My Darling, My Dearest

A clear voice came from the direction of the door. Rachel walked in leisurely. At first, she glanced at Eric. Then she focused her attention on Jack.

He looked right back, not showing any change in emotion.

Rachel had rushed here all the way from the parking lot. She hadn't expected that Jack would hit Eric that hard.

Seeing Eric's swollen face and Jack's foot on his hand, Rachel felt nervous. However, she acted rather calm on the surface.

"I have to get things settled today," said Jack, looking deeply into Rachel's eyes. His black eyes did not display any particular emotion.

Hearing this, Rachel shifted her attention from Jack to Celine, the latter still as indifferent as before. She burst into a fit of laughter. "Yes, it's time to put an end to this."

She slowly approached Jack, drew her body close to him, and said, "This is all for her, isn't it?"

Celine's expression changed in a matter of seconds, her eyes focused on Rachel.

Rachel raised her head to match Jack's height. Gently, she kissed him.

She looked him in the eye. His expression remained unchanged. Without warning, Rachel then bit him on the lips. ■3

Jack stared at her, doing nothing. Yet, his eyes gleamed.

It felt as though time had stopped altogether.

'What is happening? Boss is being kissed by this woman!1 Jack's men thought.

For the first time, they didn't know what to do. Even Eric was stunned.

"What are you doing?" Celine stammered in disbelief and irritation. The gall to pull off such a stunt! Why wouldn't Jack say anything? Shouldn't he stop this woman and push her away? Rachel gently pulled away and turned toward Celine. "Miss Duan, isn't that a strange question to ask? Jack and I are a married couple. Isn't it normal for married couples to exchange a kiss?" Celine's blood boiled with rage. The smile plastered on Rachel's face was in stark contrast to what Celine was feeling now.

She looked angrily at Jack. He hadn't pushed Rachel away, and he even let her kiss him like that. Seeing no expression of guilt or fear on his face, Celine felt wronged. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Didn't you say that your marriage was in name only? How could you..."

Before she could even finish, Rachel interrupted, "Miss Duan, I would appreciate it if you minded your own business. After all, our marriage is a private matter. By the way, why did you ask Eric out today?" At this moment, Celine was still fixated on the word marriage. Unable to focus and think clearly ■3

about Rachel's question, she blurted out, "Of course I asked him out. I needed someone to accompany

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me.

"So, Miss Duan, are you satisfied with how everything turned out today?" Rachel asked coldly.

Her words brought Celine back to reality.

What was happening? No matter what Celine did, she could not change the fact that Jack was a married man.

She stared at him now, amazed.

Jack, on the other hand, stood still and quietly, as if all this had nothing to do with him. The truth was that he did care a lot about Celine.

However, he wanted to know what Rachel's next move was. He was curious to see what tricks she had up her sleeve.

Celine looked at the couple in front of her, the pain evident in her eyes. If Jack hadn't given in, Rachel wouldn't have been so bold.

"It seems that you've figured it out, Miss Duan. Because Jack and I are married, everything you've done and everything you're thinking of doing are useless. Unless... we apply for a divorce." 'Divorce? Will they divorce?' Celine wondered. What did Rachel mean by that?

Rachel spoke again, this time in a negotiable tone. "If the grounds are reasonable, I can agree to a divorce."

Then, seeing that Celine was studying her, her tone changed. She said, feigning sorrow, "But it seems that Jack is not ready for a divorce just yet." Celine was hurt and confused. Jack had said that he only married Rachel because his family forced him to. He had told her that he would divorce Rachel once he had the chance.

However, after five years, Jack still hadn't done anything.

He might have developed feelings for Rachel, after all. Rachel had lived with the Fu family since she was a child. She and Jack had grown together. Compared to that, Celine realized that her relationship with Jack was nothing.

Tears streamed down her face. She was only kidding herself. She knew deep in her heart that Jack did not love her at all.

She had tried so hard to test his love for her, but perhaps, others saw her as nothing but a joke. "Am I only fooling myself?" Celine whispered.

