Chapter 217 More And More Complicated


    "Hiram, you really want me to do such a test?" Shirley couldn''t believe what she was hearing. She''d


    never thought that Hiram would treat her like some cheap girl. On top of that, she was astonished that


    Hiram was still in his senses.


    Hiram left the room without saying another word or ncing at her.


    Hearst followed Hiram out of the room and tried to calm him down. "Why are you going so far, dear


    brother? What happened is normal. Which man can sleep with just one woman for his entire life? I


    believe Rachel won''t say a word about it. It''s not your fault, after all."


    Standing on the deck, Hiram tried to sober up. He looked up at the dark heavens above, where even


    the stars had gone home to rest.


    "Things like this must be cleared up right away. Otherwise, suspicion would sprout like a seed and


    slowly grow into a big tree. That''s thest thing I want between Rachel and me," he said.


    Besides, he had never slept with any woman before Rachel. He wasn''t going to let his reputation be


    ruined by a woman like Shirley.


    He knew he had already let Rachel down many times. He couldn''t afford to lose his physical loyalty to


    her, too.


    Inside the room, Rachel stared at Shirley, who was still lost in her thoughts, and sneered," Tell me,


    Shirley, why did youe to the party with Susan even though your best friend, Lydia, isn''t here?"


    "Why? No particr reason! I was bored and I knew I could have a lot of fun here," Shirley replied, not


    meeting Rachel''s eyes.


    "Really? Because the moment I saw you, I had a feeling that you were up to something. Firstly, you


    brought Hearst to my room. Then, I found you sleeping in this room with Hiram. Do you really think I''m


    going to take all this as a coincidence?" spat Rachel.


    She realized that she had to look at Shirley with new eyes now.


    She used to think that although Shirley had a glib tongue, she wouldn''t do anything bad. But it seemed


    that what Shirley was capable of was far beyond her imagination. She had to treat Shirley the same


    way she did to Lydia.


    No wonder they were close to each other. Birds of a feather flock together.


    "What are you talking about? You''re good at cooking up stories, aren''t you? Wait, did I hear you right?


    Did you say you were with Hearst in your room? Then what happened between you two? The same


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    thing as Hiram and me?" Shirley eximed, as if she knew nothing about it.


    Rachelughed, turned around and made her way to the door. "Do you know you are a good actress?


    But things aren''t going the way you want them to go."


    The cruise was pulling in to shore, but Shirley refused to get off the ship.


    She screamed at the top of her voice, and more and more people came onto the deck to see what was


    happening.


    "Why do you scream like that in the middle of the night, Shirley? Why aren''t you sleeping in your


    room?" Joanna asked as she approached. After hearing the noise, she''d thrown on a coat ande


    out to find Shirley crying on the deck.


    "Auntie Joanna, please say something for me!" Shirley ran to Joanna the moment she saw her and


    held her hands, crying harder and louder.


    Later, in the living room of the Rong House, seeing Shirley sob continuously, Joanna shook her head.


    Weird things kept happening one after another recently. Were the people around her bewitched?


    "You''re saying Hiram was so drunk that he thought you were Rachel?" asked Joanna.


    Shirley nodded, wiping the tears off her cheeks, secretly d that Rachel wasn''t there with them. She


    said reluctantly," Yes, I wish it had never happened. I told him who I was, but he was too drunk to listen


    to me. Then, then..." She took a quick nce at Hiram, who was sitting on the couch opposite her.


    "But, Shirley, may I ask something? Even if Hiram had been that drunk, you were supposed to be


    sleeping in your own room, right? Why did you show up in Hearst''s room?" Joanna asked logically.


    The truth was, Joanna didn''t believe Shirley. She knew her son well and she didn''t believe that Hiram


    would ever sleep around with women casually like Hearst did.


    Hearst was a yboy who never stopped hanging out with women.


    But she knew her son, Hiram, had always led a clean life. Of course there were rumors going around


    about him and women she''d never heard of before, but she knew for sure that he''d never done


    anything bad to them.


