Compared to little Kaia, who was all bright-eyed and giggly, Kai seemed far more composed as he carefully observed his mother, who had just walked in. He smoothly pulled out a chair for her, showing a maturity that was almost startling in someone his age, and poured her a cup of warm milk. “Mom, when did you get back?” he asked, studying her with that same serious expression that made him look like a mini-adult. “Didn’t you say your flight was delayed because of the weather?” Ella chuckled. Her son always had a way of getting to the heart of things, didn’t he? “Well,” she teased, giving him a mischievous grin. “I actually borrowed a plane from a friend and flew back overnight myself. Impressive, right?” Kai's eyes went wide with shock. His mouth opened slightly, looking both amazed and doubtful at the same time, as he tried to wrap his head around the idea of his mom piloting her way across the night sky. She couldn’t resist ruffling his hair, holding back her laughter. “I’m jus
"Mr. Lucas, Captain Dan has recovered, but the doctor says he needs a six-month observation period before he can fly again. Do you think we should hire another pilot?" Secretary Zane reported over the phone, his voice echoing in the hallway. Standing by the glass walls of the mall, Lucas looked out with his usual unreadable expression. Expanding the Apex group’s business into Asia meant he had to fly overseas almost every month, so having a dependable pilot was essential. Just as he was about to respond, Lucas spotted Ella in the distance—and three little kids trailing behind her. Something in his mind shifted, and before he knew it, he said, "Look into a journalist named Lila Kane. I want to know why she knows how to fly a plane." There was a beat of silence on the other end, then Zane’s voice returned, tinged with shock, "Sir… Are you saying you want Ms. Lila to be your pilot?" Zane immediately regretted those words. Lucas hated it when people tried to guess his intentions, and
Ella nodded silently, her mind racing with thoughts she wasn’t quite ready to share. "But how is that even possible?" Jenna’s voice broke through the fog of uncertainty. "They didn’t notice anything weird when you lived with them before. So, what changed? Unless… someone told them something?" As the pieces clicked into place, Jennas expression shifted, her eyes narrowing. "Could it be Dr. Leo..?" "No," Ella replied, shaking her head with conviction. Jenna looked at her, surprised. "How can you be so sure?" Ella paused for a moment, weighing her words. She decided to spill the beans. "He’s been looking after Kai and Kaia for years. He’s helped me out a lot, so he has no reason to spill the beans to Mr. and Mrs. Kane." But Jenna, always quick to catch the scent of gossip, raised an eyebrow. "He helped take care of Kai and Kaia? What, like a dad or something?" Ella shot her a glare. "It’s not what you think." Jenna smirked, leaning in closer. "But how do you know what I’m thinki
Ella said indifferently: "She's in the entertainment department, and I'm in the international news department. We can't get along with her. She shouldn't be so idle as to stretch out her hand so long to punish me." It's a pity that Ella guessed wrong this time. Not only is Amy idle, but her hands are longer than she imagined. --- That night at Montgomery's Manor, the atmosphere in the dining room was thick with tension. Lucas placed the newspaper down, his gaze icy as it met the butler’s. “He still refuses to eat?” The butler sighed, shaking his head as if he were a parent dealing with a rebellious teenager. “Young Master Theo has locked himself in his room since he got back this afternoon. He’s declared a hunger strike, sir.” Lucas raised an eyebrow. “A hunger strike? For what?” “Unless you—” the butler hesitated, glancing nervously at Lucas’s growing impatience. “Unless Reporter Lila apolot for the incident this afternoon. He wants you to admit you were wrong, and—uh, he wan
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze cold but curious. "How exactly did you know?"Amy blinked, quick to throw up a flimsy excuse. No way she could admit she’d put someone on his tail. So, she conjured up a reasonable story with a hint of sweetness. "Oh, it was pure coincidence! I went to a little networking event tonight and ran into that journalist, Lila. Overheard her gossiping about it with some friends."Lucas’s gaze was steady and expressionless, giving nothing away.Taking a breath, Amy gathered her courage, clasping her hands and giving her best innocent look. "Lucas, please don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not prying into your life or anything. I just—well, I actually need a favor. My team recently started working on a new aviation program, but… you know me, I’m clueless about these things. I thought maybe that journalist Lila could help me out. You wouldn’t mind letting her tag along with me for a bit, would you?”A flicker of amusement crossed Lucas's face as he observ
“Reporter Lila, it's alright if you don’t understand yet,” said Amy softly, almost too soft to take seriously. “I’m sure you’ll get it… sooner or later.”Ella was pretty sure she was on to something now. Ah, yes. These two really did think she had planned the whole “earring on the plane” scenario on purpose. She almost laughed. Really? Who did they think he was—a dollar? Some kind of irresistible attraction everyone must adore? The ego in that thought was almost enough to knock him off his chair.Keeping a straight face, she replied, “Miss Amy, don’t flatter yourself. Not everyone likes to re-wear someone else’s… choices.”With that, she was done. Done with the nonsense. Rising without another glance, she walked away, ignoring the expression Amy wore—a mix of shock and frustration—and left her to stew in it. Some people just needed a reality check.When Ella finally joined the crew for the shoot, she braced himself. She’d been expecting Amy to keep finding ways to mess with her