How ridiculous! This had all gotten out of hand! She had invited Eric to come over because she wanted to see how Jack would react.

But now, since Rachel arrived, he had been silent all this time.

He did not even deny one word of Rachel's claims.

Celine did not have any other choice. She stepped back, pushed Jack away, and ran out of the room.

Surprisingly, he did not chase after her. Instead, he merely took a step back.

Now that Celine had left, the room fell silent.

Seeing Jack standing still, Eric turned over and "Are you happy now?" Jack asked Rachel. Hearing Jack's deep voice, Eric paused for a while. Slowly, he adjusted himself and found a comfortable way to sit down.

Rachel glanced at Eric and turned to Jack. Slowly, she said, "If you're happy, then I'm happy."

Eric, now sitting on the carpet, rolled his eyes. He didn't understand what they were talking about.

"I didn't even say much, but she got so mad. It's apparent my plan works. How about making a deal with me?"

Hearing those words made the corners of Jack's mouth curl up in a smile. Rachel's overconfidence amused him. He said in a mocking tone, "What if I don't agree?"

Rachel, however, did not want to be hasty. She was willing to give him the time to consider her proposal. "Well, if you're satisfied with your current situation, then I won't say anything. You should know, though, that only I can change this."

Rachel knew what Celine wanted. She wanted Jack's love, though she pretended to not care about him. It was easy for Rachel to expose Celine's feelings.

All Jack wanted was to make Celine realize how she truly felt about him. He wanted her to realize that she couldn't live without him.

Both of them were testing each other and playing these little games. Rachel found the whole thing ridiculous. ■3

This had nothing to do with her, and she didn't care what they wanted to do. However, Eric had become a pawn in their deadly games, and she had to save him. "Obviously, your relationship needs intervention at present," Rachel proclaimed.

She studied him and thought to herself, 'It is widely known in his business circles that Jack is a ruthless and cruel man, but after so many years, he still can't win a woman's heart. Maybe it's because he just cares too much about Celine.'

"You'd better accept my help instead of using Eric to test her. I believe that my help will get you what you want. Celine's reaction today is enough proof."

Rachel was confident that her words would convince Jack after what had just happened. "Celine wants to be Mrs. Fu. What stands between her and her dream is me. Right now, I'm Mrs. Fu and she hates me. I also believe that from this day onward, she will find a new target and it is me. You'd better prepare, Mr. Fu. Your decision will decide what will become of your relationship."

Since this afternoon, Rachel had been thinking about ways on how to get Celine to stop seeing Eric. Everything she had done—the kiss, the speech about her marriage-was all for the sake of landing a deal with Jack.

The first step of her plan was to make Celine realize that it was useless to keep using Eric and that it was she, Rachel, who was standing between her and Jack. As long as Celine stopped taking advantage of Eric's feelings for her, Eric would no ■3

longer be of use to their little games.

As for Jack, as long as Celine had his attention, he would no longer notice Eric either. Jack should realize that Rachel was the key to winning Celine.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he thought about how much of a calculating woman Rachel really was. He began to admire her. Was this the same Rachel who, in the past, would only curl up silently in a corner? Years ago, his grandfather had brought this quiet young girl to their house. Jack had always seen her that same way since then. During those years, they had seldom talked to each other despite greetings. For a time, he had gone abroad. When he returned, Rachel had moved out of the Fu family's house. So, she had been nothing but a familiar stranger to him.

Today though, this woman had been bold enough to put on an unbelievable show and even offer him a deal.

"You just don't want Celine's eyes on Eric. Now that you've accomplished that, you don't need a deal with me," Jack said. It was not easy for him to just say yes, as this deal was unnecessary. He could achieve his goal with or without Rachel's help.

He was right. This deal was not necessary. However, Rachel did not want to have anything to do with Jack's affairs. It was time to end this.

She would rather get involved now than to stay in the dark and end up somehow being framed by Jack in the future. It would be best for her interests if she made the first move.

"Celine may come to me tomorrow. As the real Mrs. Fu, I think you should know how I am going to deal with her."