My Darling, My Dearest

Chapter 164

Austin exited Jack's office after the conversation.

Jack looked blankly at his computer screen. A pen spun atop his slender fingers.

Austin had aired his observation. For the past two days, he appeared to be slacking off at work. Jack was chagrined to realize he committed mistakes.

The man had never allowed his business to suffer before. Definitely not for any private matters.

He prided himself of his discipline in drawing a line between his public and private interests. He didn't expect that he would bend his self-imposed rules by falling in love with Rachel.

In the meeting earlier, Rachel had sent him a message asking what he wanted for dinner.

Ignoring his subordinates, he had chatted with her with a dash of excitement, the meeting totally forgotten.

The pen finally stopped, and Jack, who was thinking for a long time, finally made a decision.

What Austin stated was totally justifiable. He had allowed his emotions to override his reasons. He needed to strengthen his resolve and separate public affairs from personal ones.

After working hours, Jack drove back without waiting for news from Rachel.

The rain fell steadily without let up since morning. Alongside the road, leaves drooped under the weight of the droplets, adding a striking color to the foggy weather.

His piled up work and health condition put him in a consistently bad mood lately. He was only in a good mood if Rachel was beside him, but because of work, he couldn't accompany her often.

He needed to squeeze out time from his busy schedule if he wanted to spend time with her.

Although Rachel didn't know what he had done, it didn't matter.

It was a good thing to get the snail slowly come out of its shell. From being wary of him, she was now willing to come closer to him.

They were barely making any progress. But now, it was getting much better.

Jack felt intensely happy when he reached his apartment. His eyes were fixed on the brightly lit window.

He clearly knew that from the day Rachel moved in, the light in his house would always be on.

Rachel did nothing for the whole day. Jack was a neat freak and had stringent conditions with the housekeepers.

In particular, they had to clean up and kept things in order. His obsession with cleanliness warranted that every corner was flawlessly swept, dusted, and scrubbed.

They all observed the rules. Basically, a housekeeper was scheduled to do the cleaning

once every two days.

Although the house looked cold and cheerless, there was never a trace of dust or grime.

As a result, Rachel did not need to clean anything except for her own mess when she decided to cook.

Her days were idled and feathered without a hurry. She walked around in the morning and then went back to have a rest.

Jack sent lunch for her by noon. Rachel was woken up by a phone call and found out that he ordered her a meal.

As it turned out, Jack was here to supervise her and not the other way around.

She was so embarrassed with herself that she planned Jack’s dietary plan for the rest of the afternoon.

She meticulously planned his meals and even consulted with one of her previous schoolmates, who was a nutritionist.

She was so busy, she didn't notice the time. When she received a phone call from Jack, he was already at the door.

"It’s not necessary to follow the plan down to a tee. The most important thing is to have a good rest, pay close attention to avoiding the irritating food, and just take good care of yourself," the nutritionist stated over the call.

Rachel understood what she was saying. They chatted for a while longer and the nutritionist discovered that Rachel was customizing the plan

for someone.

She asked a few more questions, and when she learned that it was designed for a man, her curiosity was drawn.

She kept asking Rachel, who the lucky guy was that made her do such trivial things.

With so much attention and detail to every meal, there would be no better care for the patient.

What was more, she was a heart major and not a gastroenterology major.

Rachel couldn't resist her interrogation and was about to find an excuse to say goodbye. Then, Jack came back.

She hurried off under the pretext of closing the door.

The lady was very eloquent. Although they only talked via Internet, Rachel was afraid that she might find out the truth.

She was not good at telling lies. Her only way out was to dodge her questions and escape from her.

Jack tried to reach home as soon as possible. When he landed at the doorway, he paused and waited for Rachel to open up instead of opening the door by himself.

He rang the doorbell for a moment, and then heard the door being opened inside. Lights flowed out as Rachel pulled the door.

"You're back." The woman he liked stood at the door and welcomed him. Jack didn't know how to describe how he was feeling at the moment. A wave of warmth filled him up, spilling out from his heart.

