Chapter 432 Those Days Are Gone


    Rachel immediately pulled her hand away at the sight. Jack, who was sitting opposite her, frowned


    tightly and almost stood up, but Rachel was already at her feet, smiling and addressing the others,


    "I''m afraid that some things require my attention, so I have to leave first. Please enjoy your meal,


    everyone.''1


    She turned around and walked slowly out of the restaurant to where a ck car was parked in the


    dark. Wearing a ck trench coat, Jimmy stood beside the car and smiled at her.


    Rachel walked over and smiled at him apologetically. "I''m so sorry for asking you to pick me up."


    "Don''t worry about it." Jimmy opened the door of the passenger seat and ced his hand on her


    head to protect her, telling her to be careful. He walked around the front of the car, got in, and drove


    away.


    Neither of them saw Jack exit the restaurant and stare after them with a bone-chilling coldness in


    his deep, dark eyes.


    Inside the car, Rachel sat with her open palms outstretched toward the heater vents. Almost


    instantly, she felt a lot better. She smiled and said, "You can drop me off at the next intersection. I''ll


    take a cab home."


    She really didn''t want to stay at that dinner for a minute longer. When she saw Jimmy''s message


    thanking her for apanying Gary that day, Rachel jumped at the opportunity for escape and


    asked him to pick her up.


    Still, she felt a slight burn of embarrassment.


    Jimmy turned his head and saw the apologetic look on her face. With a gentle smile on his lips, he


    said, "I can drive you to your house. You don''t need to call a taxi. Ah, and I have something for you."


    "What is it?" she asked, her apologetic look morphing into confusion.


    He smiled and said, "Gary''s school will be holding a variety show next week, and he will be ying


    the violin onstage. He told me to invite you to watch his performance."


    Rachel looked surprised but pleased. "Wow. He ys the violin?"


    Jimmy''s eyes darkened, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "His mother did, so I let him learn


    it."


    For a moment, the atmosphere in the car became a bit morose. Rachel didn''t know what to say, so


    she just closed her eyes and rested for a while.


    After she got out of the car in front of her house, Jimmy handed her a red invitation card from his


    briefcase. "You don''t have to force yourself toe if you don''t have the time," he said kindly.


    "No, I''d love to see Gary''s performance."


    With a slight smile, Rachel ced the invitation card into her bag and turned her back on the car


    after a final wave. When she entered the house, she found out that Julie had already retired to her


    room.


    She didn''t eat much in the evening. She wasn''t hungry at the moment, but it would be more


    troublesome for her to wake upter if she became hungry in the middle of the night. Rachel went to


    the kitchen first, made some noodles, and went back to her room.


    After washing up as usual, she leaned against the headboard and turned on a podcast on prenatal


    education for a while. Her thoughts were full of the possibility of Jack noting home tonight.


    The rtionship between him and Scarlett should have be stable by now.


    The thought brought a small pang of pain in her heart. She turned off the podcast, pulled the quilt


    over her body, andy down. She closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep. Maybe sleep could


    finally silence these wayward thoughts.


    Fortunately, after tossing and turning for a couple of times, she gradually felt herself getting sleepy.


    She was just about to drift off when the bedroom door mmed open. Shocked, Rachel started


    trembling in fear.


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    Then, the light in the bedroom was switched on. Rachel opened her eyes, sat up, and saw Jack


    standing at the bedroom door. He smelled like alcohol and outside air, and his eyes zed with a


    cold fire and a strange, unreadable expression.


    Rachely down again, pulled the quilt over her body, and said coldly, "I''m going to sleep. Please


    leave."


    He chuckled, walked over to stand by the bed, bent over, and ced one hand on her face. He


    opened his mouth and said coldly, "Rachel, I really don''t know you anymore."


    As he spoke, he gently slid his fingertips from her eyebrows to her chin. Suddenly, he grasped her


    chin, and his hold gradually tightened. "Or, should I say I never knew you at all?"


    She remembered what had happened in the restaurant. He embarrassed her in front of his


    employees, and she endured it then. Now, he had the gall to question her like this just because she


    exchanged a few words with Mr. Wang.


    Did that make him unhappy? What about him? Did he ever think about what made her unhappy?


    Rachel was too tired to struggle and said in a weak voice, "Everyone lives behind a mask, don''t


    they?"


    "A mask?" Jack''s lips curled up churlishly. "Then why don''t you wear the mask you used to wear?"


    Rachel retorted in irritation, "Those days are gone. Do you think I can still hide behind the same


    mask?"


    He gritted his teeth and said, "So, you just hook up with men casually these days? Up to what point


    did you and Jimmy reach?"


    "Hook up? What point?"


    Rachel repeated his words andughed sarcastically. She had no idea why he had been dwelling


    on Jimmy. Impatiently, she said, "Think whatever you like.


