Chapter 196


    After dinner, Rachel called Lea to check on her. To her relief, Lea sounded calm on the other end of


    the line when she said, "Don''t worry. I''ll talk to Henry and settle this problem with him."


    Rachel felt warm in her heart. She then reminded Lea, "Just don''t be impulsive. Think about


    everything carefully before you both make a decision."


    Lea couldn''t helpughing. She deliberately teased, "I know, Mom!"


    Jack, who was listening to Rachel, felt a little jealous. She was so worried about Lea.


    But since Lea was Rachel''s best friend, he must understand.


    For Jack, this kind of issue was just trivial. If Henry and Lea really loved each other, why didn''t they


    just get married?


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    On the other hand, if they had no feelings for each other, it would be meaningless to keep the baby.


    If they thought that the baby was just an obstacle, they should have just given it up.


    This was Jack''s viewpoint but he couldn''t say it in front of Rachel.


    He wouldn''t want to anger her.


    When Rachel hung up the phone, Jack immediately asked hypocritically, "How is it? What


    did she say?"


    Rachel took a deep breath and replied slowly, "Well, there is no big problem for the time being. She


    said they will think about it carefully."


    After a while, she added "We...better be careful." Jack was stunned by her words.


    He couldn''t understand what she meant. "What? Careful about what?"


    Rachel looked up at him. She bit her lips slightly. Feeling extremely embarrassed, she said very


    unnaturally, "I don''t want to be like Lea, so we should take extra care."


    It took Jack a while to understand what she meant.


    His face slightly turned heavy. Although he wasn''t in a hurry to have a baby, he still felt


    ufortable when he heard what Rachel said.


    Perhaps she was only upset by what happened to Lea. To make her feel better, he held her hand


    and said seriously, "We are different from them."


    They were already married, so Jack didn''t see any problem with it. He then added, "Promise me


    that if you get pregnant, let nature take its course, and we will keep the baby, okay?"


    Rachel didn''t want to talk about this topic, so she said, "We''re not having a baby yet. We don''t need


    to talk about it this early."


    Jack''s eyes darkened. He smiled and said, "Who knows? Maybe we''ll have one tomorrow. Or the


    day after tomorrow. Or next week. It sometimeses unexpectedly."


    Rachel couldn''t help imagining the scenario. If she got pregnant, she would vomit all the time, just


    like Lea.


    Actually, she wasn''t ready to have a baby yet. She always felt that something was still missing


    between them.


    Besides, they have just started to fix their rtionship. They needed more time to establish a


    stronger affinity. Now wasn''t the best time to have a baby.


    But Jack thought differently. He wanted to give her aplete family.


    Since Rachel didn''t like the idea of having a baby now, she took her hand away from him, pursed


    her lips, and said, "I told you, I don''t want it now. Why don''t you just agree with me?"


    Jack was enjoying their conversation. It was only recently that they had gotten together, but they


    were already talking about having a baby. For him, it was already a very good progress in their


    rtionship.


    Since there was no one else in the house except them, Jack didn''t have to hide his true nature.


    So he grabbed Rachel on the waist and gave her a domineering kiss. Looking into her eyes, he


    asked, "Why don''t you want it now?"


    Then he added in a pitiful tone, "Don''t you think it''s good? Are you going to have an abortion if you


    get pregnant? Are you?"


    While he was talking, he was gently rubbing his body against her, like a puppy.


    What could Rachel do with a bossy and rascal man like Jack?


    Feeling overwhelmed, she put her hand on her forehead and said, "I didn''t say that I don''t want to


    have a baby.


    I just said, not now."


    She hesitated for a while before she continued, "We need to wait a little longer until..."


    "When?" Jack interrupted.


    "Until I feel at ease," she answered ambiguously.


    At ease? Jack frowned. Hadn''t he done well enough? Did he still make her feel insecure?


    He thought for a moment. Eventually, he lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek. "Okay, I''ll


    respect your decision."


    Actually, Jack wasn''t in a rush too. He just wanted to know Rachel''s stand on it. If she wanted to


    have a baby, he would be d to agree. But if she didn''t want it yet, he was willing to wait for the


    right time.


    "I promise to take care of you when you get pregnant in the future," said Jack seriously. He knew


    that having a miscarriage was harmful to a woman''s body.


    "Okay." Rachel still felt a little embarrassed, so she couldn''t help blushing.