"Really now?" The director's eyes narrowed, studying her carefully. "So, who exactly is the father of your child?"Caught off guard, Ella instinctively glanced over at Lucas, seated right across from her. And as if on cue, Lucas was already looking right back at her.Their eyes met, and Ella's stomach twisted slightly. After a heartbeat of silence, she said, "It's… my ex-husband."The director's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Ex-husband? Interesting. According to our records, it appears you’re still unmarried."Ella hesitated, then gave a wry smile. "I met my ex-husband overseas, in England, actually. We were married in a quiet little chapel there, with just a pastor as a witness. We never got around to registering it back here. Our personalities clashed a bit too much, so I came back to the Fairfield alone… with my children."The director nodded slowly, absorbing her story. “I see. That explains it.”Just then, Lucas unexpectedly spoke up. "Oh? And might I inquire what your… ex-husban
Ella bit back a laugh as Jenna clenched her fists, looking ready to strangle someone. “Look, it was his fault for showing up! I was already on edge thinking about everything he did to you, and then I saw his smug face in the rearview mirror, and I… I don’t know, I lost it!”She muttered the last part, clearly embarrassed. Ella shook her head with a wry smile. She loved Jenna like a sister, but subtlety was not her strong suit.Ella lowered her voice, leaning in. “Well, now you’re stuck with a twisted ankle. And let’s not even talk about the insurance claim that’s about to hit you.”Jenna huffed, rolling her eyes. “Whatever. A twisted ankle is a small price to pay for the satisfaction of ramming his stupid car. Besides, the twins are fine, and that’s what matters.”She shot Ella a look of pure defiance, clearly feeling justified. Ella sighed, glancing out the door where Lucas was still waiting. If she was being honest, she couldn’t exactly blame Jenna. Lucas had a way of getting under
Ella didn't respond to Mrs. Kane's words.Her gaze stayed fixed on the doorway until the shadow disappeared from under the crack, and she let out a sigh of relief.But her mood soon grew heavier.She had guessed correctly—Leo hadn't left directly; he'd been eavesdropping at the doorway.But why? After losing her memory, all she could remember was hiding Philip’s secret from him.Why had he been so careful, eavesdropping on her, watching her? Was he trying to get something from her, or was he trying to prevent her from contacting someone?Ella lowered her head, feeling both sad and confused.Mrs. Kane seemed happy after getting Ella’s response and began to look at the calendar, not caring whether Ella was interested or not.On the balcony, Kaia was wearing headphones, watching videos on her phone, and didn’t hear the conversation inside. But Kai heard every word of the conversation clearly.He lowered his eyes, hiding his complicated thoughts.After a moment, he touched Kaia's head an
"Mom..."Ella couldn't stand the enthusiasm of Mrs. Kane, so she had to stop her and said, "Let Dr. Leo have a drink of water first.""Yes, yes, have some water first."As Mrs. Kane got up to pour water, Kaia was quicker and had already poured a glass and handed it to Leo, saying, "Uncle Leo, have some water."Leo looked at the little girl's face, which was almost a replica of Kai's, and felt all his exhaustion disappear in an instant, leaving only a gentle warmth that was almost overflowing."Thank you, little darling."The little girl blushed at the endearment and handed the glass to Leo before shyly hiding behind Mrs. Kane.Mrs. Kane found it amusing and was about to say something, but then remembered that Lila didn't like to talk about Leo in front of the two children. So she swallowed her words and asked Leo to sit down for dinner.After dinner, Leo had planned to stay at the hospital. But Mrs. Kane said, "Leo dear, you have worked hard for Lila these past few days, but this can
Leo nodded and lowered his eyes. "Acute heart failure. The delay on the road was too long, and it was almost dead when it was delivered."Ella was taken aback for a moment. "So... the operation failed?"Leo nodded silently.It was the first time for Ella to see Leo like this.Obviously, his complexion didn’t look much different from usual, but if you looked closely, you would find that those eyes that were always warm were a little darker than usual. Leo had been in the heart surgery department for almost ten years. She was afraid he couldn’t even remember the surgeries he’d had. Yet, he was still so sad because of a failed surgery. Was he dissatisfied with his abilities? Or was it respect and reverence for life?Ella looked at Leo like this and then thought of her doubts about him these days, and unconsciously began to waver again.How could Leo, who was so dedicated to his job and respected life..."Cough cough."The sudden coughing sound from the bathroom interrupted Ella’s tho
Time was running out. Ella directly told Philip her thoughts after reading the email Samuel Griffith left her and the investigations of the past few days."Although you have lost your memory, you read yesterday's email, and you should know almost everything about the Blake family fire case six years ago. The trial of this case six years ago was very rough. This time it seems to be more detailed. But in fact, there are still many procedurally unreasonable places.""The most obvious thing is that this case is obviously derived from the bombing case. According to common sense, you are the only one who wakes up among the two survivors of the bombing case. Therefore, the superiors should send someone to interrogate you based on emotion and reason.""Even if you lose your memory, they should at least check your details and the intersection with the other two dead people.""But actually, has anyone from the police contacted you these days? So far, there should be no one other than me.""No."
