Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”Yeah, Godfather! The time and place are perfect. All that’s missing is... you know... you and Godmother doing... *that*...”

Leon Lynch’s face flushed red. ”Since you two aren’t going, your godmother and I will go.”

He hastily made his escape.

Outside the main gate, Holly Wood couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Leon, Nora’s two little treasures are so precocious.”

”You didn’t see their dad’s flashy performance in there. If you had, you wouldn’t doubt that kids this incredible could exist in our country.”

Holly Wood laughed. ”Well, that explains it then. Children like that are rare in this world. It’s true what they say: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

The two got in the car. Leon Lynch checked the time. ”It’s six o’clock. Didn’t you say you wanted to go to an amusement park to fulfill a childhood dream? Let’s go now.”

”Okay.”

For two full hours, they nearly exhausted every ride in the park. When they got off the roller coaster, Leon Lynch was horribly sick. Only then did Holly Wood realize he had only ridden it for her sake.

”Leon, are you okay?”

He shook his head, took a sip of mineral water, and rinsed his mouth. ”Who do I look like? You think a mere roller coaster can defeat me? I’m just not used to it. It was my first time.”

”Let’s go back.”

”No way. Isn’t there one last thing we haven’t done?”

Holly Wood swallowed. ”Leon... going to the haunted house at night is a little scary.”

”What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just people in costumes.”

”But even if I know it’s just people in costumes, it’s still psychologically terrifying.”

He put his arm around her shoulder. ”It’s okay. I’m right here with you.”

Stepping into the haunted house, the gloomy atmosphere was indeed unnerving.

Every time they encountered a ”ghost,” Holly Wood was scared out of her wits.

When the final ghost dropped down upside down right in front of her, it scared her so badly she burst into tears.

He comforted her as they left the haunted house and got into the car.

She was still shaken by the experience.

Holly Wood rested her head on his shoulder. Leon Lynch drove to the entrance of Prosperity District and stopped without turning on the headlights. He didn’t drive in because he saw June Walsh standing at the gate.

Leon Lynch pressed a button, and shades rose over all the windows, including the front windshield.

The inside of the car was plunged into darkness.

He whispered, ”Holly?”

”Mm...”

”We’re home.”

”Okay.” She sat up. ”Why is it so dark?”

”I raised the window shades. That June Walsh girl is standing at the district entrance. It looks like she’s waiting for you.”

”Then I’ll get out a little later.”

Leon Lynch reached out and touched her face. ”Holly, you... you don’t have your period, do you?”

”It just ended... You... do you want to...?”

His voice was low. ”Do you... want me to...?”

”If you want to... I’ll let you... because... I want to be with you for real... But I’m also afraid that after we do it, you’ll...”

Leon Lynch moved closer, easily capturing her lips in a kiss. ”I want to be with you for real, too.”

’Even though a shadow of Nora Ainsworth still lingered in his heart.’

’But he wanted to start living his life in earnest.’

Holly Wood wrapped her arms around his neck, the heat between their lips growing.

His body gradually pressed down on hers. He reached out and reclined her seat, turning it into a small bed.

As their bodies rubbed against each other through their clothes, a raging fire ignited, impossible to extinguish.

”Leon, you... how many women have you been with before...?”

Holly Wood wasn’t the only one to ask a man such a question. Many women ask about their man’s past. It doesn’t mean they don’t love him, nor does it imply suspicion. They simply want to know. A smart man, however, will choose a white lie. If he tells the truth, she’ll be unhappy. If he doesn’t, even though they both know it’s not his first time, it leaves room for imagination.

Leon Lynch didn’t answer the question.

”All I know is that I’m with you now.”

”Tomorrow at nine in the morning, I’ll pick you up here. We’re going to get our marriage license.” This was what Leon Lynch said to Holly Wood as she got out of the car.

She nodded, knowing he was trying to reassure her.

”Act first and report to our parents later?”

He smiled. ”As long as we can be together, it’s a great method. Tell your parents that after we get the license, I’ll personally visit in a few days to deliver the bride price.”

”Okay.”

Holly Wood walked into the residential district. At the entrance to her building, June Walsh stood up. ”I was starting to think you weren’t coming back.”

”Did you need me for something?”

”Holly, did you know? When Leon Lynch was in his early twenties, he was involved with a lot of women. Who knows how many times he slept around? Why else do you think Nora Ainsworth wouldn’t be with him?”

”Is that all you came here to tell me?”

June Walsh admitted it. ”That’s right. I don’t think you should be kept in the dark by him. A playboy like him will never marry you. He’s just playing with you.”

”Whether he marries me or not is none of your concern.” Holly Wood finished coldly and went upstairs.

”You just can’t appreciate a kind gesture! I came here with the best intentions to warn you, and you treat my kindness like an insult!” June Walsh shouted at her back.

”I don’t need you meddling in my business,” Holly Wood retorted, then quickly headed upstairs.

She arrived home.

