My Darling, My Dearest

Tears welled up in Julie's eyes as she pointed at the living room across them. "They're waiting for you there." At that moment, Jack had just parked the car.

It was rare for Jonathan to smile these days. "Everyone's here. Why don't we all sit down and have dinner?"

The square table in the Fu family household had been replaced into a round table. Sitting between Jack and Jonathan, Rachel couldn't help but feel a little bit uncomfortable. She took two bites and put her chopsticks down. "I'm full." She smiled awkwardly.

"Have some soup." Tracy asked Julie to bring out the stewed spareribs. She quickly filled a bowl and placed it in front of the young woman.

Tracy actually had no idea why they had gotten a divorce three years ago, so she was incredibly angry.

But after seeing Rachel look so thin and frail, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

Rachel took a sip.

"It tastes good," she praised. "Make yourself at home," Jonathan said, patting her hand. After a moment of silence, he decided to ask,

"How have you been all these years? Have you found someone to take care of you?"

As soon as she heard the question, Rachel choked on her soup. She sputtered out, and couldn't stop coughing.

Jack took a piece of tissue, handed it to her, and patted her back. "Are you feeling better?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes. Thank you." After wiping her mouth, Rachel picked up some fish using her chopsticks and placed it on top of Jonathan's rice. "This fish is delicious. You should try it," she said with a smile. Jack couldn't help but gaze at her.

That was exactly what he wanted to ask her, but it seemed that she didn't admit or deny the fact at all. What did that mean?

The tension between them made everyone uncomfortable. After drinking up the soup, Rachel quickly excused herself and headed to the living room. She sat there quietly for about ten minutes. Seeing that they were almost finished, she was about to say her farewells.

As if Jonathan had read her mind, he quickly said, "Jack, Julie has just gone out. Why don't you make us a fruit platter?" Rachel sighed inwardly and knew she couldn't leave now.

"Rachel, why don't you help him? We all know he might not do a good job," the older man joked. Everyone knew what he was planning.

Tracy immediately rolled up her sleeves. "Rachel's our guest," she reminded. "I'll go to the kitchen to help out."

Jonathan frowned and pressed his wife's thigh, as if implying that Rachel should be the one to do it. "You haven't even finished your meal yet," he pointed out. "Besides, Rachel has been with us for so many years already. She's technically not a guest anymore."

With a small smile on her face, Rachel walked to the kitchen. "I can do it."

Although the kitchen wasn't small, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed being so near to Jack. All she wanted to do was get everything over with.

The glint in Jack's eyes became even more intense as he looked at her.

That day, after he had received a call from his father, he had gone to Fu family house and the two had stayed in the study for around half an hour. They had been silent most of the time until Jonathan had heaved a long sigh. "What's your plan about Rachel?" the old man had demanded.

Without any hesitation, Jack had answered, "Dad,

I never had a change of heart. I still love her."

Taking advantage of their alone time, Jack put down the apple in his hand and approached her. "There's been a misunderstanding about the necklace," he started. "The necklace wasn't even for Celine." It was as if everything silenced around him. He could clearly hear the sound of flowing water as well as his nervous heartbeat.

Jack gazed at her uneasily. Seeing as she didn't say a word, he quickly explained his side of the story.

Rachel turned off the faucet and raised an eyebrow. "Are you finished?"

He nodded.

The more indifferent she was, the more uneasy he became.

Seeing how she didn't seem the slightest bit fazed about their misunderstanding showed how that she might not care for him anymore.

'Has she moved on from me?'

Jack didn't continue to guess anymore. Instead, he pulled her into his arms. "Trust me," he murmured. "Give me a chance to start over." Rachel pushed him away. Her mouth twitched. "Jack, no matter what happens, it has nothing to do with me," she snapped.

"If you really bought the necklace for Celine, then it's a good thing that it's back to its original owner."

He frowned. "I asked Eric to buy that necklace for you. It has nothing to do with Celine.

