My Darling, My Dearest

Chapter 430 Do You Really Not Care

Rachel smiled at Celia, but her calm face belied the turmoil in her heart. She said slowly, "Well, I can't confront that woman, nor can I get even with Jack. I should not be angry for the sake of the baby I'm carrying. That's the reason why I said that this matter has nothing to do with me."

She flashed the other woman another smile and added, "It's getting late, Celia. You should go back to your work now."

In a daze, Celia nodded and walked out of the office. She closed the door and slowly pulled her hand away from the doorknob. Her head tilted quizzically, Celia stared at the door in confusion.

She came to Rachel's office this morning to see her reaction while keeping everything a secret from her. Since Rachel had already found out, she was hoping that Rachel could clarify everything with Jack. However, it seemed that Rachel was not going to do so.

Behind the door, the smile at the corners of Rachel's mouth disappeared. She picked up the newspaper again and spread it in front of her.

The bite mark on her lips remained obvious. She gently touched her injured lip, feeling the scab that had started to form over it. Rachel barked out a short, self-deprecating laugh. Last night, Jack held her in his arms and asked her why she couldn't forgive him. In the blink of an eye, he went to another woman, and his news of his latest indiscretion was plastered all over the media.

How could she forgive him and his behavior?

Rachel felt a bit stupid for feeling worried about Jack the night before. She even called up Michael and asked him to take care of him.

Belatedly, she realized that Julie must have stuffed the newspapers in the cabinet earlier that day.

Rachel raised a hand and rubbed her face. Although she kept telling herself not to care and overthink, she couldn't keep herself from feeling bitter and heartbroken.

Scarlett had been packing the whole morning and finally put everything she needed into her suitcase. She carefully placed a folded a piece of paper containing an address into one of the suitcase's outer pockets. She was about to step out when her doorbell rang.

She hurriedly opened the door and was surprised when a young woman threw her arms around her neck and held on tight. "Scarlett! It's been a really long time!"

It was Scarlett's younger cousin, Kailey Chen, who had been working as a receptionist in a hotel in another city. She had seldom visited Scarlett before.

Scarlett firmly pushed her cousin back by the shoulder and asked, "Have you been fired again?"

Kailey took a step back and scratched her head with a sheepish look on her face. "No, I quit."

Kailey never made good grades as a student, so she ended up going to a vocational school. After graduation, she went to another city with others from the same school. However, she had never held a stable job and often switched jobs every two months.

When her family found that she had been working as a hotel receptionist for nearly two years, they all felt relieved at the thought that she had finally found a stable job. They wouldn't be pleased to find out what happened to Kailey.

At the sight of Scarlett's frown, Kailey latched onto her arm and said fawningly, "Scarlett, our relationship has always been the best. My parents have no idea that I'm back, so please help me hide form them, okay? I'll definitely get scolded again once they find out that I'm out of a job again."

Scarlett's mouth twitched. She was about to deliver some scolding of her own when her phone rang. The driver of the cab she had booked said that he had already arrived downstairs, so she had to

give up on the scolding and poked Kailey's forehead. "I'll teach you a lesson when I'm available." Kailey chuckled and suddenly noticed the suitcase in Scarlett's hand. She asked, "Are you leaving?"

At those words, the corners of Scarlett's mouth turned up, and she replied with her eyes dancing merrily, "I got myself a boyfriend. He just gave me a house, so I'm moving in today."

"Can I come with you?"

Scarlett couldn't resist her cousin's request and the temptation to show off. The two cousins went to the gated community together and found the house. She opened the door with her key and relished Kailey's amazed exclamation behind her.

She kept asking, "Scarlett, what sort of boyfriend are you dating? How could he give you such an awesome house?

This is even better than the presidential suite in my hotel!"

Scarlett listened to her cousin's comments and non-stop questions, her vanity satisfied at once. She smiled proudly and said, "I will introduce him to you someday."

"Forget it. It's shameful to introduce someone like me to that boyfriend of yours."

Kailey knew very well what kind of person Scarlett was. She walked up to her cousin and again linked her arm through hers, saying in an ingratiating tone, "When you become rich, don't forget that I'm your cousin. You know that I have nothing: no job, boyfriend, or money."

Scarlett had lived her entire life envying other people. Now that she was the one being envied and flattered by her cousin, she felt such an ego boost.

