My Darling, My Dearest

Fearing that Jack would figure out, Celine calmed herself down. "How did you get there? I'm currently in my parents' house."

Disappointment flashed in his eyes. "Why did you leave in such a hurry?"

Celine opened her mouth, shocked and nervous. "My mother called me, she wanted me to come home."

She just got out of bed, and her brain wasn't working.

In all honesty, she didn't really know what she was saying. "Well, you know, I haven't gone home in such a long time. I do miss them a lot."

Jack remained silent for a long time.

Celine made her way to the bathroom, her sweaty hand gripping the phone. When she entered, she stared at the pale woman in the mirror.

She had been drinking with them until midnight. She smelled her breath, it stank from the alcohol. Her hair was in a messy bun and her face was swollen. Celine sighed and closed the bathroom door.

She felt her heart clench in guilt because she was afraid that Jack would find out.

Celine swallowed nervously and asked, "Do you want me to go back now?" ■d

"No, you have fun." He hung up the phone without another word.

His reaction knocked her back to reality. All of a sudden, she wanted to explain everything that had happened. Flustered, she dialed again, but he didn't pick up.

Celine stared at her phone in a daze, not knowing what to do. She had a feeling that if she didn't come clean now, then her relationship with Jack would continue to go down.

She buried her face in her arms. She didn't know how to explain it to him. She groaned, regretting that she had kept the truth away from him.

Jack was not the type to be easily fooled.

They had been together for four years. He was well aware of her habits, her hobbies, and what she usually did if she lied.

Home?

She left many pretty dresses on the bed. She must have had a hard time choosing a dress before leaving.

Only when she was hanging out with friends would she choose her dress and shoes carefully.

Jack was furious. He could see through her weak voice that she was lying during the phone call.

He looked outside. His phone kept vibrating, but he kept ignoring her calls. Her voice was the last thing he wanted to hear right now.

He wanted to find out where she was, but after what she did, he cynically scoffed. ■d

'Forget it,1 he thought.

After dinner, Rachel asked Eric to go home. "I can sleep in the guest room tonight, since it's already been tidied up," he said.

"But it has to be cleaned first." She prevaricated.

Eric almost lost his temper. "The cleaning has been finished. I did it myself!"

Rachel patted his head and said, "Well, good job! You're great."

'What the hell?' Eric's veins were throbbing in his forehead. "Hey, don't do that. I'm no wimpy kid!" 'Did she just want to please me like this?' Rachel thought for a while and said, "I will give you a sum of money and buy you some snacks later."

"Really?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I always stay true to my word." She nodded firmly.

Eric stood up and began to wear his jacket. "Alright, I'll get going now. Bye!"

Rachel chuckled as she watched him leave in such a hurry.

She couldn't believe that he was her cousin.

Rachel looked at the time. She didn't know when Jack would arrive tomorrow. She took out her phone and dialed his number, but he didn't pick up.

She placed her phone down and walked to the mess on the floor. ■d

She packed up Mendes' things and accompanied him in watching cartoons. Children were so free. They could roam wherever they wanted and were easily distracted.

Mendes sat still as they watched the cartoon. When it was nine o'clock, she ushered him to bed.

The cartoon ended on time. Even though Mendes was reluctant to part with the television, he obediently followed Rachel upstairs. She was exhausted; she had never taken care of kids before. She had only taken care of Mendes for two days, but here she was, wanting to collapse in her bed and sleep forever.

Fortunately, Mendes was an obedient child. He just needed time to be convinced in following directions.

Before going to sleep, Mendes suddenly asked, "Rachel, when will my parents come home?"

Rachel's heart sank, knowing that she couldn't lie to him about this. In truth, she had no idea when his parents would come home. She couldn't lie that they would come back within the week.

It was so cruel to make a child hold expectations that couldn't be achieved.

She replied, "When you get up tomorrow morning, I will call your father to check when they'll be back, okay?"

Mendes nodded and said seriously, "Can you help me ask him when he'll be done with work? Or when I can see him?"