Mrs. Wood was watching TV. Seeing her come back so late, she asked, ”Were you on a date with Leon?”

Holly Wood went and sat beside her. ”Mom, can you give me our family’s household registration book tomorrow morning?”

”What for?”

”To get my marriage license.”

Mrs. Wood was shocked. ”What? Marriage license? Honey, you’re only eighteen. You’re not even of legal age.”

Holly Wood smiled. ”Mom, you must not follow the news much. The country already lowered the minimum age for marriage. Women can get married at eighteen, and men at twenty.”

”You’re getting married without even an engagement?”

”Leon said that after we get the license tomorrow, he’ll personally visit in a few days to deliver the bride price.”

Hearing this, Mrs. Wood said, ”The sequence of events is a bit messy, but this shows he respects you. If he didn’t offer any bride price at all, Mom really wouldn’t feel comfortable entrusting you to him.”

”Mm.”

Back in her room, Holly Wood lay on her bed, unable to sleep. Though her body ached with a burning pain, her heart was filled with sweetness.

’Being with him, she felt secure.’

「In Grestin, the weather was fickle. For the past few days, every night brought a cold, miserable rain and biting gusts of wind.」

As the days passed, Nora Ainsworth’s initial composure began to fray.

Especially tonight. After she had fallen asleep, she overheard Toby Dalton on the phone. He was deliberately keeping his voice down, saying he was going to the dungeon tonight to inflict some punishment and then send photos to Quentin Grant, who had been completely silent.

When Nora Ainsworth heard this, her heart seized violently.

She shot up in bed. Toby Dalton immediately ended the call and came over to ask, ”Saphira, what’s wrong?”

Nora Ainsworth shook her head, put on her slippers, and poured a glass of water. ”I had a nightmare.”

After finishing the water, she looked at him. ”What time is it? Why are you still awake?”

”Can’t sleep. I have to go out and take care of something.”

”The nightmare startled me. I can’t sleep either. I want to go for a walk.”

”If the dungeon weren’t so filthy, I’d let you come with me.”

”The dungeon? What are you going there for?” Nora Ainsworth asked, her expression perfectly composed.

”To see someone important.”

”I want to see what a dungeon looks like, too. Can I go?”

”As long as you’re willing, I’ll take you anywhere.”

His gaze was so scorching it was impossible to resist. An ordinary woman would have already been captivated.

But the woman he was facing was Nora Ainsworth.

”Since I can’t sleep anyway, there’s no harm in taking a look.”

Nora Ainsworth never in a million years expected the entrance to the dungeon to be right there in her own bedroom.

She stood there, watching as Toby Dalton opened his bookcase to reveal a hidden door.

She said in surprise, ”There’s a door here?”

’No wonder I could never find the entrance to the dungeon, even after searching in secret for so long.’

”There are two entrances to the dungeon. This is one of them. The other is located elsewhere.”

Nora Ainsworth didn’t press for the other location and simply followed him inside.

Inside, it was as bright as day, but the farther down they went, the worse the smell became.

Seeing her pinch her nose, Toby Dalton smiled. ”I told you it was filthy and smelly in here.”

”It really doesn’t smell good. What kind of mistakes did the people you’ve locked up in here make?”

He spoke as he walked. ”Some tried to escape, some betrayed the rules I established, and others made grave mistakes. And, of course, there are important outsiders.”

Nora Ainsworth glanced at the iron doors lining both sides of the corridor, one after another. ’Just how many people are imprisoned here?’

”The underground area is quite large. How much farther is it?”

”Saphira, you have to understand, the more important the person, the deeper inside they are kept. That way, if anyone comes to rescue them, they’ll face layers of traps on the way out. Escaping won’t be easy.”

Nora Ainsworth’s palms began to sweat. ’Could he have discovered who I am?’

The more panicked she felt inside, the more shocked she made her expression.

”Your method is very good, but who exactly are you here to see?”

”You’ll know when we get there.”

The deeper they went, the more apprehensive Nora Ainsworth became.

Finally, Toby Dalton’s footsteps halted in front of an iron door. A storm raged within Nora Ainsworth’s heart. She was finally about to see her biological mother for the very first time.

”Open the door,” he ordered.

The man holding the keys quickly complied. With a loud CLANG, the iron door swung open.

He walked in, and Nora Ainsworth followed close behind him, stepping through the iron doorway.

The first thing that met her eyes was a thin woman with disheveled hair that obscured her face. She sat there, unnaturally still, as if she hadn’t even heard them enter.

Her clothes were tattered, looking as if they’d been worn for years. Even from a distance, a pungent, foul smell emanated from her.

”Are you doing all right in here?”

No one answered his question.

”It’s fine if you don’t talk. In any case, I didn’t come specifically to see you tonight.” He turned and said coldly, ”Men, prepare the tools.”

Nora Ainsworth’s heart lurched as she saw several men walk in carrying various instruments.

~~~~~~~~~~