Taking a deep breath, Flora decided to break the silence: "Thank you for helping me take care of the kids."
"It's nothing, just what should be done. You don't have to thank me..." Matthew forced a smile: "I always feel a deep connection and desire to be close to the kids... Sometimes I wish they were mine."
Flora sighed, her voice soft: "Well, they are..."
"What did you say?" Matthew didn't catch her whisper and asked again.
But she just shook her head, steering the conversation to another topic, not any cheerier. Just that, they both knew they'd have to face it sooner or later.
She abruptly raised her head to look straight into Matthew's face: "You're marrying Selena? That... it's not true, is it?"
Even now, she clung onto a shred of hope that everything was just a dreadful nightmare. The man who professed his love for her just the day before, who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, couldn't possibly marry someone else.
Yet he nodded, offering a sensible explanation.
"She is pregnant, the baby is mine, I cannot ignore that... You're a mother too, you understand, don't you? The child is innocent, I have a responsibility towards my own flesh and blood."
"And what about me?" Flora choked back tears: "What about me?"
She wished to confront him outright, what about their child? Why could a responsible man like him neglect their children, not show them any concern or attention?
In his heart, what really was she and her children to him?
Matthew sighed, his voice betraying a hint of guilt: "I understand this is unfair to you, but she is pregnant, I must marry her, nothing can be changed. Beyond our titles, I can give you anything else you want."
Including my love.
Flora studied him, noting love, guilt, and determination in his familiar eyes. She knew he would never alter his decision, no matter her pleas or tears.
Even if she told him the truth about their children's identity, it wouldn't change a thing. It would only push him into an even more difficult situation.
As a mother, she couldn't selfishly demand him to deny his own blood. Her best choice was to let go.
"Matthew, even at this point, you still don't fully understand me. What I want is a man who is wholly dedicated to me, not a man who treats me as an option."
A single mother, who had tasted life's bitterness, clearly couldn't accept such a shaky, ambiguous relationship.
Flora lowered her head, hiding a tear threatening to spill from her eyes: "Matthew, let's... end it here."
Her breakup, as light as a passing breeze, was like a sharp blade piercing the man's heart, leaving excruciatingly painful wounds. He extended his hand, wanting to grab hers, to beg her to stay, but he couldn't.
He could only watch as she turned and left.
With her head bowed, Flora plodded along the familiar street, her mind whirling with recent troubles, including her situation with Matthew.
Suddenly, a pair of leather shoes entered her line of sight, making her stop. Just a couple more steps and she would have bumped into the person in front.
"Miss Flora, long time no see." The man smirked at her slightly horrified face: "How have you been?"
Ethelbert. Why him? Flora avoided his gaze, silently figuring out a quick escape. Otherwise, who knew what this perverse man would do next.
Not always was there someone who would timely appear to rescue her.
Ethelbert looked at her with eyes filled with interest, leisurely drew out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, lit up, and took a puff: "Don't look at me like that, I won't do anything to you. Today, I'm here to propose a deal to you."
"A deal?" Flora frowned.
She couldn't think of any deal she could make with this man.
"Indeed." Ethelbert nodded: "You procure for me a batch of Matthew's documents, in exchange... your father remains unscathed."
"Is my father in your hands?" Flora's brow furrowed more intensely. She recalled her mother mentioning that Ethelbert was her father's adopted son, with his unpredictability, this could indeed be the truth.
An adopted child controlling his adoptive parent is significantly easier than an outsider. For the closest ones always have the potential to inflict the most devastating wounds.
"Your father's life for a set of documents, it seems like you're getting the better end of this deal..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Flora interrupted: "But how can I know you don't have ulterior motives? What kind of documents does Matthew have?"
Ethelbert remained unfazed by her attitude, ignoring her growing urgency. He drew in a puff of his cigarette, blowing the smoke in her face, then laughed merrily at her scowling expression.
"They were originally my documents, all I ask of you is to help me reclaim them... Of course, if you don't want to save your father, that's your prerogative. It all hinges on your decision."
However, his gaze seemed to communicate to her: he was not a patient man, if she didn't make a decision soon, he himself did not know what he might do.
While she was negotiating with Ethelbert, at Matthew's mansion, Paul, while playing with his dolls, suddenly started bleeding profusely from the nose and fainted. Aunt Laura immediately called an ambulance to take the child to the hospital, but couldn't get through to the master of the house.
