No one forgot to praise her while indulging in their food.
Rachel lowered her head and stared at the rice in her bowl. She picked the rice bit by bit with her chopsticks and ate them. Her heart ached when she caught a glimpse of the fried pork with bamboo shoot lessening with time from the corner of her eye.
Thank god she had stocked up some food materials. She planned to make the dish again later as he might still return to eat.
When everyone was busy eating, Rachel put down her chopsticks and started to type a message after taking out her mobile phone.
[Ewan, are you coming back for dinner? I’ve made your favorite – dried bamboo shoots. ]
She deleted the message the moment she saw it as she did not have the courage to send it. She continued to type and deleted the message and the cycle repeated over and over.
“Rachel, why aren’t you eating anymore?” Mason asked while putting a piece of braised pork into her bowl.
Rachel was shocked. She quickly put down her phone, took her chopsticks and squeezed out a light smile. “I’m eating now.”
She picked up the pork and put it into her mouth while forcing a smile. Yet the pork was tasteless to her. She did not manage to finish even half bowl of the rice during the meal.
–
Darkness soon closed in. The manor of the Hill family was ablaze with brightness. A military vehicle was driven into the manor from the outside and it headed straight towards the garage.
Ewan got down the car. He slammed the door closed and had a look on his wristwatch to see the time. He then realized time had flown as it was already 1a. m. after a round of emergency meeting. He plodded into the manor and changed his shoes at the entrance. He realized although there was no one at the living room, the light was still on. He turned off the light casually and headed to the stairs yet he realized the light at the dining room was on too after a few steps.
He walked towards the dining room due to curiosity. His footsteps went to a halt and his eyes grew a little gloomy when he saw a figure falling asleep on the table. Although he did not see her face, he was so familiar with the figure that had enchanted him. He treaded softly and saw a plate of fried pork with bamboo shoot covered by a mesh lid on the table. And it was at this moment he remembered the words he had said at noon and realized she had actually remembered them.
The softest part under the man’s chest was trembling irregularly. He was deeply moved when he saw the dish which had already gone cold yet still tugged at his heartstrings. Did she keep that for him on purpose? He approached her, supporting himself with one hand on the table and stooped, whispering beside her ears. “Rachel, it’s cold here. Do sleep in the bedroom.”
Rachel was sleeping soundly and she did not hear his voice at all. She let out a reluctant grunt from her throat and turned her head to the side, continuing to sleep. Her rosy cheek was shown and locks of hair were draping down her cheeks. Her delicate features had made Ewan stunned. His breathing sped up and his enthusiastic eyes were locked on her pink and tender lips.
His every breath was filled with the bewitching fragrance from her body. He was so enchanted that he could not control his movement. His throat turned dry and he swallowed some saliva. He then slowly lowered his head, closed his eyes and approached her lips. He clenched his fists and every cell in his body was shuddering. He was so desperate to kiss her even if he had to do it without her consent.
His lips pressed against hers gently. His breathing became heavier and his heart plummeted. He was so absorbed in her refreshing fragrance that flooded him and his muscles relaxed when the soft texture spread from his lips to the whole body. He felt that his heart almost exploded when he kissed her and he did not expect the kiss would turn to desire. He wanted more but he was afraid he would wake her therefore he could only leave reluctantly.
He stopped for a moment and touched his own lips gently. He could feel Rachel’s breath on them. He let out a wry smile upon thinking the fact that he had to be that sneaky though he was just kissing his wife. He took off his jacket and covered Rachel with it. He sat back in front of the table after taking chopsticks and bowl from the kitchen.
The clanking sound between the bowl and the table surface woke Rachel up when he put the bowl down too fast without notice. She slowly opened her eyes and straightened her back, feeling her body sore. The jacket slid down from her shoulder. She grabbed it and stared at the familiar jacket in a daze. She then raised her chin once again and noticed Ewan was sitting beside her, taking the dried bamboo shoot with his chopsticks and eating silently. “When did you come back?”
“Just now.” Rachel grabbed his arm nervously and said, “Don’t eat it anymore, it’s already cold.” Yet Ewan still put the dried bamboo shoot into his mouth calmly and said with a gentle voice, “It’s okay. It’s still tasty when cold.”
“I’ll heat it up for you.” Rachel stood up and extended her hand, wanting to take the dish. Yet Ewan grasped her wrist and pulled her towards him while looking at the window with wrinkled eyebrows. Rachel shrieked and she plunged onto his lap the next second. That intimate act was too abrupt and unbelievable that she wanted to struggle and stand back up. “Let go, Ewan.”
“Don’t move…” Rachel was nervous and shy. Her waist was clasped by the man’s big hand and she could not move a muscle while sitting on his strong laps. Her back was pressed against his wide chest and that intimate act had made her face flushed and heart plummeted. She was so nervous that her voice trembled. “E… Ewan, let go of me. What… what if someone sees this… They’ll misunderstand us.” The man spoke with a listenable, attractive voice and muttered. “Don’t move first, and don’t speak.”
Rachel was confused. She could feel that he was being mysterious and was speaking very softly and carefully. His chest was warm and his intimate hug had made her face flushed and heart plummeted. She had no idea why he was behaving so aberrant all of a sudden and feeling awkward, she wanted to speak once more. “Ewan, you…”
“Shush.” His warm breath was blown to her ear. Her heart beat so hard that she felt weak at once, yet she became alert at the same time too as Ewan not a frivolous man and would not tease her all of a sudden. She glimpsed at her surrounding out of curiosity and noticed a vague shadow looming behind a transparent window screen at the corner of the living room. The light outside was yellow while the light at the living room was white. It was hard to notice the commotion outside and the appearance of the shadow without paying extra attention.
Rachel lowered her voice and asked, “Is there anything wrong?” Ewan approached her ear and ordered softly. “Stay here.” He then pushed her onto the chair after finishing his words and stood up, treading softly and walked towards the entrance. Rachel was anxious when she watched him walking away and what Eliza said to her before flashed across her mind. After a moment of thought, she decided to follow Ewan outside too.
The night was dark and silent with intermittent chirping sound of bugs. There was no breeze and the trees were standing still. Ewan strolled to the outside of the manor following the path in the garden. It was darker deep inside the bush with thriving flowers and he saw no one under the warm yellow light.
Relying on his acute feeling, he walked towards the densest part of the bush with caution. Rachel followed behind him and realized his footsteps were exceptionally slow. Just as she was curious whether there was anything at the front, a shadow wearing a long, black coat and a black cap sprang out of the bush and darted towards the little bamboo forest of the fake mountain rock.
Rachel was so shocked that she almost screamed and covered her mouth. Her heart plunged up and down as if she just saw a ghost. Ewan was quick in his response that he dashed across the moment the shadow made a move. He chased after the mysterious comer and went inside the forest. Who was that? That question flashed across Rachel’s mind and she immediately followed too.