    "I... I couldn''t sleep, so I was taking a walk. I saw, I saw Hearst entering Rachel''s room. A few minutes


    dragged me inside and..."


    Shirley lowered her head, unable to go on.


    Joanna was confused. "Hold on, what are you talking about? You said you saw Hearst going into


    Rachel''s room?"


    Shirley nodded.


    Hiram, who had kept his silence until then with his eyes shut tight, opened his eyes and gave Shirley a


    cold stare.


    "You''d better think clearly before opening your mouth! Don''t bark like a crazy dog!" he shouted.


    Shirley immediately said," I swear I saw it! Hiram, if you don''t believe me, go and ask Rachel.


    If Rachel and Hearst hadn''t been together at that time, then why would they have shown up in Hearst''s


    room at the same time?" Shirley added.


    Seeing Hiram lost in silence again, she turned to Joanna, then bit her lips and said," Auntie Joanna, I


    know Rachel seems sweet and gentle in your eyes, but you have no idea how she is with other people.


    She is close to her team leader in herpany, Daniel, and I heard that she had dinner several times


    with Patrick Yan, who has a bad reputation. It''s no surprise that she was with Hearst."


    Bang!


    Hiram smashed a mug onto the ground in front of Shirley.


    "Shut up! Get out of here right now!"


    Frightened by the sound, Joanna patted her chest and said to Shirley," I think you don''t know Rachel


    well, Shirley, and you really disappointed me by saying such things.


    That''s enough. Don''t say I''m just taking my son''s side. If you insist that Hiram slept with you, fine, we


    can go to the hospital right now. I believe modern technology can give us an answer."


    Shirley shook her head at Joanna''s words and begged," No, Auntie Joanna! You know I''m not married.


    It would be humiliating for me to do such a test. I''m not lying! It really happened. You all saw the blood


    on the bed sheet in Hearst''s room!"


    Hiram snorted. "A drop of blood doesn''t prove anything! Don''t you know how old you are now?"


    He didn''t continue since they were in front of his mother, but they all understood what he was implying.


    Joanna knew that most of the girls these days lost their virginity to their boyfriends before the age of


    twenty. Although Shirley was in her early twenties, Joanna couldn''t be sure that she was a virgin.


    "That''s right, Shirley. If you refuse to go to the hospital to do the test, then we can conclude that you got


    wounded somehow and that was why you were bleeding. Nothing happened between you and Hiram!


    But, if you insist that Hiram did what you''re saying, go and do the test. If your words turn out to be true,


    it would be Hiram''s fault. I''ll let him do what he should do."


    Hearing that, Shirley bit her lips hard and made up her mind. "Fine, I''ll do what you ask me to do!"


    Hiram nced at her, staying calm.


    ——


    Inside the Streams Company building, Daniel looked at the resignation letter on his table, then shifted


    his eyes to Rachel, who was standing in front of him. "What happened? Why are you quitting now?" he


    asked.


    "I''m sorry, Daniel! But I think I have to quit now because I''m too upied by personal affairs, and I''m


    afraid I''ll affect our work progress. I''ll feel awful if I slow the team down," Rachel exined.


    She sighed deeply. If it weren''t for all the problems in her personal life, she would never quit her job like


    this.


    "Okay, but here''s my suggestion. Take a few days off, and return to your work when you feel better. If


    you still feel that quitting is the best choice a few dayster, then I''ll sign the letter," Daniel said after


    thinking it over.


    He knew what Rachel was going through recently. If he kept making her work hard, she might copse.


    "Thank you," Rachel said hesitantly, then turned around and left.


    After she left thepany, she went back to her apartment instead of Tulip Pce.


    Fannie was home, looking for a ce to rent on her phone. When she saw Rachele in, she waved


    to her and said," I''m d you came now, sweetie! Come and see which house is better. I''m looking for


    a ce to rent.


    I''m nning to run a restaurant, so it has to be moderate in size. I''ve made up my mind to make good


    use of the receipts your grandma gave me. I''m pretty sure my business will be good!"


    Fannie told Rachel. Then, realizing that Rachel was lost in her thoughts, she said," Sweetie? Rachel?"