Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”Where did you go? I went upstairs to call you for dinner and realized you weren’t home.”

He smiled slightly. ”I went out to take care of something.”

”I thought you’d run off,” Zoe Ellsworth admitted. ”I was worried you’d suddenly back out of the marriage. After all, ours was a flash wedding.”

Herman Hawthorne was taken aback for a moment, then he chuckled. ”I won’t back out. Marriage isn’t a game.”

Zoe Ellsworth quickly asked, ”Have you eaten? I’ll have the housekeeper heat up the food for you.”

”Okay.”

Zoe Ellsworth let go of him and ran to the living room. ”Housekeeper, please heat up the food. Sir is home.”

The housekeeper hurried out and immediately went to the kitchen.

Sitting on the sofa, she snuggled up to him like a kitten. ”Now that I’m married, my mom can’t control me anymore. Honey, I don’t want to go to school. I’m not good at my studies and just waste time there. I want to open a clothing boutique.”

Herman Hawthorne stroked her hair. ”Then don’t go. I can support you. I’ll back you in whatever you want to do, as long as it makes you happy.”

Zoe Ellsworth felt like she had fallen into a honey pot; everything felt incredibly sweet.

The housekeeper brought out the food. While Herman Hawthorne ate, she sat across from him, watching.

As he was finishing his meal, Zoe Ellsworth reminded him, blushing, ”Honey, today is our wedding day. November twenty-sixth. You have to remember it.”

”Alright. Of course I’ll remember.” Herman Hawthorne stood up and walked over to her. ”Tonight is very meaningful for us, Zoe. This is our true wedding night.”

”Mm.”

Seeing her flushed face, Herman Hawthorne’s heart filled with delight. ”Let’s go upstairs.”

’What’s not to like about a life like this?’

’Simple. A quiet life.’

Noticing how stiff her body was, Herman Hawthorne gently rubbed her waist. ”Relax. I’ll be very gentle.”

As if his words had an effect, Zoe Ellsworth’s worries seemed to melt away. She said, ”Honey, will you really only be good to me for the rest of our lives?”

”Of course. Because you’re my only wife.”

Zoe Ellsworth broke into a wide grin.

”Let’s get some sleep. Didn’t you say you don’t want to go to school anymore? We’ll go handle the withdrawal paperwork tomorrow. In a few days, I’ll find a storefront for you on Goldrun Road so you have something to occupy your time.”

Zoe Ellsworth threw her arms around his waist. ”Honey, I think being married is wonderful! I’ve escaped my mom’s nagging, and I can do what I love. This is just perfect.”

He held her, letting her rest her head on his arm.

”I told you, I’ll give you anything you want.” ’Anything,’ he thought, ’except for love.’

”Mm.” She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

**

Quentin Grant drove to the entrance of an amusement park.

The gates were locked tight.

He smiled at Nora Ainsworth. ”Get out of the car.”

”The gate is locked.”

”I have a way in.”

He said, brimming with confidence, ”Is there anything in this world I can’t do?”

He walked to the main gate, pulled out a key, and opened it directly.

Nora Ainsworth followed him inside.

The gate swung shut behind them. Quentin Grant looked at her. ”Tonight, I’m going to help you find your lost childhood.”

Nora Ainsworth was puzzled. ”How did you know I’ve never been here before?”

He just smiled, saying nothing. ”So, what do you want to ride first?”

Nora Ainsworth pointed to a pitch-black area in the distance. ”The carousel.”

”Alright.” He walked forward.

He took out his phone and spoke into it like a walkie-talkie, ”Turn on the carousel.”

Instantly, a dazzling display of multicolored lights flared to life in the distance.

Nora Ainsworth jogged over, climbed the steps, and walked onto the platform. She chose a red horse and settled onto it. Once she was steady, she noticed him sitting on another horse not far from her.

”Ready to start?”

Nora Ainsworth nodded. ”I’m ready.”

He said into his phone, ”Start it up.”

The carousel slowly started to turn, the horses rising and falling. Nora Ainsworth looked around at the empty park. Feeling completely carefree, she sat back and asked with curiosity, ”How on earth did you find the owner of this amusement park in the middle of the night?”

”With enough money, is there anything you can’t do?”

’It’s best not to say too much to this kind of arrogant, flashy show-off,’ Nora Ainsworth thought.

’But I have to admit,’ she thought, ’what he did tonight was truly heartwarming.’

’It was true. She’d never been to an amusement park as a child. After she grew up, even though she had a little money, she always felt she was too old for it—that it was a place for kids.’

The flashing neon lights formed countless tiny stars in her eyes.

’No man would go to an amusement park in the middle of the night just for the hell of it, especially not a diamond bachelor like Quentin Grant.’

’She understood his intentions.’

’But behind the happiness, there was mostly heartache.’

’And a wordless pain.’

’I want so badly to just ignore it, but I can’t.’

The only song on his phone, Shawn Warner’s ”Anything Is Possible,” began to play through the park’s speakers.

Listening to the song she had heard hundreds of times, the tears welling in Nora Ainsworth’s eyes betrayed her.

She turned her head, not wanting him to see.

The song ended, and the horses slowed to a halt.

Footsteps drew near. He took her hand. ”What else do you want to ride? I’ll go with you.”

She lifted her left hand to wipe the fresh tear tracks from her face and shook her head. ”Let’s go back. I have work tomorrow, and you’re leaving the country. It’s getting late.”

”I won’t allow it.”

He pulled her off the carousel and dragged her to the roller coaster. They strapped themselves in. The wind WHOOSHED past their ears, and the tears in the corners of her eyes felt like they were freezing solid.

In the end, the sheer thrill made her scream, but he was screaming even more, completely terrified.

’This was the first time she’d ever seen such a panicked look on his face. It must be his first time here, too.’

’And he was doing it for her.’

When the ride ended, they both threw up all over the ground.

She insisted she wasn’t riding anything else, and they sat in the car, their heads spinning.

”I’m leaving tomorrow.”

”Aren’t you coming back in a week?”

He frowned. ”But that’s a long time.”

She glanced at him. ”It’s only a week.”

”Nora... tonight is our last ’appointment.’ Should we go somewhere else?”

Nora Ainsworth opened a can of beer and took a few sips. ”But it’s so cold.”

”Have you been taking birth control pills?” he asked out of the blue.

Her hand tightened on the beer can. ”Why are you asking that?”

”Otherwise, why wouldn’t you show any signs of pregnancy after all the times we’ve had sex?”

Nora Ainsworth’s face went pale. She opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and said, ”So that’s why you haven’t been using a condom. You’re trying to get me pregnant?”

”That’s right. Because if you get pregnant, you’ll be the mother of my child forever,” he admitted after a moment’s hesitation.

”But I have no desire to be the mother of your child. You should be able to see that,” she replied firmly.

”So you have been taking birth control pills behind my back?” His heart plummeted, as if he’d been plunged into a world of ice and snow.