My Darling, My Dearest

Mindy had already known that Rachel came from a rich family, but when she found out just how much rent Rachel paid for this apartment, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Rachel was young, beautiful, and rich. As if all that was not enough, she had a good job, too. Anyone would be jealous of her.

Rachel offered to treat Mindy to a meal, which the latter readily agreed to. After the meal, Rachel said that she wanted to buy something and asked Mindy to accompany her to a shopping mall.

Mindy hesitated for a moment before agreeing. Of course, Rachel noticed Mindy's reluctance, but she pretended not to. At the shopping mall, the two of them strolled around, and Rachel bought something. When they finally decided to leave, Rachel handed the shopping bag to Mindy.

Seeing the astonished look on Mindy's face, Rachel said calmly, "Mindy, this is a small gift for your daughter. Thank you for helping me today."

As a shrewd woman, Mindy accepted the gift with a smile on her face after refusing it a few times. Her envy completely dissipated. She thought that even though Rachel seemed really cool, she was also a really nice person.

Moreover, Rachel didn't stop there. She took out a few store vouchers from her bag and gave them to Mindy too. Just like before, Mandy refused ■3

Rachel a few times but finally accepted them with a smile.

Before getting into the taxi, Mindy kept turning her head back and waving to Rachel. Once she was inside the car and out of Rachel's sight, she lowered her head and looked at the things in her hands. She couldn't help but sigh, thinking, 'This is the difference between being rich and being poor."

It was hard to believe that Rachel had just casually bought something worth thousands of dollars and given it to her as a gift. No wonder she had signed the housing agreement without blinking her eyes. After the head nurse left, Rachel looked down at her watch. It was already nine o'clock at night. Since she hadn't driven her car here, she decided to walk to the roadside and hail a taxi.

Just then, she heard a mocking voice from behind. "Wow, it turns out that Dr. Shen knows how to foster her relationship with others."

Rachel turned around in surprise and saw Michael strolling toward her with his hands in his pockets.

"You're flattering me," she said, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"I'm going to see Jack. Are we going in the same direction?" asked Michael, waving the car keys in his hand.

"We are," Rachel answered tersely.

This was the kind of women Michael liked, direct and straightforward unlike a certain someone he knew. ■3

Rachel followed him to his car without asking where exactly they were going to meet Jack.

As Michael started the car, he asked curiously, "Aren't you afraid that I'll kidnap you?"

Rachel paused in the middle of buckling her seatbelt. She looked at him in astonishment and asked, "How old are you?"

The corners of Michael's mouth twitched. "How old am I?"

Rachel finished buckling her seatbelt and said with a smile, "There's this patient of mine who is in her twenties or thirties but has the intelligence of a four-year-old."

Michael was in a daze for quite a while before he realized that Rachel was calling him an idiot.

"Rachel, have I ever offended you?"

"No, never."

"Then why do you always talk to me in this sarcastic way?"

Rachel tilted her head and thought about it seriously. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, did I offend you?"

The corners of Michael's mouth twitched again. "No."

However, the expression in his face clearly said, "You did!"

Rachel had a habit of dumbfounding others with her words. Most people found her too irritating to talk to. However, she didn't care about what they thought at all. As far as she was concerned, they all ■3 had two choices: they could either close their ears or just not speak to her at all.

But today, since Michael was giving her a ride, she decided to take the initiative to apologize to him. "I'm sorry I was so sarcastic. Don't mind me."

Michael was taken aback when he heard Rachel apologizing. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

Finally, he waved her away and said, "I was just joking. Don't take it to heart."

Rachel smiled quietly, trying to dissolve the awkward atmosphere.

In the beginning, Michael had thought that Rachel was a cold woman and that it was no wonder that Jack didn't like her. After a while, his impression of her had improved, but only by a little. Rachel was too serious. No matter how beautiful such a woman was, men would not be interested in her for too long.

Anyway, Michael was rather shocked and amazed after overhearing Rachel's conversation with her colleague. He had never expected that a cold woman like Rachel would know how to do favors.

But on the contrary, she appeared to be skilled at such things. So why didn't she speak to Jack in such a way?

Michael couldn't help thinking that there was a lot more to Jack's wife than he let on.

When they reached her house, Rachel walked in first and saw Jack sitting on the sofa in the living ■3

room. He seldom came to this apartment after their marriage. In fact, he lived in a place of his own.

