Chapter 17: Don't Shake Before In Love!

"Why are you free to drink with me today?" he raised his eyebrows and looked at the sophisticated person sitting opposite him.

"Didn't you call me? If I don't come, it'll be disrespectful to my brothers. If I do, you'll be grilling me," he said.

The other person said nothing, just smiled, and poured him a glass of wine.

He drank it all and shook the empty glass, suddenly asking, "Patrick, do you think Selena and I are a good match?"

Selena is his fiancée, and to outsiders, the two of them seem perfect for each other.

But until now, he still doesn't know if they should be together or not...

"Why did you suddenly bring up this issue?" Patrick shook the glass of wine and looked at the person opposite him. "It's not like you."

This person was his senior in college, handsome, talented, and came from a good family. He was perfect in every way and couldn't be faulted.

His fiancee - Selena, was also a proper young lady, the daughter of a famous chairman.

They were highly suitable and better than other girls regarding their social status and beauty. His senior's life seemed to have been programmed already. He was born superior, studied better than others, and engaged to a suitable girl.

It seemed like he had achieved so much and had lived his life, but today his senior suddenly had doubts about his choice.

"I've never loved anyone before, nor do I know what love feels like. Even with Selena, I chose her because she's suitable. But recently, I met a girl... she's exceptional..."

He poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip, and continued.

He had never loved anyone before, nor did he know whether what he felt for the new secretary was love or not. He just knew he was paying attention to her.

After finishing the glass of wine, he still couldn't figure out what he felt for her.

Suddenly, an image of her son with sad eyes appeared in his mind, and without thinking, he blurted out, "I like her son."

A mouthful of wine spurted out of his mouth.

His senior looked at him with disbelief and asked, "Do you have a child with her already?"

Truly a legend in college. If he didn't act, he could still scare people. The man opposite him looked cold and disdainfully at him, shaking his head.

"It's her child with someone else." He added, "Seeing that kid, I feel like I was looking at myself more than 20 years ago... Maybe it's because I want a child."

Matthew had lived for almost thirty years, yet in terms of emotions, he was impoverished to the point of having nothing.

Patrick sighed and finished the glass of wine in his hand.

"As someone who has gone through it, let me give you some advice... don't rush into things like that. The one who loves first always loses. Haven't you forgotten my story from seven years ago?" Seven years had passed, but every time Patrick thought about the past, he still felt his heart constrict with immense pain.

"Seven years ago... that was when you stood me up."

Seven years ago, Patrick was excited to introduce his unmarried friend to his crush, but then he stood her up.

Since then, he never mentioned the unmarried girl again.

He noticed his friend never wanted to bring it up and never asked. He only heard vague rumors like, "Isn't that girl your childhood sweetheart?"

Patrick laughed heartily, throwing his glass to the side and grabbing the bottle of wine to drink heavily.

"Childhood sweetheart, my foot! She cheated on me and had a child with someone else."

Betrayed by his childhood sweetheart, Patrick completely changed.

From a bright and sunny young man, he became a bloodthirsty wolf on the battlefield, making his opponents wary.

Since then, he no longer believed in love.

The more he was sincere, the deeper he was hurt.

Two twin children sat facing each other in a small house deep in an alley, nestled in the bustling city.

The little girl was lying on the table, her big round eyes blinking as she looked at her brother.

"Did you meet Matthew? What is he like?" she asked.

"He's good, perfect," the boy replied, his face emotionless as he praised the man he had just met for the first time. The little girl pouted.

"So, is he our dad?"

This question was beyond the scope of the six-year-old boy's ability to answer.

He pondered momentarily before responding to his sister, "I think he might be. He let me call him dad, and when he talked about his past with a sad face, I also felt unfortunate."

The feeling of heartache pulsated with every beat, and the boy still remembered it vividly.

It was a feeling of empathy, compassion, and magical empathy between people with the same blood, like the pain of missing a mother.

Another day passed.

As the night fell, a new workday began.

"Flora, take this file and bring it to H&H Corporation, and deliver it to Patrick Jones," Matthew said, causing Flora to tremble and almost drop the file.

Her face turned pale, and her voice shook as she asked, "H&H Corporation?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Matthew nodded calmly, then furrowed his brow slightly. Flora took the file and hurriedly bowed her head.

"No problem, I will complete the task."

After saying that, she turned and walked out, trying to appear normal. Only she knew that her steps were light, and her mind spun.

Many old memories came to her mind.

Patrick of H&H Corporation was her unmarried husband, but that was long ago.

She didn't dare to see him alone.

After thinking for a while, she ran to the HR department and knocked on her best friend's office door.

"Well, I have been waiting for this day for a long time..." A faint conversation in the office made Flora hesitant, wondering if she had come at the right time.

But the office door opened.

Layla looked flustered when she saw the person standing outside and quickly said a few words to the person on the phone before hanging up.

Turning to look at her best friend, who suddenly came to find her, Layla awkwardly smiled.

"Why are you here?"

Flora hugged the file and walked into her best friend's office, taking a deep breath.

"I want to ask you for a favor... The CEO asked me to deliver the file for transferring land use rights to H&H Corporation..."

"What? Are you going to see Patrick?" Layla exclaimed before she could finish her sentence, showing great surprise, unable to control her raised voice.

She was slightly surprised by her best friend's overly excited reaction and nodded, "Yes, but I don't want to see him again, so I want you to help me."

At this point, Layla had calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief. "No problem, this is too simple. Just leave it to me."

After solving a troublesome matter, Flora breathed a sigh of relief.

She wasn't ready to see Patrick again or face the past.

Leaving the file, she walked back to her office.

Flora noticed that the door to the CEO's office was open, and she could hear Selena's voice rising with a hint of bitterness.

"Matthew, do you know everyone in the company is talking about us? They say you don't care about me, that you don't value me..."

Matthew's voice remained calm and steady, as usual.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Selena's voice trailed off as she lowered her head, sounding sad. "Yesterday, your secretary suddenly fainted, and everyone was apprehensive. But... the way you carried her out like that, everyone was staring, and I felt so embarrassed..."

Flora sighed and took a tentative step to leave, but Selena's words did not pause...