Chapter 236 Being Honest With Each Other
Chapter 236 Being Honest With Each Other
Rachel watched Vivian leave, leaving Daniel behind. She turned around and looked at Daniel, who to
her shock, was still drinking. Rachel said to him,"Daniel, don't drink too much. You nearly polished two
full bottles of wine. Stop drinking now and go to your bedroom to sleep it off."
Daniel swished the remaining liquor in his mouth, and finished the last few drops in the bottle. "Mrs.
Rong, are you worried that I will drink all the alcohol in your house?"
said Daniel. He looked at Rachel in his drunken state.
"No, not at all, Daniel. We have lots of wine in our cellar. You are allowed to drink it if you like it that
much. I'm just starting to worry about you. Too much alcohol is really bad for your health." Shaking her
head, Rachel gave Daniel a slight smile, as she noticed how drunk he actually was. Rachel said to
Daniel,"Alright, get up. I can't leave you here all by yourself. Let's go."
Rachel stepped towards him, in her attempt to help Daniel up from the ground. Daniel dodged her
gesture, and refused to accept her help.
"Don't touch me, Rachel." Daniel said in his drunken state, and refilled his glass with wine.
It was very unlike him to reject her like that. He wasn't even being funny about it, which was something,
she suddenly noticed, lacking in him. Rachel glanced at Daniel with a heavy sigh. "Fine, I should go
now. I'll ask Vivian to come get you and take care of you."
Although Daniel was very drunk, Rachel understood that they were close friends. She initially thought
that it was entirely normal for them to have a certain extent of physical contact with one another, yet he
just uncomfortably rejected her touch. He even seemed too scared to touch her.
Rachel turned around without giving the situation a second thought, and proceeded to walk away. As
she was just about to reach the stairs, she heard a noise behind her. She turned around and wondered
what had happened. Daniel already caught up to her. He hugged her close from behind, smelling like
alcohol, so Rachel urged him to let her go.
"Don't move. Let me hug you."
said Daniel. He hugged Rachel tightly. He was so close to her that she could almost feel his heartbeat.
Daniel buried his face in Rachel's shoulders, as he murmured,"Rachel, I miss you. I have missed you
every day since you left work. How am I supposed to look at you and not touch you?
I used to see you at work at least three times a week. I thought I would be satisfied with that, but you
left. I feel hopeless not being able to see you as I please."
Despite knowing how drunk he was, Rachel was startled by Daniel's words. She wanted to pull herself
out of Daniel's hug, but he held onto her tightly. "Daniel, you're drunk. Please, let go of me!"
"No, I'm not letting you go. Not now. I know you're Hiram's wife. So, I can never ever compete with him,
and I don't even think twice about it. Just... Grant me one minute. All I want to do is talk to you." said
Daniel. He turned Rachel around with his hands gently holding on to her shoulders. Rachel lowered her
head. She felt uneasy about the entire situation and didn't know how to respond.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She continued to speak,"Alright, I can give you one
minute. Just, let go of me first."
Daniel stared at his hands, which were holding on to Rachel's shoulders. He let go of her reluctantly,
and said bitterly,"You've hurt me, Rachel. Hiram can do whatever he wants to do because he's your
husband, but me? I am not even allowed to touch you.
I know I don't deserve you. I don't have the guts to win you over. I'm not brave enough. Even when
Hiram hurt you, I... I was too much of a coward to comfort you or take care of you in public. Because I
know you. I know that even if you and Hiram encountered the idea of getting a divorce one day, still I
wouldn't be able to have you.
Things like this always happen to me. It seems as though my life, and all these events, have been set
out for me. I feel like I have always been doomed to lose. I have felt this since the very beginning. I will
never be able to win you over."
Rachel didn't know how to respond. The words he said, really struck a chord with her. Although they
didn't feel like anything too profound, she felt a sudden sense of sadness in her heart.
She didn't have many male friends. Daniel was really the only one whom she felt she could embrace a
friendship with. Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.
"Don't say that, Daniel. I think Vivian is a really good choice for you. You're a great guy. There are many
women out there who would simply jump at the mere idea of building a life with you."
Rachel patted Daniel on his shoulders, and said,"Okay, so we're good. We're not going to overthink
this, right? You're going to sleep it off, and forget this."
While she was talking to Daniel, she noticed that someone was standing on the stairs. She was startled
and quickly said,"Daniel, I should go now. Get some rest. Goodnight."
Startled, Rachel was ready to turn around and leave. However, Daniel was extremely drunk, and
refused to let go of her. He suddenly grabbed her hands and wanted to pull her into his arms.
Hiram, was the one who stood on the stairs.
He came upstairs to look for his wife. He strode towards them and pulled Rachel from Daniel's arms.
He held her, and looked at Daniel coldly,"Daniel, you're very drunk. I'll ask someone to send you to your
bedroom now! You need to get some sleep,"
said Hiram. He walked down the stairs with Rachel. With his hands on her shoulders. he refused to
take his hands off of her.
