As soon as he saw her, he smiled gently and said: "Come here..." He handed her the stack of papers: "Forget about the advertising shoot, don't let the two children suffer anymore. You organize your son's records, then let the little guy enroll in this school."
Flora took the stack of papers from Matthew's hand, and when she saw the school's name printed on them, she couldn't help but widen her eyes and mouth in surprise.
It was a prestigious school with very high admission requirements. But most importantly, the tuition was enormous. Flora calculated in her head and realized that she couldn't afford it.
"Why not?" she asked.
"There's no reason. My two kids are old enough to go to school now. And my son is a genius with a very high IQ. Following his friends would only waste his intelligence." Matthew replied.
Flora was too preoccupied with Matthew's words to notice something else. He had referred to her son as "my son." as if he was his child.
Before she could object, Laura, the maid, called out loudly: "Flora, Mr. Matthew, come and have dinner now."
Laura had already set up two chairs for the children next to each other, and the table was filled with nutritious food.
It had been a long time since this large villa had felt like a family home, but the warm atmosphere today made Laura laugh uncontrollably.
The little girl slipped out of her chair and ran to Matthew, asking sweetly: "Daddy Matthew, can you sit between my brother and me?"
The tall man indulgently nodded, and Flora's eyes welled up with tears. She thought it would be fantastic if he were her two children's father. He would be a great father.
Just then, the phone on the table rang.
Matthew glanced at the screen and furrowed his brow slightly.
Was it a coincidence that Selena called right now, or did she have another motive?
He stood up and took the phone out of the room.
"Hello."
"Matthew, have you had dinner yet?" Selena's voice was low and hesitant, blending in with the sound of the rain, making it chilly.
"If you hadn't called, I would have dinner now. What's up? It's raining heavily outside, so don't tell me you want to have dinner with me now."
Even someone with their head in the sand would know it wasn't possible.
Selena chuckled nervously: "No... I just wanted to ask when we're going to get married. Or... you could arrange a day for us to try on wedding dresses. Anyway, sooner or later, we'll get married."
"Go ahead. It's up to you." Matthew didn't care much about this small matter: "You can decide for yourself. No need to ask for my opinion."
Selena was given full authority to decide, but she wanted more.
From his indifferent tone, it was clear that he didn't value this marriage.
She felt cold as if she was the only one trying to nurture this relationship.
As for that man, he was like an outsider, looking at her with eyes devoid of warmth.
Selena's hand tightened around her phone: "Tell me the truth... do you love Flora? You let her and both of her children into the house."
She almost said: "Bastard, children."
Matthew himself had said that the house only welcomed its female owner.
Allowing Flora to enter was the most apparent evidence of his feelings.
"That's not something you should be concerned about." Matthew chuckled: "But I'm intrigued... how did you know she was at my house?"
Selena furrowed her brow.
The answer was as good as confirmation.
"It was... Winky. He saw it by accident."
"How coincidental." Matthew looked out at the rain, chuckling: "In this heavy rain, he had nothing better to do than come near my house and 'accidentally' see it."
Not only did he 'accidentally' see Flora and her two children come to his house, but he also 'accidentally' told Selena.
With such clumsy lies, did these people consider Matthew a three-year-old?
Leaving a sentence nearly revealing the truth, he hung up the phone, put it in his pocket, and returned to the table.
A faint smile remained on his lips.
The phone rang repeatedly, but the man on the other end hung up. Selena angrily threw her phone forward, and the glass door cracked.
After hearing the noise and seeing the scene, the man rushed in, sighing: "Miss, please calm down."
He had a long scar on his face, making his quite handsome face look somewhat ferocious.
With messy hair and a covered body, he looked like someone who was quite introverted.
Selena should have paid more attention to his presence.
She picked up her phone and turned towards the glass door, tossing it as if she wanted to vent her frustration.
"Miss, be careful not to hurt yourself." the man stepped forward a few steps, holding Selena's hand back as she was about to toss the phone for the third time.
"A broken phone or glass door can be fixed, but not your hand."