Ella hesitated for a moment before confessing, "Officer Philip, there’s something I need to tell you."Philip was taken aback. "What is it?""I have amnesia," Ella said. "I’ve forgotten everything that’s happened in the past few years since I turned twenty-one. That’s why I asked you for that email earlier. I remember Samuel, but I don’t remember what I said to him when we were in contact because I deleted those emails myself."Philip was silent for a while, seemingly digesting what she had just said."So, you don’t remember the Blake family fire six years ago or the recent explosion case?" he asked.Ella pursed her lips. "I don’t remember anything. My knowledge of these events is limited to what people around me have told me and what I’ve read in the news and newspapers."Philip rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.He had thought that contacting Ella would help solve many of the questions he had, but things had only become more complicated. After a moment of thought, h
Ella tried all kinds of birthdays and anniversaries of the people around her, but none of them worked. Helpless, she had to try to retrieve the password. Fortunately, the password retrieval used her old email, and she still remembered the email password, so she quickly logged in and found that there was not only the verification code she had just received, but also an email. The sender was an unfamiliar email address without a note, but when she opened it, she found a bunch of garbled characters inside. Ella thought it was spam and was about to put it in the email trashcan and add the account to the blacklist. But just as she clicked the "blacklist" button, the system suddenly popped up a prompt: "This email account has had multiple email exchanges with you. Are you sure you want to blacklist it?" Ella was stunned and quickly clicked cancel. Then she opened her inbox and carefully checked it, only to find that this account had indeed sent her emails, and she had replied, but the
The school agreed to her request, but what surprised Ella was that she was transferred to the School of Business.Ella was originally worried about running into Lucas in the same school. However, when she arrived at the school, she found out that Lucas had already started interning at a company. Even if she was his junior, she wouldn't have seen him much even if they were in the same class for a semester.By the time Ella finished her sophomore year, he had already graduated. The two of them, who had no contact in the first place, never met again. Ella was busy catching up on her first-year coursework and had no time to think about the boy who had appeared in her life and disrupted her life.She never imagined that he would become her husband in the future." Leo and Jenna both said that you don't like me. Leo may have ulterior motives, but Jenna wouldn't lie to me.""If you've never liked me, why did you risk your life to save me?""To repay the favor you did for me back then, whe
"Of course," said Jenna as she closed the door behind her.The hospital room fell silent once again, with only the sound of Ella slowly wheeling her chair towards the bed.She stopped beside the bed, looking at the man lying there with closed eyes, as if forever asleep but still handsome enough to not seem real. The thorn in her heart had finally turned into a knife, twisting and hurting her repeatedly."Lucas..." she softly reached out her hand and gently stroked his face. "Thank you for saving me.""I lost my memory, only remembering things before my twenty-first birthday. They told me you were my ex-husband, and that you didn't love me, so you cheated on me and had a child out of wedlock.""But I can't understand, if you really didn't love me, why did you save me?" Her voice was low, as if talking to herself.The man on the bed didn't respond at all."The nurse said the doctor has determined that you are brain dead, but I don't believe it. You're so smart, so strong, how could you
"Hmm?" Jenna was taken aback for a moment, then thought for a moment. "There seems to be such a saying, but it's not just the Quinn family. I heard that several domestic conglomerates are interested."When Jenna got off the plane that day, she bought some shares of Apex Corp on a whim, so she naturally paid attention to the news of the company these days. When Ella asked, she answered truthfully.But..."Why did you suddenly think of asking this?"Ella still lowered her head, as if thinking about something, and it took a while before she answered softly, "Nothing."Jenna felt that there seemed to be something more to her words.For a moment, Jenna felt as if a light flashed in her mind, but unfortunately, it was too fast for her to catch."Jenna."Jenna looked up. "Hmm?"Ella looked at her and whispered, "Can you take me to see him?"It took Jenna several seconds to understand that the "him" in Ella's mouth was Lucas. "Are you talking about Lucas? Why did you suddenly want to go see