Rachel didn't know why he was here today, but she wasn't curious. Instead, she went straight into the kitchen to wash her hands and drink water.

When she came out again, there was no one in the living room. She hadn't heard the sound of the main door opening, so Jack was probably still at home.

She walked past the living room and headed to her room to take a shower. When she passed by the study, she saw a glimmer of light on the corridor carpet coming from the gap between the wall and the half- closed door.

About half an hour later, Michael decided to take his leave.

Jack accompanied him to the main door, so Michael turned to him and asked casually, "Where are you going to stay tonight?"

Jack stopped at the door with indifference in his clear eyes. "I will sleep here tonight."

Michael paused in the middle of putting on his shoes and raised his head in surprise. "Did I hear you wrong?"

"What's wrong? Is there anything wrong with sleeping in my own house?"

"Well, will you sleep with Rachel tonight??" Michael looked like someone had slapped him.

"There is only one bed. What else can I do?" Jack said curtly.

'They share one bed...' Michael thought. "Aren't ■3

you scared that Celine will fight with you if she finds out about this?" he asked out loud.

A glimmer of emotion flashed through Jack's eyes, but he curled his lips and didn't answer Michael's question.

After Michael left, Jack closed the door. Then, he turned around to look for Rachel. He had something to tell her.

He had barely taken two steps forward when his phone rang. It was Celine. Frowning, he wondered whether he should answer it or not. At the same time, Rachel came downstairs with a watering pot in her hand.

Seeing Jack, a look of surprise appeared on Rachel's face. "You are still here?"

'What does she mean? Why is she surprised that I'm here?' With a frown, Jack ended the call with a flick of his hand and walked up to her. "Are you free now? Let's talk."

Rachel shook the watering pot in her hand slightly and said, "Well, I have something to tell you too. Let me just take care of a few things first."

Jack nodded and sat down on the sofa in the living room. As he waited patiently for Rachel to return, his phone rang again. This time, he put his phone on silent mode and kept it aside.

When Rachel came over, she sat opposite

Jack.

Although Jack had a solemn expression on his face, he was actually feeling quite relaxed, which could be seen from the way his hands were lazily hanging from the sofa. ■3

On the contrary, Rachel looked quite relaxed, but she was actually feeling a little nervous. She didn't know why Jack had stayed behind.

Finally, she couldn't help but speak first. "What do you want to say?"

After thinking for a while, Jack lowered his eyes and said, "Dad invited us for dinner tomorrow evening."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, guessing that there was more to it than that. "I haven't received any phone calls from him." Then, shifting to a more comfortable sitting posture, she added, "Come on, let's get to the point."

Jack's long eyelashes fluttered as his eyes turned cold. He slightly frowned, as if he hadn't expected Rachel to be so straightforward. Fortunately, that meant that he didn't have to be euphemistic with her. "I'm going out with Celine tomorrow, so I won't be able to make it for the dinner."

Rachel frowned. Was Jack asking her to go there alone? Jack's dad Jonathan lived abroad, so whenever he came back, he wanted to see his son and daughter-in-law.

To be more exact, he wanted to see how things were going between them.

However, this time, it seemed that Jack didn't even want to put on a show in front of him.

Rachel thought about it quickly. Then, lowering her eyes to hide her feelings, she said, "Okay. I'll find an excuse for you so that you don't have to go."

"Thank-" ■3

"But I have a request," Rachel interrupted Jack abruptly.

"What is it?" "Have you thought about the deal I mentioned this afternoon?"

After his initial surprise, Jack looked at her and asked playfully, "What? Have you come up with any new ideas?"

Rachel was stunned. She wondered whether Jack was just blindly guessing or whether he could find out what she was thinking with just a glance. Anyway, the point was, she was worried about Eric. Maybe he could remember her words for now, but for how long would he remain obedient?

If Eric hooked up with Celine again, Rachel wouldn't be able to do anything. She knew for sure that he was not smart enough to handle all these things. There was a saying that went, "If we can't guard the door, we have to go and lay our hands on our enemy."

"I hope you can spread the news that if anyone dares to lay a finger on Celine, you, Jack, will not only cut his hand. Moreover, this news should reach Eric's ears." As a rare case of him being stunned, Jack asked, "What did you say?"

With a serious expression, Rachel said, "Eric is just an idiot. You know that. As for your woman, I don't know how to describe her. I can't stop her from using my cousin."