Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

So, the two little kids arrived at school hand-in-hand, only to realize they were early. There were barely any other children at the kindergarten yet.

Remembering the lesson his father had imparted the previous night, our dear Elmer Grant decided to try it out on Melody White. So, he waited and waited, and finally, Melody arrived.

”Melody, come with me. I have something to tell you.” He gave her a cool wave.

Melody looked thoughtful but put down her backpack and followed him into one of the stalls in the boys’ restroom.

”What is it that we had to come all the way to the restroom to talk about?” Melody was wearing two braided pigtails with flowers in them today. She looked especially pretty with her little flushed cheeks and bright, sparkling eyes.

Elmer Grant smiled sweetly and said, ”It’s like this. First, let me ask you, do you know about ’love,’ the thing adults are always talking about?”

Melody White nodded. ”I know. My mommy loves my daddy, but... my daddy loves some other lady.”

Elmer was confused. ”Why does your mommy love your daddy, but your daddy loves some other lady? In my family, my daddy loves my mommy, and my godfather loves my mommy too. It’s just too bad my mommy loves my daddy, so my godfather has to step aside.”

”I don’t know why it’s like that either. Anyway, I don’t even dare to smile when I go home. If I smile and my mommy’s in a bad mood, she’ll hit me. I don’t think she loves me.”

Elmer took her little hand. ”It’s okay. If your mommy doesn’t love you, I’ll love you. My daddy taught me how yesterday.”

Then he gave her two little pecks on the lips. ”He said this is how you show love.”

Melody’s face instantly turned red. ”Really? Then... can I kiss you two times, too?”

”Of course you can. Go ahead.”

Melody stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed him twice on the mouth. Afterward, both kids broke into wide grins.

”Elmer, from now on, you can only kiss me. And also, this is our secret.”

He nodded. ”Okay. Let’s pinky swear.”

They hooked their pinkies together and pressed their thumbs.

”Pinky swear, a hundred years, no take-backs!”

”Whoever takes it back is a puppy.”

They both nodded, then giggled.

When Dorothy Bancroft came to class, her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

When Elmer and Melody came out of the restroom, they saw Dorothy standing motionless in front of the kindergarten entrance.

”Dorothy, what’s wrong?” Melody ran over.

Dorothy shook her head, her eyes full of tears. ”Nothing.”

”Why are you crying? Is it because you didn’t want to leave your mommy?”

Dorothy turned and ran into the classroom, with the other two children following behind her.

Dorothy sat in her seat, holding back tears.

”What’s wrong? You can tell us.”

Dylan Grant walked over too and looked at her. ”What’s wrong?”

”I can’t see my mommy anymore. I wanted to see her after school yesterday, but my daddy said she made a mistake and wouldn’t let me. He said I won’t be able to see her for a long, long time. I... I hate Daddy so much! I’m never playing with him again!”

Elmer frowned. ”Didn’t your daddy say what mistake your mommy made?”

She shook her head. ”No.”

Dylan tried to comfort her. ”Dorothy, I think if you talk to your daddy nicely and say some sweet things, his heart will soften and he’ll let you see her.”

Dorothy’s tears flowed even more. ”I said all the nice things last night, but Daddy still wouldn’t let me see her at all. He even told me to behave myself and not make him angry. It’s the first time Daddy has ever said such harsh things to me.”

The other three children looked at each other. Elmer pulled Dylan aside and whispered, ”Bro, Daddy’s secret trick works. I just tried it. You should try it on Dorothy. She’ll stop crying right away.”

Dylan was skeptical. ”Really?”

”Your little brother would never lie to you. Hurry up, the teacher’s going to start class soon.”

Dylan turned around and took Dorothy’s hand. ”Come with me.”

It was another restroom stall.

Once inside, Dylan carefully locked the door from the inside. Then, he pulled a small handkerchief from his clothes to wipe her tears. ”Brides aren’t as pretty when they cry too much.”

Dorothy’s eyes were red and swollen. She stopped crying, but was still sniffling. ”Dylan, do you think... I’ll never get to see my mommy again for the rest of my life?”

”No way. You’ll see her in a little while. How could you not see her for the rest of your life?”

”I think Daddy must not love me anymore.”

”If he doesn’t love you, I love you. It’s okay. When we grow up, I’ll marry you and you can be my bride forever,” Dylan said with conviction.

She leaned against the door. ”But I still have to live with my daddy and mommy. When you grow up, you’ll be with other girls. Will you stop liking me then?”

”No, I won’t. If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it to you.”

”Prove it?”

”Uh-huh.”

He moved closer, tilted his head, and captured Dorothy’s little lips with his. The two children stared wide-eyed at each other, their faces just inches apart.

Then, he pulled away. ”See? This is my way of loving you. My daddy said that if you kiss a girl, it means you like her and love her.”

Dorothy was dumbfounded. All the blood in her body seemed to rush to her chest. She clutched it with a small hand. ”Dylan, something feels really weird here.”

”What’s wrong?”

”I feel like it’s about to jump out.”

”That’s your heart. Your heart is about to jump out?” He looked down at his own chest. ”Actually, me too.”

”Dylan, what do we do? Are we going to die?”

Dylan burst out laughing. ”How could we die? It’s called your heart racing. You’ve fallen for me, and I’ve fallen for you. When we grow up, we’re going to get married, just like my mommy and daddy. And we’ll have babies, too.”

Dorothy blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. ”Dylan, what are you talking about? We’re just kids.”

He smiled. ”Not crying anymore? Let’s go back to the classroom. The teacher is about to start.”

”Mm-hm.”

*

”Last night, Dorothy was fussing about wanting to see you. I didn’t allow it. She cried.”

Chloe Marshall sat on the bed, watching Lillian Bancroft, who was sipping tea at the table, her expression blank.

”Silly... I feel like saying that name is just mocking myself. You’re not silly at all, Lillian Bancroft.”

”Chloe, if you agree to have a child with me right now, I’ll let you see our daughter this afternoon.”

She shook her head. ”No.”

”You don’t want to see her?”

Chloe Marshall refused to answer his question. She lay there, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, her gaze so empty it was as if her soul had been torn away.

”I’ve received the latest news about Ethan Ellsworth. He’s been back in the country for a few days now. It looks like he fled. Do you really think that even if you stall until next month, he’ll have the power to save you? Impossible. He doesn’t have that kind of influence. When I said I’d wait until next month to get you pregnant, I was just giving you time to adapt. I wasn’t giving you the chance to think you could escape from my grasp.”