Before he could ponder about it further, Jack yanked her in his arms and kissed her hard on the lips.

Rachel was caught off guard. Before she could make any reaction, she was lead into the house by Jack. When the door shut, she came to her senses and looked terrified.

"Are you frightened?" he teased.

She angrily shoved him away. Of course, she was alarmed! As soon as the door opened, she was seized and kissed by a man. Her mental fortitude wasn’t that strong.

"I almost slapped you!"

"No way!"

"Why not? I thought I opened the door to a pervert!"

He laughed, his eyes glowing in mischief as he viewed his surroundings. The house felt a little different because of the existence of another person. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

A water cup was on the center table, and another pair of shoes were on the floor. Even the dining table was neatly set.

He only disappeared for a day, but so much had changed already.

Rachel took a final survey at the meal plan before tidying up the table. "Do you want to go to the supermarket?"

He moved beside her and took a peek at her notes. "Are you going to buy some fruits and vegetables?"

Rachel nodded. She looked at her watch, it was only six in the evening. It was still early in summer, but the skies were dark with all the clouds and rain.

"Then let's go!"

She went back to her room and took a quick change of clothes, while Jack made a phone call.

They were out of the apartment a few minutes later.

The rain had subsided. The street lamps were lit, casting a glow on the rain-kissed sidewalks.

Inside the car, the radio played an unfamiliar English song. Soft melodies filled the air.

Rachel listened to the song and hummed in a low voice while Jack was focused on driving.

The scenery outside the car swiftly shifted into a blur. Not long after, they arrived at the mall. Moving within the stalls, Jack was in charge of pushing the cart, while Rachel was picking up goods.

Although they only intended to buy some food, they took their time and roamed between the isles.

After going through the food shelf, Rachel wandered around, looking for other things to buy.

They rounded a corner and got to the children’s toy section. A group of shoppers with mostly children gathered around a saleswoman promoting a product.

The voice of the woman was amplified by the headset she was wearing. The sound was deafening, Jack and Rachel exchanged a look and chose to bypass the area.

Before they could detour, the saleswoman said something to the crowd. The children suddenly got excited, rushing forward and screaming.

The scene became chaotic. The adults, who were smiling earlier, all grew nervous.

The kids wanted to grab the toy she was holding. They never anticipated that the simple event could lead to a mishap.

Jack moved closer to Rachel, looking at the mess in front of them. "Let's go somewhere else."

As he was speaking, two kids pushed each other in front of them. One of them, a plump kid, stumbled and fell on the ground in front of their cart.

He broke into tears, which startled the crowd.

The ruckus died in a snap, everyone was dumbfounded.

The boy slumped and continued to bawl loudly. No one knew what was going on.

Perplexed eyes kept looking at each other, but none of the parents rushed forward.

His cries reverberated loudly in the room, which forced Rachel and Jack to stop from leaving.

Seeing the child in a miserable state, other children and parents came up to comfort him.

When Jack was about to leave with Rachel, the

kid's sister turned up.

The woman wore a long dress. She walked through the crowd and squatted in front of the child anxiously. "Daniel! What's wrong with you?"

The boy cried pitifully. "Rona!" He stretched out his chubby arms and jumped to her.

"He was hit by that cart!" one of the children in the crowd said, which made Jack and Rachel confused.

They turned their heads and met the eyes of the worried sister.

To their surprise, it was Rona, a good friend of Celine.

Rachel had met her on various occasions, and Jack was quite familiar with her.

When they randomly met each other, all of them were stunned.

Before they could explain themselves, the mother of the kid scooted to drag his son back. "I'm sorry! My child did not see it clearly. He fell down by accident. These two people did not knock him down. Is he alright?" she clarified.

Learning what had happened, Rona turned to look at her brother. She was relieved after making sure there was no wound on his body.

Jack and Rachel, who didn't speak one word from the beginning, were almost caught in a misunderstanding.