My Darling, My Dearest

Chapter 473 The Funeral

With a faint smile, Rachel said, "This is the seal Eric had carved for me when he went on a trip."

Memories flooded her and made her smile wider. Gently rubbing the seal, she continued, "I used to think that he was too old-fashioned. I didn't expect that this would become my only connection with him."

"It's okay. You will find more things to connect with him in the future." Jack let her lean her head on his shoulder. "There are more than ten hours left. You should sleep first."

Rachel did not feel sleepy at the time, but she knew that Jack would only grow more worried if she refused to take a rest.

His face looked haggard from tiredness and a profound sadness. Rachel knew that it was all on her account.

She couldn't imagine what would happen to her without him by her side. She didn't know what to do.

In the hospital, Eric was lying in the bed and staring at the ceiling, his face devoid of expression.

The psychologist sat by his bedside and said something to him in a low voice, but Eric did not show any reaction. Frustration crept into the psychologist's expression.

He glanced at Eric's empty expression and shook his head slightly. He was about to rise from his seat when a pregnant woman entered the room. He started to tell her that she must have entered the wrong room, but the words were stuck in his throat when Jack followed her into the room.

Looking at Eric's pale face, Rachel covered her mouth and tried her best to hold back her tears. "Eric, are you okay?"

However, her words hung in the air: unacknowledged and unanswered.

Jack took a chair and placed it by the bedside for Rachel to sit on. He whispered in her ear, "Rachel, stay here and talk to Eric. We'll go out first."

He knew that if he and the psychologist stayed inside the room, then Rachel wouldn't be able to tell Eric the things that she wanted to say.

Rachel gave him a look of gratitude. "Thank you, Jack."

He smiled and flicked her forehead gently. "Don't be silly."

Jack shut the door, and then Rachel was left alone with Eric in the ward. She tightly grasped his hand. His hand remained unmoving, and the fact sent a bolt of pain in her heart. In the past, Eric would always shake her hand off whenever she took his hand in hers, shouting, "Rachel, you are so gross! We are both too old for this hand-holding business!"

Whenever he did that, Rachel would look at him in disgust and say, "Can't you control your voice? You are too loud!" Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Now, with Eric lying so still in the bed that even his eyes didn't move, Rachel couldn't help but recall the past. She held back her tears and said in a choked-up voice, "Eric, I'm holding your hand right now. Why aren't you yelling at me? Why aren't you telling me that I'm gross?"

Nothing answered her but silence.

Rachel wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, pressed her lips together, and tried to calm herself down. Then she stood up, pointed at Eric's face, and yelled, "Eric Shen, this has nothing to do with you. Now, you're lying there and not getting any better. Do you think your mom can rest assured? Don't you feel sorry for worrying your poor mother?"

Upon hearing this words, Eric seemed to frown.

Rachel knew that the lack of emotions on Eric's face did not mean that he had none—it was because he tried his best to suppress the sadness in his heart.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her them again, her eyes held a faintly cruel expression. "Eric, if you don't want your mother to go in peace, then keep on lying there and don't move. Don't get up, and I won't help you out with the funeral arrangements. I'll just let her be. Even if someone tells me that I'm not showing filial piety, my conscience is clear. After all, her own son is just lying here motionless and not dealing with it. Why should I help?"

After delivering such vicious words, Rachel couldn't think for a while. Disjointed sentences started forming in her mind, but she couldn't speak.

Looking down at Eric, she let out a long sigh, as if the wind was suddenly knocked out of her sails. Feeling powerless, she murmured in a low voice, "If you persist in behaving like this, then I will leave."

The moment she turned around, she head a sob from the still figure lying in the bed. The first sound seemed like it was choked back, and suddenly, the floodgates were opened. Eric cried out, "Rachel, it's all my fault. I killed my mother. If I had caught her that time, then this would never have happened."

After a long time of not feeling, the tears flowed like an unrestrained river from his eyes.

