The Silent Wife

The atmosphere in the car almost felt like it was frozen.

Justin looked like he was still trapped in his dream as he hadn't loosened his grip on Rachel's wrist. His sharp gaze slowly turned out of focus as he looked in her direction, and it seemed like he was looking at someone else through her.

At this moment, she was too terrified to budge an inch.

"Mr. Burton, we've reached the hospital."

The driver's announcement managed to snap him out of his thoughts, clearing the haze before his eyes as he began to get a clear look at the woman in front of him. Almost immediately, his expression turned back to his usual cold look before he blurted, "Get down."

Not daring to delay further, she quickly obliged by grabbing her tote bag and got out of the car.

As she watched the MPV take off from the hospital's entrance, she heaved a sigh of relief. However,

she was still dwelling on what happened earlier as she rubbed her wrist that was held forcefully. Out of instinct, she turned her wrist several times to ensure that it was still intact.

This man is scary even in his sleep.

However... She heard him call out a name earlier.

Was it... Katie?

Meanwhile, Justin was still in a trance after the car had left the hospital.

As the driver held the wheels, he asked with a worried look, "Mr. Burton, did you have a nightmare again just now?"

Justin's thick brows furrowed as his expression turned stoic.

It had been years since he last dreamt about the big fire.

Human's memory was bound to fade off as time passed. No matter how hard he tried to remember, his memory of her seemed to be gradually fading away.

He couldn't recall when was the last time he remembered her face. All he could remember was a pair of eyes filled with tears in the big fire. Every time he tried to take a better look at her face, the dream would end.

Earlier, he saw Rachel's face on the girl in the fire.

At the thought of that, he clenched his fists so tight that his green veins looked as if they were popping out.

How could she?

"To the cemetery." The driver could hear Justin's cold voice coming from the backseat.

The driver was caught off guard when his gaze met Justin's through the rear-view mirror. At once, his hands that were gripping the wheel trembled before he answered, "Alright."

Justin didn't say anything else after that succinct instruction.

Meanwhile, Rachel was spending the entire day at the hospital with her grandma.

It was going to be Monday the next day, and her grandma's operation was scheduled to start early in the morning. It was specially arranged by Julian in regards to Rachel, so she was going to keep her grandma company throughout the night.

"Her temperature's normal. If no problem occurs, she'll be able to undergo the operation early in the morning."

In the ward, Julian was measuring Nancy's body temperature as he spoke to Rachel about things she should look out for prior to the operation.

"She has to fast starting this afternoon. Later around 2 P.M., she'll have to undergo an enema. There will be some slight discomfort, so do give her a heads up to mentally prepare."

With a nod, Rachel wrote, "I'll let my grandma know."

"Right, you must've not had lunch yet." Taking a glance at his watch, he proposed, "Come on, let's eat together."

Nonetheless, she shook her head in rejection. 'No thanks. I'd like to keep my grandma company."

As Julian was about to say something, a woman's voice cut him off. "Julian, you're here. I've been looking for you high and low."

Upon hearing that, both Rachel and Julian frowned, and they did it almost in sync.

None of them needed to look to know that it was Amber.

Dr. Peters, you can go along with your work. I'll head back in.'

At once, Julian held on to Rachel before he said, "You still need to eat."

That made her halt her steps. In the next moment, Amber was already standing right before the two of them.

When Amber saw how he was holding onto Rachel, her face turned dark.

It took Rachel a moment before she snapped out of the trance and pulled her hand back with a frown on her forehead.

As Julian's gaze swept past Amber, he said coldly, "We're going to eat. What do you need?"

"You two?" The raging fire in her eyes was evident. She gritted her teeth as she said, "Isn't it a little inappropriate for you two to eat together?"

Just as Rachel was about to free herself from his grip, he spoke up. "There are so many people in the hospital cafeteria. What's inappropriate about eating together? Your house rules must be very strict, Miss Hudson."

"I don't mean it that way, ... Julian, I'm here to ask for your thoughts on a case diagnosis..."

"It's lunch break now."

With a courteous yet distant tone, he didn't bother to let her finish as he cut her off. "We can talk after | have my lunch. Let's go."

It was rare for Rachel to see Amber embarrassed like that. What was more, Rachel didn't expect that Julian, who had always been kind to everyone, would treat her so coldly. She was a little stumped at the moment, and she was already led down the hallway away from Amber when she came to her senses.

'Wait. At this moment, she tentatively tugged on his sleeve.

"What is it?" He stopped in his tracks immediately.

'Dr. Peters, you should go ahead and eat. I'm not hungry yet.'

Though it was satisfying to see Amber getting flabbergasted, Rachel insisted on turning him down.

In response, he frowned and asked with patience, "Are you avoiding me? Is there a reason why you're doing that?"

Hearing that, she shook her head before offering him a smile. 'I need to go keep grandma company.

After that, she turned on her heels and headed back to the ward.

The moment she turned around, the smile on her lips slowly went missing. In the current situation she was in, she couldn't afford to offend Sue anymore.

As he watched her walk away, he couldn't help but feel a mixture of sadness and disappointment.

It was a feeling that he had not felt before in the past two decades.

As soon as she walked into the ward, her grandma looked at her with a stumped expression. "Why are you back already? Didn't you go to eat with Julian?"

How did you know that?

Obviously, Rachel was surprised to see her reaction.

"How can I not know? I was the one who asked him to bring you to get something to eat," she said with a triumphant smile on her face. "Dr. Julian is a good man. Not only does he look good, but he's also good in many other aspects as well. Most importantly, I can see that he has feelings for you. Rae, you should grab the chance."

At once, Rachel reached forward to cover her grandma's mouth. Don't say that! We shouldn't tarnish his image and name. The relationship between us isn't what you think it is. You're overthinking it. What is Grandma thinking? Is she trying to play cupid?

Seeing that Rachel had gotten all flustered, her grandma thought it was best for her to stop going on. Nonetheless, she still felt a little dissatisfied with how the conversation ended. "Rae, never think too lowly o yourself. In my eyes, you are so much better than Amber."

Hearing that, Rachel could only shake her head helplessly.

Whether she was better or not, it no longer mattered. The truth was, she was already married to Justin.

At this moment, her grandma held onto her hand before sighing, "My beloved Rae is all grown up already. You're a chip off the old block; you look as beautiful as your mother was."

Rachel didn't really have many memories about her mother, and whatever she now knew were stories

she heard from her grandma. From her grandma's eyes, her mother was smart, gentle and kind-she was the finest woman in the world.

How did my mother die?

When Rachel brought this up, her grandma's face turned pale, and she fell silent.

Just as Rachel thought that her grandma would tell her the story as she usually would, she suddenly lowered her voice before murmuring, "Because of a piece of the prescription." Prescription? Why is it the prescription again?

At once, Rachel's heart skipped a beat. She simply stared at her grandma with a dumbfounded face.

Her grandma then asked, "Rae, do you remember what happened when you were young?" Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.