Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Herman Hawthorne slowly turned and met Quentin Grant’s gaze, just as he’d expected.

He flinched and plopped onto the floor with a THUD. Swallowing hard, he said, ”Quentin, you move like a ghost. I didn’t hear you come down at all.”

Quentin Grant pulled out a chair, and he and Nora Ainsworth sat down at the dining table.

”If I hadn’t come down, I never would have known you think I’m the kind of guy who’d screw an animal, would I?”

Herman Hawthorne shot a harsh glare at Ethan Ellsworth and laughed. ”Of course not! I was just using a metaphor. I wasn’t actually talking about you.”

”That’s what I figured.”

Herman Hawthorne sat up, took his chopsticks, and viciously jabbed Ethan Ellsworth under the table. Only then did he grin and say, ”Quentin, sleep well?”

”Just fine.”

”Good. Now that you’re here, just make yourself at home. We’ve been bros for years, no need to be formal. There are three boxes in the drawer, and if that’s not enough, there’s more in storage.”

Quentin Grant calmly replied, ”Not necessary. Haven’t touched a single one.”

Herman and Ethan exchanged a look, then Herman continued his teasing, ”So, are you planning on having a kid?”

Zoe Ellsworth slapped him lightly. ”What a way to talk.”

Quentin Grant turned and gave Nora Ainsworth a deep look. ”Whenever we succeed in making a baby, you can be sure we’ll be coming for your big red envelopes.”

Ethan Ellsworth chimed in, ”If you, Young Master Grant, have a kid, forget a big red envelope. As the godfather, I’ll give him a whole building.”

Herman Hawthorne protested, ”If you’re the godfather, then what am I?”

Ethan Ellsworth snorted, ”You and Zoe will have your own kid by then. Why covet someone else’s? That spot’s mine. You can step aside.”

Herman Hawthorne just smiled without a word, as if tacitly agreeing with him.

However, Chloe Marshall and Nora Ainsworth hadn’t said a word the entire time.

Until Nora’s expression suddenly changed, and she sat there, frozen stiff.

Chloe Marshall noticed something was wrong and took out her phone to text her: *Nora, what’s wrong?*

Nora Ainsworth replied: *Chloe, I think it’s happening again.*

Chloe Marshall quickly typed on her phone: *But Nora, didn’t your period just end a few days ago? How can it be back already?*

Nora Ainsworth didn’t reply. When she wasn’t bleeding, she was constantly taking medication to regulate her cycle, but clearly, it wasn’t having any effect.

Chloe Marshall shot to her feet and said, ”Nora, I have something I need to tell you.”

She walked over to Nora Ainsworth, pulled her up, and headed upstairs.

Because it had just started suddenly, her pants weren’t soaked through yet.

Chloe Marshall went to Zoe Ellsworth’s master bedroom to grab a roll of toilet paper and went into the guest room with her.

The door was locked from the inside.

When Nora Ainsworth took off her pants, Chloe Marshall’s eyes widened in shock.

She clapped a hand over her mouth, watching in disbelief as blood trickled slowly down Nora Ainsworth’s leg.

”Nora!”

Nora Ainsworth pulled her pants off completely. By the time she stood up, several streams of blood had already trickled down to her ankles. The bright red flow seemed uncontrollable.

She walked toward the bathroom while Chloe Marshall quickly used tissues to wipe the bloodstains from the floor.

To keep Zoe Ellsworth or anyone else from finding out, Chloe Marshall took off her own underwear. She checked Nora Ainsworth’s pants—thankfully, there was no blood on them.

She shoved the blood-soaked underwear into a plastic bag and stuffed it into her own pocket.

”Nora, don’t mind that my underwear isn’t fresh. Line it with some tissues and use it for now. As soon as you’re dressed, we’ll leave immediately. I’ll go to the supermarket and buy you some adult diapers.”

’This was already beyond what a sanitary pad could handle.’

Nora Ainsworth nodded. ”Thank you, Chloe.”

