"Flora, why are you here?"
In the span of a few short days, this was the second time Selena had said this to the woman standing before her.
Flora smiled at her, clutching a pile of documents tightly in her hands: "The CEO has rescinded the transfer order. I'm returning to work here starting today."
Her casual revelation was akin to a bombshell exploding over tranquil waters. As the CEO's fiancee in her words, Selena couldn't keep her composure at the news.
She wasn't foolish enough not to realize there was something unusual between this secretary and her betrothed.
"I warn you, Matthew is mine. You better..."
"You can tell the CEO that yourself." Flora cut her off with a smile: "Saying it to me seems a bit pointless."
With that, she breezed past Selena and walked straight into the CEO's office, indifferent to her resentment or indignation. If Matthew were just a stranger, that would be one thing, but he was the father of her two children...
It was predetermined that she and Selena could never coexist peacefully.
"Mr. CEO, here are your documents... If there's nothing else, I will take my leave." she said, placing the documents on the desk.
Matthew leisurely rose from his chair, circling the desk to stand closer to her: "Did I say you could leave?"
"What... what are you doing?" Flora stammered.
The man's warm breath was on her neck, he took a deep inhale, as if trying to capture her scent.
"Guess what I am up to now... Having had two kids and yet, still so innocent, how could that be? Such a person like you... truly is a rare find." He has had his share of encounters with women, some overly cunning, some pretending to be naive.
But genuine naivety, it seems, is found only in her.
"You... You're teasing me again."
"Who told you that I'm teasing? Flora, listen carefully, I do not wish to repeat these words too many times. I like you, truly like you... I didn't want to admit it, but I cannot control my feelings."
Flora stared at him in bafflement. She hadn't expected him to suddenly confess his feelings for her.
"But why do you like me?" She remembered the time when she applied for a job here, looking like an old aunt... the thought still made her shudder.
How could this man possibly like her? It defies all logic.
Matthew chuckled lightly: "If I knew why, then I probably wouldn't like you. It could be because you're too innocent, or maybe because you're too strong... All I know is that I feel warmth when I'm by your side."
He had often contemplated the so-called taste of family. In his thirty years of life, he only tasted this lingering feeling in her house.
Also..: "That noodle soup you cooked for me that day, was the best I have ever tasted."
Even if she added too much seasoning, making the soup overly salty, it still had that irreplaceable taste of home. He remembered it well, holding it dear, yearning for it, unable to let go.
He wrapped his arms around Flora, who without hesitation, returned his embrace.
She knew deep down, she could never resist this man. Seven years ago, destiny had thrust them together. Seven years later, she willingly believed that their shared fate was the most beautiful destiny life could offer.
Thus, when he proposed they live together, she did not refuse. They already had a child... That's right, she should find an opportunity to reveal the truth about the kids' identity to him.
Leaving Matthew's office, she stepped outside, inadvertently looking through the ground-level glass, she saw...
"That's Patrick. Isn't that Layla getting in his car? When did they become so close?"
Murmuring to herself, she then let out a sigh. Everything between her and Patrick was in the past. As a living person, she needed to look forward.
However, her little one disagreed with the move.
"But you really like your daddy Matthew... Why don't you agree to move?" She held her little boy in her arms, asking softly.
The despondent look on her child's face seemed to waver, contemplating whether to speak up. In the end, he did: "I really like daddy Matthew, but dad is a gangster. I like mom more than daddy Matthew, I don't want mom to be in danger."
So, he was worried about her.
The atmosphere surrounding Flora seemed to be filled with sweetness, each breath she took was delightful. She comforted her little one with a smile:
"There will be no danger, mom will protect you. And, some things cannot be judged by appearances. You have to trust in your mom and your daddy Matthew."
Listening to his mother's entreaty, the child tilted his head in contemplation, taking his time before grudgingly acquiescing: "Alright, as long as it makes you happy, Mother."
There were some more matters the child wanted to clarify, and living in the same house with Matthew would certainly facilitate these discussions.
And so, the decision to move was finalized. The adults moved swiftly; within a few days, everyone's belongings had been packed up and relocated to Matthew's house.
"Daddy Matthew..."
The young girl ran towards him, throwing her arms around Matthew's neck, her voice clear and sweet as she proudly presented her recent achievements. He, in his turn, held her close, never stingy with his words of praise.
At this moment, a sudden twinge of pain shot through the back of his head, but he didn't think much of it, assuming that the child had simply held onto his hair a little too tightly. However, as soon as she wriggled out of his arms, she held up a few strands of his hair like a trophy, showing it off to her brother.
