My Darling, My Dearest

Letting out a sigh of relief, Jonathan stood up and said, "Let's have dinner first." He acted as if nothing had happened, Rachel smiled to herself, and thought, 'See, he's no longer concerned about where on earth Jack has gone.'

And so it was time for him to find out what had happened between her and Jack. As she ate, Rachel pondered over how she might deal with Jonathan's questions.

After they finished eating dinner, Jonathan challenged Rachel to a game of Go. Rachel agreed, and went with him to the study upstairs.

Jonathan took out his chessboard, set it up carefully on the table, and arranged the black and white stones. They sat down opposite each other.

Jonathan stretched his arms and rolled up his sleeves. "It's been quite a while since the last time I played Go. I hope you'll take it easy on me."

Rachel said modestly, "You'd still be a better player than me if you took a ten-year break."

Jonathan giggled, flattered by her compliment. He waved his hand to brush her words aside and said, "Come on, it's been ages since we played Go. Let's have a warm-up game first." Rachel nodded in agreement, and said, "Please!"

Rachel and Jonathan then began a silent battle with the black and white stones. At first he was taken off guard by her moves, and when he realized that she was really playing to win, he was totally unable to gain the upper hand.

Within twenty minutes, Jonathan suffered a crushing defeat.

Glancing at her father-in-law's gloomy face, Rachel felt a little embarrassed. Trying to offer an excuse, she suggested, "Maybe the color was bad luck for you."

Jonathan silently nodded and they exchanged the stones.

Not daring to be careless again, Jonathan spent an attentive hour with Rachel, absorbed in the game. At last, the game closed in a tie.

Jonathan shook his head in dissatisfaction and said, "Let's play again."

And so the third round began.

After her nap, Tracy awoke to find that the two were still playing Go in the study. She asked the servant to prepare some fruit. Then she took it upstairs by herself.

The two were completely focused on the board, and paid no attention when she came in.

Noticing the intensity of their concentration, Tracy put down the plate lightly and didn't say a word.

Of course, she knew what her husband's temper was like, so Tracy went to a corner and sat down, watching them play Go in silence.

Ten minutes later, at the brink of defeat, ■3

Jonathan had lost his spirit for the game. He put down his last stone in frustration, closed his eyes and sighed, "I lose. I'm getting old!"

Rachel began to wonder if she had gone too far. While her brain raced for a way out of the awkward situation, she dropped the black stone she was holding in her hand.

As Jonathan said, he had lost the game. He had no chance of turning the tables on Rachel after she placed that stone.

After a while, Rachel said with a warm smile, "You're my teacher in the game of Go. This only means you are a good teacher."

Jonathan laughed in consternation. He shook his head and tapped on the board. "I'm getting old..." He looked at her with a meaningful look, and said, "At my age, I can only play Go to kill time. Others can play with their grandchildren."

Rachel was struck silent by his comment. What could she possibly say to him?

Tracy carried over the plate of fruit, just in time to comfort Rachel.

Rachel had been prepared for Jonathan to probe into their relationship, but she hadn't expected him to be so frank. She hadn't even slept with Jack yet, so how could she give him a grandchild?

It wasn't easy to satisfy him. Rachel wished she could tell him that he would not wait so long if he waited for Jack and Celine to have a baby.

Tracy was also a bit excited by the topic, but she felt that Jonathan's question was too abrupt, so ■3

she rushed forward to distract them. While passing a piece of fruit to Jonathan, she winked slyly at him, to hint that he shouldn't be so anxious.

Then Tracy stood up and smoothed her hair. Pretending that she still had other things to do, she walked away and said, "After you've done, go out for a walk. The weather is lovely today." Rachel nodded and said, "We will, Mom."

After living with the Fu family for many years, Rachel was still not very close to Tracy, nor too distant from her.

To Tracy, having Rachel live with them simply meant nothing. They had enough money to raise her.

After Jack and Rachel's marriage was arranged, Tracy became a little more enthusiastic toward Rachel. But then she discovered that the relationship between Rachel and Jack was as cold as ice, and Jack even got involved with Celine now.

Tracy's dissatisfaction was clear enough. Even though it wasn't written on her face, her lack of warmth toward Rachel was pretty obvious.

She didn't like Celine, but she didn't like Rachel either. She felt that her son had been wronged, and that he deserved a better woman.

Even if Rachel had nothing wrong with her, she didn't impress Tracy, who thought that Rachel had no idea how to satisfy her husband.