    Besides, I never ask you about your rtionship with Scarlett, so you have no right to ask anything."


    She had barely finished her sentence when the bedsidemp shattered into pieces beside the bed


    where it was violently hurled to the floor by Jack.


    He roared out in a loud voice, "Rachel Shen, did you even care about me at all? Don''t you feel any


    pain when you see me with her?"


    On the day before yesterday, Jack received a call from Tracy, asking him to visit her. He thought


    that they would be discussing his discharge from the hospital, but she didn''t say a word about it.


    When they met, Tracy asked with a serious look on her face, "Are you sure that the baby in


    Rachel''s belly is really yours? Does the baby belong to the Fu family?"


    "Of course," Jack answered without hesitation.


    Tracy frowned and said nothing. She silently shook her head, seemingly lost in thought, which made


    Jack feel a little uneasy.


    At the same time, his mind adamantly refused to process what she was implying.


    No matter what she was about to say, Jack didn''t want to know.


    He stood up and said lightly, "Mom, I have something to do. I''m leaving now."


    "Sit down!"


    Tracy suddenly shouted and grabbed Jack''s arm to stop him. "I specifically asked you toe here,


    and now you want to leave before I finish?"


    Jack frowned and said, "I really have several matters to deal with."


    Tracy pouted. "Maybe so, but they''re no more important than what I''m about to say."


    She picked up her teacup from the tea table and took a sip to moisten her throat. After a few


    moments, she said, "Rachel has a friend called Jimmy Yang. Do you know him?"


    "I know."


    Since he saw them at that restaurant, Jack had sent someone to look into the man''s background.


    Naturally, Jack knew his name. However, he didn''t know why Tracy mentioned him in their


    conversation.


    Tracy snorted. "His mother is one of my friends. When I drove her to their home today, I ran into


    Rachel at their house. From what I heard from my friend, it seems like Rachel and her son are


    together. Do you understand what I''m saying?"


    Her words were met with silence.


    With a straight face, Jack didn''t answer. Out of his mother''s sight, however, he clenched his fists


    and slowly loosened them. The sternness in his eyes gradually disappeared, and he said lightly with


    a smile, "Mom, you''re misunderstanding something. They are just ordinary friends."


    "Ordinary friends?" Tracy repeated and shook her head. "That''s not it. My friend was very happy


    with their rtionship, and she even asked me to stop introducing women to her son."


    With a calm look on his face, Jack held his tongue. After Tracy finished her words, he stood up and


    pointed at his watch. "Mom, I''m reallyte, so I have to go now. Let''s talk about thister."


    As he stepped out of the house, however, Jack could no longer keep his calm and rationality. His


    eyes burned, and angry thoughts churned in a mess inside his head.


    Thus, he started treating Scarlett well and exhausted all means to be a good boyfriend to the


    woman. It was nothing but an borate ploy to make Rachel jealous and maybe care about him.


    Now, here they were, and Rachel was telling him, "I''m not interested in your rtionship with her at


    all, and there''s no need for me to be angry."


    All of a sudden, Jack burst intoughter that sounded cold and bitter. His deep eyes were as sharp


    and piercing as a knife. "Okay, d to know."


    He then whirled around and left, mming the door shut behind him.


    Rachel felt the onset of a dull headache, and a buzzing sound filled her head. If not for the broken


    lamp beside her, she would have thought that Jack only appeared to her in a dream —a nightmare,


    more correctly speaking.


    How could she not care about Scarlett''s existence?


    If she didn''t give a damn, then she wouldn''t have conversed with Mr. Wang and taken his business


    card just to make Jack angry. She didn''t know why, but faced with Jack''s fury, she couldn''t say what


    was in her heart. All that came out of her mouth were barbs that were designed to hurt.


    Julie woke up from her sound sleep to heed the call of nature. She was about to head to the


    bathroom when she heard a loud bang from the second floor. She quickly pulled on a coat from the


    cab to take a peek when she heard another loud thud. Not long after, she saw Jack march his


    way down the stairs angrily and leave without looking back.


    Rachel was about to pick up the broken fragments of themp when the bedroom door was gently


    pushed open from outside.


    She already knew who it was. She smiled bitterly and said, "Julie, it''ste. Why haven''t you gone to


    bed yet?"


    "I can''t sleep much. It must be my old age—I easily wake up."


    Julie walked over to her side and helped her up so she was sitting on the bed. "Miss, please sit


    down. I''ll clean this up."


    She went outside to get a broom and a duster, and swept up the fragments. With a sigh, she turned


    toward Rachel and said, "Miss, is there is something going on between you and Mr. Fu?" Author''s


    note


    &


    Goose


    Trantor: Scarlett5555