Chapter 15 The Fourth Time
Chapter 15 The Fourth Time
Jack hadn't expected that he and Rachel could get along so peacefully.
He had assumed that Rachel would at least get mad after he had treated her younger brother the way that he had, but she didn't!
This woman didn't take him seriously at all!
Jack didn't think it was a big deal. He was somehow grateful for her attitude. In fact, he now felt that he had been right to have married her.
As long as Rachel did not deliberately stir up trouble, he would definitely make it up to her after their divorce was finalized.
At nine o'clock, the doorbell rang, its sound filling the apartment. Right on time. Jack stood up from the sofa and went to open the door.
Stuart Liu, the Fu family's driver, stood at the door. He respectfully greeted Jack, "Good morning, Mr. Fu."
Stuart Liu was a loyal servant under the employ of the Fu family. He had been driving for them for the longest time and had an excellent relationship with Jonathan. For this reason, Jack regarded him with great respect.
Stuart Liu didn't come in. He looked at his watch and said, "Your father awaits you at home. There is some traffic on the way today, and so the drive home will take more than an hour."
There was one characteristic that all members of the Fu family shared: punctuality.
After a pause, Jack said, "Wait a moment. I'll go get her."
Jack returned to the second floor. Rachel had changed into her own clothes and was about to go downstairs with her bag.
Her dress caught Jack's attention. She straightened her collar, stopped mid-walk, and looked him up and down. "What excuse do you have?"
"Don't worry about it. Just come with me downstairs."
They went downstairs, one after the other. Jack crossed the living room and stopped a few feet away from the door. Rachel followed close behind him. He then walked closer to the door with her right by his side.
Stuart Liu was waiting patiently at the door. Jack and Rachel got closer and closer. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand.
Reflexively, she tried to pull away from him, but she failed. Jack was holding her hand securely in his.
A trace of surprise flashed across Stuart's face when he saw the two come out of the house hand-in- hand. Then, the corners of his mouth curled up into a satisfied smile.
What had been an expressionless face quickly softened. Stuart Liu said, "Let's go. Let's not keep your father waiting."
Realizing what was happening, Rachel stopped struggling. Finally, she let Jack hold her hand. At first, she had no interest in pretending. Everyone knew how cold and strange their relationship was.
After the three of them had gone down the next series of steps, Jack's phone rang. He made a gesture of apology, let go of Rachel's hand, and excused himself to answer the phone.
With a faint smile on his face, Stuart Liu asked, "Mrs. Fu, has Mr. Fu been sleeping here the past few days?"
Rachel felt as though her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Stuart Liu wouldn't be asking her this question for no reason. She guessed that he must have heard something.
She answered with a puzzled look, "Sometimes, he comes over, but he doesn't stay here every day."
Her answer seemed ambiguous. Jack and Rachel had been married for five years, and this was the fourth time that Jack had stayed overnight in this place.
Of course, they had never slept together.
Stuart's eyes shone with relief. He nodded and said meaningfully, "Seeing you and Mr. Fu getting along would make your father the happiest person on earth."
Rachel did not let her smile expose her guilt. It was true that they now got along well, but it had been difficult to get along in the way that was expected of a married couple.
After ending the call, Jack returned. Frowning, he told Stuart Liu, "Stuart, there's something I have to deal with. You and Rachel can go ahead."
'Such a stupid excuse to escape!' Rachel thought.
Having been informed that Jack couldn't go with them, Stuart Liu nodded. He was here to pick them up, and he couldn't force Jack to go back with him.
Without saying a word to Rachel, Jack turned around and went to the garage. Rachel took out the remote control and aimed it at the door, opening it for Jack. A moment later, he pulled out of the garage in his Land Rover.
Rachel turned to Stuart Liu. "Let's go."
Jack impatiently smacked the steering wheel as he drove. All the while, his phone kept ringing. He glanced at it but didn't pick up.
He drove at full speed. In less than twenty minutes, he was at Celine's place.
This apartment where Celine lived now had once been Jack's. After marrying Rachel, he had moved out. After that, he had let Celine live here.
According to Celine's conditions, he was not allowed to touch her until he had finalized his divorce. Therefore, he had never slept here after Celine moved in.
It was Celine's best friend, Rona Zhou, who opened the door. When she saw Jack, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She pointed to the bedroom door and said, "You should have a look. She locked herself in there last night. I spent hours trying to get her to come out or even just talk, but she wouldn't. Until now, she still hasn't come out of there."
Jack's lips were pressed into a thin line, and his eyes darkened. He hurried toward the door and turned the knob only to find that the door was locked from the inside.
Rona Zhou, who stood behind him, whispered, "I can't find the key."
