Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”Answer it. Mr. Marshall wouldn’t call unless it was something important.”

Chloe Marshall nodded, swiped to answer, and tucked the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she opened the door.

”Excuse me, are you Mr. Marshall’s daughter?”

Chloe Marshall walked through the door and said, ”Yes, I am. How do you have my dad’s phone?”

”This is the General Hospital. Mr. Marshall was at a high-rise construction site and had an accidental fall. He’s undergoing emergency treatment now. We need his family to come over immediately.”

Tears instantly streamed down Chloe Marshall’s face. The phone tucked under her chin clattered to the floor.

She immediately scrambled to pick it back up, crying frantically, ”Nora, quick, get Zeke! Something happened to my dad! Nora! Hurry!”

Nora Ainsworth didn’t ask any questions and just ran out.

Chloe Marshall grabbed all the cash she had, yanked her door shut, and ran to knock on the door next to hers.

”Boss Ellsworth! Boss Ellsworth!”

”What is it?”

”I won’t be back tonight.”

Ethan Ellsworth didn’t open the door right away. ”Chloe Marshall, you have a shoot tonight. If you’re not coming back, are you planning on getting a hotel room or something?”

”Boss Ellsworth, I can’t explain right now, but I won’t be back tonight.” Though she tried to keep her emotions in check, Ethan Ellsworth, still inside, could hear the sob in her voice.

After saying her piece, Chloe Marshall got into the elevator. By the time Ethan Ellsworth opened his door, she was gone.

’She’s fast.’

Ethan Ellsworth closed the door again.

”That little assistant of yours... I can tell she really likes you.”

Ethan Ellsworth brushed it off. ”Plenty of women like me. She’s just one more.”

Jean Grant chuckled. ”I know how charming you are.”

It was the first time the two of them had ever sat and talked so calmly.

”Jean, do you still love Marlon Marshall?”

’He wouldn’t ask if she loved him; just asking this question was enough to see what she’d decided.’

Jean Grant looked at him. ”Ethan Ellsworth, you know I can’t make a decision right now. Didn’t we agree on a year? Trust me, I will handle this.”

Ethan Ellsworth poured a glass of water, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. ”I did say a year. After waiting so many years, what’s one more? But I hope my waiting this year will be worth it. I’m not forcing you, but if you decide you want to live a happy life with Marlon Marshall, then this one-year agreement of ours becomes meaningless.”

Jean Grant replied anxiously, ”Ethan Ellsworth, we’ve only just been able to be this open with each other after everything we’ve been through. I don’t want to give up. It’s just... a really difficult situation for me right now. I’ll find the right time to tell Marlon Marshall. I think... I love you so much more than I love him.”

He set down his glass and pulled her into an embrace. ”If that’s the case, then be more decisive. You have to let go of one of us eventually. It’s better to do it sooner rather than later.”

Jean Grant wrapped her arms around his waist. His pleasant, masculine scent brought a slight blush to her cheeks. It was the first time she had ever held him so openly, yet it was only happening after she was already married.

”Ethan Ellsworth, I’ve actually loved you all these years, too. Then I met Marlon Marshall. He was so gentle with me, and for a while, I could forget the pain you put me through. But I think I still love you. I want to be with you, but—”

He looked down at her, finishing her thought. ”But you don’t want to leave Marlon Marshall, either. That’s why you can’t choose. I suspect that’s the real purpose of this one-year agreement of yours. If he treats you well for the next year, you’ll tell me to give up. But if he slips up and starts treating you poorly, then I’m the backup you can switch to at any time.”

He laid it all out, dissecting her thoughts with brutal honesty.

Jean Grant’s expression stiffened. ”Ethan Ellsworth, if you knew that, why did you agree to it?”

Ethan Ellsworth reached up to loosen his tie, then placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her seriously.

”Jean, you keep saying you love me, but your actions don’t show it. I thought you were going to tell him when you went home that night, but you clearly didn’t. Tell me, what is making you hesitate?”

Faced with his intense gaze, Jean Grant was at a loss for words.

”You shouldn’t have married him in the first place. You were so stubborn, thinking you’d found happiness. And now look. I don’t have to guess to know you’re miserable. I can see it on your face—there’s no genuine, deep-seated joy. That’s your marriage. If you don’t get out now, are you planning to stay stuck like this for the rest of your life?”

Jean Grant shook her head. ”I don’t know.”

Ethan Ellsworth felt numb. Looking at her, he had no idea what to say to conceal his own desolate feelings.

The conversation had derailed.

Neither knew what to say next.

After they sat in silence for a while, Jean Grant glanced at her watch as the daylight faded. ”I should get going.”

”Alright. I’ll walk you down.”

They stepped out of the apartment and into the elevator.

Jean Grant suddenly grabbed his hand. ”Ethan Ellsworth, I’m going to tell him tonight. I’ll call you after I do.”

He looked at her. ”Are you sure?”

Jean Grant nodded, her expression firm. ’You can’t have your cake and eat it too.’ She understood that.

Just as they reached the ground floor, they saw Nora Ainsworth’s van speed past. Faintly, they could hear Chloe Marshall’s anguished cries.

Ethan Ellsworth froze for a moment, then turned to Jean Grant. ”Did you hear someone crying?”

Jean Grant shook her head.

Ethan Ellsworth figured he must have been hearing things. He looked at her and said, ”You should go. Be careful on your way home.”

Jean Grant waved. ”I’ll call you tonight. Wait for my good news.”

He nodded at her.

Chloe Marshall sat in the back, cradled in Nora Ainsworth’s arms. With her own eyes red, Nora tried to comfort her. ”It’s going to be okay! I’m sure of it!”

Zeke Marshall sat in the front passenger seat. He was silent, but tears streamed ceaselessly down his face.

The car sped onward. Chloe Marshall clenched her fists, her lips trembling, but she didn’t say a word.

When they reached the hospital, Chloe Marshall flung the door open and bolted out before the car had even fully stopped. Nora Ainsworth and Zeke Marshall scrambled to follow her.

By the time they reached the doors to the emergency room, several police officers approached them. After confirming their identities, the officers explained how the accident had occurred.

Mr. Marshall had lost his footing and fallen from the seventh floor. The police had already taken the property developer and the site manager into custody.

Just as the officer finished speaking, the doors to the emergency room opened.

The doctor shook his head. ”His injuries were too severe. We did everything we could. I’m sorry.”

When Mr. Marshall’s body was wheeled out...

”AHHH! DAD!”

”DAD!”

Chloe Marshall and Zeke Marshall broke into heart-wrenching wails, unable to accept the sudden tragedy that had befallen them.

Nora Ainsworth was overwhelmed with emotion, tears spinning in her eyes as she accompanied the siblings to the morgue.

Despite being utterly heartbroken, Chloe was called aside by the police.

”My condolences. You can demand compensation from the parties at fault.”

”I don’t want any compensation! I just want my dad to wake up!”

The officer looked troubled. ”Miss Marshall, this is considered a work-related accident, an accidental death resulting from a fall. It would be best if you could reach a compensation agreement with the developer and let the matter rest.”