Chapter 447 Assembling The Baby Bed


    Rachel''s watchful eyes followed their retreating backs, and once they were far enough for her


    comfort, she stepped to the side and shook off Jack''s hand. "You can go shopping by yourself. I''m


    going home."


    "Where''s the fun of shopping alone? Besides, if the baby knows that we brought the baby bed


    together, it would be really happy." Jack took advantage of the silence before Rachel could even try


    to refute him, and grasped her hand firmly again. Giving her much slimmer hand a warm squeeze,


    he led them towards the baby-care shop located downstairs.


    Such disys were very much in line with Jack''s character. He was the type of person who would


    never be bothered by stretches of awkward silences and judgmental nces. Even if Rachel kept


    her silence the entire day, he would find it easy to keep the one-sided conversation going.


    Feeling a prickle of annoyance rush through her at Jack''s actions, Rachel rolled her eyes. But when


    he saw, the edges of his lips tilted upwards in the form of a gentle smile and the fondness in his


    eyes only increased in intensity. There were no traces of anger towards her eyerolling. "I want the


    baby to listen to its father''s voice more, so that it can recognize me the moment it is born." The


    minute Jack finished talking, a voice as clear as a summer day''s stream pierced through the white


    noise of the chattering crowd. It was a sweet reprieve from the graceless voices that surrounded


    them, and when Rachel located the source of the voice, she saw Scarlett rushing down the


    esctor. Her clothes billowed in the breeze in her haste of trying to get to the pair. Upon reaching


    them, Scarlett wrapped her hands around Jack''s arm in a death-like grip. "Jack, what are you doing


    here? Are you here to look for me?"


    "Get off!" Jack didn''t expect to bump into Scarlett during his trip to the mall with Rachel. Unease


    caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up, vignt against Scarlett''s approach. He took a


    cautionary nce at Rachel subconsciously and averted his eyes quickly. The cogs in his head


    were whirring rapidly, trying to think of a solution out of the current sticky situation. He had seen the


    sliver of disgust in Rachel''s eyes, her gaze fixed at the arm that was trapped by Scarlett''s hands.


    Another tight squeeze and his face darkened to the extent where it could be likened to the sky on a


    stormy day. His brows twitched in irritation and he did not expend any effort to hide the frostiness in


    his expression. "Scarlett, I thought I made it crystal clear to you. Get out of my sight!


    "Get out?" Scarlett raised her head to take stock of Jack''s frigid expression and moisture gathered


    at her eyes. She suddenly burst into howls ofughter and tears streamed down the corners of her


    eyes. She resembled a deranged madwoman as her previously melodious voice broke into pained


    whimpers. Hands trembling at Jack''s aggression towards her, she reached out again to pull on his


    sleeves, and said in a tone that was clear she wouldn''t ept his rejection, "Jack, I''m not a robot.


    I''m a person, and I have feelings too. We obviously were deeply in love, how can we break up just


    because you said so?"


    The quarrel between them was not silent, nor did any of them try to keep their voices down. The


    cacophony of their argument drew the attentions of others, and soon, shop attendants previously


    busy with their tasks streamed out of their shops to witness the spectacle. They stood in front of


    their respective stores, not daring to stray too far in fear of being told off by their superiors, but their


    curiosity pushed them out. Whispers started, and Rachel''s sharp ears caught onto certain words,


    like "mistress" and "love triangle." Her face flushed from being in the center of attention, shame and


    embarrassment dyeing her skin a color simr to a tomato''s.


    Her hand darted out of Jack''s warm grip like a startled deer and she quickly schooled her


    expression into one of indifference. "You guys can take your time. I''m going to leave now. I won''t


    disturb you."


    She didn''t see much reason to stay where she was, nor did she like being the subject of gossip.


    She had experienced enough shame for the whole year. Jack''s empty hand reached out in her


    direction, his heart yearning to catch up with her, but he relented. He understood that the current


    situation was indeed not suitable for such an action, as it would only fuel the gossip further. His


    attention returned to Scarlett and he said coldly, "Stop your crying. Come with me!"


    After finding a rtively quiet ce devoid of prying eyes and mouths that only spewed gossip,


    Jack finally looked at Scarlett, who was sobbing non-stop, her cries getting ever louder. It was as if


    she enjoyed having people watch her disgraceful conduct! There was not a trace of pity for the


    woman in Jack''s heart, but only disgust.


