CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 350: CONFIRMED PREGNANCY, A KISS TO SEAL THE AFFECTION (5)_1

Seeing his familiar, strong build and the unmistakable anxiety on his handsome face, Rachel Bailey managed a smile, though it was strained. At this moment, she found it truly difficult to smile as naturally as she usually did.

"That... that..." she stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Hansen Ruiz slowly walked towards her.

When he saw her from afar, crouching helplessly and looking somewhat disheveled on the side of the road, his heart suddenly tightened, a mix of pain and ecstasy surging through him.

He hadn’t seen her for nearly three days.

But her appearance, even from a distance, was something he recognized at a glance.

Although she didn’t have striking looks, he always found something special about her. It allowed him to pick her out easily with just one glance, no matter where or when.

"Are you alright?" Hansen Ruiz finally stood before Rachel, looking down at her small face as he asked in a deep voice.

Rachel replied with a smile and a shake of her head, "If I weren’t alright, would I be able to stand here waiting for you?"

The next moment, Hansen pulled her forcefully into his embrace, holding her tight.

He desperately wanted to scold her, to unleash his anger, but what he wanted most was simply to hold her close.

"That... ease up a bit," Rachel protested softly from within his arms.

Instead of loosening his grip when he heard her soft protest, Hansen held her even tighter.

His heart was still pounding. Because of her, it had been in a constant state of agitation for the past two days.

The sheer volume of worries and emotions he was experiencing felt greater than all he had felt in his past thirty-five years combined.

After they held each other on the roadside for a while, Hansen finally put Rachel into his car.

"In my impression, you’re a very brave woman, outspoken and daring. So why, when it comes to feelings, do you retreat like a turtle into its shell, making yourself completely unreachable?"

"It’s all so sudden, and the gap between us is so vast. Isn’t it normal for me to react this way?"

Rachel said softly, "Hansen Ruiz, do you still want me? I want to give myself a chance, and I want to give you a chance. Will you still give me this chance? Do you still want it?"

"Fool."

"If I didn’t want you, would I be this anxious about you?"

"Didn’t you go back?"

"Do you think my car is an airplane? How could I have returned home in such a short time? Actually, I do own a private plane. I just prefer not to be ostentatious; it’s better to maintain a low profile. If something like this happens again, I’ll directly dispatch my private jet. That way, I can reach the destination in the shortest possible time and avoid rushing around like I did just now."

"That’s good. Your mom... I don’t want your family to be at odds because of me; that would put me in an even more difficult position." Rachel yawned. She had spent the previous night in a taxi and hadn’t slept well because of the cold.

"As long as you’re okay, my family will be fine."

Hansen Ruiz said this in a deep tone, his meaning clear: his family might not accept Rachel Bailey, but they absolutely could not hurt her.

"Oh, right, I borrowed the phone at that little shop just now. The owner was very kind and didn’t charge me. I didn’t have any money to pay, so could you handle it for me?" Rachel remembered the kind shopkeeper; if not for his kindness, she wouldn’t have known what to do.

"What exactly happened?" Hansen Ruiz frowned slightly upon hearing her words. As he helped her out of the car and they walked towards the small shop, he knew he had to thank the owner. This person had helped *his* woman—Hansen Ruiz’s woman—and naturally, he owed them his gratitude. But he also needed to know what had put Rachel in this situation.

"It’s nothing. After you pay the shopkeeper for the phone call, please treat me to a meal. I’m starving! I’ll treat you back later." Rachel Bailey didn’t want to tell Hansen Ruiz that they had both been set up by Glades Horne.

After all, Glades Horne’s intention was to help them, to give their relationship a push. Besides, this was also, in a way, the result of her asking Julia Bluen for help.

Hansen Ruiz stopped walking, turning his head to look at her intently.

Rachel Bailey also stopped, looking up at him. She said very seriously, "Hansen Ruiz, promise me you won’t investigate why I ended up here. In any case, it’s a good thing for us."

"Okay!"

Hansen Ruiz agreed indulgently. In truth, he already suspected it was Glades Horne’s doing. After all, who else but him could put Hansen Ruiz through such an ordeal?