My Darling, My Dearest

Jack frowned. Now, he was sure that he didn't wrong Celine. This was all just her trick!

Seeing that the man in front of him had gone silent, Eric felt strange. "Why did you ask?"

"Did you tell Celine that you bought this for Rachel?" Jack wanted to get all the details before he could confront any one of them.

Eric wrinkled his nose in disgust. "And how is that possible? I never had a word with her."

He glanced at his watch. Ten minutes had already gone by. "If it's okay with you, I'll be leaving now. I already got tickets to the movie, so I'm in a hurry."

Jack nodded, but as Eric was about to walk out of the office, he suddenly asked, "Who did you go with to buy that necklace?"

"A friend," Eric replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Girlfriend?"

"Not exactly, but she might be." He grinned. "I'm already late. I'll get going now."

Zoe kept glancing at her watch every now and then. Her heart raced in her chest as the feeling of restlessness grew inside of her. At this point, she couldn't even stay still. 'Jack's smart. What if he already figured it out?'

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go." Eric patted her on the shoulder. When he realized how her face had gone pale from his voice, he immediately apologized, "Crap, did I scare you?" She slowly relaxed. "No. Did Mr. Fu ask you about work?"

"No. It's actually about the necklace." He was a very straightforward person. Besides, he didn't think there was anything wrong with telling her about it.

"Oh, is there something wrong with the necklace?"

"Who knows?" Eric shrugged.

Zoe didn't continue. Although she relaxed a bit, her mind was swimming with endless scenarios. She knew for a fact that Jack wouldn't be able to sit still until he didn't find the culprit.

Autumn was already coming in early. Trees on both sides of the streets were blooming as their leaves varied from different shades of green, yellow, orange, and red. The scenery looked like a canvas ready to be painted.

On her way home, a smile slipped into Rachel's lips as she appreciated the fragrant scent of fresh flowers.

She had just finished her morning duty. When she came out of the hospital, she finally received a message from Lucas that said that he had finally found Iris. It seemed that everything was going all right on his boat.

Since he sent her a message, she knew that he wasn't angry at her anymore.

Rachel felt less guilty over it now.

"You're back."

Seeing that Rachel was standing by the gate of her village, Jack quickly got out of the car and raced towards her.

She gazed at him indifferently and was about to bypass him when he grabbed her arm.

"Let me go," she said coldly.

He tightened his grip. "Let me explain..."

After knowing the entire story, he wanted to explain it all to Rachel.

With Celine up to her old tricks again, he was afraid that she wouldn't be able to give him a chance.

He even drank some alcohol to help him regain his confidence before speaking to her.

He had never expected that he'd get scared of confronting Rachel.

Rachel waved her hand. "There's no need to explain. It's best that we don't see each other anymore. I don't want to be involved in your relationship with Celine.

Besides, we've already divorced."

Pain flashed in his eyes. "Rachel, you know that

"Rachel!"

Jack glanced to whoever had called out her name. The next second, Rachel used this opportunity to break from his hold and walked to Bill. She held his arm and smiled sweetly. "Let's go somewhere, okay?" Staring at their receding figures, Jack wanted to catch up to them, but it felt as if his two feet were nailed to the ground.

His heart ached at the sight.

The car drove down the broad road. Glancing at the woman beside him, Bill asked lowly, "Where are we going?"

"Wherever."

She didn't know where to go. All she wanted to do was get away from Jack.

The moment she saw him, she knew that all of this was part of Celine's plot. But she didn't care. They were already divorced.

She might as well use this opportunity to cut the relationship that had never been there in the first place.

Rachel finally snapped out of it and pointed at the signs in front of her. "How about the park over there?" she suggested. "It says it's newly renovated, so we can go have a look."

The park at the center of the city had been there for more than thirty years. A lot of its infrastructures had lost its original appearance after being exposed to the wind and the sun for too long.

This year, the government made sure to invest money into renovating the park. Now, it became even more beautiful and classic.

As she walked down the cobblestones, she glanced at Bill. "When did you come back?"

"Last night. I came back late. That's why I didn't tell you."

Recalling what he had just seen, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes. "You and

"

Before he could even finish his question, Rachel quickly changed the topic. She pointed on the trees decorating their line of sight. "There are more and more osmanthus trees around the block. You know, osmanthus blossoms can used in making pastries." "Andy always makes pastries out of them." He smiled faintly.

"I used to collect osmanthus blossoms, you know? But ever since I got to work, I never did it again."

Rachel sighed. It seemed that the faster life was, the more she tended to ignore the little bits of happiness around them.

Although the trees might look nothing much, they brought back a lot of childhood memories.

As she walked around the park, Rachel found that the breakfast she had been holding had already gone cold. Sighing, she said her farewell to Bill and returned home.

"I brought you a sandwich. Do you want to try it?"

The next day, before Rachel could even enter her office, Celia's voice echoed down the corridor.

The entire department had been bustling ever since she started working here.

"I already had breakfast."

Celia pouted, motioning to her prodding belly. "I really can't eat anymore." She sighed. "It's going to be such a waste." She was about to throw it to the trash can when Rachel grabbed her arm. "You can eat it later. Why did you even buy that much?" Celia pouted. "Marcus was the one who bought it."

A faint smile threaded across Rachel's lips as she went back to her office. As soon as she sat down, she suddenly remembered about the case that the emergency department had requested. She forgot all about it.

She walked out of the office. "Celia, are you free?"

As soon as she walked out, she could see that the woman had crumbs all over her mouth. It seemed that Celia wasn't that full at all. Rachel burst into laughter. "Forget it. I'll do it."

Rachel had planned to ask her to go to the emergency department to pick up some documents, but now, it seemed that she had to go by herself.

When she arrived at the emergency department, she was quickly informed that the doctor she was looking for was on duty in the outpatient department today. This was why Rachel decided to look for him there. What she didn't expect was to run into another familiar figure.

Jonathan had been suffering from a cold these past two days, and his throat was aching. He decided to go to the hospital today to get it checked.

He had just finished his examination when he saw her pass by. "Rachel?" he called out uncertainly. It never occurred to Rachel that she would see him here. "Uncle Jonathan, why are you here?"

He waved his hand and felt disappointed upon hearing that. "I caught a cold, nothing serious. When did you come back? Why wasn't I informed?"

Rachel helped him sit down. "I was supposed to visit you in two days," she admitted. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, my health isn't as good as it used to be. You've been gone for three years." Although he chuckled, one could hear the sadness laced in his voice.

She lowered her gaze.

"It's no matter. I'm glad you're back. Why don't you come for dinner once you're free? Tracy and I miss you a lot."

"I will." Rachel glanced at the bill in Jonathan's hand and took it. "Rest here. I'll pay the bill and give you the medicine."

"Okay."

Jonathan didn't refuse. As she stood behind the line, he took out his phone and dialed Jack's number. "Why didn't you tell me that Rachel's back?" he demanded.

Two days later, Rachel received a call from Jonathan. She didn't think that he would really ask her to come and have dinner with them. She thought they were all just polite formalities.

She got off work early that day. She rushed home, changed her clothes, and headed to the mall.

She was conflicted.

Although she wanted to visit Jonathan and Tracy, she felt it awkward since she and Jack had divorced.

She quickly walked into a clothing store and bought two cashmere sweaters for each of them. Then she set out to the Fu family house.

"You come back, Mrs. Fu."

Julie, the maid in the house, took her hand and smiled. There were more wrinkles around her face, but the kindness in her eyes hadn't changed.

Rachel hugged her and said softly, "Just call me Rachel."

Author's note

G°°se fiSEQ

Translator: Scarlett5555