    "Scarlett, I have already made myself very clear to you. If you do this again, you know the


    consequences."


    This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    As he said this, Jack''s face remained


    expressionless, not bothered at all by Scarlett''s bawling. His voice was equally as cold as his


    demeanor towards her.


    Scarlett was stunned silent. She had juste out of the clothing store and went around the mall


    asking several shops, but their answers were the same. She wasn''t allowed to return her clothes.


    She had been looked down upon by many shop assistants during her trip. Sneers and whispers


    hounded her as she exited the shops, her clothes still in her possession. Being at the receiving end


    of such treatment, it made her feel defeated.


    But she would never have thought in her wildest dreams that she would see Jack being with


    Rachel.


    She was dumbfounded by the warmth and gentleness that radiated off Jack as he talked to the


    woman beside him. Resentment washed over her. She had never seen this side of him before!


    Her mind was going crazy as her thoughts tortured her. When had he ever been so gentle and


    caring towards her? No, she couldn''t think of one time she had received a thread of kindness from


    him.


    From beginning to end of their rtionship, it was her who went to her wit''s end to try to please him.


    The hours she thought of ways to make him smile, make him happy were all useless. Jack had


    never even bothered to look at her!


    When she came to her senses, shaking off the unpleasantness that came from her thoughts, she


    was already holding Jack''s arm. Her body had moved without thinking.


    Emboldened by the weight of his hand in hers, Scarlett took two steps forward, wanting to get closer


    to the man. But when she saw the look in his eyes, she froze like a deer in headlights. She retraced


    her steps, putting some distance between them.


    She looked at him almost pleadingly, her doe-like eyes darted left and right as she tried to memorize


    the man she was looking at. "Jack, I don''t want anything. I''m just asking for you to let me stay by


    your side. Don''t drive me away, please?"


    Jack''s gaze didn''t even meet hers and without a word, he left Scarlett standing alone, facing an


    empty space where she wanted him to be. He had just wanted to stop the gossiping, nothing more,


    nothing less. Only Rachel upied his mind.


    After stepping through the automatic doors of the mall, Rachel stood to the side as she tried to n


    her next steps. Since Jack had asked for leave for her, she should just directly head home instead


    of going to the hospital.


    Her belly had grown in size over thest few months and after an hour''s of shopping, she felt


    exhausted. She stumbled around her room and into her bed, sighing as her back hit the softness of


    the mattress. Not a secondter, the bedroom door opened slowly from the outside. It was Jack.


    With a ttering smile on his lips, he asked, "Are you feeling better, Rachel? I just passed by a


    dessert shop and bought your favorite dessert. Would you like to have a taste?"


    "No, thanks. I want to rest now." Rachel slowlyy down back onto her bed.


    He still came in regardless, the dessert in his hands. He put them down gently on the side and


    asked, "Did you take a taxi back just now?" His voice was quiet and soothing. Rachel yawned and


    asked in faux confusion, "So I shoulde back on foot instead then?"


    "Rachel, don''t worry. This kind of thing won''t happen again." He bent over and gently tucked her in,


    arranging the duvet so that it fellfortingly across her body. During this, he didn''t notice the


    expression that shed on Rachel''s face.


    After finally deeming Rachel was properly tucked in, Jack stood by the bed silently for a moment or


    two, thinking hard. "It was my fault for what happened at the mall. Can you forgive me?"


    He had done so many things to piss her off, such as the divorce agreement. Now that he took the


    time to think about it, he thought he was like a fool. He didn''t know why, but when his problems


    became rted to Rachel one way or the other, he would instantly lose all his senses.


    What was more, he had only heard about what happened between Jimmy and Rachel from Tracy.


    Although he knew that it was impossible and not true, he had unconsciously begun to believe it.


    At his words, there was a slight change in Rachel''s heart, but her expression remained unchanged;


    she was still expressionless towards him. She pulled off the duvet and rested her chin on its


    softness. Her voice was light and free from any anger as she said, "There''s no need to apologize to


    me. Anyway, we won''t have any contact in the future." It was like nothing had happened in the first


    ce.


    "I was wrong, and I have to apologize to you." Jack quirked a small smile, knowing full well in his


    heart that he still had a long ways to go before he obtained Rachel''s forgiveness.


    Rachel let out another yawn. "Now that you''ve finished what you were saying, I need to rest. Please


    close the door for me."