Rachel rushed to his side and clasped his hands in hers. "Eric, it's not your fault. Nobody wants this to happen."

"No, it's all my fault!" Eric cried in an even louder voice. Jack, who sat on standby just outside of the hospital room door, heard his hysterical roar. He was afraid that Rachel would not be able to deal

with it alone, so he quickly stood up to check on the situation at hand. As soon as his hand touched the door handle, the psychologist spoke up. "Mr. Fu, don't go in for now. If someone else enters while he is in this state, he might end up suppressing his emotions again. It's about time for him to express his feelings, so let us let him do that."

Rachel stood by the hospital bed and watched helplessly as Eric wept like a man who had lost everything. She didn't say anything, nor did she touch him to offer him comfort.

Once his weeping had gradually subsided, she sat down on the chair again. She blinked back the film of tears that had formed over her eyes and said in a choked-up voice, "Eric, we can't do anything about what has happened. For now, we should marshal on and handle this last thing well so that Aunt Linda can go in peace."

The funeral was set a week later.

On that day, even God seemed to have noticed their sadness. The weather had been sunny for days, but on that day, even the heavens wept.

Clad in somber black clothing, all of those in attendance stood in front of the tombstone, quietly gazing at Linda's smile in the photo.

Eric said, "Mom loved laughter and freedom like no one else, but now she's trapped in such a small world. She must be feeling very sad right now."

Jack patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "But then, her soul is now free, and she can fly wherever in the world that she wants to go, right?"

"That's right." Eric nodded, tears quietly streaming down his face.

After a long moment, the corners of his lips turned up in a smile, and he murmured, "Rachel, Mom said before that the thing she regretted the most was telling you what happened to your parents,

which led to your separation from Jack. Now that you two are back together, she must be very happy."

"Yes, she will be happy." Rachel opened her arms and hugged Eric tightly. Then, she turned and placed the roses in her hand on Linda's tomb and said softly, "Aunt Linda, from now on, I will come here to bring you your favorite flowers every year. Don't worry. You won't be lonely."

After her aunt's friends had left, the three of them remained standing there in silence before turning to leave.

On the way out of the cemetery, Rachel looked at Eric, who was walking alone in front of them. His back seemed heavier, and he looked like he had matured overnight.

She asked, "Eric, what are you planning to do next?"

Eric shook his head and slowed down his pace. "I haven't thought about it yet. I may try finding a job and moving back to Ninwell City. I want to see your baby's birth and watch it grow up."

He raised his head and looked up at the sky. Finally, he heaved a deep sigh. "But then, I may try to retrace my mother's steps and go to places where she had always wanted to go but hadn't been to. I haven't decided yet. I'll definitely stay in Ninwell City for now."

"You can live with us, then." Although Eric's apartment had yet to be rented out and a cleaner for hire usually went there to clean up, a tenant could move in at any time. Rachel was really worried about him living at home alone.

She was afraid that he would think too much once left on his own and end up being unable to get out again.

Eric knew what Rachel meant, so he stopped walking. As they approached him slowly, he put his hand on Jack's shoulder and opened his mouth to speak.

At that time, a police car with sirens suddenly stopped in front of them.

Two policemen in uniform got out of the car. Almost completely in sync, they flashed their ID badges. The taller of the two said in a deep voice, "You are Jack Fu, correct? You are under suspicion in relation to a drug trafficking case. Please come back with us to assist in the investigation."

'Drug trafficking?'

Rachel's face suddenly turned pale. She urgently asked, "What drug trafficking case? You must be mistaken. Jack has never done such a thing."

The other policeman smiled politely and said, "We also hope that the direction of our investigation is wrong. After all, we are well aware of Mr. Fu's important role in the business field. However, if Mr. Fu were actually involved in the case, it would set a bad example for the people of Ninwell City."

The policeman turned and opened the back door of the police car, and his face became serious. "Mr. Jack Fu, get in the car."

Author's note

G°°se Mfiiiisn

Translator: Scarlett5555