Such a Rude and Noisy Woman novel Chapter 93

"In the early morning

You left me

In this lonely street

I know where I am

I just don't know where I should go..."

The singer sang these lyrics to a beautiful melody. The audience sat in pin-drop silence, mesmerized by her voice. They could almost feel her sadness.

Hiram squinted at the stage, but the singer was standing with her back to the audience. No one could see her face.

Hiram stopped a waiter who was walking past him.

Rachel was about to finish her song when a waiter walked up on stage and handed her a bunch of roses. "Ma'am, this is from a gentleman, " he said.

Rachel was a little surprised but she took the flowers. She looked around the audience but couldn't figure out who the flowers were from. She guessed that they might be from Celine.

When Rachel turned around, she was greeted with great applause and whistles.

No one thought that a woman so good at singing could be so beautiful at the same time.

Rachel smiled and bowed to the audience.

When she went back to her seat, all her team members got onto their feet to welcome her back. Everyone was surprised and impressed by her performance.

"Come on, you guys. I guess I just got lucky. Oh, right. Did you guys give me these flowers? Thank you!" Rachel sniffed the bunch of roses and put them on the empty seat beside her.

Celine shrugged and looked at Fiona and Michael. "Did you guys do that?"

They both shook their heads. "No!" Michael and Fiona exclaimed.

"Enjoy yourself, you guys. I wanna go to the bathroom. I'll join you later, " Rachel said, standing up. It would be a lie if she said that she hadn't felt nervous singing in front of so many people.

She stood in front of the sink in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Surprisingly, she wasn't blushing too much. She washed her hands and walked out of the bathroom only to find a man in his forties waiting there.

"Ma'am, may I have your phone number? You're a really good singer. Have you ever considered becoming a professional singer? You could be famous, " the man said, giving Rachel his business card.

"Thank you! But no thanks. Singing is just my hobby. I really don't think I want a career in it. Bye." Rachel had a bad feeling about staying here with the man, so she walked towards the exit without taking his card.

"Hang on! Why are you in a rush? If you're free, we could hang out tonight!" The man grabbed her arm and winked at her. Apparently, he was asking her out on a date.

Rachel tried to wrench her arm away but the man's grip was too tight. Just then, someone sprinted towards them and punched the man's face.

The man fell to the floor, passed out.

"Go fuck yourself!" said the tall and strong savior as he kicked the middle-aged man lying on the ground. He turned around and looked at Rachel, Who couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes. All of a sudden, she didn't know where to look.

"Thank you."

It was the only two words she could bring herself to say before walking away.

But when she crossed Hiram, he grabbed her by the arm.

He smiled sadly at Rachel, who was just inches away from him. There seemed to be a lot going on in his mind.

After a long pause, he finally said, "I'm sorry."

Then he let go of Rachel's arm.

Rachel clenched her fists and strode towards the exit. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.

The party in the bar had come to an end.

By the time Rachel got back home, it was already midnight. She washed up and went to bed, but couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Hiram. That "sorry" from him kept ringing in her ears. It was like he had thrown a pebble into a lake and caused an endless ripple.

She was still tossing and turning in bed trying to fall asleep when the phone rang, breaking the silence. It was about one thirty in the morning.

Rachel answered the phone, feeling a little annoyed. She furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "What's up, Carl? What time is it now?"

"Rachel, were you sleeping? Hiram… Hiram is drunk. I can't get him out of the car. He keeps saying that he misses you." Carl was exhausted taking care of Hiram. He had tried everything he could before finally calling Rachel.

"Carl, there's nothing left between me and Hiram. You should tell him to find another woman, " said Rachel. But when she was about to hang up the phone, Carl pressed on.

"Rachel! We are waiting for you outside your building now. Can you just come down here and look at Hiram? Just do me a favor, please! He's completely sloshed. He can't do anything to hurt you. Would you please come and help me?"

Hearing Carl beg like this, Rachel's heart softened.

Remembering Hiram's "sorry" from earlier, Rachel hesitated. After considering Carl's request for a while, she finally decided to put on her clothes and go downstairs.

When Rachel stepped out, she saw the fancy Maybach parked in front of her building.

Carl was already waiting for her there. "Rachel! Thank you, really!"

Carl thanked her profusely before opening the door to the back seat of the car.

Rachel looked at Hiram, who was leaning against the car door on the other side. It was hard to tell whether he was asleep or drunk, but he stunk of alcohol.

"Rachel, could you please get in the car and help me persuade him to go home?" Carl clasped his hands together, begging Rachel.

Feeling embarrassed, Rachel hesitated. It was roomy inside the car, but Hiram had rested one of his legs on the back seat. Rachel was wondering if she should sit in the front.

While she was hesitating, Carl pushed her into the car and closed the door.

He would wait for them outside the car.

Though there was a lot of space in the car, now that Hiram was almost lying down on the seat, his legs brushed against Rachel inevitably. She moved his legs down so that she would have space to sit.

"Hiram, wake up!" She patted his face lightly, trying to wake him up.

Hiram immediately grabbed her hands. Still drunk, he half-opened his eyes and said, "I'm so thirsty."

Rachel noticed an unopened bottle of water in the back seat. She tried to pull her hands away, but Hiram was gripping them tightly.

"Let go of my hands! How can I open the bottle with you holding both of my hands?" she asked. Hiram finally loosened his grip.

She helped him sit up straight before opening the bottle of water and passing it to him.

Hiram drank it eagerly. He kept staring at Rachel, unable to figure out if she was really there or if she was just a figment of his imagination.

He seemed to have forgotten that he was still drinking water, and some of it spilled onto his shirt. Rachel took the bottle away from him and wiped his shirt with a piece of tissue.

"Rachel, is it really you? My wife?" Hiram asked in a husky voice, staring at her.

Rachel threw the tissue paper in the little trash can and said, "Nope, it's your ex-wife. I'm your ex-wife now. I'm only taking care of you because you're my ex-husband."

But Hiram wasn't listening to her. He said, "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I lost you..."

Rachel turned away and took a deep breath. She didn't want Hiram to see the tears in her eyes. "All right. Would you please go back home with Carl now? Your mom would be worried about you and she wouldn't want to see you like this!"

Hiram grabbed her hands again and kissed them. He tried to suppress the pain in his voice as he said, "Sorry, I know I've hurt you. And I am too embarrassed to ask for your forgiveness."

That evening... He would regret that evening for the rest of his life.

He regretted not controlling himself.

He regretted being so rude that there might be no chance of recovery for their relationship.

He regretted being impulsive and hurting her so badly.