Chapter 370 Rear-end Collision


    In Rachel''s opinion, Marcus must have been tired of his family affairs. Being born and raised in a


    well-off family, he might have been bored with money and other material things, so the simple and


    unsophisticated Celia attracted his attention. Perhaps she was like a breath of fresh air to him.


    But the way Celia behaved in front of Rachel was unforgivable.


    Rachel couldn''t figure out why Celia had thought that she had a hand in the rumors that spread


    about her. After all, they were friends. ''She is supposed to trust me,'' she thought annoyingly.


    The flow of traffic gradually became slow. Rachel was carefully following the car in front of her, but


    her mind was wandering, keeping her focus away from the road. As a result, she failed to notice


    that the car in front of her had already stopped. She only realized that she made a mistake after


    hearing the loud bumping sound.


    "Oh, my God! What have I done?" she muttered under her breath. She peered through the window


    and noticed the big dent at the back of the other car.


    The owner of the car got out. His face turned red in an instant after seeing how much damage his


    car had gotten. Brimming with rage, he rolled up his sleeves, knocked on Rachel''s window, and


    roared, "Get out!"


    As soon as Rachel got out, the man pointed to his car and roared again, "Is this your first time to


    drive? Who the hell issued a driver''s license to someone like you?"


    It was indeed her fault, and she was more than willing to own up. But she was stunned watching the


    man cursing in front of her, not showing even an ounce of decency. She couldn''t take it any longer,


    so she said with a frown, "I''m sorry, sir. But don''t worry, I''ll make sure to pay for all the damages to


    your car. I''lle with you to the repair shop, so we can check how much it will cost."


    Upon hearing that she was willing to pay, the man''s face softened a little and he said, "You don''t


    have to waste your time, miss. Just give me the money, and I will go to the repair shop to have it


    fixed."


    It sounded like a fair deal to her, so without wasting any more time, she asked, "How much do you


    need?"


    The wicked man unhesitatingly demanded an exorbitant price. Raising his two fingers, he motioned


    and answered, "Twenty thousand dors will do."


    Rachel stared at him, hoping to see any sign that he was only kidding. But he looked earnest with


    his words, so she gave him a disgusted look and called the traffic police and her insurance


    company. She then said to the man, "At first, I thought that it was my fault, and I wanted to sort it out


    quickly. But now I realized it would be much better if we go through the normal process. Let''s wait


    for the police to arrive."


    The man red at her and was about to curse her again when her phone suddenly rang. He had no


    choice but to watch her get back into her car to answer the call.


    It was Jack, who asked in a tired voice, "Are you home?"


    "No, not yet. It''s only five o''clock in the morning there in America. Why are you up so early?"


    Jack was smiling bitterly at the other end of the line when he replied, "I''ve been busy since I got


    here. And now that I have some free time, I am missing you miserably."


    Before he could continue sweet-talking, he suddenly heard some noises in the background.


    Frowning, he asked, "Why is it so noisy? Where are you?"


    Rachel raised her head and peeped outside. The traffic police were very efficient to arrive within a


    few minutes. They were now standing outside, listening to the man''s rant. ''I wonder what he is


    telling them,'' she thought worriedly. She had to get out of the car and speak to them. She was about


    to end the call when one of the traffic police came over and knocked on her window. He asked,


    "Miss, did you hit that gentleman''s car?"


    She hadn''t ended the call yet, so Jack surely heard everything. To prove her suspicion right, she


    heard him yell, "Rachel, are you okay? Have you had an ident?"


    This time, she had no choice but toe clean. "Yes, I had a rear-end collision. The traffic police


    are here now, so I have to deal with them first. I''ll call you back once I sort everything out."


    For the traffic police, this kind of road ident was an everyday urrence, so it was only ordinary.


    They spoke to both parties involved and get their statement, then Rachel signed the full


    responsibility ident report, and let the insurancepany take care of thepensation.


    As a result, the man was not able to get an extra penny despite his determination to gain some


    money out of it. Thus, he was a bit annoyed seeing how the problem was solved so easily. He


    became more and more impolite and even gave Rachel a death stare from time to time.


    Feeling quite disturbed by how he was behaving, Rachel lowered her head, pretending she wasn''t


    seeing him. She then fixed her gaze to the insurance staff, who was filling out some documents.


    However, the man came to her again and cursed. She couldn''t take it anymore, so she retorted,


    "You know what? This is my first time toe across with such an ill- mannered man like you. I''ve


    apologized to you from the very start and took all the me for my mistake, yet I see no change in


    your attitude. Are you not satisfied that I am doing my best to make amends for my carelessness?"


    Rachel gained support of the onlookers surrounding them. The insurance staff and the traffic police


    also agreed with her. All these made the man get more annoyed. He touched his nose and vented


    his anger on the insurance staff. "Are you not finished yet? You people are working at a snail''s


    pace!"


    All insurancepany staff were used to people talking nicely to them. Normally, those who were


    involved in idents would use the politest tone when conversing with them to coax the insurance


    company to pay morepensation. After all, they had the final say on how much the insurance


    company would pay.


    But this man was quite different. Writhing with rage, he kept on bbering unreasonably. It looked


    like he didn''t even know what calmness meant. If he thought that being crude would help him, he


    made a huge mistake.


    After the insurance staff quickly checked everything, he pped his hands and said, "There is no


    debris on the ground. I only found some dents and scratches on the trunk. The car can easily be


    repaired and repainted. The total cost is around..."