Seeing her cousin's expression, Kailey immediately knew that she said the right thing. She looked down and saw the folded clothes inside Scarlett's suitcase. An idea immediately occurred to her.

"Scarlett, I didn't bring any clothes with me, and we're the same size. Can you give me some of your clothes?"

Seeing Scarlett's hesitation, she added, "You have such a rich boyfriend who is willing to give you a house. For sure, you'd have no problem getting him to buy you lots of beautiful clothes. How about..."

She deliberately trailed off. Scarlett's hand hovered over her suitcase. That was right-Jack left a bank card for her when he left. Although she didn't know how much money was actually in it, she knew that it couldn't be a measly amount.

Besides, she really wanted to show off in front of her cousin. Finally, Scarlett waved her hand airily and said, "Okay, these clothes are yours. I'll just ask my boyfriend to buy me better clothes."

As soon as Jack returned home, Julie met him by the door. She glanced at him hesitatingly every once in a while. She looked like she had something to say.

He asked, "Have you seen the news this morning?"

"Yes." Julie nodded and added, "I hid the newspapers from Miss Shen. I don't think she'd be able to stand it."

"Would she?" ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Jack murmured to himself. Seeing Julie's inquiring eyes, he shook his head and said nothing. He turned on his heel and went upstairs.

He pushed open the door of Rachel's bedroom and saw an open suitcase on the foot of the bed. It was not empty—instead, the suitcase contained several articles of clothing and her skin care products.

Jack stepped forward and squatted down. The divorce agreement lying on top of the suitcase's contents was glaringly visible.

Did she really have no feelings for him? Was she just biding her time until she could leave him?

Could it be that he had become a stumbling block in her path, not the person who could hold her hand and be with her for the rest of her life?

Jack lowered his eyes and suddenly felt a burning sensation behind his nose.

Although Rachel tried her best to act as if nothing had happened, she was sure that her productivity at work had definitely suffered. The report, which she could normally do within two hours, had taken her an entire day to finish.

Julie was already waiting by the door when she got out of the cab. "Miss Shen, Mr. Fu is back."

"I see," she replied in a faint voice.

Usually, Rachel would go to her room and change her clothes as soon as she got home. That day, at the thought of Jack being upstairs, she sat down on the sofa and played a mobile game.

When she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs, she pretended not to hear anything. She only bent down to peer at the little mobile game character jumping up and down on the screen like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Jack narrowed his eyes, which held a dark, inscrutable look. He thought of the news that had been out for the entire day now. Whether in the newspapers, Internet portals, or social media — his name was a hot topic everywhere.

He was sure that Rachel had seen it. Contrary to what he had expected —and hoped for-she was as calm as ever, leading Jack to conclude that she really didn't care about him anymore.

Jack's grip on the handrail tightened, and blue veins stood out on the back of his hand. For a moment, he closed his eyes and opened them. The anger had bled out of his eyes, leaving them flat. He slowly walked forward and said coldly, "We need to go to a dinner party tomorrow evening."

Without raising her head, Rachel replied, "I can't go. I don't have the time."

Jack's lips curled up in a travesty of a smile. "Have you forgotten what was written in the divorce agreement?"

'How dare he threaten me with this!' Rachel seethed inwardly, but her face remained masklike in its serenity.

She stood up and walked over to stand before him. She said expressionlessly, "I can only spare two hours tomorrow night."

She didn't know what kind of dinner she was going to attend or who would show up, and she didn't ask—she wasn't even interested, anyway.

On the following day, Rachel had just turned off her computer and was about to head out when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it and saw a smiling Austin standing at the door. "Miss Shen, Mr. Fu asked me to pick you up."

"Ah, thank you."

In the car, Rachel found that Jack invited several employees to dinner tonight. These people were the ones who were in charge of all of the company's affairs during his hospitalization. The small dinner party was held at a seafood restaurant across from the MK Group building.

When Rachel and Austin arrived, the two tables within the private function room were already occupied. Upon their arrival, everyone rose to their feet. One of the employees peered at them and

said in a disappointed tone, "Austin, why isn't Mr. Fu here yet? Is he even coming? Are we supposed to pay for dinner ourselves?"

"Do you really think that Mr. Fu is that kind of person?" Austin pulled out a chair and motioned for Rachel to sit down.

She noticed an empty seat next to her and guessed that it was Jack's. He was the one who invited her to this dinner. Why was he running late, then?

Author's note

Goose BBSS

Translator: Scarlett5555