Daniel's hands were holding the air around him. Eventually he bitterly closed his eyes.
Daniel had predicted that this would happen.
…
Hiram didn't let go of Rachel's hands until they reached their bedroom. His face was shocked, and
rather faded. He walked towards the balcony, opened the window and lit a cigarette, which always
seemed like it could solve all of his problems in one go. However, not this time.
If it hadn't been Daniel who tried something as stupid as hitting on his wife tonight, he would have
beaten him up.
Rachel stared at Hiram's back through the window. She opened the door and walked over to him.
"Hiram…"
She had no idea what to say to him. She couldn't defend Daniel. Hiram would just get angrier towards
him, and she didn't want any trouble. She imagined that if she had kept it a secret and he hadn't caught
Daniel declaring his love and care to Rachel, Hiram wouldn't feel as uncomfortable as he did tonight.
Rachel walked onto the balcony. Hiram put out his cigarette, and turned around to look at her. "I'm fine.
I just want a few moments alone to breathe. You can go to sleep, honey. You don't have to wait for me."
Rachel opened her mouth, yet held back what she wanted to say. She turned around and went inside.
When she was finished in the shower, she walked into the bedroom. Hiram already came inside from
the balcony. He was subtly reading on their bed, as if nothing had happened. Rachel didn't know how
to respond.
While Rachel was taking a shower, she thought about a lot of things. She finally made a decision. They
needed to talk about what happened. She acknowledged that if they ignored it, it would be much more
difficult for them to deal with their problems in the future.
"Hiram, I want to talk to you." said Rachel. She got into bed to lie next to him.
Hiram took his glass of wine, which was placed on the bedside table. He took a big sip. Flinching his
eyes. he looked over at his wife, who seemed exceedingly serious. "Say it."
Rachel let out a heavy sigh, as she grabbed his arm and rested her head on it firmly. She continued to
speak in a lower tone. "I know that whatever Daniel said to me, was said in his drunken state of mind.
Regardless, he shocked me, and I only see him as a friend. He has never said anything like that to me
before. I have no idea where it came from. He gave me a lot of attitude tonight. I don't know what's
wrong with him. I know that it must have made you feel very uncomfortable. It made me feel very
uncomfortable too..."
Hiram held onto Rachel as he watched her lying in his arms safely. He didn't say a word whatsoever. A
few seconds later, he found the courage to finally speak. "Yes, I feel very uncomfortable about what
Daniel said and, declared... Not only is he my business partner, but also is my friend. Where is the
loyalty? I placed my trust in him and he broke it."
If it was someone else, like Wayne or whoever, Hiram acknowledged to himself that he would feel
jealous in his heart, but he wouldn't feel uncomfortable, nor uneasy about the whole ordeal, as it
wouldn't matter.
Hiram knew his taste and style quite well. Rachel was a charming, beautiful and intelligent woman. He
understood that she would be difficult to resist by most men.
"You know what? If you were any other woman, I would let you go with Daniel without a single thought
of hesitation. Unfortunately for Daniel, you're different and mean the world to me. I won't allow that kind
of things to happen. No other guys are allowed to touch you! I won't have it." Hiram said, as he grabbed
Rachel's shoulders harder. As he got more upset, he didn't stop.
"Ouch! That hurts!" It was so hard that Rachel shouted out loud. She yanked herself out of Hiram's
hands, and glanced at her shoulders. On her pale-white shoulders, were Hiram's fingerprints. She
exclaimed,"No, Hiram, you're overthinking what happened tonight! I am not involved with other men,
except for you! I am your wife, and I am loyal to you alone."
Hiram glanced at her shoulders and rubbed them for her. "I know. I'm really sorry for hurting you...
Daniel is drunk tonight. If he were in his right mind, he would never have said things like that! I like to
believe that he carries some common courtesy, and loyalty too,"
said Hiram. He held Rachel's head gently and in a protective manner. "Okay, I'll let it go and forget
about what happened tonight, but when I wake up tomorrow, Daniel better pull himself together. I will
give him another chance, as long as he knows that nothing like this can ever happen again."
Hiram was trying to appear calm in front of Rachel, but in reality, he was very angry. He never wanted
to see other men look at Rachel with an intention. He was very protective of her. He also didn't want to
hear any man confess a romantic suggestion to her, never again.
Hiram had always been scared of losing Rachel. She was an amazing woman.
Since the day Rachel was kidnapped from the theater, Hiram had grown worried with the mere idea
that one day, he could very well lose her. Most importantly, he worried that she could possess the idea
of leaving him one day, which was something he wouldn't be able to bear at all. It would break his
heart.
Should she ever get hurt, other men would be presented with a chance to sabotage their relationship.
He was constantly worried about her. Even the idea of her leaving him along the line, was the one he
simply just couldn't imagine.