Can't you stop mentioning her?"

Rachel sneered. "Even when we were together, she's always been there. How could it have nothing to do with her?"

"Even if it does, I've already explained it to you! Why can't you just believe me?" he protested.

"It's not that I can't. It's just unnecessary."

Holding the two plates of fruits, Rachel walked towards the door. "Well, even if you really bought that necklace for me, then I'd use this opportunity to return it to you. It's a good thing that Miss Duan took it back."

After saying that, she pushed the door open and walked out of the kitchen. Seeing the strange expressions on their faces, she knew for a fact that the two of them must've heard their conversation just now. That was fine. At least she didn't have to think of another excuse to leave. Rachel placed the fruits on the table and smiled faintly. "I'll go back first."

The moonlight shone on the plants on both sides of the road. Behind the thin and stringy branches shone the moon. The autumn wind blew against her body.

Rachel was about to search for her keys when she saw a familiar figure leaning against the side of the gate. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to have dinner with you."

Billy finally stood up and twisted his right leg. He had been leaning against the wall for some time now.

"I didn't know you were looking for me. Why didn't you call?"

"Open the door first." He motioned to his legs. "My legs are sore."

Smiling sheepishly, Rachel opened the door.

As soon as he entered the room, he fell onto the sofa. Regardless of how he looked, he lifted his feet onto the tea table, trying to knock some movement into his stiff muscles. "You haven't eaten yet? Do you want me to cook some noodles for you?"

"How about you?"

Bill drank the bottle of water in one gulp before looking up at her. "I called you this afternoon, but your phone was turned off. Is it broken?"

She took out her phone from her handbag. "No, it isn't."

She pressed the screen a few times, only for it to say that it needed to be charged. Rachel laughed awkwardly. "It's out of power."

She quickly cooked up a bowl of noodles and placed it on the dining table.

As soon as the scent entered his nostrils, Bill's stomach rumbled. He felt a lump in his throat as he quickly ate the noodles to hide his embarrassment.

It was only when he was with her that he finally felt the warmth of a family.

Staring at Rachel's back as she cleaned the kitchen, Bill asked, "I went to the hospital this afternoon. I heard that you're off duty tomorrow?"

"Yes." She tilted her head. "Why?"

"My friend has a new farm. Do you want to come with me?"

Bill quickly finished up his noodles and burped loudly. His hand rubbed his stomach in satisfaction.

She stopped for a while and nodded her head. "Okay, I don't have any plans anyway." The farm was located in the suburbs. It actually took them two hours to drive from Rachel's apartment to the farm the next day. When they arrived, it was almost lunch time.

"How about we'll have lunch first?" Bill suggested once he parked the car.

That wasn't actually their original plan.

Initially, they had planned to pick some fruits in the farm before having lunch. In the afternoon, they could go fish and catch up. The peaceful atmosphere was enough for them to enjoy the entire day. However, they weren't able to catch up on the fruit-picking.

"Sure."

"My friend already arranged it."

They talked and looked around, unaware that they were being watched.

Three middle-aged woman shared a look as they peered at the woman not far away. "Isn't she Tracy's daughter-in-law?" one of them whispered.

The woman with short hair was the first one to come to her senses. She quickly took out her phone and took several photos of them. Immediately, she sent them to Tracy on WeChat, asking her, "Is this your former daughter-in-law? She already has a boyfriend! Is Jack still single? Do you want me to introduce him to another girl?"

Middle-aged women were interested in many things, and one of them was setting people up.

They couldn't help but comment on how Rachel and the unknown man looked good together despite the unfortunate end of her and Jack's relationship.

Tracy was unhappy. She couldn't help but recall Rachel's silence when Jonathan had asked her if she was taken. She snorted in disbelief. 'You were the one who divorced my son, and now you have a boyfriend while my son's still single.'

Author's note

Goose BBSS

Translator: Scarlett5555