Rachel had always known that Tracy was dissatisfied with her, but she always pretended to be completely unaware of her mother-in-law's negative opinion. ■3

Before, Rachel thought that Tracy disapproved of her marriage to Jack and wanted to end it. But now, she discovered that Jonathan and Tracy hadn't given up on their marriage yet.

After Tracy left the room, Rachel knew what Jonathan was going to say.

They knew each other well, but it was difficult for them to speak freely.

After long deliberation, Jonathan asked gently, "Is Jack paying attention to you recently?"

"I have been in touch with him these days," Rachel answered.

The words "been in touch" sounded weird to describe a couple.

'What did she mean by them sleeping together last night?' Jonathan wondered.

He sighed slightly and then cursed, "Damn it!"

Rachel bit her lips and almost burst into laughter.

Jonathan wiped his face, and was about to offer a word of encouragement. If they were willing to get along, that would be a good thing.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Tracy returned to the study. She couldn't hide her excitement. "Jonathan! Jack is back! You two must come down right away! Don't hide yourselves up here." Rachel and Jonathan were totally unprepared for that. They couldn't believe their ears. She frowned, feeling confused. Hadn't he said that he was with Celine? Why did he come back there, out ■3

of the blue?

Jonathan stood up and snorted. "I'll teach that brat a lesson soon enough!"

Rachel put away the stones on the table, and said with a smile, "Dad, please don't embarrass him. He has only just come back."

Jonathan frowned, but there was a slight twinkle in his eyes.

Rachel descended the stairway after Jonathan. When they reached the lower floor, Jack was waiting for his father in the living room.

Before going downstairs, Jonathan had vowed to be stern with his son. When Jonathan saw him, Jack turned around and greeted him, "Dad."

Those words of reproach were at the tip of Jonathan's tongue, but disappeared in a flash. He went straight to Jack and began to complain. "Where have you been? What took you so long?"

"Dad, don't make a big deal about it. One of our VIPs had some problems and I had to deal with it," said Jack calmly.

Next to them, Tracy breathed a sigh of relief. She winked at Rachel, who was standing behind Jonathan, but Rachel pretended not to notice.

Tracy was so angry that she wanted to stamp her feet. Before her husband could say anything, she quickly interrupted, "I said it had nothing to do with... He is so busy at work that he even skips dinner." Rachel lowered her eyelids and smiled, pretending to be unaware of everything. ■3

Jonathan looked at his son with doubtful eyes. After hearing what his wife said, he waved his hand impatiently and said, "It's all right."

He turned to Jack and said, "Jack, come up with me. I have something to tell you." Jonathan turned his heels and went upstairs first.

As he passed Rachel, Jack let his glance fall briefly on her. They didn't say anything to each other.

When her son's receding figure disappeared completely upstairs, Tracy appeared to be a little anxious and pulled Rachel over to her. "Rachel, what exactly happened between you and Jack?"

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing. We were never very close before. Now, we're slowly starting to get along with each other."

Tracy's eyes lit up. She grabbed Rachel by the hand, and said, "Rachel, I know Jack better than anyone. He has always had a cold personality. If you want to get close to him, you need to make a lot of effort. Show him that you care about him, and talk to him as much as possible. Don't pull a long face."

Rachel looked like it was hard for her to receive Tracy's advice, but she listened to her and never offered a word of contradiction.

With both her husband and her son out of the room, Tracy took the opportunity to give Tracy a lecture on the art of being a wife.

Tracy just wanted Rachel to improve her character and care more about her son. In her ■3

ignorance, she never imagined that Jack was just unwilling to receive Rachel's love and care.

As she sat in front of the desk and listened to her mother-in-law's lecture, the words went in one ear and out the other. Tracy, meanwhile, was just glad to release her opinions onto her daughter-in-law. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally over and she realized that she hadn't died from boredom.

"What are your plans for this evening?" Tracy asked abruptly.

Rachel had taken a day off just to visit the Fu family. She replied, "I have no plans."

When she heard that answer, Tracy smiled, which puzzled Rachel.

Rachel didn't know what Jack and his father had spoken about. When he came down again, it didn't seem that anything had happened between them.

Rachel stood beside Jack and saw two obvious scratches on his neck near his collarbone.

With her experience, she could tell at a glance that these scratches were the marks of fingernails. She withdraw her head backward, but when no one was looking at her, she whispered to Jack, "What are you doing here?"

Jack gave her a casual look, but said nothing.

Rachel didn't care at all when she didn't get an answer. However, what happened next took her off guard. Since they had already finished dinner and chatted, Rachel thought it was time for her to go back. So she was really surprised to hear Jack say, "Let's stay at home tonight."