Jack didn't respond. He raised his hand and knocked at the door. "Celine, open this door."
Getting no response, he kept pounding on the door. His patience was wearing dangerously thin when he and Rona heard a muffled cry from inside the room. "Go away! This is none of your business!"
Jack, enraged, addressed Rona Zhou without turning his head, "Step aside."
The woman, seeing the cold expression on Jack's face, obeyed without a word. Jack stepped back, took a deep breath, and then charged toward the door, kicking it forcefully once he was close enough.
The door fell onto the floor, accompanied by a loud crash and a frantic screaming.
It broke into pieces, and dust filled the air. Celine was still screaming hysterically.
Meanwhile, in the Fu family's house, things were not much better. Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
"Call him back!" Jonathan growled, frowning. "What could be more important than having dinner at home with family?"
Rachel replied earnestly, "Maybe something urgent has come up at work. He looked terrible when he left."
Jonathan wasn't convinced. He snorted and said, "I think that was just a lame excuse. He's getting bolder and bolder. He won't even show up for dinner now!"
Jonathan grew red with rage.
Rachel wracked her brains to try and find ways to comfort him. Meanwhile, Tracy Li, Jonathan's wife, was deeply disturbed by what he had just said.
In addition, she couldn't wrap her head about how useless her daughter-in-law was as a wife. Why, she couldn't even defend Jack!
Tracy Li tried to defend her son amidst Jonathan's anger. "I don't know what you're talking about. I can't imagine how sad Jack would feel if he had heard what you just said! He is a hard-worker. He's already constantly thinking about work. He can't possibly be bothered by other, unimportant things, such as going all the way home for dinner."
Jonathan still didn't buy it. He sneered and said expressionlessly, "It's a woman."
Rachel held her breath. Jonathan was indeed Jack's father. He seemed to know very clearly how Jack's mind worked. She thought as if she was talking to Jack, 'I'm trying my best to help you out this time. You better not have gone to Celine.'
Upon hearing Jonathan's remark, Tracy Li grew pale. She looked awkwardly at Rachel, but to her surprise, Rachel was showing no emotion.
Tracey Li felt embarrassed. She clenched her teeth and couldn't even speak. She just sat there, not saying anything.
If Jonathan knew nothing about his son's whereabouts, how could he have made that comment? How could he have said that Jack had gone to a woman instead of the company?
Rachel slightly tugged at Jonathan. Her expression didn't change, but what she said next startled the couple.
"Dad, you think too much. Jack and I slept together last night."
There was a moment of silence. Tracy Li stared at Rachel in shock. Even Jonathan turned his head stiffly. "What?"
Suddenly, a voice from behind them said, "I can testify to that. I have seen proof just this morning."
Jonathan, thoroughly shocked, almost fell from his seat. He hadn't seen or heard Stuart Liu come in. The loyal driver then approached and placed a leather bag on the table.
With a straight face, he told Jonathan, "Mr. Fu, you left something in the car last night."
"Oh. Hmm..." Jonathan was scared, but he subconsciously bent forward and raised a hand to open the bag. When his fingers and the bag made contact, however, he felt there was something wrong with
what Stuart Liu said. He straightened up in his seat and asked, "What exactly did you see?"
Hearing her husband's words, Tracy Li, who had just recovered from the shock, froze again. Rachel, however, acted calmly. It was as if all of this had nothing to do with her. She picked up her cup and took a sip of her tea.
Stuart Liu shot Jonathan a confused look. "I saw them coming out of the house together."
Jonathan glanced at Rachel but remained silent.
The latter put down the cup and patted his hand in an effort to comfort him. "Don't think too much."
It was true that she and Jack had been in the same house. No one needed to know that they didn't sleep in the same bed.
As long it was working out for the best, she didn't mind lying.
Jonathan tried to understand what was happening. Rachel had always been a proper, well-behaved woman, and she would never lie to him. He felt so embarrassed that he had doubted her and his son.
After having delivered Jonathan's things, Stuart Liu turned around and went out as if he had not witnessed anything strange.
Once Tracy Li had regained her composure yet again, she opened her mouth slightly. She wanted to ask about Rachel and Jack's relationship but felt too embarrassed to speak.
Jonathan didn't know what to say at all. He had heard about Jack getting into trouble with a woman called Celine. There had even been a mix-up at a bar because of her!
However, hearing what Rachel had said, he felt so embarrassed that he couldn't say anything.
At this moment, whether Jack was out there looking for a woman or at the company taking care of work was no longer very important.
Finally, one of the servants approached, breaking the silence and the awkward atmosphere. "Mr. and Mrs. Fu, the food is ready."