Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Mrs. Marshall said nothing. ”You haven’t been coming home lately. Why are you back now?”

”I came back to sleep.”

He stood up, grabbed a can of beer from the table, and went back to his room.

Mrs. Marshall finally let out a breath. She had been on edge the entire way home.

Back in her room, she closed the door, took out her phone, and composed a text message to Jason Irving.

Only then did she lie down on the bed, finally feeling at ease.

But lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter how she tried. She had just taken off her clothes, not yet getting to the main event, when her son’s call had come through.

She thought he wouldn’t be home and that she could just lie her way out of it, but who knew he’d actually be there.

That’s why she had rushed home in such a hurry.

Now, lying alone in bed, she couldn’t help but feel the pangs of a lonely night. But with her son just in the next room, all Mrs. Marshall could do was think about it.

Marlon Marshall, on the other hand, hit the sack and was fast asleep in no time.

First thing the next morning, he sold Jean Grant’s earrings and necklace.

*

Carol Young was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She didn’t dare sleep during the day, and even if she managed to, she would be plagued by nightmares.

She hadn’t been back to her home in the family housing complex since that incident.

With the little money she had left, she was living hand-to-mouth, never knowing what tomorrow would bring.

Her mother never called her either. The bond between mother and daughter seemed to have completely disintegrated.

A cloud of despair constantly hung over her. With her money almost gone, she had no choice but to return to her own home.

A home she hadn’t returned to in a long time.

She opened the door. The apartment was silent.

She couldn’t be bothered to call out for her mother.

She went back to her own room.

The terrifying memories of that day still filled her mind. Despite her fear, she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

Marlon Marshall contentedly took the last large sum of money from Mrs. Young. Mrs. Young looked at him and said, ”This is the last of my money. I’ve given you all of my daughter’s compensation payment. Where’s that shop you’ve been investing in recently? I’ll go take a look when I have time.”

Marlon grunted in acknowledgment. ”I’ll come pick you up tomorrow to see it.”

Glancing at Carol Young by the door, he left with a smirk.

The door slammed shut.

Her tone was cold. ”He’s not coming back.”

”Didn’t you hear him say he’s picking me up tomorrow?”

”Then you can just wait for him tomorrow.”

With that, the door was slammed shut.

Mrs. Young took a shower and made dinner, but she didn’t call Carol to eat.

After eating, she went downstairs for a fitness dance class, pleased as punch with her life.

’I’ve invested 500,000 for Marlon to open a shop. I don’t have to manage it, and I’ll still get a cut of the profits. How easy is that? Anyway, I’ll find out tomorrow when I go see it.’

**

Bianca Rhodes’s parents were driving Zoe Ellsworth crazy.

Not only did they go to Herman Hawthorne’s office and unfurl banners demanding he give their daughter justice, but they also did the same thing in front of her clothing store.

And now, as dusk fell, they were still outside, seriously affecting the store’s business.

Zoe Ellsworth, who had originally planned to ignore them, was now furious.

She called the police.

The police eventually got the full story and advised the Rhodeses to know when to stop, seeing as they had already been compensated with ten million. After all, their daughter was the one who’d been shameless first.

But they adamantly refused.

Their position remained the same: a settlement would only be possible if Herman Hawthorne married Bianca Rhodes.

But that was impossible. They were essentially asking Herman Hawthorne to pluck the moon from the sky.

With police mediation having failed, Herman’s parents found out about the matter. Unwilling to see their daughter-in-law suffer, they summoned the two elder Rhodeses to the Hawthorne Residence.

The two of them, along with Bianca Rhodes, stood at the entrance to the Hawthorne Residence, hesitating slightly.

But under the pretext of seeking justice for their daughter, they steeled themselves and went inside.

Because she took excellent care of herself, Mrs. Hawthorne, who was nearly fifty, looked as if she were in her thirties.

Mrs. Rhodes was around the same age, but she was utterly eclipsed by comparison.

”I’ve called you here because I want to have a proper discussion about this matter.”

Mrs. Rhodes straightened her back. ”As do I.”

”Our Herman is the Hawthorne family’s only son. He has no siblings. For a family like ours—and I’m not being modest here—the number of women who want to become our Young Madam is a dime a dozen. I only recently learned of your daughter’s existence. Herman has never once mentioned her at home. If he had, even as eager as I was for him to get married, I would have never given your daughter the chance to get close to my son in the first place.”

The meaning behind her words was self-evident.

Mrs. Rhodes was incensed by her words. ”Are you saying my daughter isn’t good enough for your son?”

Mrs. Hawthorne chuckled lightly, lifted her teacup, and said with a beaming smile, ”Does that even need to be said? Isn’t it obvious? It’s not that we’re throwing our weight around because we’re rich and powerful. It’s because your family and our family are simply not on the same level. And even that aside, your daughter’s character is so contemptible. That’s all the more reason she could never cross the threshold of my home.”

Mrs. Rhodes snorted. ”Never mind you disagreeing. With someone of Herman’s status, I didn’t want my daughter involved with him from the start. A Taekwondo leader... he’s destined to be taken out sooner or later. People like that rarely come to a good end.”

Mrs. Hawthorne slammed her teacup down on the table. Tea splashed out, scattering all over the tabletop.

Seeing this, a servant hurried over to wipe it up.

”Are you spouting bullshit?” Mrs. Hawthorne sneered. ”Since you knew your daughter would be ’taken out’ sooner or later by being with my son, what’s the point of all this trouble you’re causing? You should have just taken that huge sum of ten million and been on your way. Why are you still pestering my son relentlessly? It’s utterly shameless!”

”I said it was *your son* who would be taken out sooner or later, not my daughter,” Mrs. Rhodes retorted resentfully. ”Besides, the money you gave us is indeed a lot; we never said it was too little. Some people only get one or two million in compensation for a death. But no matter how much money you offer, can it restore my daughter’s ability to have children?”

”She brought that on herself! Who is there to blame? She knew perfectly well that our Herman was already married. Passing off another man’s child as his was one thing, but she repeatedly stirred up trouble and challenged the authority of the legitimate wife. What our Zoe did was right. Or should she have just let your daughter walk all over her?” Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes grew cold.

”No matter how wrong she was, you can’t treat my daughter like that! After this, she’ll never be able to have her own children. Who would marry her now? So, Herman must take responsibility for this.”

Mrs. Hawthorne scoffed. ”Responsibility? We can only be responsible financially. As for marrying her, there is absolutely no chance of that happening. So don’t even think about it. It’s completely impossible, understand?”

”Then there was no point in you calling us here for this talk. As her parents, we will resolutely defend our daughter’s rights. We will contact the media,” Mrs. Rhodes said firmly.

”Fine,” Mrs. Hawthorne said. ”In that case, there’s truly nothing left to say. Please return the ten million my son gave you. After that, do whatever you want. The Hawthorne family will have no further comment on this matter!”

”That was for my daughter’s emotional distress! Why should we return it?”