The doorbell rang timidly. Outside was the person she had long waited for.
"Sit down. You're later than I expected."
The newcomer walked straight into the house, sat down on the sofa, and declined the tea that Selena offered, asking directly: "Director White, do you have any business with me?"
"Of course." If there wasn't, she wouldn't have bothered calling this person over: "I heard your fiancé is searching high and low for another woman. How does that feel?"
Her words hit the other's sore spot. No longer calmly waiting, the other woman frowned: "Director White, I don't believe my personal affairs concern you."
"Why wouldn't they? Layla Gary, being robbed of your fiancé by your best friend, can you swallow that anger? Don't you want to get rid of Flora?"
Deep within Layla Gary's eyes, she saw a madness, much like her own. And she trusted that someone like Layla would choose love over friendship.
"Whether I can swallow it or not is my business..."
"Don't act tough!" Selena interrupted Layla. She knew very well how much Layla loved her fiancé.
Surely, this lump of rage, Layla couldn't swallow.
Layla bowed her head, hesitated for a while before asking: "Do you really have a solution?"
The fish had bitten the bait. Selena chuckled, of course, she didn't believe that there were unselfish women in this world, especially someone like Layla, who could get engaged to her best friend's ex.
Her finger tapped on the table, where lay a file bag. Doubtful, Layla took a step forward and under Selena's watchful gaze, tore open that file bag. Inside was only a small unsealed envelope.
"This is..." As she skimmed through the photos in the envelope, Layla widened her eyes in astonishment at the person who gave her this.
"Your dear sister's photos, don't you recognize her?" Selena sneered: "Flora is a shameless woman, accustomed to hunting men. She was once the bride-to-be of Ethelbert... Ethelbert, do you know him? He has ties with the underworld..."
Layla stared at the photos in her hand, unable to believe that Selena was so kind as to hand over her advantage. It was more likely that she was looking for someone to exploit.
Swallowing hard, Layla stuffed the photos back into the envelope and questioned her: "If you already have these photos, why didn't you give them to the CEO?"
After all, Selena's aim was only to remove Flora from Matthew's sight. Showing Matthew these photos directly would be much more straightforward than using someone else.
"Because of you. I can't bear to see others being deceived and robbed of their fiancé by Flora just like me..." Selena's smile was somewhat enchanting, captivating one's attention: "If forced to leave Matthew, she would return to Patrick Jones."
Indeed, as soon as she said these words, Selena saw Layla freeze in place as expected.
The implication in her words was clear. The only way to eliminate Flora was to expose these photos to the two men and vaguely hint at Flora's past as Ethelbert's fiancée. Two birds with one stone.
"You just need to follow my instructions..."
Clutching an envelope crammed full of photographs, Layla returned to her office, her hands quivering with a heady mix of excitement, tension, and a twinge of guilt.
As she was stuffing the envelope into a drawer, the door to her office, left slightly ajar, swung open. Startled, Layla jerked her head up, her palms slick with sweat.
"Why are you here?" Recognising the visitor, Layla frowned, lacking any trace of hospitality.
The sudden intruder was Layla's best friend, also the subject of those photos - Flora. She was taken aback by Layla's harsh demeanor, but then recalled perhaps her friend was still mad at her about the previous incident.
"Layla... Can we talk for a moment? About what happened the other day... I can explain... Patrick's phone number..." Flora was greatly concerned about her friend's state.
She had always thought that a thorough explanation would resolve the misunderstanding between them. That day, she had prompted Morela to try calling Patrick, but it was purely out of goodwill, hoping he and Layla could clear up their misunderstandings.
But Layla took it the wrong way.
"If it's not about work, don't speak." Layla rebuffed, her expression stern: "It's office hours, no personal matters."
"But... You're not picking up my calls... Layla, you've got to trust me, I wouldn't meddle with your relationship with Patrick. I've told you many times that he and I are history..."
Flora tried to explain, but her words fell on deaf ears.
"Enough!" Layla interrupted: "Stop pretending here! You're a deceiver!"
To Layla's eyes, had she not hastily deleted that missed call, Flora might have successfully ensnared Patrick. Such a dishonest person is absolutely untrustworthy.
Layla's vehement response left Flora stunned. A feeling of helplessness welled up inside her, tears pricking at her eyes: "That's not... Layla... he didn't see the missed call... How about this, you call him here, and I will clarify everything to him..."
In a sudden realization, she thought dragging out the situation like this wasn't wise. Facing it head-on was the only way to sever the ties with the past.
Laughing ironically as though she'd heard a joke, Layla sneered: "Isn't that a clever idea? You want me to call him over so you can easily seduce him? Right, with your pitiful look, what man could resist? Patrick is just the same, as is the CEO. How many men have you entrapped with this deceitful face of yours?"
