Chapter 26: Found the Father Of Two Children

Leaving the hotel room, Matthew aimlessly drove around the city. He didn't want to go back to his mansion, nor did he want to talk to anyone, so he stopped in a deserted stretch of road and sat smoking in his car.

The cigarette smoke filled the air, tickling his nostrils to the point of choking. Yet even this nicotine was insufficient to invigorate his nerves, to chase away all his worries.

"I saw your car from afar, only to find out it's indeed you upon closer inspection. Why...are you smoking so much?" Selena knocked on the car window. As soon as the window was lowered, she crinkled her nose at the overpowering smell of tobacco.

Matthew rarely smoked this much.

"You can talk to me if you're troubled. After all, we're about to get married..."

"Enough." Matthew frowned, lacking the patience for her prattle: "Get in the car if you want to, otherwise, find your way back yourself."

Selena, of course, chose to get in the car. But as she reached for the door handle of the passenger seat, the man sitting in the car spoke again.

"The back seat."

Selena furrowed her brows, yet decided to make a concession, retreating to the back seat. She was besieged by a sense of foreboding; her fiance's behavior was strangely off-kilter that day.

They drove home in silence, she dared not utter a word for fear of provoking his ire.

The following morning, Selena stood hesitantly before the CEO's office door, her hand hovering indecisively. She yearned to cultivate a deeper relationship with Matthew, but was afraid of upsetting him. His mood seemed quite bleak of late.

Just then, a slender hand, its fingers as delicate and white as budding sprouts, reached out and rapped lightly against the wooden door. Selena jumped, spinning around.

"Flora... what are you doing here?"

Matthew was ensconced in his office, his eyes glued to the computer screen, but his mind was elsewhere. His fingers rested idle on the mouse.

His usually stony face bore an additional layer of creases today, his eyebrows furrowed. It was clear he was in a foul mood.

At that moment, the sound of knocking echoed. Neither heavy nor light, but decidedly firm. He reached for his cold coffee cup, his deep voice intoned: "Come in."

The door swung open. The entrant was not who he had expected, but it only caused his brows to furrow even tighter.

"What are you here for?"

"Good morning, Mr. CEO." Flora bowed slightly, then locked eyes with him, stating: "I want to withdraw my transfer application to the branch office. Please rescind the reassignment notice, and let me return to the headquarters."

Outside, the sound of high heels faded into the distance. Selena, seething, clenched her hand. Her red-painted nails dug into her palm, drawing blood, but she paid it no mind.

Flora... how could she request to return to the headquarters? Has she gone mad?

Flora was not mad. She was utterly certain of her request, her eyes filled with resolve and seriousness as she looked at the man behind the desk.

"If you need more money, just let me know. I'll write you a check, and then you can get the money from the finance department."

His icy tone caused Flora to frown: "When did I say I needed your money?"

Matthew scoffed.

"So it isn't about money? Take the money and go. I don't want to see your face anymore!" His heart ached vaguely, but the words were out, irrevocable.

He could only stare as Flora flared up in anger, reaching into her purse slung over her shoulder. She produced a wad of cash and the blank check he had left the day before, hurling it straight at him.

"Matthew, consider this me having misjudged you. All the money you've given me in the past and now, I haven't spent a dime, I'm returning it all." Her hand tightened around her purse strap, veins standing out: "From now on, you and I have nothing to do with each other. We don't need to greet each other even if we run into each other on the street."

With that, she decisively turned and walked away. In Matthew's somewhat stunned gaze, she slammed the door shut.

A door separated two worlds. Once out of the CEO's office, Flora sank to her knees. Cold sweat coated her forehead, her palms were clammy, and her eyes began to mist. It took all her effort to hold back the tears in front of him.

She had come to understand. Even if she could prove that the two children were Matthew's, it would mean nothing to him.

This lofty man only ever believed what he chose to believe. How laughable her thoughts were, and how naive she was, to aspire to what she ought not to have.

Besides, her children might not even need a father like him. She didn't need to insist on anything.

Leaving the headquarters of the S.E.I corporation, Flora trudged home, wearied. Paul sat alone on the living room sofa, and as soon as he saw his mother open the door, he ran to hug her legs.

"Mom... I missed you so much..." the little girl whimpered.

Flora looked around the house and didn't see any sign of her son.

"Where's Charlie? Why are you home alone?"

"Grandma went to the store. Charlie... he's in the advanced class at the international school, he comes home late every day, even on holidays he has extra classes." His voice turned sorrowful.

With a pang of sympathy, Flora hugged her daughter: "So you're home alone? Are you scared?"

The little girl's short arms wrapped around her mother's neck.

