Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

She turned to see who it was and became flustered and angry. ”Why did you kick me?”

Zoe Ellsworth walked in. ”What were you looking at, crouched by the door?”

Herman Hawthorne looked up and shot Jasmine Walsh a cold glare. ”Get out!”

Without another word, Jasmine Walsh left.

”What brings you here?”

Zoe Ellsworth pounced on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. ”I suddenly missed you, so I came to see you.”

Herman Hawthorne turned and sat down in his chair with her in his arms. ”I’m in the middle of work. Wait a little while.”

She hummed in agreement and shifted on his lap to watch him work on his files.

”Honey, before we got married, I went to your place in the Riverbend District. Your door code is 818818, isn’t it?”

Herman Hawthorne nodded. ”It is. How do you know that?”

”When I went over that one time, I found Jasmine Walsh there. She’s the one who told me. I asked her how she knew,”

”and she said she saw it on your desk at the office. Honey, does the code have some special meaning?”

Herman Hawthorne’s hand froze. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before replying, ”It’s just easy to remember. No other meaning.”

”You should change it, then. She already knows it.”

”Mm.”

Zoe Ellsworth noticed the shift in his mood. ’Does the password have some other meaning?’ she wondered. But she chose to drop the subject, as it was clearly making him uncomfortable.

They sat in silence for a while.

Then she said, ”Honey, I’m going to take a nap in the lounge. Wake me up when you’re finished.”

”Okay. Don’t catch a cold. Make sure you use a blanket.”

Zoe Ellsworth hummed in response and headed inside.

The lounge was very clean. She sat on the edge of the bed, kicked off her shoes, and lay down, drifting off into a groggy sleep.

She was stirred awake by kisses. When she opened her eyes, she saw him kissing her.

Zoe Ellsworth wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured, ”Honey.”

Herman Hawthorne pulled away from her face. ”Get up. Let’s go home.”

”Okay.” She sat up lazily. ”Wait for me outside. I’m going to wash my face.”

After he left, she went to the restroom.

She turned on the faucet and splashed water on her face. As she was about to leave, her gaze froze, fixed on the wall.

On the tiled wall was a nude photo of a woman. Her arms were completely bare, and she had a radiant smile. Her long, smooth hair was draped over her shoulders, and she looked exceptionally innocent and beautiful.

For some reason, Zoe Ellsworth took out her phone and snapped a picture of it before leaving.

Herman Hawthorne had probably already gone downstairs, so Zoe Ellsworth headed down on her own.

At the top of the stairs, she ran into Jasmine Walsh again. Her eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious she had just been told off.

”Zoe Ellsworth, are you feeling smug just because you married the boss?”

Zoe raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to continue.

”Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t tell the boss about what happened at the Riverbend District apartment? Why did you tattle on me?”

Zoe spoke up. ”I felt like it, so I did. Seeing you act so shamelessly time and again, of course I was going to tell my husband so he could be on guard against you.”

But Jasmine Walsh just laughed. ”On guard against me? Zoe Ellsworth, I’m not the one you should be worried about. You don’t need to waste your energy on me. I’ve been in love with the boss for years with no results. Do you really think anything would happen now?”

She gave a self-deprecating smile. ”But I have to warn you, there are other women you should be guarding against, not me.”

”What do you mean?”

”Exactly what I said. If you want to protect your marriage, you need to cut out the cancer. Wasting your time on a minor scratch like me won’t do you any good.” With that, Jasmine Walsh turned and left.

Zoe Ellsworth stood there, stunned. She refused to believe her husband would have another woman when they had only been married for a few days. Unless... it was from before the marriage.

She thought of that ring and a sense of unease washed over her.

She went downstairs and walked to the car, where Herman Hawthorne was already waiting.

After getting in, Zoe Ellsworth looked at him but ultimately held back from asking anything.

She was surprisingly quiet the entire way.

When they arrived home, he was about to get out of the car when she stopped him.

”Honey, how many relationships have you been in before?”

Herman Hawthorne smiled. ”Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”

Zoe Ellsworth whined playfully, ”I just want to know. Come on, tell me.”

He thought for a moment before answering. ”If you mean serious relationships, then two.”

”And... slept with them?” she blurted out. Even though she knew the answer would upset her, she still had to know.

But he didn’t answer the question directly. ”That’s all in the past. I promise you, from now on, I only have you.”

Zoe Ellsworth stared at him intently. ”I believe you. That from now on, it will *only* be me.”

”Alright, let’s get out.”

***

”Sis, are you dating Boss Ellsworth?”

Chloe Marshall looked up. ”How did you know?”

”I figured it out a while ago. You haven’t taken your eyes off Boss Ellsworth all day,” Zeke Marshall said, sitting down beside her. ”But Sis, don’t you think this is exhausting?”

”Because we can’t go public with it?”

Zeke Marshall shook his head. ”It’s not just that. I don’t think you and Boss Ellsworth are a good match, Sis. He might be rich and have a great family background, but if he doesn’t love my sister, he’ll never be the right one for her.”

Chloe Marshall was stunned. She looked at him, a warmth spreading in her heart. ”How do you know he doesn’t love me?”

”No wonder Boss Ellsworth always calls you an idiot. I’m starting to think you really are one, Sis.”

Chloe Marshall slapped him on the head. ”What are you talking about!”

”Sis, I’m just telling you the truth!” he said, rubbing his head. ”Believe it or not, I just don’t see any sign that Boss Ellsworth loves you.”

Chloe Marshall fell silent. After a long moment, she finally asked, ”Then what does it look like to be loved?”

Zeke Marshall looked at her, his gaze wavering. ”Sis, Mom died when we were little, and Dad’s gone too. I just want to see you marry a man who knows how to cherish and love you. That way, I’ll know you have someone to rely on, and you won’t have to work so hard anymore.”

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears. ”Zeke, your big sister isn’t tired.”

”Sis, I think Boss Ellsworth is just playing you. He could have any woman he wants, so why you? He barely orders his male assistant around, but he’s always ordering you to do things, treating you like a maid. Before you were dating, I didn’t think much of it. But you’re a couple now, and he still treats you this way. His agent and his other assistant are free all day, while he makes you do all the work. I just think, Sis, he

just doesn’t know how to care about you.”

”Actually, Boss Ellsworth is pretty good to me.”

Zeke Marshall nodded. ”I know, but let me ask you this, Sis. Does he know your birthday? Does he know what you like? Does he know your favorite food? You don’t even have to think about it, we both know he doesn’t. But you? When you’re home, you spend all your time online reading news about him. You’ve memorized everything he likes. You even hoped you could celebrate his birthday with him, but the cake you made yourself? You never even got to give it to him!”