She got dressed, using up the entire roll of toilet paper. Her face was now several shades paler than before.

The two of them went downstairs.

”Nora and I have something to take care of, so we’re heading back to the film studio. Boss Ellsworth, you’ll have to get back on your own later.”

Quentin Grant stood up and walked over to Nora Ainsworth. ”Why is your face so pale?”

Nora Ainsworth shook her head. ”It’s nothing. Chloe and I are just heading back first.”

”Alright then, I’ll drive you.”

Nora Ainsworth said firmly, ”There’s no need. I’ll call you tonight.”

Hearing this, Quentin Grant was finally reassured. ”Okay.”

Watching them leave, Zoe Ellsworth said, puzzled, ”I can’t help but feel like Chloe and Nora are acting strange.”

She wasn’t the only one who felt that way; Quentin Grant and Ethan Ellsworth had also sensed that something was wrong.

Suddenly, Quentin Grant shot to his feet and strode toward the door. Ethan Ellsworth quickly chased after him. ”Wait for me.”

Herman Hawthorne yelled after them in exasperation, ”Where are you two going?”

When Alice saw Ethan Ellsworth leaving, she didn’t think twice, just got in the car with them and sat in the back.

Their car followed behind Chloe Marshall and Nora Ainsworth’s taxi. It wasn’t long before Chloe spotted the car behind them.

”Nora, Young Master Grant and Boss Ellsworth are behind us.”

Nora Ainsworth glanced sideways, and after a moment’s thought, said, ”Go straight back to the film studio.”

’I instantly understand Quentin’s intentions,’ she thought, ’but I have no plans to tell him about this.’

After driving for an hour or two, they arrived at the hotel entrance. The two of them got out of the car and walked into the lobby.

Then they got into the elevator, returned to room 803, and finally closed the door.

Nora Ainsworth quickly grabbed the unused adult diaper from last time, put it on, and changed her clothes.

They waited for a long while, but there was no knock on the door.

The two of them relaxed slightly.

Chloe Marshall saw her sitting there silently. ”Nora, let’s go to a major hospital and get you properly checked out. Maybe you can be cured.”

Nora Ainsworth seemed to be in a daze. ”Chloe, I have a bad feeling... that Quentin will leave me soon. It’s not because I’m being overly sentimental; a woman’s sixth sense is usually very accurate.”

”Nora, don’t let your imagination run wild. Young Master Grant loves you so much. As long as you don’t talk about leaving, he’ll never leave you.” Chloe Marshall didn’t know if she was comforting Nora or trying to convince herself.

Nora Ainsworth’s hands were trembling slightly. ”It’s only been a few days into December, and I’ve already had my period twice. There are only a few days between each one. This is not a good sign.”

For some reason, as Chloe Marshall held Nora’s cold hand and looked at her much thinner face, her eyes suddenly welled with tears, and her teeth began to chatter. ”Don’t scare yourself, Nora. We’ll find a good doctor. This isn’t cancer, it’s not some incurable disease. Didn’t the doctor say there was still a five percent chance? As long as there’s even a sliver of hope, we can’t give up.”

”Before I went to Taryn, I went to the hospital for another check-up. The truth is, Chloe, I’ve developed a resistance to the hemostatic drugs. They don’t work anymore. The most direct way to stop the bleeding is a D&C first, then send the tissue for biopsy, but that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.”

Chloe Marshall grew anxious. ”But Nora, if you’ve developed a resistance to the drugs and can’t stop the bleeding, you’ll suffer from severe anemia from the long-term blood loss! Your body will be seriously damaged! No, Nora. I’m taking you to the hospital right now to stop the bleeding. Then we’ll have the doctor give you a thorough examination. The biopsy can find the cause, and then they can prescribe the right treatment. Maybe you’ll get better quickly!”

Nora Ainsworth’s nose tingled with the verge of tears as she looked at her. ”Chloe, do you think I don’t want to get better? But the truth is... I haven’t received God’s forgiveness. He won’t even give me a single chance.”