Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

In this place without a mirror, Chloe Marshall had no idea what she looked like now.

She no longer dared to dream of freedom; all she wanted was to breathe fresh air.

As she lay there, Ethan Ellsworth’s face suddenly appeared in her mind, unbidden.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

”How about I sing you a song?”

He looked happy. ”It’s a gift from you.”

She nodded. ”It’s originally by an incredibly famous male singer from my home country. I used to be his assistant, so I know almost all of his songs by heart.”

”Okay, go on. I want to hear it.” He sat there, listening intently.

Chloe Marshall closed her eyes, and a sweet melody flowed from her lips.

”Song title: ’We’ll Be Okay.’ Artist: Ethan Ellsworth.”

She recited the line.

She slowly began to hum the tune.

”A single ’I love you,’

Can it close the distance between us?

Maybe we once dreamed

Of days spent fooling around.

Maybe we once dreamed

Of days spent nestled together.

But reality tore us completely apart.

Wanting to get closer,

Only to find it so hard.

When we meet again,

We just look at each other,

Unable to even ask, ’Are you okay?’

You say you’ve already found someone you love,

And I say I have a girlfriend, too.

Stubbornly, we brush past each other,

Unwilling to ever look back.

Once, we said

We’d be okay, together.

Once, we said

We’d never be apart again.

All those words...

Why have they vanished?”

When the song ended, Chloe Marshall, unable to control her emotions, burst into tears. The feelings she had suppressed for days finally erupted.

Silly watched as she covered her eyes with her arm.

He lay down at her side and wrapped an arm around her, cradling her head. He said nothing.

”I’m sorry.”

”Wifey, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve made you suffer here with me while you’re pregnant.”

”Silly, this baby—”

”Wifey.” He looked at her seriously and placed a hand on her stomach. ”I know what you’re trying to say. But whether it’s a boy or a girl, or... anything else, as long as it’s born from you, it’s my child. I’ll take good care of them.”

Chloe Marshall couldn’t bring herself to say what she had intended.

Because she understood the meaning behind his words.

’Regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, even if it was someone else’s baby, he would consider it his.’

But this was just her own speculation.

Once night fell, the two of them quietly climbed out of the cellar.

They sat by the riverbank, dipping their feet in the water and leaning against each other.

The water was cool on their feet.

But it felt wonderful.

They would look at each other and smile from time to time. It seemed that in this godforsaken place, after so many days together, they had become closer than family.

”I have a younger brother, Zeke Marshall. I wonder how he’s doing now... And Nora, I don’t know if her surgery was successful.”

”Wifey, I promise you, if I ever step foot in the Imperial Palace again, I’ll bring them all to us, okay?”

Chloe Marshall pouted. ”Can’t you just let me go back and find them?”

”Even if that happens, I’m going with you. I told you, I won’t leave your side, not for a second. Not until we’re both old.”

”So bossy.” She rolled her eyes.

”I’m only bossy with you.”

”I just wish time would pass faster so I can leave this place.”

”But... if it were possible, I’d want to stay here with you and the baby forever.”

Chloe Marshall suddenly fell silent. She didn’t want to be here. ’I want to see Boss Ellsworth,’ she thought, ’I’m going crazy wanting to see him!’

’This agony of longing to see him, knowing it’s impossible... I never want to feel this way again!’

She looked up at the sky. The moon was very bright. ’Boss Ellsworth, are you looking at the moon, too?’

’Maybe it’s the only thing we can both see at the same time.’

*

As Quentin Grant was getting up to pour a glass of water, he glanced over at Nora and saw that her eyes were open.

She was staring at the ceiling, not making a sound.

”Nora?”

Nora Ainsworth sat up. ”Quentin.”

That single word—”Quentin”—told Quentin Grant everything he needed to know about her state of mind.

He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. ”It’s me.”

She threw herself into his embrace. ”I had such a long dream.”

”That wasn’t a dream.”

”I know. But I wish so badly that it was a dream. Quentin, we have to go back now. I want to see Chloe.”

Quentin Grant’s heart tightened. ”Nora, don’t get worked up. You just had surgery. It won’t be too late to go back after you’ve rested for a couple of days.”

But she was too agitated to listen.

”No! I want to go home. I have to find Chloe.”

He looked at her, saw the red rims of her eyes and her vacant gaze, and his heart ached for her.

”Don’t be upset. I’ll take you back.”

When it came to her, he was always the one to give in.

Because it had been a very minor surgery, they padded the back seat of the car with thick blankets to cushion her from any bumps during the ride.

Although Walsh strongly urged them to stay for a few more days so Nora could rest, it was obviously futile. In the end, he had no choice but to prescribe some medicine for her recovery.

And so, Nora Ainsworth left with Quentin Grant by car, heading to a private airport to take a private jet back to Fravia.

Nora Ainsworth was quiet for the whole flight, until about half an hour before they were due to land in Fravia. She suddenly looked at him and demanded, ”I want to know the truth.”

Quentin Grant nodded and told her the whole truth, holding nothing back.

”And Zeke?”

”He took Chloe’s belongings and left. No one knows where he went.”

Nora Ainsworth completely snapped. She shot to her feet. ”What do you mean, no one knows where he went?! Quentin Grant, you Grants have gone too far!”

”Nora, this is all Jean’s fault. But, Jean is my sister. I can’t just watch her go to prison for murder or be sentenced to life. I don’t know what to do. Nora, you tell me, what am I supposed to do?”

”Then what about my Chloe? What’s going to happen to Chloe? She’s so kind! How could Jean Grant... how could she do that to her! Why would she do that to my Chloe!”

”Because of Ethan Ellsworth.”

Tears streamed down Nora Ainsworth’s face. She stood there staring out the window, speechless.

The overwhelming anger and grief left her physically and emotionally shattered.

She could barely stand.

After a long silence, she finally spoke.

”Thank you for spending so much time and money to save my life. I’ll work hard to earn it all back and repay you.”

Her words made Quentin Grant’s heart sink. He looked at her. ”What do you mean by that?”

”It means nothing. Just that this world is a playground for the rich and powerful, and people like us without money can’t afford to play. That’s what it means.”

”Are you breaking up with me?”

Nora Ainsworth looked at him calmly. ”A man who protects a murderer, who comes from a family like that... I don’t think I have the courage to marry into it.”

”Jean Grant’s crimes are monstrous, and the Grant Family is in the wrong. But what does that have to do with me? Nora, when have I ever been anything but good to you? My conscience is clear where you’re concerned. Why are you blaming me for this?”