My Darling, My Dearest
Chapter 399 Don't Drive Me Away

"I can walk by myself." In her mind, Rachel wanted to extricate herself from their position, which looked a little intimate.

However, Bill tightened his grip. He looked straight ahead and said expressionlessly, "Don't get me wrong I just don't want you or the baby to feel uncomfortable."

Rachel didn't say anything else, but she was not stupid. She could feel the anger radiating from Bill in waves. As she got into the car, she turned to look at him with a confused frown. "What happened?" "Nothing." Bill lowered his head and fastened his seat belt, looking more irritated than usual.

It looked like he had no intention of telling her, so Rachel did not pry. She turned her head and stared out of the window. Her eyes were starting to feel weighed down, and she was about to drift off when Bill's voice suddenly broke the silence. "Rachel, do you really want me to leave?"

'Leave?'

Rachel didn't know what to say. A certain reply entered her head, but she changed them before she could utter the words. "Did Mrs. Zhu say something to you?"

In retrospect, the two people standing at the door looked a little strange.

Bill couldn't hide the sadness in his soft voice. "I just want to stay with you and take good care of you and the baby. I'm not asking you for anything else, so please don't drive me away. And don't leave." Rachel lowered her eyes from Bill's speaking gaze. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

From the moment that she met him, Rachel felt like she owed Bill a debt of gratitude, and the feeling had always weighed down on her heart. But then, she looked into his gloomy but steady gaze, and the words of rejection that came to her lips just would not come out.

Rainy season had come to Ninwell City. Almost a week had already passed, yet the rain showed no signs of letting up.

At the gate of a private club, Jack ran out without waiting for Austin to shield him from the downpour with an umbrella. He pulled open the car door and slid inside. Impatiently, he all but tore into the Kraft paper bag in his hand, pulled out several pages of the documents within, and read them carefully.

Holding the ignored umbrella, Austin slowly walked over and slid in behind the wheel. His mild complaint about the unceasing downpour went unuttered as he took in Jack's sodden appearance. He grabbed a towel and tried his best to wipe the raindrops on the other man's suit. "Mr. Fu, why didn't you wait for me? What if you catch a cold..."

Jack interrupted him. "It's okay, just drive."

"Ah... okay." Austin glanced at Jack from the rearview mirror and then focused on driving.

Jack listened to the steady pitter-patter of rain hitting the car windows, long eyelashes lowered to hide the touch of sadness in his eyes. He put down the paper bag, took out his mobile phone from his pocket, and opened the weather forecast software. He was not looking at the weather forecast for Ninwell City, but that of the city where Rachel was.

He smiled bitterly. Fortunately, it was still sunny there.

In the past, sunny or rainy days were just a state of nature to him, whereas Rachel didn't like rain very much. Whenever it rained, she would feel lazy and lounge on the sofa at home, unwilling to move a single step.

Gradually, Jack started to resent rainy days.

The car slowly wheeled into the underground garage of MK Group. Looking up at Jack in the rearview mirror, Austin asked, "Mr. Fu, do you want to go straight to Mr. Chen and others?"

Jack came to his senses and set aside the things messing with his head momentarily. He picked up the sheets of paper, carefully slid them inside the paper bag, and then said, "No. Let them be arrogant for a few more days."

These papers were not ordinary documents-they were share transfer contracts between Jack and several small shareholders. Of course, these documents contained highly classified information, and those people were unaware of them.

"Okay," agreed Austin. He got out of the car and opened the back door. The two men walked towards the elevator, one in front of the other. Unexpectedly, they were approached by Mr. Chen, whom they had just mentioned.

Austin raised his eyebrows in surprise, but his brain reacted quickly. He gave the other man a respectful bow and greeted, "Hello, Mr. Chen."

"Mr. Fu, where have you been?" Mr. Chen ignored Austin and addressed Jack in an arrogant tone. His eyes were fixed on the Kraft paper bag in Austin's hand.

Jack placed his hands inside his pockets. His lips curled up in a sardonic smile, and his shrewd eyes made Mr. Chen feel guilty and subconsciously take two steps back.

He patted Mr. Chen on the shoulder and said briefly, "Thank you for your hard work these days."