"Did you see, Charlie? I managed to grab Daddy Matthew's hair." she declared gleefully, wrapping her arms around her older brother's neck.
Her brother, detached, simply nodded, disentangling his sister's arms from around his neck: "Very well done. You can't keep clinging onto me like that, though... you're shedding hair. Hand it over quickly."
The girl pouted slightly, handing over the strands of hair to her brother, but she continued to hover around him, chattering excitedly: "When do you plan to have the DNA tested? Do you think Daddy Matthew could really be our father? Would you be happy if he were?"
"There's a good eighty to ninety percent chance." the boy responded, nodding at two sweet pastries on the table: "Go have a cake."
"You've been so gentle with me lately, Charlie!" the girl chirped, jumping onto a chair to pull one of the pastries closer. She munched on her treat, oblivious to the tears welling up in her twin brother's eyes behind her.
Being the elder sibling, he was accustomed to caring for his sister, and equally adept at hiding his true emotions behind an impassive facade. He would never admit... that he had overheard Matthew discussing his sister's medical condition with a doctor, before surreptitiously researching the illness.
"Congenital marrow aplasia, the only current method of treatment is a bone marrow transplant."
Despite his intelligence, he was just a child, incapable of saving his sister. If they could prove that Matthew was their biological father, perhaps his sister's chances of survival would increase, even if only slightly.
"Boss, our men reported that Matthew has taken the entire Flora family away today." one of the henchmen reported.
Ethelbert didn't turn around, merely lifting his cigarette to his lips to take a drag.
His subordinate, unsure of his boss's thoughts, continued: "It seems Flora really is Charles's woman. And she lied to you, boss..."
"Not necessarily." Ethelbert snorted: "Matthew is a sly fox. He doesn't waste time on meaningless actions."
If anyone tried to convince him that Matthew had taken the Flora family just out of love, he'd rather believe that Matthew had intercepted some kind of tip-off. This move was merely a precaution against his actions.
But then again... The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Matthew's biological father was nothing more than a pampered brat himself, who had more than once shaken up the underworld to protect his wife and child.
"Regardless of their intentions, I will avenge the grudge from Australia. They will pay in blood for the blood they owe."
At that moment, Matthew received a call from an unsaved number. As he picked up, the voice on the other end simply said: "Young master, the boss requests your presence", and then hung up. Whether he had heard clearly or not was irrelevant.
"Are you looking for me, mother?" Flora's tension was palpable as she stood before her mother, her fingers twisting nervously together.
Mrs. Smith, her brow furrowed, regarded her daughter. The little girl she once knew had grown into a beautiful woman, a mother herself with children of her own. But she was still behaving so recklessly.
"Why did you take the kids to Matthew's place? Do you realize the disparity between you and him? Are you aware that he has a soon-to-be wife?" Mrs. Smith had held back this question all day, only now finding the suitable moment to ask her daughter.
But no one was there to hear.
"You are a mother now, stop this nonsense, understood?"
"Mother, I'm not joking." Flora pursed her lips, looking at her mother earnestly.
Mrs. Smith shook her head: "Joking or not, it's not acceptable. He has a fiancee, no matter what, you can't disrupt someone else's family. Have you forgotten all the lessons I taught you?"
Flora lowered her gaze, torn between revealing the truth or keeping it to herself. But she couldn't bear her mother's suspicious gaze... With a sigh, she confessed.
"Seven years ago, that man was Matthew. Mother...I only want our children to have a complete family."
To her, the happiness of her children outweighed everything else. As long as her children could live in a family filled with love from both parents, she cared little about how society judged her.
Outside, the night had fallen. The clock hands crept towards ten, but Matthew had yet to return. Flora grew anxious.
She dialed a familiar number, luckily it rang a few times before he picked up. Unluckily...he seemed to be drunk.
"Director, where are you? It's late, why aren't you home yet?" Her voice was anxious, concern evident and unable to be concealed.
Matthew chuckled lightly: "Flora, would you like... a drink?"
When she arrived at the bar and rushed in, all she saw was him, sitting alone at the counter, pouring and drinking endlessly.
"Stop drinking..." Flora couldn't bear to see him like this, she snatched the glass from his hand: "You've had enough."
"But I'm not drunk yet... I've had a lot, but I'm still sober... Damn it, how can I be so clear-headed?"
Matthew hated this clarity, utterly detested it. Like countless others, he sought solace in alcohol to forget the hardships of life, not to grow even more alert with each drink.
"Do you hate your father? He abandoned you... do you hate him?" He suddenly asked.