She nodded with a smile. She lowered her head and kissed on Mendes on the forehead. ■d

Rachel hovered over Mendes, checking on him from time to time. The boy was smiling and wondered if he was dreaming of something nice.

It was still too early for her to sleep.

She grabbed her phone and chatted with Lea, while Mendes slept peacefully next to her. He rolled over and unconsciously placed one of his chubby legs on top of her. She pinched his cheek and sighed. Mendes had been taken care of by his nanny. He often ate fast food and was spoiled to do whatever he wanted, growing to be a chubby boy.

An idea rose to her head, she would prepare a cookbook for him. She wasn't sure if Lucas even had recipes for children.

She consulted the head of the pediatrics department, asking him about the balanced diet for children.

After a while, the director replied, "Wait a moment please."

Rachel felt Mendes pressing his leg against her. She gently moved him away to get a glass of water. Her phone started ringing.

She leaned over to answer and saw the name flashing on the screen. It was Jack.

Rachel crept out of the room and gently closed the door behind her. "Hello?"

"Were you sleeping?"

"Not yet. What's up?"

"Come to my office tomorrow morning. We're ■d

going to sign the agreement."

Rachel was slightly shocked. "Agreement? What agreement?"

"The divorce agreement."

Pacing around, she didn't know what to reply. She walked towards the window and looked outside. "I cannot go there until I'm off duty."

"Okay, I'll pick you up after work and then we'll sign the agreement."

"No, thanks," Rachel said automatically. "Let's meet somewhere else, other than your company. I prefer somewhere near, so that I can go there by myself."

Jack frowned. His company and the hospital were on the opposite ends of the city, making it really inconvenient for them both. He knew if he conceded, then he would have to beat rush hour.

He thought about it for a while and said, "Okay. Just wait for my call tomorrow."

After she hung up the phone, Rachel suddenly remembered that Lucas was going to pick Mendes up tomorrow. How would she be able to arrange the time?

The next morning, Lea arrived at her apartment. When the doorbell rang, Mendes immediately ran to get the door.

Lea was surprised to see the boy at the door.

He asked innocently, "Who are you looking for?"

Lea laughed and touched his cheek. "I'm looking for you. Don't you remember me?" ■d

Mendes looked at her again with his head tilted to one side. He suddenly blushed and whispered in a low voice, "Beauty..."

Rachel, who stood next to the door, curled her

lips.

Lea came here to babysit the child for a day because Rachel couldn't bring him to the hospital.

She owed Lea and wanted to pay her back by having dinner that night. Ever since Lucas came back, they hadn't had the time to get together. Mendes had a great interest in the beautiful

Lea.

After Lea took her seat at the table, he served her milk, fruits and fried eggs.

Then he sat down beside her and handed her the tableware. He said with a lovely look, "Make yourself feel at home."

"Okay, thanks!" Mendes smiled, really happy that she was here. Squinting at him with a smile, Lea lowered his head, kissed him on the cheek. She praised him. "Good boy!" Mendes lowered his blushing face.

Rachel was speechless.

Realizing that she had to leave, she packed up her things. Before she headed off to work, she said, "Don't go out. Wait for me here, okay?"

"Okay!"

"No problem!" Mendes and Lea answered simultaneously.

Rachel was still worried that Mendes might be ■d

too naughty for Lea. She prayed that they were going to be okay.

She knew that Lea had a temper and hoped that she'd be patient with Mendes.

Rachel felt agitated as she went to work. She kept looking at her phone in case something happened. But there were no text messages from Lea. Mendes couldn't control himself when facing the beautiful Lea.

He carefully listened to her and watched cartoons together the whole day.

Mendes didn't understand what the cartoons were saying, but still agreed to watch. He liked looking at the bright colors and the moving pictures.

Rachel had an operation that morning. The patient seemed to have suffered internal injuries after falling from a building. Fortunately, it was treatable and after a few days, he'd recover.