Chapter 35 Tailgating
Although Golden Rose Fine Dining was not far from Stargaze Gallery, the evening traffic slowed them down a bit.
Steven ordered a steak and lobster for Rachel, along with a creamy mushroom soup and dessert.
When the food arrived, he thoughtfully cut her steak into bite-sized pieces.
For someone with Rachel's small appetite, this was quite a lot.
She was indeed very tired today, and she hadn't eaten much at lunch, so she had a decent appetite now.
But she still couldn't finish everything.
Several pieces of steak were left, and half of the lobster and soup remained.
Seeing this, Steven asked, "You done?"
"Yeah," Rachel sipped some water.
Steven never minded finishing Rachel's leftovers. He elegantly polished off everything she couldn't eat.
Rachel frowned slightly. She hadn't thought much of it before.
But now, the thought of him possibly eating Nancy's leftovers too made her feel a pang of bitterness.
It was both upsetting and disgusting.
She tried not to watch, focusing instead on her strawberry cake.
Soon, Steven's phone rang with a pleasant ringtone.
He glanced at it and hung up immediately, without hesitation.
But the phone rang again shortly after.
Rachel looked up at him and casually asked, "Who is it?"
"Someone from the office," Steven replied. "It's the project management department. Honey, I need to take this call. You keep eating."
"Okay."
Rachel watched him walk away, then her own phone buzzed.
[Nancy called, saying she has a stomachache and wants Steven to come over.]
Rachel froze, staring at the message, then let out a soft laugh.
The bitterness in her heart intensified, gnawing at her insides.
She gripped her phone tightly, stood up, and walked in the direction Steven had gone.
Steven was on the phone in a long corridor with large windows. Rachel could only see his back, not his expression.
But she could hear his gentle, soothing voice, tinged with affection and coaxing.
"I know you're upset, don't cry, baby, okay? My heart is breaking."
"It's not a big deal. Tomorrow I'll send someone to Stargaze Gallery to pick you up in front of her, and that'll put her mind at ease."
Rachel didn't hear what Nancy said in response, but Steven checked his watch. "Alright, I'll come see you soon. Be good."
Rachel had only caught the tail end of the conversation.
She suddenly remembered a night when he had brought her several snacks that could only be found on the north side of town.
She had been touched, but after overhearing his phone conversation with Nancy in the bathroom, that feeling had evaporated.
The scene now, his tone of voice, was eerily similar.
Just then, a waiter walked by. Rachel masked her pain, turned off the recording on her phone, and headed to the restroom.
She emerged four or five minutes later to find Steven already back at the table.
"Did you go to the restroom?" Steven asked.
"Yeah," Rachel replied, sitting down. "What did the office need?"
"There's an issue with a project plan—some discrepancies in the data. Honey, I need to go back to the office. Is that okay?"
"If it's work, then go ahead," Rachel forced a smile, digging her nails into her palm. "We're done eating anyway, and work is important."
"Let me take you home first."
"No need. It'll take half an hour to get home, and then another hour to the office. It's a waste of time. I'll just take a cab."
Steven looked serious. "No way! It's already nine. I can't let you take a cab alone."
He thought for a moment. "You're tired today. How about you drive home, and I'll take a cab to the office?"
"How will you get back later?"
"My assistant is at the office. He can drive me back."
"Alright," Rachel hesitated but agreed.
Steven paid the bill, and as they left the restaurant, he hailed a cab. She gave him a few instructions, and Steven told the driver the company's address in front of her.
Watching the cab merge into traffic, she got into her car and headed towards Scenic Bay Estates.
As luck would have it, just as she turned onto the side road, her car lights dimmed. From a distance, she saw a taxi stop in front of the gates, and a tall figure stepped out.
It was Steven.
Rachel forced a smile. She took out her phone and snapped several pictures of his profile.
To be with Nancy, he could come up with any excuse to deceive her.
In that moment of blankness, she couldn't remember if similar things had happened before.
Even if they had, she couldn't tell what was real and what was fake.
How ridiculous.
Rachel sat in her car for half an hour, her mind a chaotic mess.
Steven didn't come out.
Marriage was a roll of the dice, with no guarantee how it would turn out.
She had once felt lucky and happy.
But now?
She had been living in a beautiful illusion, wrapped in Steven's lies.
If it weren't for the text message, how long would it have taken her to discover the truth?
For some reason, she thought of a dream she had recently.
In the dream, she sat alone all night, holding her daughter's lifeless body.
It was just a dream.
But it felt so real.
Could it have been a warning about the consequences of not knowing the truth?
A chill ran down her spine, snapping her thoughts back to the present. She started the engine, turned the car around, and left Scenic Bay Estates.
As she drove down Canopy Road, a light rain began to fall.
Rachel turned on the wipers. Her vision wasn't blurry, but thinking about the dream made her momentarily distracted.
Suddenly, she heard a collision from the front of her car.
Rachel's mind snapped back, but she was in a daze.
She had rear-ended the car in front of her.
It seemed to be a gray Bentley. Just as it looked familiar, the driver's door opened. A black umbrella was unfurled, revealing a pair of long, straight legs, followed by a broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted figure.
He walked to the front of her car, raised the umbrella slightly, and a familiar, stern face came into view.
Benjamin?
It was Benjamin!