My Darling, My Dearest

Chapter 437 Glasses Of Wine

Julie lowered her head and looked at her hands. After having thought about it the whole night, she had finally mustered up the courage to speak up. Yet, she felt nervous now that she was in front of Rachel. It was about her salary. "Earlier, Mr. Fu used to pay me my salary. Now that he barely comes here, I was wondering when will my salary for this month — "

Before she could finish her words, Rachel interrupted her.

"If Jack won't give it to you, I will pay you. Don't worry."

Of course, Julie worked for her and she wouldn't make her work without a payment.

Hearing this answer, Julie breathed a sigh of relief. But at the same time, another question brewed in her mind. "Miss, are you and Mr. Jack...?" She trailed off.

Standing up, Rachel said, "There's no need to even include us in the same sentence. There is nothing between us."

Her attitude was a little different. It looked like she didn't like Julie's question. After all, this morning, the paparazzi had taken a photo of Jack and Scarlett coming out of a community. The way they walked out seemed intimate. If they had begun living together, it would only be a matter of days before they got married.

'Marriage!' Rachel thought. She didn't think the thought of Jack marrying another girl would pain her so much.

But obviously, that wouldn't change anything. What she felt didn't matter to him. As soon as he divorced her, he would marry Scarlett.

As the days went, their union was getting shorter and shorter. He would soon become her ex- husband.

Julie picked up the fruit tray and the empty glass on the table and said in a low voice, "Miss, I'll go and clean the kitchen."

Nodding her head, Rachel slowly went back to her room and took out a small bag from the drawer. Inside the bag, there were all her prenatal checkups records. Every time she went to the hospital for prenatal checkups, she came face to face with expectant mothers who were accompanied by their husbands. Sitting next to them, she had heard them discuss the names of their children. But Rachel had no husband to keep her company. Instead, it was always Julie. Jack had never been to the hospital with her.

Not even once had the two of them discussed about their child's name. How she wished to provide her child with a happy family!

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Rachel touched her belly and said in a low voice, "Baby, you are going to follow your mom's surname, okay? If you are a girl, I will give you a princess's name. And if you are a boy, I will make you a prince."

At this time, she only had a child to talk with.

She was tired of telling herself to be strong. All those pent-up rage and sadness needed an escape. And now, she allowed herself to weep. Tears began to slide down her chin. The second she would wipe them, it would fall again. Frustrated, she simply gave up and let them wreak havoc on her cheeks. She permitted herself to be weak today. Yet she swore she wouldn't cry again. 'This will be the last time, ' she told herself.

The next morning, when she woke up, her gaze fell on her phone. Suddenly, she remembered what she had promised Jimmy. Dialing Jared's number, she asked, "Jared, will you be free anytime soon? My friend wants to thank you by inviting you for dinner."

"That's too much. It won't be required."

"Please don't say no. Give him a chance, or else he will take it to heart."

Jared chuckled and said, "In that case, fine. How does today sound? I am going out on a business trip tomorrow and will be away for a whole week."

After they hung up the phone, she instantly called Jimmy. It seemed that Rachel had become a mediator between Jared and Jimmy.

Jimmy was thrilled at the prospect of having dinner with Jared today. Yet he insisted that Rachel should join them. At first, she was reluctant. But soon, Jimmy convinced her by saying that Jared and he didn't know each other well. Her presence would ease the atmospheric. Otherwise, it could get quite awkward. Jokingly, she said this wasn't some kind of a blind date. He had no reason to be so nervous. But in the end she too thought it was more appropriate to go with them.

After work, Jimmy appeared at the gate of the hospital on time, picked her up and set off for the hotel.

As soon as they arrived, they sat in a private room and ordered the dishes. After a few minutes, Jared pushed the door open and came in. Having exchanged greetings, they sat down. "Mr. Yang, you don't have to be so polite," Jared said, seeing how formal Jimmy was being.

At present, the door was open. Jared had forgotten to close it.

When Jack passed by, he heard the sound of few people chattering. He had always been sensitive to Rachel's voice. He could recognize it anywhere. Now he stopped and peeped inside. She was sitting next to Jimmy. Listening to something he said, she lowered her head and smiled.

For a second, Jack froze. He didn't expect to meet her like this. She seemed to be enjoying Jimmy's company a lot. 'Does that mean their relationship has advanced by leaps and bounds?' he thought, his heart thudding against his chest.

A fierce emotion of sadness crept through his heart.

Closely behind him, Austin hadn't noticed the room. But he definitely detected the change in his boss's behavior. "Mr. Fu, is everything fine?" he asked out of genuine concern.

Jack came back to his senses. Trying to compose himself, she pretended like nothing had happened. "Nothing. Let's go," he added in his authoritative tone.

