a pupil who was caught red-handed by the teacher for doing something wrong. He explained in embarrassment, "My hand is a little dirty just now, so..." Seeing the embarrassment on his face, she gave him a nod and left. To her surprise, she received a call from Jimmy. "Rachel, do you have time to have a drink with me? I have something to tell you." "What is it? Can't you tell me on the phone?" Rachel asked.

Jimmy gave a light chuckle. Even though he wasn't in front of her, she could clearly feel his good mood from the phone call. "Of course I can say it on the phone," he answered, "but I want to express my gratitude to you face to face."

"Express your gratitude?" Rachel echoed with a frown on her face.

Although Jimmy had clarified that the incident last time had nothing to do with Rachel, since then, she could sense a trace of emotion from him. When she was in front of him, his attitude towards her was neither cold nor warm.

Rachel wasn't stupid, so she naturally felt it.

But today, it was completely different.

A wide smile stretched across Jimmy's lips, although Rachel couldn't see it. "Yesterday, Jared gave me another call and signed a new contract with me. He said that he would sell electric appliances to us at the cost price, and it's a contract of ten years. This time, with the contract in hand, they won't be able to pull out of this at all. I know that you must have been pulling some strings with it the entire time."

Upon hearing what Jimmy said, Rachel couldn't help but blink in confusion. After finding out that it was Jack who was behind this, she hadn't had any contact with Jared.

She knew if she went to ask Jared for help, she would only be piling the pressure on him. Author's note

&

Goose

Translator: Scarlett5555