    But before he could finish his words, the man patted him on the shoulder stiffly, pointed at the tilted


    rear bumper, and said, "Are you blind? Can''t you see any problem here?"


    "Oh..." The staff pretended to be enlightened and said, "Yes, there is indeed something wrong here.


    However, I was busy listening to you bbering that my mind got so distracted. Because of you, I


    wasn''t able to do my job properly."


    The man understood that the insurance staff was taunting him as if saying it was all his fault.


    For the first time, he was rendered speechless.


    It was already nine o''clock in the evening when they were able to settle everything. Rachel was


    starving, but she was also too tired to stop by a restaurant, so she came home with an empty


    stomach. She soon realized that Jack must be worried about her. She dialed his number


    immediately and briefly told him about what had happened.


    She could hear his long and deep sighs from the other end of the line as she filled him in. When she


    finished, he said, "You must always be careful and take good care of yourself. I will finish my work


    here and will be back in no time."


    Needless to say, today''s incident had rattled him. He couldn''t help thinking that something bad


    might happen to her in his absence. Without giving her a chance to speak, he continued, "When you


    sleep, make sure the door is locked. If you get into trouble, don''t ever try dealing with it alone. Call


    Dad for help." ''Why will I bother Dad?'' she thought inwardly. No way! She would never disturb the


    old man.


    "Jack, you are worrying way too much. I don''t think there''s a need to trouble Dad. Just get your


    work done ande back soon, okay? I miss you!"


    "But please consider him if something goes wrong. I''m sure he won''t mind," he insisted. There were


    a few seconds of silence before he added seriously, "I will finish my work and be right there. My


    heart doesn''t feel good without you."


    "I will be waiting for you."


    Têxt ? N?velDrama.Org.


    They continued to chat until Jack received another call. Left with no choice, he reluctantly hung up


    the phone. After everything, Rachel now realized how hungry she was. Her stomach was growling


    nonstop.


    She thought of cooking some noodles for herself, so she got up. She was on her way to the kitchen


    when the doorbell rang. As soon as she opened the door, Lea was standing outside with a bag of


    take-out food. Grinning, she said, "Your favorite chicken curry with rice is here. Still steaming hot!"


    Although she felt strange at Lea''s sudden appearance, Rachel still smiled and asked, "Why are you


    here? Didn''t you go to the shop earlier to try the bridesmaid gown?"


    When she opened the box, she smelled something delicious, and her appetite grew bigger. She


    went to the kitchen to get the chopsticks when she heard Lea said intively, "You two are always


    like that. How do you think I can be in the mood to try my bridesmaid gown alone?" She was


    referring to Celia and Rachel.


    Rachel took out two pairs of chopsticks and handed one pair to Lea, but thetter refused. "No,


    thanks. Enjoy your dinner. Celia and I had some food outside before I came here. I was actually on


    my way home when your man called me and asked me toe here. He said he was worried


    about you. He also asked me to bring you dinner. He''s worried that you will starve yourself to


    death."


    ''My man...'' Rachel thought with a smile.


    Although she and Jack had been married once and would remarry soon, she still blushed every


    time any of her friends mention about her rtionship with Jack. She quickly lowered her head and


    stuffed rice into her mouth to hide her embarrassment.


    Lea took an orange and started peeling it as she said, "Celia told me everything. This woman is too


    stupid not to distinguish good people from bad ones."


    At first, Lea found it hard to convince Celia to tell her. Thetter just kept on saying that she was


    fine and refused to tell her what happened between her and Rachel.


    Eventually, she pretended to be angry. "It''s okay if you don''t want to tell me. Since your fight with


    Rachel has nothing to do with me, I won''t meddle in your business. After all, why should I worry


    about you? Only Rita is already enough to worry me." She then stood up and was about to leave.


    As expected, Celia gave in. She held Lea''s hand and started to exin anxiously, "It''s not that I


    don''t want to tell you. It''s just that I don''t know what to say."


    "What do you mean? Just tell me what happened." Lea had to force herself to act like a big sister


    even though she already felt tired of doing it.


    But after hearing Celia''s story, she couldn''t help feeling really angry this time. She poked her


    forehead with disappointment and said, "Are you that stupid? Don''t you know what kind of person


    Rachel is? How could you misunderstand her just like that? You are out of your mind!"


    Lea drank up the coffee that the waiter had just served in one gulp out of anger. She only came


    back to her senses when the bitter taste ran through her throat. She realized that she was so mad


    that she forgot to add sugar and milk to her coffee.


    She immediately tossed candy into her mouth and said, "It''s all your fault!"


    Celia gently pushed her cup of coffee towards Lea and offered, "Drink mine. It doesn''t taste bitter."


    Actually, she also regretted what she did to Rachel after giving it a careful thought. Her mind was in


    a mess because of Bertha, and in the end, she vented all her anger on Rachel, who did nothing but


    care about her every day. She wanted to apologize, but she was too shy to do it. That was the


    reason why she avoided to see Rachel now.


    Feeling uneasy, she asked with a frown, "Lea, I know that I''m stupid. But what should I do now? Do


    you think Rachel will forgive me if I apologize to her?"


    "What do you think?" Lea took a glimpse at her and said, "Don''t worry, Rachel is not a


    narrowminded person."


    Rachel listened silently to Lea, telling her whole conversation with Celia while she was eating. It had


    been a while, but she still didn''t say anything.


    Lea patted her arm and asked, "Are you really angry with her?"


    Author''s note


    Goose BBSS


    Trantor: Scarlett5555