It was a regular dinner night for the Chamber of Commerce. They kept it every month. Normally, Jack would leave after sitting down for a while. But tonight he asked the waiter to open a bottle of red wine. One after another, he went on gulping it down.

Sitting next to him, Austin noticed the shift in his boss's behavior. He asked worriedly, "Mr. Fu, what's wrong with you tonight? You'd better eat something or else I'm afraid your body won't be able to bear it." ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"It's okay. I am fine." Jack couldn't remain sane. The image of Rachel smiling endearingly at Jimmy would pop up in his mind. He thought drinking would provide him with temporary respite. However, the more he drank, the clearer those scenes became in his mind.

With some unease, the president of the Chamber of Commerce noticed something was wrong with Jack. But he didn't have to guts to ask him. Hence, he turned his head to Austin and questioned, "Austin, is Mr. Fu all right?"

"He's okay. You enjoy yourselves, please." With a faint smile, Austin turned his head to look at Jack. The worry in his eyes could not be concealed.

There were five bottles of wine on the table. Jack had finished three of them and was getting ready to tackle the fourth one. Unable to take it anymore, he pressed Jack's wrist and pleaded, "Mr. Fu, I

am going to drive you home. If you continue to drink like this, your stomach will definitely be unable to bear it."

"I'm fine,"

Jack repeated, not willing to leave.

And he flashed Austin a bitter smile. 'Stomach?' he thought and laughed out loud. It didn't matter what happened to him. He could be drunk and hospitalized but Rachel probably wouldn't even pay him a visit.

Just when he went for the fourth bottle, Austin tightened his grip on Jack's hand. Turning to the others present, he bid them his farewell. With Jack, he left the area. Scarlett had just applied a facial mask and was about to take a shower. When she heard the doorbell ring, she rushed to open the door. Seeing Jack's current state, she leaned and went forward to give him her support.

Austin asked, "Do you think you can take him to the bedroom? Or do you need my help?"

"No, I can manage," Scarlett refused in a hurry. "Austin. You'd better go back and take some rest. I can take care of Jack."

After closing the door, she slowly helped Jack lie down on the sofa. Seeing the unconscious state he was in, a scheme gradually emerged in Scarlett's mind.

'How about I do it when he is drunk? When he wakes up and learns about it, he will be helpless. He will then be mine forever!'

Determined to go through with it, Scarlett brought a wet towel from the toilet and wiped his face. Going close to him, she uttered his name several times. He wasn't responding. 'Great!' she thought with relief. With some difficulty, she managed to take him to the bedroom. After letting him lie on the bed, she slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

Before she was done, he clutched her hands.

Scarlett was shocked, her lips beginning to tremble. "I saw you were drunk, so I — "

Before she finished her words, Jack pulled her closer, crushing her against his body. Holding her face with his hands, he implored, "Don't leave me. I really love you."

"Okay, okay, I will never leave you." Scarlett couldn't hide her joy. She closed her eyes and felt his gentle kiss on her forehead, on her nose and then it was about to go down.

She raised her hands and wrapped them around his neck tightly, not wanting to be separated from him. Raising her body slightly, she waited for his kiss. But the next second, she was pushed away ruthlessly. In spite of being drunk, he managed to stand up. Staggering, he caught the wall for support. Before he left the room, he turned around and spat, "You are not Rachel. You can never be Rachel!"

After saying that, he left. Going to the living room, lay on the sofa and fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

Scarlett followed him out. Looking at him sleep, she clutched tightly on her chest. What happened now had left her feeling humiliated.

Last time, he wasn't drunk and he pushed her away. This time, he was out of his mind, yet he wouldn't sleep with her. 'Why can't he love me when I love him so much?' she thought, crying about her misfortune.

Every time, he would compare her to Rachel. Wasn't she nothing in comparison to Rachel?

At first, Scarlett felt lucky that her face was similar to that of Rachel. But now, she realized it wasn't a blessing but a curse. Her face wouldn't give her the license to his heart.

If anything, her face would only remind him more of Rachel. It would be a constant reminder of the fact she wasn't Rachel.

'I curse Rachel! I wish she hadn't existed!' she screamed in her heart. She had never hated anyone in her life the way she hated Rachel.

She went back to her room, but couldn't fall asleep. Taking her pillow and blanket, she came to the living room and sat down on the floor. As time went by, her hatred for Rachel intensified.

Jack was awakened by the excruciating pain in his temples. When he opened his eyes and saw Scarlett on the floor, the memories of last night came rushing back.

He couldn't get up with her on the floor. Nudging on her shoulder, he ordered, "Wake up." His voice was bereft of any emotions.

Author's note

Goose BBSS

Translator: Scarlett5555