    After saying that, she shut her eyes. Not another word escaped her lips. However, after she hadin


    down for a while, she realized that she was fully awake. All traces of the sleepiness she felt before


    had suddenly disappeared. She tossed and turned for a long time, but she couldn''t fall asleep. In


    fact, it only served to make her more awake. On the contrary, her bones ached with a deep


    soreness. Just in the middle of adjusting her position once more, she heard some noisesing


    from the room next to hers, so she got up again, deciding that she was no longer in the mood for a


    nap. She put on her coat, and followed the sound, only to find that Jack was assembling a baby bed


    in the empty room.


    He had rolled up his sleeves, so that Rachel could clearly see his muscles as he worked. There was


    a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other. Just as he got ready to hammer the nail into ce,


    the bead of sweat that collected on his forehead started to slowly make its way down his handsome


    face.


    At the sight, Rachel asked, "When did you buy this bed?" "Ah!" Jack suddenly let out a scream,


    bringing the hammer down towards the nail in his fright. Gone was all the steady preparation and


    focus and instead of hitting the nail, he had hit his finger. The hammer then fell heavily on his feet.


    Rachel had never thought that there would be such a series of consecutive reactions. She hurried


    forward, and grabbed his hand to examine the injury. The color of his fingernail had instantly turned


    ck, which must be very painful. She bent down slightly, as far as her bump would allow her, and


    said, "Take off the socks. Let me check."


    "I''m fine." Jack grabbed her hand. The pain on his face was gone, but there was a trace of joy on it.


    "Rachel, you still care about me, right?"


    Rachel was speechless.


    She silently pulled her hand back out of Jack''s grip and looked away with a strange expression. She


    didn''t say anything to his ims.


    Jack knew that he couldn''t walk too fast to give chase, in fear of putting too much pressure on his


    injured foot. He turned his head to look at the baby bed which had just assembled and answered, "I


    bought this bed after you left. You have found a lot of information about this bed before. I guess this


    is what you want to buy, right?"


    Rachel was surprised to find that Jack was so observant. At his question, she deigned to give him


    an answer and nodded. She couldn''t deny that she was touched at this moment.


    Jack looked at her intensely and asked softly, "Did I wake you up with all the noise? I didn''t expect


    assembling the bed would be so loud."


    "It''s fine." She shook her head. "Actually, you could have just asked the staff at the store to


    assemble it for you. You don''t have to do it yourself."


    "But it''s more meaningful to do it by myself, isn''t it?" Affected by the gentleness of their exchange,


    Jack''s hand rose without hismand and habitually tried to tuck Rachel''s hair behind her ear.


    As soon as Jack reached out his hand, Rachel''s eyes swept over him. Their eyes met and he


    subconsciously withdrew his hand, lowering it to rest beside his hips. He wiped at his trousers


    awkwardly as silence ensued between them, feeling very much like a pupil who was caught red-


    handed by the teacher for doing something wrong. He exined in embarrassment, "My hand is a


    little dirty just now, so..."


    Seeing the embarrassment on his face, she gave him a nod and left. To her surprise, she received a


    call from Jimmy. "Rachel, do you have time to have a drink with me? I have something to tell you."


    "What is it? Can''t you tell me on the phone?" Rachel asked.


    Jimmy gave a light chuckle. Even though he wasn''t in front of her, she could clearly feel his good


    mood from the phone call. "Of course I can say it on the phone," he answered, "but I want to


    express my gratitude to you face to face."


    "Express your gratitude?" Rachel echoed with a frown on her face.


    Although Jimmy had rified that the incidentst time had nothing to do with Rachel, since then,


    she could sense a trace of emotion from him. When she was in front of him, his attitude towards her


    was neither cold nor warm.


    Rachel wasn''t stupid, so she naturally felt it.


    But today, it waspletely different.


    A wide smile stretched across Jimmy''s lips, although Rachel couldn''t see it. "Yesterday, Jared gave


    me another call and signed a new contract with me. He said that he would sell electric appliances to


    us at the cost price, and it''s a contract of ten years. This time, with the contract in hand, they won''t


    be able to pull out of this at all. I know that you must have been pulling some strings with it the


    entire time."


    Upon hearing what Jimmy said, Rachel couldn''t help but blink in confusion. After finding out that it


    was Jack who was behind this, she hadn''t had any contact with Jared.


    She knew if she went to ask Jared for help, she would only be piling the pressure on him. Author''s


    note


    &


    Goose


    Trantor: Scarlett5555