Chapter 143


    Jonathan red at Jack. "He wouldn''t dare!"


    Jack gritted his teeth in an effort to control himself. He couldn''t stand it anymore. He felt like if he


    stayed here any longer, his father would just make all his decisions for him.


    Without saying anything, he abruptly got up and walked out of the room. After a moment of


    hesitation, Rachel followed him out as well.


    As they left, Jonathan and Eric, who were having a pleasant conversation in the ward, turned and


    looked at the door at the same time.


    Then, they turned back to each other with tacit smiles in their eyes.


    It was only when Jack reached the balcony that he realized that Rachel was following him.


    He put away the pack of cigarettes in his hand and asked indifferently, "Why are you leaving the


    ward too?"


    Rachel smiled thinly. "To let them talk."


    Then, after a pause, she added, "Actually, I came out to say thank you."


    There was a flicker of emotion in Jack''s deep eyes before they became unreadable once again. He


    put his hand on the balcony railing and lightly tapped on its edge with his slender fingers.


    "For what?"


    Rachel nodded her head and said earnestly, "Thank you so much for your help in the past few


    days."


    Upon hearing this, Jack smiled bitterly and stepped closer to Rachel, towering threateningly over


    her.


    Rachel couldn''t help but nervously take a step back, cornering herself against the balcony railing.


    Just as she prepared to push Jack away, however, he stopped in his tracks.


    Then, pursing his lips, he said in a low voice, "Do you think I did all those things just to hear a thank


    you from you?"


    Hearing a hint of turbulence in his voice, Rachel held her breath.


    Her intuition told her that if she answered yes, he would be furious.


    "No. It''s not like that..."


    "Then why do you think I did those things?" This time, he moved closer to her until his face was


    almost touching hers.


    As Rachel looked into his mysterious eyes, her heart skipped a beat. She had nowhere to retreat,


    but she didn''t dare to push him away. In the end, she leaned against the railing and turned her head


    to the side so that she wouldn''t have to look into his eyes.


    Unable to answer his question, she tightened her lips. Fortunately, the light was too dim for Jack to


    see the awkward expression on her face.


    Still, he wasn''t going to let her go until he got


    an answer out of her.


    Although there was a light breeze blowing on the balcony, it couldn''t do anything to quell the heat


    between them.


    As Jack continued to stare at Rachel for an answer, he became distracted by how beautiful her face


    looked in such close proximity.


    He started to y with her long hair leisurely, rolling her locks around his fingers. Her jet ck hair


    was as smooth as silk to the touch.


    Rachel parted her lips involuntarily, feeling breathless all of a sudden. Finally, she mustered up her


    strength to ask, "Jack, can you please step away?"


    "Hmm? What''s wrong?" Jack asked, feigning innocence.


    Rachel stood still for a moment, feeling dumbfounded. Then,ing to her senses, she put her


    hands on his chest and gave him a big push.


    Unexpectedly, Jack didn''t budge even a little bit. Finally, taking a deep breath to calm herself down,


    she asked, "Can we just speak normally? What if Dades out and sees us like this?"


    Jack snorted faintly and muttered, "He will be happy if he sees this."


    His voice was so soft that Rachel didn''t catch his words even from such a close distance.


    She looked up at him and asked nkly, "What?" "Nothing," Jack replied lightly,


    finally stepping back to give her some space. "Rachel..."


    "What?"


    "Do you also think that I am too idle these days?"


    Rachel was taken aback by this question.


    Before she could find the words to answer him, Jack continued, "Rachel, I really want to start over


    with you. And I''ll prove myself with my actions.


    I''ll never make the same mistakes I did in the past again. I just hope you don''t reject me. Can you..."


    ''...give me a chance to make it up to you?''


    He couldn''t bring himself to finish that sentence out loud because he knew that "make it up to you"


    were not the appropriate words for what he wanted to convey.


    What he hoped was that they could start afresh, as if they were meeting each other for the first time.


    It would be unfair to Rachel to say that he was doing all these things just to make it up to her.


    Both of them knew that she didn''t need him to do such a thing.


    As for Rachel, even though Jack didn''t finish his sentence out loud, she knew what he had meant to


    say.


    She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her head, making it impossible for her to think straight.


    Whatever it was, she could deny that she was moved by Jack''s words.