"No, it was my pleasure working with you," Mr. Chen choked out, stunned. He didn't raise his hand to wipe away the cold sweat beading on his forehead until he turned around and saw the elevator slowly going up. His legs suddenly felt like jelly because of Jack's glance just now. 'Has he discovered our plan?'

Austin walked into the office following Jack. After ensuring that the door was locked, he placed the paper bag in his hand inside a locked vault. With a lingering fear, he said, "Mr. Fu, he has been staring at the bag in my hand the entire time. I was afraid that he would figure out that something was wrong.

Do you think he will replace out something? I don't think Mr. Chen is a simple person."

Jack didn't respond to Austin's comment. Instead, his gaze was turned to the floor at the photos that Austin accidentally took out of the safe.

After a while, Austin snapped out of his thoughts and looked down; his heart skipped a beat. He swiped the photos off the floor and anxiously turned his back on Jack to hide it. However, the photos landed face up, in Jack's line of vision.

These photos used to be displayed all over Jack's office. They all had Rachel in them.

Jack swiveled the seat around, trying to hide his emotions, and said lightly, "Put those things back and leave."

After Austin stepped out of the office and shut the door behind him, the smile on Jack's face suddenly disappeared.

In the monitoring room of the hospital, Rachel was lying on the bed, listening to the strong heartbeat thundering in her ears. The corners of her lips were upturned in a gentle, beautiful smile.

The doctor set aside the apparatus in his hand and said in a kind, blustery voice, "Do you finally feel relieved? The naughty baby was playing hide and seek with us just now."

It was the first time that Rachel went to the hospital to listen to baby's heartbeat. However, they couldn't hear a heartbeat even as the doctor rolled the ultrasound apparatus back and forth over her belly. As a doctor, Rachel knew that it was a normal situation, but she could not help the worry in her heart. Tears rolled down from her eyes.

At that moment, she realized just how important this child was to her.

She walked out of the monitoring room, looking down at the list in her hand from time to time. The gentle smile in her eyes became even more intense. She touched her belly and said in a soft voice, as if whispering to the life inside her, "My baby, welcome to this world."

"I welcome you, too, baby." Bill's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and she colored with embarrassment at the thought of being overheard just then. Bill didn't seem to notice it. He took the test report from her hand and saw the heartbeat rate on it. His eyes widened, and he asked a little anxiously, "Why is the baby's heart beating so fast? Have you asked the doctor? Is there anything wrong with the baby or his heart?"

The color drained from his face.

Looking at him, Rachel wanted to laugh. Perhaps it was because he himself had a heart problem, so he felt anxious at the sight of a high heartbeat rate.

Just as she was about to explain, a nurse passing by stopped and said with a smile, "Don't worry. The baby's heartbeat is normal. Many new fathers become so worried when they see their baby's heartbeat for the first time."

The nurse's words allayed Bill's confusion and worry, but it also made Rachel feel a little embarrassed.

Bill nodded his head and thanked her solemnly. He turned back to look at Rachel and saw that her pale face was frowning and the smile had disappeared from her lips.

"Rachel, what's wrong?"

He reached out his hand to pat her head, but she moved two steps forward and dodged his touch. She looked down at her toes and pursed her lips. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Bill, in the future, I will go to my check-up appointments by myself. You don't have to pick me up or accompany me."

She was fine just then, but now she suddenly said something like that.

Even with how kind-hearted Bill was, his face darkened at Rachel's words. His own voice rose. Pointing at the direction in which the nurse had just left, he said, "So the nurse mistook me for the baby's father— do you really mind it that much?"

"Yes, I do," Rachel responded firmly, looking up into his eyes.

Those few words stabbed at Bill's heart like sharp needles. Like a deflated balloon, his shoulders drooped. "Other people's misunderstandings don't change anything. Rachel, I don't ask for anything. I just want to be by your side throughout all of this."

"But I don't need your help!"

Rachel replied in an intense whisper. She turned around and closed her eyes, trying her best to calm down. She didn't need other people to take care of her. Besides, she couldn't repay him for everything he had done for her, even though he wasn't asking for anything in return. It only made her feel even more sorry and regretful toward him.

After a moment of silence, Bill walked up to her, grabbed her shoulders, and asked, "What do you need?" Before she could answer, he continued, "If you don't want me to be with you, fine. Go back to Jack. Just let me know that someone will be taking care of you like I do, and then I will let you go."

Author's note

Goose

Translator: Scarlett5555