Chapter 2
The tail lights of the car became fuzzy halos in the rain and gradually disappeared.
Vanessa gave a cold snort and turned her chin away.
The rain stopped, but there was no guest in the banquet hall.
The parking attendants and the doormen checked the surrounding facilities. The cleaners were sweeping the floor with mops. Cold winds blew in bursts, rolled up several dead leaves, and floated to Vanessa's feet.
She tightened her scarf again. On this desolate night, she did not know whether she should be angry with Jackson or with Shawn she had never met.
Finally, it was midnight and the wall clock rang. A familiar car came slowly and stopped at the gate. Then Jackson got off the car in the rain.
Before he could speak, Vanessa ran to him in the rain, threw herself into his arms, and held his arm, behaving in a spoiled manner.
"I'm freezing cold."
Jackson asked her to get into the car, fasten his seat belt, and turned sideways to rub her hair. "I'm sorry. It rained so hard that I didn't see clearly the roadside. I took the wrong fork of the road and took a long circle to drive here."
Hearing Jackson's gentle voice, Vanessa's grievances soon disappeared. Instead, she felt extremely guilty. She said softly, "I didn't mean it. How are you doing today? Are you happy?"
Jackson held the steering wheel in his hands and sighed, "How could I be happy since my girlfriend didn't accompany me?"
"Sorry." Vanessa twisted her upper body and looked at him with a smile, "Who spent your birthday with you today?"
Jackson opened his mouth and was about to speak. Vanessa hurriedly asked, "Danny?"
"Yep."
Danny Bentley was Jackson's college roommate. After graduation, they had been in touch and had a good relationship.
"He is becoming more and more coquettish."
Vanessa said.
"What?" Jackson glanced at her sideways. "Why do you say that?"
"I used to think he was a straight man. I didn't expect he would use perfume now." Vanessa suddenly leaned close to Jackson's neck and took a few hard sniffs. "The fragrance is light and special. He has good taste. Next time, help me ask what perfume it is. I think it should also be suitable for me."
"OK." Jackson nodded faintly and changed the topic. "How about today's interview?"
In front of her boyfriend, Vanessa didn't want to act politely anymore. She said angrily, "He is so bad. He canceled the interview we appointed. I came to wait eagerly tonight. As a result, he didn't show up at all."
"Don't be angry." Jackson reached out a hand and rubbed Vanessa's hair again. "Capitalists are inhuman. Let it go."
"Jackson." Vanessa covered her hair and was a little unhappy. "Why are you always rubbing my hair today? It's annoying."
...
Having reached home, Vanessa didn't even have the strength to take a bath, nor was she in a hurry to remove her makeup. She took off her high heels and threw herself into the sofa. Her eyes could no longer hold on, and she almost fell asleep.
However, at the moment when she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly remembered that she had not confirmed whether Jackson had arrived home safely, so she immediately got out of bed.
Her mobile phone was not found in the coat pockets. Vanessa touched the shoulder bag again, but still couldn't find it. Finally, she simply poured out everything in the bag, but still didn't see the mobile phone.
Vanessa sat on the sofa and thought about what happened tonight. According to her movements, her mobile phone couldn't have been stolen.
Then, her mobile phone was either in Warner Manor or in Jackson's car.
Vanessa's mobile phone was so important to her life that she couldn't rest assured until she found it, so she immediately got her iPad to locate her phone.
A few minutes later, she saw the red dot on the map becoming clearer and clearer, but she became more and more confused.
Her mobile phone unexpectedly appeared in Lantrie No.1 Hospital at this time.
Had her mobile phone really been stolen?
It was impossible. She got into Jackson's car with her mobile phone. She hadn't been anywhere during that time.
Now the only explanation was that she left her mobile phone in Jackson's car, and Jackson was in the hospital now.
But why did Jackson go to the hospital at this time?
Did he have a sudden illness? Or was there a car accident?
Vanessa didn't dare to think about it. She immediately got up, changed a pair of pants, and went out.
It was still stormy outside. Cars galloped across the road. Vanessa couldn't get a car appointment online without a mobile phone. She stood in the cold wind for more than 20 minutes before waiting for a car.
Late at night, the hospital was still brightly lit, and the smell of disinfectant mixed with the cold wind and rain filled the air.
Vanessa opened the car door, and the rain poured on her face, making her face wet.
Holding an umbrella, she wiped her face casually. Looking around, she saw Jackson's car at a glance.
But Jackson was not in the car. Vanessa did not know how she could find Jackson in such a large hospital without a mobile phone.
The rain was so heavy that the umbrella could not cover Vanessa. Vanessa felt more and more uncomfortable in her lower abdomen. She was sweating on her back and walked unsteadily. She walked step by step to the outpatient building. Her trouser legs were getting wet and her actions became more and more difficult.