"I am scared, but... daddy Matthew says we must learn to be independent, not to rely on anyone. So he arranged for us to go to different schools. Mom, can I not go there?" The girl's voice got lower and lower, Flora had to lean in to hear the whisper: "The others said I wear cheap, market clothes, not

of the same class as them."

A clear tear trickled from Flora's brown eyes, she tightened her hug on her daughter.

"I'm sorry... it's my fault. I shouldn't have let you go through this..."

A black car had been parked for a while outside the narrow alley. The man in the car flicked his cigarette, his gaze fixed on one of the houses in the alley.

His car, by comparison, was worth many times more than that house. This stark contrast constantly reminded him that he had no business being here. But he couldn't control himself.

The phone thrown on the passenger seat suddenly vibrated, a pop-up message on the lock screen read: "You were right. Daniel White is definitely involved with the underworld. He just visited Edsel Tremblay in the hospital."

Edsel Tremblay?

Matthew's eyes darkened, his fingers constantly swiping on the glossy screen of the phone.

Seems like fate wouldn't let him let go of Flora that easily.

Just as he was lost in thought, the phone rang again. This time it was about Flora's son. The international school had a day off, the person on the other end asked if he would pick him up, or should the school arrange transportation.

A corner of his mouth lifted slightly, he decisively answered that he would pick him up.

"It's quite timely, I was wondering what excuse I could use to appear before her again..."

He swung the steering wheel, quickly driving to the international school Charlie attended. When he arrived, all the students had already left. Only the little boy stood alone at the school gate, patiently waiting.

His face was impassive, his silhouette both solitary and calmly indifferent. It seemed the boy didn't find it pitiful at all to be waiting alone at the school gate.

"Have you been waiting long?"

The child nodded, then shook his head, his voice steady: "Quite a while, but it's alright."

Daddy Matthew was kind to the boy, but it was uncertain whether he was the boy's biological father or not. Until the truth was determined, they had to tread lightly.

While driving, Matthew stole glances at the little boy in the passenger seat. Flora had two adorable children, a pity that... the mother herself was far from endearing or well-mannered.

The doorbell rang insistently, Flora shuffled in her slippers to answer it, her entire being devoid of life.

"Matthew? What brings you to my house?"

Before Matthew had a chance to speak, a small head peered around him. The boy, with a cold and stern face, walked straight into the house: "Daddy Matthew brought me home."

Reunited with her son whom she hadn't seen for a while, Flora hastily crouched down to embrace the boy, momentarily ignoring the man standing at the door.

"Mom, let go first. I'm carrying my bag." If she insisted on hugging, she would undoubtedly hurt her hand.

The boy, grim-faced, said just that before heading straight into the house, dropping his schoolbag onto the sofa. Once that was done, he turned back around, tugging at his mother's clothes, wanting a hug.

But the boy's mother had shifted her attention to the man at the door. She said to him coldly,

"Thank you for bringing my son home. You can leave now."

With that, she closed the door right in his face.

To have a door shut in his face twice in one day, Matthew irritably returned to his car, lighting a cigarette. What kind of person was this Flora, really?

Never before had anyone dared to treat him like this.

The boy watched in confusion as his mother closed the door on someone else. His small head was filled with myriad thoughts, but he decided to keep them to himself. His little hands stubbornly clung to his mother's dress.

His voice remained even and emotionless: "Mom, give me a hug."

"Where's a pretty girl like you going all by yourself?" A burly man blocked Flora's path, leering: "Why don't you come hang out with us?"

Flora started at the sight of the man before her, then glanced behind her. Somehow, she had been surrounded by a group of men. Each one of them wore an ugly, threatening expression.

The street was eerily deserted. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts about withdrawing her children from the international school that she hadn't noticed.

"Don't scare my sister-in-law like that." a voice sounded from behind.

A young man who seemed to be in his twenties, with an innocent face but a vibe that matched the others', stepped forward. He held a blade of grass between his teeth and tilted his head, smiling at Flora.

"Don't be scared, sis. If these guys dare to bully you, our big brother will take care of them."

Flora furrowed her brows at him: "Sister-in-law? You're mistaken, I'm not your sister-in-law."

"That's right." he chuckled: "How could I possibly mistake you? You're Flora, aren't you? You're my sister-in-law... Come with me, let's go see the big brother."

Which big brother? Flora was utterly confused. She was trapped in a predicament, unable to do anything but reluctantly follow them.

The room was spacious, shrouded in darkness. Its only source of light came from a large, transparent glass wall, through which the rays of the sun sliced, forcing one to squint upon entry.

At the sound of the door opening, the man spun around in his chair, a grin spreading across his face. Because of the backlit setting, Flora could not clearly discern his features, only a silhouette of his towering figure. One thing was certain, this was no acquaintance of hers.

"Who... who are you?"