Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Alice coughed a few times, her face ashen.

She trembled, unable to speak.

Chloe Marshall opened the restroom door and found Ethan Ellsworth standing at the entrance.

Just as she was about to say something, Ethan Ellsworth stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. Then, he cupped her face with both hands and asked in a low voice, ”Why didn’t you kill her?”

Chloe Marshall answered, ”She hasn’t done anything worth dying for. Why take her life?”

”In my eyes, she’s committed a crime worse than death.”

His words reached Alice inside. Her expression turned grim. As she calmed down, she realized just how serious her actions had been. But in the end, she was the one who had suffered. ’Didn’t Boss Ellsworth see that?!’

Ethan Ellsworth took Chloe Marshall’s hand and led her back to the office.

”Why didn’t you call me?”

”I wanted to surprise you.”

Ethan Ellsworth sat down in his chair, opened the lunchbox, and took a sniff. ”Smells wonderful.”

Chloe Marshall sat down as well, watching him with a bright smile. ”It’s going to get cold. Hurry up and eat.”

He nodded. ”After I finish work today, I’m going on leave. We’re not short on money, and I want to plan the wedding myself to give you a once-in-a-lifetime romance.”

Although Chloe Marshall was looking forward to it, she still said, ”Just having you by my side is romance enough.”

”It’s not the same.” Ethan Ellsworth flashed a brilliant smile. ”After the wedding, our family of three will go on a honeymoon together. I’m already thinking about it. When I get home tonight, I’ll give you a honeymoon brochure. You can see where you’d like to go, and we’ll go there.”

Chloe Marshall nodded. ”Boss Ellsworth, about Alice...”

”Tell her to get lost. I’ll have President Harding send me a male assistant. I only took her in and made her my assistant because I felt sorry for her, but she really started to get full of herself.”

Chloe Marshall had no objections to this. A woman like that would be a disaster waiting to happen if she stayed.

’It’s better to deal with this sooner rather than later.’

”Boss Ellsworth, you should still send her back to her country.”

Ethan Ellsworth thought for a moment, then finally nodded. ”Alright.”

Just then, the office door opened. Alice had clearly washed her face; the ruined makeup was gone, leaving behind a plain face that was just barely presentable.

”Pack your things. I’ll have someone escort you back,” Ethan Ellsworth said coolly.

Alice closed the door, her steps sluggish and hesitant. She stopped. ”Boss Ellsworth, please don’t... Give me one more chance... I promise it won’t happen again...”

Ethan Ellsworth kept his head down, not looking at her. ”A promise? What do I need your promise for? There are too many people who want to be my assistant. It makes no difference whether you’re here or not. Besides, life is a live broadcast. Opportunities aren’t given, they’re created. Just pack up your things. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Seeing how resolute he was, Alice couldn’t help but shoot a vicious glare at Chloe Marshall.

”Boss Ellsworth, she’s glaring at me,” Chloe Marshall complained.

”Hmph.” Ethan Ellsworth looked up, his eyes turning glacial as he stared at Alice. ”I’ll tell Young Master Grant to have you permanently barred from entering Fravia. You think you can compare yourself to my Chloe? Do you really think that’s possible?”

Alice went to pack her things. She knew she couldn’t stay here any longer, so she decided to go all in. ”Boss Ellsworth, she has you under her spell! You’ll definitely regret this one day.”

Ethan Ellsworth couldn’t be bothered to respond to her. He just turned to Chloe Marshall and said, ”Later, do you want to come with me to the recording studio?”

Chloe Marshall’s eyes lit up. ”Really? Can I?”

When she had been his assistant for so long, she had never been allowed inside.

Now she could sit by his side and watch him sing. Chloe Marshall was happy beyond words.

”Of course.”

Alice, who had just finished packing off to the side, was seething. She was about to be deported, and after that, she would never see Ethan Ellsworth again.

And their little family of three would live happily ever after, while she was left with nothing.

’Returning to my own bleak country, what happiness could there possibly be?’

She quietly pulled open a drawer. Inside lay a small fruit knife, the kind normally used for peeling fruit.

She reached out and carefully tucked the fruit knife into her sleeve.

Then, holding her bag, she looked at Ethan Ellsworth and gave him a deep bow.

”Boss Ellsworth, thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

Ethan Ellsworth waved his hand dismissively. ”Just go.”

She walked slowly to the desk. ”Can you give me some money? I won’t be able to survive when I go back.”

Ethan Ellsworth opened his wallet and, in a rather merciful gesture, took out a stack of cash. Just as he was about to hand it to her, the unexpected happened.

Alice whipped the fruit knife out of her sleeve and lunged at Chloe Marshall, who was standing nearby.

Chloe Marshall threw herself backward to dodge, tumbling off her chair.

It all happened so fast. Ethan Ellsworth shot to his feet and kicked Alice squarely in the stomach.

Alice let out a pained shriek. The fruit knife in her hand CLATTERED to the floor with a sharp sound.

Ethan Ellsworth bent down to pick it up, then pulled Chloe Marshall to her feet.

”Chloe, are you okay?”

Chloe Marshall stood up, her face expressionless. ”I’m fine,” she said coldly. ”It’s just that this woman has no idea what’s good for her.”

Clutching her stomach, Alice also slowly got to her feet. ”Kill me or cut me to pieces, do whatever you want. My life is worthless anyway.”

Chloe Marshall clapped. ”Well said. It’s going to hurt a lot, so try not to cry, okay? You had a path to heaven, but you chose to storm the gates of hell. You wanted to assassinate me? What made you think you would succeed? What gave you such confidence in your own abilities?”

Alice’s gaze shifted to Ethan Ellsworth, and she stumbled back two steps in terror.

Ethan Ellsworth’s eyes held not just anger, but something far beyond it—a murderous intent that promised death.

She instinctively tried to run for the door, but Ethan Ellsworth strode forward and cut her off.

”Trying to run?” He raised his hand and slapped her, sending Alice sprawling to the floor with a heavy, pained gasp.

Alice lay flat on the floor, a sharp pain radiating through her entire body.

Chloe Marshall squatted down, her voice light and airy. ”Why did you do this? No one was trying to harm you. Why did you choose to attack someone else? Did you ever stop to think about the consequences?”

”I said it before, kill me or cut me to pieces, do as you please! It’s a dead end for me if I go back to my country anyway!”

Chloe Marshall held her hand out to Ethan Ellsworth.

He placed the fruit knife in her hand.

Chloe Marshall gripped the knife, tracing its blade lightly across Alice’s face.

”Why would I kill you? That would mean having a life on my conscience. How about I just ruin this face of yours instead? It wasn’t that pretty to begin with.”

Alice’s eyes flew wide open. She never thought Chloe would want to disfigure her. That was a fate worse than death.

”Chloe Marshall, your kindness is all just an act. Heh. And to think Boss Ellsworth trusts you so much.”

She laughed. ”Why would I need to pretend? Isn’t it exhausting living so hypocritically? Don’t you dare play the victim. If someone tried to kill me and I just smiled sweetly at them, I wouldn’t be pretending—I’d be an idiot. Alice, you are truly detestable.”