By the time she made contact, the child had already been rushed into the emergency room. The frantic voice of the doctor came blaring into Matthew's ears:
"The situation has suddenly taken a turn for the worse, her vital signs are very weak. We need to perform emergency surgery immediately."
Matthew turned pale and quickly responded: "First stabilize the child, I will have my private jet there immediately."
He hung up the call, not bothering to conceal his worried expression from Selena. He immediately called his assistant to arrange his private jet, then contacted a leading physician in America.
"Matthew, what on earth has happened, why are you..."
"Do not disturb me!" Matthew snapped, then realizing the person on the other end was pregnant, he softened his tone: "I have an urgent matter to attend to. Take care of yourself."
With that, he hurriedly grabbed his vest hanging over the chair, and darted out.
Selena gently rubbed her protruding belly, her movements delicate, but her eyes full of rage.
"It must be you... Flora... I won't let you live in peace."
Her heart ached within her chest. Until now, she had always thought that people like Matthew were heartless, incapable of love. Now she realized, he was just an ordinary man, capable of love, concern, and fear.
But none of these emotions pertained to her.
The truth was a bitter pill to swallow. She was his fiancée, carrying his child, yet he was leaving her behind to worry about someone else.
She quickly pulled her cell phone from her purse, her crimson painted nails glinting. Biting her lip, she dialed a somewhat unfamiliar number.
"Director White, what brings you to call me at this hour?"
Layla's tone was gentle, even a bit playful. Of course, having achieved her deepest desire, she would naturally feel joyous and light-hearted.
But the more she fervently yearned, the more she feared losing. Layla's fear of loss was exactly what gave Selena the upper hand.
"Layla Gary, I want you to find a way to push Flora out of S.E.I Corporation, immediately!"
Her command, of course, sparked annoyance. Especially with Layla, who was the fiancee of the CEO, their positions in S.E.I were closely matched.
She had no authority to dictate others, let alone meddling in the affairs of the human resources department.
With no hesitation, Layla rebuffed: "Director White, that's the business of HR, not something you should interfere with..."
"If you can't do it, I'll let Patrick Jones know that Flora is the one he's been searching for." Selena smirked: "Guess how he would react when he finds out you've been keeping in touch with Flora?"
Selena's words hit Layla's most vulnerable spot. Despite being engaged to Patrick and soon to be wedded, Layla was constantly on tenterhooks, fearing the day when she would lose him. Ultimately, this was a stolen happiness.
Selena chuckled mockingly, continuing: "It's not a hard task for you. After all, you're the one who brought her into S.E.I."
She wasn't wrong. Without Layla, Flora would never have dreamed of stepping foot in the S.E.I Corporation.
Flora ran into Matthew at the entrance of the mansion. The moment she saw him, she bowed her head, intending to walk past him. But how could he let her avoidance slide easily?
"Avoiding me?" His voice was frosty, his hand tightly gripping her slender wrist.
His grip on her wrist was painful, and Flora frowned, trying to pull away.
"We have nothing to discuss... Let go of me first..."
"Let you go? To allow you to continue avoiding me? Or to make us strangers from now on?"
Flora looked at him, her eyes welling up: "Do you have the nerve to ask me that? Why not ask yourself... on what grounds are you treating me this way?"
Matthew stubbornly refused to let go, he sighed, and said to her:
"Because... I have your children in my possession."
"You said what?" Flora exclaimed in disbelief.
She couldn't believe what she just heard was true. Wasn't Matthew always affectionate to her two kids, treating them as his own? How could he use them to threaten her?
Looking deep into Matthew's dark eyes, she couldn't decipher what he was thinking.
With a sigh, he had to tell the truth: "At least for now, you can't take the children away. Because... I've sent Paul to the U.S. for treatment."
"What?" Flora's voice rang out even higher: "Sent Paul to the U.S. for treatment? Why didn't you tell me?"
She was the mother of the two children. She should have been the one to understand her child's condition the best. But he had whisked her child away and she wasn't informed.
Softly pulling her hand, he gently said: "You told me I should be responsible for your children... Don't worry, as long as you obey, I'll let you see them soon."
With that, he quickly let go of her hand, stepped back, and instructed the people around.
"Take good care of her."
Unbeknownst to her, the duo had gradually been encircled by three or four individuals, all clad in uniform attire, some familiar faces, some not. In truth, even if his people weren't surrounding her, she couldn't have left. A mother can't simply abandon her children.
Even if they were currently in the presence of their father.