Samantha was genuinely startled to see him.
"You... how did you end up here?"
Did he see everything just now?
Justin, trembling with jealousy and anger, pointed in the direction Ethan had left, gritting his teeth, "Is he your husband?"
After seeing the picture Karen sent him during the day, he dropped everything to find out what was going on with Samantha.
However, except for the company, he discovered he had no way to contact Samantha and didn't know where she worked.
Helpless, he could only wait downstairs.
Finally, he waited for her to come back, only to see her passionately kissing another man.
God knows how painful he felt at that moment.
He wished he could rush over and separate them.
Samantha hesitated for a moment, then unhesitatingly pulled Ethan out to use as a shield.
"Yes, he's my husband! Didn't you see? My son looks exactly like him."
Her words fell on deaf ears to Justin.
It was pitch black just now, and he couldn't see the man's face at all.
But, he could clearly see what they were doing.
His heart felt like it was being fried in hot oil.
With a painful expression, he said, "If you're really married, why are you still living with Karen? Why aren't you living with your husband's family? Sammie, don't lie to me. You haven't really gotten married; you were just deceiving me before."
Seeing him like this, Samantha's heart ached even more.
However, she knew that dragging this out wouldn't be good for either of them, and it would be even more unfair to Karen.
Since it had to end, it had to end thoroughly, cleanly.
"If I really haven't gotten married, shouldn't you think about why I would rather deceive you than be with you."
With a short sentence, Justin was instantly plunged into an abyss.
His body trembled uncontrollably, and he dared not think too much.
No matter which possibility it was, he was unwilling to accept it.
Observing his expression, Samantha closed her eyes, took a deep breath, forced herself to steel her heart, and continued, "You're already engaged to Karen, who is my best friend. I don't want our relationship to ruin my friendship with her. Yes, I loved you before, and my biggest wish was to marry you. But, four years have passed, and I'm no longer the Samantha from back then. I don't love you anymore. I love the man I was just with. If you treat Karen well, we can still be friends. However, if you continue to entangle me, we might not even be able to be friends."
After saying that, Samantha turned away. In that instant, tears welled up, silently marking the end of a love that had lasted for more than a decade.
Watching her departing figure, Justin felt a strong sense.
This parting would be eternal.
The two of them could never be together in this lifetime.
He didn't want to lose her.
Driven by this strong determination, he rushed forward and tightly embraced Samantha from behind.
Through the thin fabric, Samantha could clearly feel his body temperature and the rapid beating of his heart. Tears flowed uncontrollably, and an unprecedented sense of grievance overwhelmed her.
If she hadn't been framed by Sarah and Suzy, she should have been married and living a happy life with Justin by now.
Instead, she was close at hand but unable to stay with him.
She had to watch him marry another woman.
Justin buried his face in Samantha's neck, his warm breath spraying on her sensitive skin. He clung to her tightly, his voice choked, "Sammie, don't leave me, okay? Without you, I don't know what meaning my life holds."
Samantha's heart ached with each passing moment.
Closing her eyes, she greedily felt his warmth, wanting to leave herself with the last bit of nostalgia.
Seeing her not resisting, Justin plucked up the courage.
Turning her around, he cupped her face and lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Samantha looked up at him, her eyes hazy, forgetting to react, staring at him in a daze.
In Justin's eyes, her response undoubtedly meant consent.
Justin stared at her affectionately, and his thin lips approached her red lips little by little.
As his breath drew near, in the instant before Justin's thin lips were about to press down, Samantha, who had been lost in thought, suddenly woke up. She pushed him away in a panic, continuously retreating.
"No, it's not right. You're already engaged to Karen. We can't do anything that would betray Karen. I'm sorry..."
With hurried apologies, Samantha turned around, lowered her head, and fled in embarrassment.
Watching her retreating figure, Justin stood there dumbfounded, as if his soul had been drawn away.
When the time was right, Karen walked out of the darkness and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.
"Justin, do you still love Samantha? If so, I can help you two be together! Although I love you, I would rather see you happy than have you. Think about it."
Thinking back to how Justin almost kissed Samantha just now, she was driven mad by jealousy. She wished she could tear Samantha to pieces.
Why did Samantha effortlessly take what she had worked so hard to get?
Justin's body stiffened, as if he didn't hear her words and was indifferent
Karen came to him, cradling his face, and kissed him on the lips, tearfully saying, "Justin, don't scare me! I'm sorry, it's all my fault. If I knew it would turn out like this, I definitely wouldn't have sent you that picture! I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Justin's heart felt lifeless.
Watching Karen constantly apologizing, the image of Samantha passionately kissing another man kept playing in his mind.
Jealousy surged through him.
Driven by retaliatory impulses, he pressed Karen's head and kissed her lips.
Karen had booked a room in a nearby hotel.
They spent the second night together.
...
Just as Samantha returned home, Charlotte rushed over, tightly hugging her legs, excitedly saying, "Mommy, did Daddy come back? Did you secretly go out for a date?!"
Noah stood at a distance, his face carrying a contented smile.
When Yurika showed him the Ig’s post sent by Miss Samantha, he was genuinely happy.
At least half of his and Alexander's plan had succeeded.
Samantha glared at Yurika.
Yurika pretended to look innocent and said, "This is good news; I have to share it with everyone!"
Samantha didn't really blame her, picked up Charlotte from the ground, and reminded her, "Charlotte, don't casually call someone else 'Daddy.' If Mommy asks you to call it, then you can call."
Charlotte nodded vaguely, not fully understanding.
Noah also sensed something from her words.
So, it turned out that Charlotte mistakenly believed that he was her father.
That was why the misunderstanding occurred at the hospital that day.
It was getting late, and Samantha told the two little ones to go take a bath and sleep.
Yurika also went to bed early for her beauty sleep.
After the two little ones fell asleep, Samantha went back to the study to continue working.
The preliminary design for Ellena, which she was creating, was almost finished. It wouldn't be long before she could show it to her.
...
At Chelsea Creek,
In the study, Ethan sat, looking at the picture sent by Anna. A subtle, pleasing curve formed on the corner of his lips.
His coarse fingers couldn't help but caress the screen of his phone.
As if savoring a precious piece of art.
His heart was filled with a sweet sensation, as if it were infused with honey.
Time passed quietly.
After a while, he reluctantly exited the images and silently saved them to the gallery, then locked his phone.
As he prepared to take a shower and go to bed, a message suddenly popped up.
[I had a lot of fun today.]
[Kissing Emoji]
Seeing the pouting emoji kissing him, Ethan couldn't help but 'chuckle' out loud.
Gazing at the emoji absentmindedly for a while, he discreetly saved the image to his album and locked it again.
When he was about to wash up and go to bed, another message from Samantha appeared.
[Did you have a good time today?]
[I had a great time too...] After typing these words, Ethan felt it was inappropriate and deleted them all.
[No...] Again, he felt it wasn't right and deleted it.
After repeatedly typing and deleting, he finally settled on just responding with a simple: [Yes.]
Although it was just a single word, it was enough to convey everything.
Noah knew that this was the beginning of his father's feelings for Miss Samantha.
If things continued to develop like this, Miss Samantha would undoubtedly become his mother.
With this in mind, he skillfully sent another message.
[You must be tired after having so much fun today! Rest early and take care of yourself!]
[Good night.]
The reply from Ethan was again a simple: [Yes.]
Excitedly, Noah deleted all the conversation content between the two and discreetly placed the phone on the bedside table.
***