    But she was certain that she was different from Lea. If she got pregnant unexpectedly, she would


    definitely keep it without any hesitation.


    Perhaps she didn''t have so much misgivings in her life.


    She nced at Jack. All of a sudden, she couldn''t helpparing their rtionship with Lea and


    Henry''s.


    Thinking about their current rtionship, she began to ask herself how much she loved Jack.


    All of a sudden, Rachel was reminded of James'' letter in her mailbox.


    She could go abroad for further studies if she wanted.


    She would stay there for at least a year. She wanted to go, but she wasn''t sure if Jack would agree


    to it.


    She was confident that she wouldn''t fall for someone else even if they would be apart for a year. But


    she didn''t know if Jack trusted her that much.


    Therefore, she needed his consent. Although she already had a feeling that Jack wouldn''t agree to


    it, she still needed to consult him before she made a decision.


    Their rtionship wasn''t that stable yet. Rachel wondered what would happen to them if she went


    away for one year.


    Jack might also think the same way, so he probably wouldn''t let her go.


    When Jack noticed that she fell silent, he confusedly asked, "Rachel, are you okay? Is something


    wrong?"


    Rachel shook her head and replied with a smile, "I''m fine. I just remember something."


    Jack observed the expression on her face. He had a feeling that she was hiding something.


    Whatever it was, he might find out soon.


    So, he just kissed her forehead andforted her, "Don''t think too much. We have our own lives


    and way of dealing with problems. Our situation is totally different. You can''t put yourself in their


    ce."


    Jack had assumed that she was acting that way because she was still thinking about Lea.


    Although Rachel knew that Jack misunderstood her, she thought that it would be better that way.


    Things would only getplicated if she told him about the invitation now.


    To conclude the topic, she just nodded her head.


    Two dayster, Rachel got a call from Lea. "I will take him to see my father."


    Rachel was a little surprised. At first, she wondered who Lea was referring to as "him." Then Henry


    crossed her mind.


    "Do you mean Henry?" she asked to confirm.


    "Hmm." Rachel couldn''t help smiling when she asked, "Have you decided to marry him?"


    "I think it''s more appropriate to say that I''ve decided to be responsible," Lea said firmly.


    She was doing it for the sake of the baby in her belly.


    Lea must take responsibility of this little life inside her. The baby was innocent and it should not


    suffer because of her.


    That was the reason why she made up her mind.


    She decided to ept Henry''s marriage proposal.


    Lea would do anything for her baby. She even went to see a psychologist to help her cope with her


    pregnancy mentally and emotionally.


    At the moment, she could say that she had already changed a lot.


    Maybe after they got married, things wouldn''t be as bad as she thought.


    Rachel was happy that Lea had finally figured everything out.


    But Lea was actually a bit worried. Her family might be their biggest challenge. Unlike Henry''s


    family, her family wasn''t that easy to deal with.


    Her father was not a man to be trifled with. She couldn''t help wondering how he would react after


    hearing the news.


    Since Lea had always been a willful daughter, her father might not ept her marriage so easily.


    The more Lea thought about it, the more she felt frightened.


    Fortunately, in times like this, she now had someone beside her to cheer her up. Henry grasped her


    hand and said in a gentle voice, "Don''t frown so hard. You have me."


    Lea held his hand tightly and said deliberately, "Well, this is your turn. If my father beats me, you


    must protect me."


    He nodded and said, "Of course. I will always protect my wife."


    It was the first time that Henry had called her wife. She didn''t know that it would feel so good. She


    smiled as her eyes suddenly filled with tenderness.


    ''Fine! I''ll stop worrying about it. Whatever happens, just let it be,'' she thought.


    She had to ept the consequences of her actions.


    Then Henry shamelessly added, "I''m a good-looking guy. Your father will surely not hit me."


    Lea was rendered speechless. What a narcissist!


    Rachel was in a good mood after knowing that her best friend''s problem was finally solved.


    Jack was in a good mood too.


    No wonder Austin also felt relieved. The pressure these past few days had finally vanished.


    In the past two days, he noticed that his boss always had a smile on his face. However, he couldn''t


    understand why it was inexplicably making him feel bad.


    Jack''s face was always expressionless. It was difficult to tell if he was happy or angry.


    For people who didn''t know Jack, it must be hard to understand. But for Austin, who was always


    with him in the office, it was very easy to tell. He couldn''t help thinking that Rachel was more


    capable of affecting Jack''s moodpared to Celine.