Flora froze, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her. In an instant, her closest friend seemed terribly alien to her.
Unconsciously taking a step back, she bit her lip and sighed: "Alright then, you're upset. I won't disturb you. We'll... talk later."
Stunned, she returned to her office. As she passed by the partially open door of the CEO's office, she caught a snippet of Matthew's conversation within. His gentle tone was identical to how he spoke to her and their children.
"Alright, daddy's sweetheart. I know you're strong... I love you." He blew a kiss at the phone, a clearly audible 'mwah,' before hanging up.
Startled, Flora pushed the door and walked in. By that time, the man had already tucked his phone into his pocket. She stared at his pocket, then asked:
"It was Paul, wasn't it? You were talking to our daughter, weren't you?"
Having not seen her daughter for a long time, Flora missed the child dearly. Yet the indifferent child had chosen to stay in the US for a few more days of fun, not caring about her worried family back home.
Matthew nodded: "Yes, it was Paul, but..."
"Director General!" A figure hurtled into Matthew's office from the outside, urgency overriding any semblance of decorum.
His conversation abruptly interrupted, Matthew turned around, a cool façade revealing no surprise, and asked: "What is the matter?"
The sudden icy demeanor of the Director General made the intruder tremble, but urgency propelled him to grit his teeth and deliver his message: "It's Director White... She's fallen. Director, you must go to see her immediately!"
In Selena's womb was the heir to Matthew's bloodline. How wealthy families like the Charles' revered their offspring was common knowledge. Therefore, the unborn child in Selena's womb carried a weight of great significance.
Upon Matthew's arrival at the hospital, Selena was in the throes of hysteria. She was a riot of tears, even managing to swipe a tray of medicine from the nurse's hand, nearly causing injury. Her pallid arm bore the needle of an IV line, which she had ripped out, leaving a vivid bruise.
"Get out! Nobody needs me, just let me die!" She screamed in the nurse's face: "Are you deaf? I said get out!"
Matthew's brows furrowed, he looked at the woman before him, a shell of her former self: "Have you caused enough chaos? What happened?"
"Matthew... You're here to take me home, aren't you? I know you won't abandon me... You love me... right?"
In Selena's eyes shone a flicker of hope. She looked at Matthew as a castaway might look at their sole lifesaver.
Matthew sighed deeply: "Calm down."
The woman on the bed suddenly lunged at him, clutching his arm tightly. Her grip was fierce, her knuckles whitened.
"I know you love our child... For the child... can you stay with me..."
Even a woman like Selena, who always looked down at the world from a high pedestal, had a day when she had to beg for the affections of a man. Yet the face she pleaded to remained stoic and emotionless.
"Miss Flora!" A voice suddenly echoed in her ears, causing Flora to jolt.
Turning her head, she let out a sigh of relief when she realized it was Aunt Laura. She placed a hand over her chest: "Aunt, you needed me?"
"I've called you a few times, but it seems you didn't hear..." Aunt Laura handed her a file: "Patrick dropped by and left this for the young master. Could you please give it to him later? It seems Patrick is looking for someone, he looked very worried and hurried."
Flora nodded, dispelling her earlier abstract thoughts.
Perhaps she had been so lost in thought that she didn't hear Aunt Laura calling. Yes, she was lost, because she had accompanied Matthew to the hospital to see Selena.
Seeing Selena clutching Matthew's arm and crying on the hospital bed, she felt her presence was unnecessary and decided to leave early. To her surprise, she saw the scar-faced man who always accompanied Selena standing afar, watching intently with an earnest gaze.
She noticed him, and he noticed her. But neither spoke a word to each other, they simply passed by.
Returning to Matthew's mansion, she couldn't stop thinking about the strange look in the man's eyes as he stared into the hospital room. The emotions in his eyes were certainly not ordinary.
"The Patrick Aunt Laura mentioned... could it be that Patrick? The one he was looking for... could it be me?" She gently touched the file, murmuring to herself.
Entering a room and closing the door securely, she took a deep breath, opened the file, and peered at the contents enveloped within.
Indeed, it held the records of a person. The very first page bore the unmistakable name "Flora", detailed with personal information more thorough than any resume she'd ever seen. It also contained an abundance of photographs from her past.
She furrowed her brow: "He seems determined to find me at all costs. Yet, the more determined he is... the more crucial it is that I remain undiscovered."
Patrick's obstinacy exceeded her wildest estimations. She feared that this relentless search could fracture her friendship with Layla and Patrick's with Matthew.
No, she couldn't allow that to happen. The best solution to this issue was...