    But this feeling was so unfamiliar to her that it made her panic. All of a sudden, Lea''s words shed


    in her mind. ''Am I really out of my mind?'' she asked herself.


    Almost five years had passed with Jack not getting along with her. But now that they were about to


    divorce, he wanted to start over?


    Although she didn''t say all these things out loud, Jack knew what she was thinking.


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    However, he was confident that he could prove his sincerity with his actions and gain her trust.


    So, he held her hand casually and said, "Don''t think too much about it. If you think I''ve changed,


    you can give me a chance to start over again. But if not..."


    Anyway, Jack had a strong feeling that Rachel would not say no to him


    because he had seen the change in her attitude in the past few days.


    She certainly wasn''t indifferent to him anymore. What he was afraid of now was not that he couldn''t


    make her love him, but that he would havepetition.


    If there was a better man by Rachel''s side who did not have such a messy past with her, he would


    be at a disadvantage.


    When Jack and Rachel finally returned to the ward, Jonathan and Eric continued to chat with each


    other, pretending not to notice them. After a while, Jonathan finally got up to say goodbye.


    Before leaving, he specially asked Jack to stay behind and help Rachel. "I''ll deal with thepany


    affairs, so you don''t have to worry too much."


    He was willing to do anything to help Jack save his marriage.


    Jack smiled and nodded at his father in response.


    Rachel, who was clearing the table and preparing Eric''s medicine, turned around and said, "Dad,


    are you leaving? Let me drive you home."


    Jonathan pointed to his son and replied, "Jack can drive me home. You can stay with Eric."


    "Okay, I''ll stay here tonight."


    For the past few days, she had been staying in one of the spare rooms meant for family members.


    Both Eric and Jack had suggested that she hire a nurse, but she had declined. She had no problem


    staying here all day.


    However, Eric felt sorry for Rachel and didn''t want her to get exhausted looking after him.


    "Okay. I''ll drive my dad home ande back tomorrow," Jack said.


    Lying on the bed, Eric murmured something in a low voice, but Jack pretended not to hear him and


    gave Rachel a meaningful look.


    Immediately understanding what he meant, Rachel blushed and turned her head to avoid eye


    contact with him.


    It was not until Jack and Jonathan left that Eric turned his curious eyes to Rachel. He patted the


    space on the bed beside him and said, "Rachel,e here." Rachel closed the door and then sat


    on the bed. "What''s wrong? There''s no need to make that face."


    Eric was frowning deeply as if he had eaten a lemon.


    ''It hurts!''


    Eric cried in his heart. But out loud, he asked,


    "Rachel, what''s going on between you and Jack?"


    Rachel hadn''t expected Eric to ask her about this so directly. "Nothing," she said as nonchntly as


    possible.


    Eric curled his lips and said, "I''m not blind, you know. Tell me the truth. Jack has beening here


    the past few days to look after me. It''s really a nightmare for me to have him around!"


    Rachel nervously rubbed her nose with her hand. Then, she bowed her head and thought for a long


    time before asking, "What do you think of Jack now?


    How is he these days?" For a moment, Eric was dumbfounded. Then, he looked at her in disbelief


    and asked, "Are you serious?"


    Rachel shrugged. "I''m just asking. Do you think he has changed?"


    "Yes, he has. It''s quite obvious."


    Then, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he continued, "Rachel, has he been bewitched? How can


    someone''s personality change like that? I''m curious."


    If Jack were here, he would shoot daggers at Eric with just his eyes upon hearing this.


    Rachel didn''t know how to reply, but she was vaguely d that she had someone to discuss this


    with.


    She knew she couldn''t talk about it with Lea, who would probably fly into a rage. And it would not be


    appropriate to discuss this with Lucas.


    Of course, it was also strange that Eric was the one she was finally talking about it with.


    ''But maybe he doesn''t understand what I am talking about...'' she realized.


    "Jack said... he wants to start over," she exined.


    Eric repeated those words several times as if in a trance. Then, finally realizing what she had been


    trying to ask him, he said stupidly, "Rachel, are you saying he has fallen for you?"


    Rachel nodded her head shyly. "That''s exactly what I mean."


    "Fuck! Is he out of his mind?"


    "Can we have a civil conversation about this?" Rachel snapped. What did Eric mean by saying Jack


    was out of his mind? Was he insult Jack or her?