Suddenly, she stepped into a puddle. She staggered and then fell to one side.
Fortunately, there was a car parked next to her. Although it hurt a little to fall on the car, she didn't fall on the ground full of water.
Vanessa slowly stood up, looked down at the car sign, and immediately flipped away.
This is a car of a famous brand with a plate of serial numbers. She didn't dare to get close to the car. People may think she was making racketeering.
Vanessa rubbed her wrists and went on with her shaky umbrella.
However, when she almost reach the outpatient building, her footsteps suddenly stopped.
Although it rained heavily, she could still clearly identify the man who came out slowly as her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend was hugging a woman.
The woman was still wearing Jackson's coat.
That coat was bought by Vanessa.
Apparently, her boyfriend was cheating on her. She almost knew the truth. But Vanessa was still trying to comfort herself.
Vanessa thought, "They should be just friends. Jackson has a good character. It's normal for him to visit a friend in the hospital at night. Besides, they don't have any close contact."
But the next second, the woman hugged Jackson.
Jackson raised his hand and rubbed her hair. He smiled helplessly.
For a moment, Vanessa felt extremely cold in the rain.
After hugging Jackson for a while, the beautiful woman raised her head and looked at him. They were very close, and they touched each other's noses.
At Vanessa's distance, she could only see that the woman said something with her mouth open intermittently, and Jackson's expression seemed to become more and more unnatural.
Then the woman padded her toes and kissed Jackson.
Vanessa suddenly closed her eyes as if she saw something dirty, and didn't open them for a long time.
Vanessa thought, "Jackson, when I open my eyes, you push her away.
You push her away and I'll listen to your explanation."
A few seconds later, Vanessa frowned and opened her eyes. The picture in front of her was clear.
Jackson not only did not push the woman away, but he also kissed her.
His slender hand slowly lifted and hugged her waist.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. It seemed to annihilate the city.
The night sky was like a movie screen with the lights off. Vanessa saw many pictures of the past.
At first, she didn't like Jackson.
At that time, she was going to be a senior. Her roommates all said that they found a junior student very handsome, so they ran to the playground to see him like paparazzi.
Jackson looked OK, not as handsome as her roommates said.
Vanessa thought so and soon forgot him.
But Jackson fell in love with Vanessa at first sight.
A 20-year-old boy's pursuit was always warm and straightforward. He sent flowers and confessed to her. At the party, he blatantly sang a love song to her, full of vigor and vitality.
But Vanessa didn't like this. She refused the flowers and gifts. When he sang, she turned around and left.
At that time, many people thought Jackson should not last long, including Vanessa. He was no different from those boys with instant enthusiasm.
But Vanessa didn't expect that Jackson didn't give her up until she graduated and entered the newspaper office to become a trainee reporter.
After leaving the campus, Vanessa had to get up early every day to choose topics, grab clues, run around the financial streets to do interviews, stay up late at night to write press releases, and take small internship wages, but always worried about valuable projects.
Vanessa was unhappy for a long time due to her maladjustment to social life. At this time, only Jackson made her happy.
Vanessa still remembered that she promised to be Jackson's girlfriend on the phone, but Jackson excitedly took a taxi from school to see her, just for a justifiable hug.
In fact, most of Vanessa's friends didn't understand her either. They said that besides being handsome, what else could Jackson stand out? His family conditions were ordinary, and his work had the little prospect. They thought that Vanessa could find a better one.
Vanessa still remembered her answer at that time: I think he is very sincere. What a rare quality.
But why did Jackson change so quickly?
Vanessa looked back to the steps of the outpatient building. Several nurses who hurried out saw the passionate two kissing, showing envious smiles.
What a beautiful couple.
It was true that Jackson was too reasonable.
It was true that Jackson was indifferent to Vanessa.
It was true that Jackson had the habit of rubbing hair.
Only "Danny" was fake. Maybe even the faint perfume belonged to this woman.
Vanessa thought that she was a joke since she came to the hospital in the rain at night.
Reason told her that she should not be an outsider at this time. She should go up and defend her ownership.
But she couldn't move her legs, and she didn't want to act destructively in this crowded hospital.
Her self-confidence in her identity did not allow her to make herself so embarrassed.
After watching it quietly for a while, Vanessa touched her face. Her hand was full of rain. Maybe it was mixed with tears.
She walked to Jackson's car, took off her bracelet from Jackson, hung it firmly on the door handle, and turned to leave in the rain.
The rain was pouring at night, and the silver thin bracelet was shaky washed by the rain, but it was still covered with cold light spots.
They looked like Vanessa's talking eyes, saying coldly: I have seen everything you have done.