My Darling, My Dearest

That was the only reason he could think of. Otherwise, why would Iris leave all of a sudden?

Before Rachel could answer, Lucas sneered. Heartache flashed in his gaze. "I trust you," he spat. "I trust you, and this is what you did to me? You just had to help my father separate us!" "I didn't... It's not what you think!"

Even she was unsure with her own words. As she saw his retreating figure, she fell against the wall, as if all her strength had been drained away.

When she arrived at the hospital, Rachel went straight to James' office. "I have something to ask you," she said hesitantly.

"Is it about what happened last night?"

James poured himself a cup of tea as if he was unaffected by what had happened.

"Last night, did you say anything to Iris while I was away?"

Rachel could only hope that Lucas was wrong about all of this.

She hated being used, especially by elders she actually trusted. Instead of answering her directly, James took out another tea cup from the cabinet and poured her some scented tea. He motioned for her to come closer. "Have a taste. My wife bought it last night."

Pursing her lips, Rachel could already feel her heart sinking.

Sighing, James said, "Okay, you're right. The purpose of that dinner was to ask Iris to leave him.

Do you want Lucas to lose everything?"

"All I want to know is the truth."

He took a few steps towards her. "You don't need to know that," he dismissed. "I'll explain it to Lucas."

"I have to know," she insisted.

"Fine. Last night, when I asked you to go out and pay the bill, I told Iris that you were the only daughter-in-law in our hearts. Except for you, we will not accept anyone into the Zhou family," he said with no regrets.

Rachel could already feel herself sinking into her seat. A wave of exhaustion hit her.

Suddenly, the saying "I didn't kill him, but he died because of me" became expressively clearer.

Although she might not have played an active role in ending their relationship, she was the reason why their relationship was destroyed.

A bitter smile slipped into her lips. 'Are the people around me only there just so they could use me?' she thought. Back then, she had always respected James. The man was like her father. He was the one who had been there for her every step of the way.

Now, it seemed as if she became just another pawn in his chessboard.

Heaving a sigh, Rachel forced herself to go back to her office and cheer herself up. At this point, maybe she didn't need to be such a doormat in the future. Her forehead creased.

She forced herself to stare into her computer and start on her workload.

Holding a bag of chocolate biscuits she had just bought, Celia popped her head into Rachel's office and furrowed her eyebrows at the woman sitting in front of her.

When she asked her to taste the biscuits, she adamantly refused her and asked her to leave.

Although Rachel had refused her several times in the past, she would always concede in the end.

Today was a different story.

Before she could even open her mouth, she already asked her to leave. However, being Celia, she didn't leave immediately.

"Do you really not want to try?" she insisted.

"I have too much work to do," Rachel said indifferently. She didn't even bother to lift her head.

"Are you in a bad mood?"

"I'm just busy with work."

Rachel was always the type of person who was closed-off. She didn't have the habit of telling other people what was on her mind. The only person who could get her to open up was Lea.

Not believing her, Celia shook her head. "You're being really weird today. This morning, you went to Mr. Zhou's office and stayed there for quite a while. Were you scolded?"

"No, Celia, but I'm a hundred percent sure the head nurse will scold you if she sees that you've left your rounds."

The bar had always been lively, but in one of the VIP boxes, the lively atmosphere was nowhere to be found. Michael patted his companion's arm. "Go out first. We have something to talk about," he whispered. Without any complaints, the woman walked out of the room. The quiet box became even more silent. Michael glanced up at Marcus. "How did you know that? Do you still talk to Rachel?" He ignored Jack's dark look.

Jack also wanted to know why Marcus knew how much of a bad mood Rachel had been in the past two days.

Marcus rolled his eyes defensively. "Someone told me. Why do you ask so many questions? It's not as if it's any of your business."

"Come on, man, tell me," Matthew insisted. "Maybe you could lift Jack's spirits. I mean, look, he even got a pimple on his face because of it."

There was indeed a red mark on Jack's forehead. However, it wasn't a pimple, but a mosquito bite from last night.

Michael joked, "He's more than thirty, and he's getting pimples because of a woman," he swooned mockingly. "Oh, how touching!" "Enough!"

Jack interrupted. "Is she the nurse we met last time?"

"Yep." Marcus wasn't surprised that the man figured it out.

Celia was the one who told him.

Ever since they met at the hospital, they kept in touch on the Internet.

A smile broke into Jack's face. "Good job, man."

"Wait! Who are you talking about?"

Michael sat up. "What nurse? Why didn't I know?"

He had always been a curious man.

Jack motioned to the man beside him. "You can ask him."

Marcus had no idea why Rachel was in a bad mood.

Although Jack wanted to know, it wasn't as if Rachel was willing to tell him after what their relationship had gone through.

A bitter smile slipped into his lips.

Eric giggled in front of the computer. Ever since he helped Zoe fix up her laptop, their relationship had skyrocketed.

Now, from time to time, they would watch a movie together and sometimes even try out a few restaurants.

In his opinion, they were already gradually becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. They just didn't have a label yet.

He planned to ask her out on the weekend. While he was indulging his thoughts, someone patted his shoulder. Eric stood up abruptly, wanting to find who had distracted him but when he saw that it was Jack, his anger vanished. "Mr. Fu," he said sheepishly.

"Chatting during work hours?"

Eric quickly closed his app. "I'm just talking for a while," he explained quickly. "Don't worry. I already finished all my work."

"Come with me. I have something to tell you."

Eric had always been afraid of Jack, especially when it came to the workplace. According to the employee manual, no one was allowed to do anything unrelated to work during working hours. He wasn't expecting that he'd get caught like this!

He lowered his head and followed him.

Jack took out a check from his pocket and gave it to him. "Take it."

Eric's eyes widened. "Are you giving me money?"

'I thought he was going to fine me.'

He placed his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, you're my hero. You know how I'm in need of cash right now. Don't worry. Once I get my salary, I'll pay you back."

Jack snorted. "Who said it was for you?" Michael had always said how stupid Eric could be. It turned out that the man wasn't wrong.

Eric furrowed his eyebrows. "Then what is this for?"

"Rachel's in a bad mood these past two days. Go to the mall and by something for her."

Eric slouched.

"Why don't you buy it yourself?

"Have you forgotten what happened to the ointment?"

Jack had hoped that he would be able to choose it himself and give it to her in person, but it wouldn't be the right time for that.

Besides, Eric couldn't hide anything from her. Even if he bought something to Rachel and hid the fact that it was from Jack, she would immediately find out.

It would be better for Eric to buy it himself as to not to arouse her suspicion.

When he saw the helpless glint in the man's eyes, Jack chuckled. "The rest of the money is yours."

'Is that my commission? It's already too much!'

Eric raised his eyebrows. "Thank you so much, Jack." Eric went back to his seat and sent a message to Zoe. "Are you free after work? Let's go to the mall. I have to buy something for my cousin."

In the past two days, Rachel still hadn't recovered from the incident.

Although she sent an apology message to Lucas, she still received no reply.

She even went to the emergency department to see him, but they told her that he had asked for a long leave. No one knew when he'd come back.

Author's note

G°°se fiSEQ

Translator: Scarlett5555