My Darling, My Dearest novel Chapter 22

What Jack said made Rachel red with rage, as if somebody had slapped her. Both of them hung up at the same time.

She took a deep breath trying to calm down, but instead let out a forced laughter. What is wrong with me? Why should I get involved in this sort of thing in the first place?

This is insane!1 she thought.

After all she had done for him, his mistress felt wronged and he immediately called her to lash at her. Rachel regretted offering to help him.

Her sullen mood made her want to just doze off. She was about to lift the quilt when her phone lit up, breaking the darkness in her lonely room.

The sound of the unending vibration and the sight of a familiar phone number made Rachel's heart beat faster. She slid the screen and answered the call.

From the other end of the line, a gentle voice she hadn't heard for so long filled in the silence of the night. "Rachel, were you asleep?"

As if the sound of his voice put her in a daze, Rachel blinked her eyes twice to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Not yet," she quickly replied.

"That's great. I was afraid I'd woken you up." His gentle voice hinted of listlessness. "It's three o'clock in the afternoon here. I just got off work." ■3

"You sound really busy," Rachel remarked, noticing the tiredness in his tone. "Please take care and get some rest."

He chuckled, "I'm fine. I had a surgery today, that's why I'm a little tired.

By the way, I will be back in a week."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Hmm." The joy and surprise in Rachel's voice lighted him up, as if all fatigue in his body had suddenly escaped. "Give me one more week."

Devoid of any emotion, Jack instructed his secretary to buy an air ticket for him as soon as possible so he could go and check on Celine. He had been calling her repeatedly, but her phone was off.

He closed his eyes as his fist clenched around his phone.

Cooling down, he once again rang his secretary to take his order back. "Forget it. Don't book the ticket. The schedule is still arranged as usual."

The calmness in his tone surprised even Austin Lin, his secretary. "Have you already...?" Austin Lin started but soon trailed off. After all, this was Jack's private matter.

"I'll call off the air ticket now."

"Austin." Jack raised his hand and rubbed the crease between his eyebrows. "Is it true that I often behave like this lately?"

"What?" Flustered, Austin didn't know how to respond to his boss's sudden question. ■3

"Have I been like this lately? Is it because of her?"

Austin kept silent for a while, trying to weigh in his words and how dangerous the topic could get. "Mr. Fu, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Have you been having quarrels with Miss Duan?"

Jack fell into silence. Celine had been stirring up his anger lately, and he would inevitably bring his anger to work.

They had been having such fights for the past six months and it was always him who would compromise.

As if losing his balance while on the height of these thoughts, he pounded the handrail of the stairs with his fist, careful not to make any sound that Austin might hear from the other side of the line. After seconds of silence, Jack managed to answer in a low voice, "I have brought my personal emotions to work recently. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Mr. Fu. There's no need to apologize," said Austin, sensing the heaviness of the atmosphere.

After a long chat with her friend, Rachel was about to lie down and sleep when her mobile phone buzzed again. A message came up.

"I'm sorry for tonight's phone call. I was emotionally unstable. Please forgive me."

Rachel gripped her phone tightly, squinted, and stared at it closer. She checked the message's log ■3

once more to make sure that she was not having illusions. Indeed, the message was from Jack.

As much as the message surprised her, she had no idea what he was thinking.

After what happened, an apology was totally useless. Rachel always thought that people should always think thrice before acting.

Jack apologizing after hurting Rachel's feelings made her feel ridiculous. She decided to ignore the message.

She made up her mind. She would no more interfere with the relationship between Jack and his woman. If he decided to make trouble for Eric, she would find another way to deal with it.

After returning from his four-day business trip, Jack asked the driver to send him back to his apartment.

Celine sprang up from the sofa and rushed toward the door as soon as she heard someone coming. She had been drunk and home alone ever since she decided to break up with Jack on impulse.