Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Just then, the door was pushed open, and two small heads peeked in.

”Daddy!”

”Mommy!”

Nora Ainsworth immediately pushed Quentin Grant away and sat up straight, her face flushing red.

She scrambled to her feet. ”Come on, let’s go eat.”

Elmer Grant called her out. ”Haha, Mommy’s embarrassed!”

Quentin Grant chuckled along. Nora Ainsworth turned and glared at him. ”This is all your fault.”

He just smiled and said nothing.

At the dinner table, Dylan Grant asked, ”Ellsworth, why didn’t Dorothy come?”

”It isn’t safe for Dorothy to be here. Once your daddy and mommy take you back to our country, you can see her. How about we put you all in the same school?”

Dylan Grant was thrilled to hear that. ”That would be great!”

Ethan Ellsworth smiled at the boy’s joyful expression. ”Look at you, so happy.”

Dylan Grant quickly ate his dinner, feeling absolutely delighted.

Quentin Grant and Nora Ainsworth exchanged a glance and smiled.

After they finished dinner and washed the dishes, he eagerly pulled Nora Ainsworth into the bedroom.

The door was locked from the inside.

Then the storm broke.

Kissed until she was breathless, Nora Ainsworth looked up at him. ”Did you come here with Ethan Ellsworth?”

He shook his head. ”Of course not.”

”Then why?” she pressed, desperate to know.

Quentin Grant raised a hand and gently tapped her on the nose. ”You silly girl. I missed you and the kids, of course.”

”Are you leaving tomorrow?”

He pulled her down to sit with him. ”Are you that eager for me to leave?”

Nora Ainsworth shifted uncomfortably. ”Of course not,” she denied.

”Nora, come back with me. Bring the kids. When I’m back there alone, I have no enthusiasm for anything. I can’t even sleep at night. All I can think about is you. Tell me, how did you manage to not only capture my heart, but completely take over my mind as well?”

Nora Ainsworth murmured, ”I wasn’t supposed to be able to. But this afternoon, they forced me to wrap up all my scenes. The director here doesn’t want me on set anymore, and the female lead doesn’t like me either. As it happens, the company here just signed me for two contracts. The commercial shoot is tomorrow, so I’ll be free the day after.”

Quentin Grant was ecstatic. ”Really?! I was planning on going back the day after tomorrow, too! This is perfect! My darling, come here and give me a kiss! MWAH, MWAH, MWAH, MWAH!”

He kissed her with abandon.

Nora Ainsworth was overjoyed as well. ’This is the life I’ve always wanted, the most fulfilling life I could ask for. A family of four. It’s perfect.’

”But... Quentin... if we go back, we’ll still have to see your family...”

Quentin Grant smiled. ”I’ll respect your decision. If you want to see them, we will. If you think it will be too upsetting, then we won’t.”

Nora did find the thought upsetting. ’Especially with Catherine Callahan still living in their home. And his mother is no pushover, either.’

But things were changing faster than she could plan for; she couldn’t avoid this forever just because she didn’t want to face it.

’After all, their two children still weren’t officially registered.’

’They were children of the Grant family; they couldn’t spend their whole lives being treated as illegitimate.’

That was something Nora Ainsworth would absolutely not accept.

After a moment of thought, she took his hand and said, ”We still have to see them. We’ll have to meet them sooner or later; we can’t avoid it forever. Quentin, the children are part of the Grant family. They have to be formally acknowledged. It doesn’t matter if your mother dislikes me, we still have to meet.”

”I don’t want you or the kids to be put in a difficult position.” He pulled her down to lie with him, the two of them face to face.

”From now on, I want us to face life and death together. Nothing will ever be able to separate us... unless we fall out of love...”

He nodded. ”Let’s go to sleep.”

Nora Ainsworth sat up again and took off her shoes.

She grabbed her pajamas and was about to head to the bathroom when he wrapped an arm around her waist. ”Aren’t you going to ask if I’m coming too?”

”You’re a grown man, not a baby. Do I need to ask you about everything?” Nora Ainsworth ruffled his hair, her smile full of obvious meaning.

”Fine!” He suddenly scooped her up and hoisted her onto his shoulder, drawing out peals of laughter from a ticklish Nora Ainsworth.

”It tickles! Put me down! Ahhh!”

He walked to the bathroom and the door slammed shut. The sound of running water soon followed, only to be gradually drowned out by other, less harmonious noises.

Early the next morning, news came from Herman Hawthorne.

It was confirmed: Zeke Marshall was indeed inside the Imperial Palace.

With this information confirmed, they had to formulate a rescue plan immediately.

Rescuing someone was easier said than done; actually carrying it out would be extremely difficult.

Ordinary people couldn’t even get into the Imperial Palace, let alone rescue someone from inside.

For now, their only option was to negotiate with Lillian Bancroft.

Nora Ainsworth left early for her commercial shoot, and the two kids went to their classes.

Quentin Grant thought for a moment, then said coldly, ”He doesn’t need money, and he doesn’t want anything else. He only wants Chloe. The higher-ups won’t openly declare war over a single citizen, so this time, we’re on our own. My men have been idle for far too long. It’s time to mobilize them. So what if he’s a Supreme Leader? We’ll see if he’s willing to risk mutual destruction.”

Ethan Ellsworth frowned. ”Quentin, aren’t those men of yours...”

”What’s the point of maintaining them if not to use them? A few thousand men is no small number. Besides, each of them is worth dozens of regular soldiers. He’ll have to think twice. After all, this whole mess started because of Jean.”

”Then give the order.”

He nodded and made a call. Instantly, all his Men in Black were ready. Aside from a dozen or so left behind to stand guard, everyone else boarded private jets and flew to Harrowin in waves.

The sheer number of planes flying in was a rare sight, and it triggered a media frenzy.

The Harrowin media speculated that it was a mobilization of their own country’s military forces.

The news quickly reached Lillian Bancroft’s ears.

”This is Quentin Grant’s private force. He’s getting involved in this too?” he mused, studying the photographs of the planes.

”Supreme Leader, the Ellsworth and Grant families have been allies for generations, as have the Hawthornes. Quentin Grant and Ethan Ellsworth are sworn brothers; it’s only natural for him to step in and help. Furthermore, the reason the madam was brought to our territory is that Quentin Grant’s sister was behind it. Supreme Leader, you must be cautious! You cannot risk the greater good for your own personal matters. You must understand that if war truly breaks out, our casualties will not be light,” his aide said.

Lillian Bancroft then asked, ”Have you gotten to the bottom of that man from the Hawthorne family?”

”On the surface, Herman Hawthorne is a university professor who also runs a prestigious taekwondo dojang, but his secrets run much deeper. He’s a very ambitious man. According to our intelligence, he also commands his own armed force. If he joins forces with Quentin Grant, the consequences would be unimaginable. I suspect that the only reason Quentin Grant would dare to bring his personal guard to our country is that his superiors have given their tacit approval.”

Lillian Bancroft stood up and retorted, ”So what?”