"You don't know anything!" Selena exclaimed in anger.
She stubbornly picked up her phone, but instead of throwing it toward the broken glass door, she threw it straight at the man's head.
He didn't dodge, allowing her to throw as she pleased.
"Are you crazy? Why didn't you avoid it?"
His carefree attitude made Selena even angrier.
She pursed her lips and didn't take the phone from his hand.
"Useless!" Selena shouted: "You are completely useless, even more, foolish than a pig! I told you to lure Patrick to SEI, but you only knew how. He didn't even recognize Flora, and you didn't know how to reveal her identity?"
The man bowed his head, his messy hair covering his dark face, making it difficult to approach him.
After Selena scolded him, he spoke evenly: "It's my fault, but don't be angry. It's bad for your health. Anyway, you are still Matthew's fiancée."
Not mentioning it would have been fine, but saying the matter made Selena even angrier. She felt that the affair between Matthew and that secretary had gotten out of control.
Especially today, when he boldly brought both the secretary and the two illegitimate children back home.
"Do you dare to say anything else? I am his fiancée, but I have never stepped foot in that house... yet today, he let her in, and even the two illegitimate children."
The more she spoke, the more frustrated she became.
After all, what was there to attract anyone's attention about an ugly girl with two illegitimate children without a father? Why was Matthew paying attention to such people?
She suddenly thought... Was it because the brat looked so much like Matthew? The kid made him feel affectionate, so whoever he loved, he loved their entire entourage, including his mother.
It can only be because of that.
"Winky, tell me... If he likes kids so much, then when I get pregnant, he won't leave me, right?"
Winky nodded. Whatever she said was taken as the truth.
After all, his boss never made a mistake, and he just needed to follow her instructions.
Selena waved her hand, signaling for Winky to leave. She needed to think of a way to get pregnant quickly.
Lately, Matthew had been distant regarding sexual relations, not only with her but also not dating any other girls.
Wanting to get pregnant was not a simple matter.
Her eyes suddenly flickered, looking at Winky's back as if deep in thought.
On her last day at SEI headquarters, Flora felt reluctant to leave.
After today, she wouldn't have to dress like an old lady anymore, and she should be happy.
But for some reason, she felt a bit sad.
She didn't know if it was because she didn't want to leave her familiar workplace or if she didn't want to go to that man.
She walked step by step on the familiar path back home, and before she could even take out her keys from her pocket, she saw the door open.
Inside came the voice of an older woman, a voice she had never heard before.
"If you have to blame someone, blame me. It's my fault! The Tremblay family is at fault for you! But Edsel Tremblay is not at fault, and he was forced to abandon you and your child... he didn't know you were pregnant..."
Then came her mother's familiar voice: "Don't say anymore. My daughter is my daughter alone, just my daughter. She has nothing to do with your Tremblay family, not Edsel."
Flora took a deep breath, cautiously walked closer, and peeked inside.
The woman was probably as old as her grandmother but well-maintained, dressed head to toe in designer clothes. She looked like someone who lived in luxury.
She was opposite to her hardworking mother.
The woman still spoke calmly: "You have to think about the future of the two little ones. Don't let your grudges affect the future of the children... The Tremblay family's descendants are out there, and I feel sorry for them too..."
"That's enough!" Flora's mother lost her patience and snapped: "Please leave. Our house is old, and we can't entertain a high-ranking lady like you."
In the conversation between the two women, they were revealing some sort of story.
Flora furrowed her brows and took a step forward involuntarily.
She didn't expect a small rock in front of her, causing her to slip and have to grip the door handle to stabilize herself.
The two women inside simultaneously looked out.
The unfamiliar woman saw her, and her elderly eyes lit up. She took a few steps towards the entrance.
"You're Flora, right? You're getting more beautiful as you grow up, truly the descendant of the Tremblay family... I'm your grandmother. Call me a grandmother."
Flora looked at her mother with a puzzled expression but saw her mother furrow her brows and pull her hand straight inside.