Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Herman Hawthorne leaped off the bed and grabbed her hand, stopping her from leaving. He planted several quick kisses on her face. "Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah! Zoe, I’ll be waiting by the phone for your call."

His shy smile made Zoe Ellsworth feel completely awkward.

"I know," Zoe Ellsworth said as she walked out the door.

Once she was in the courtyard, Herman Hawthorne leaned over the balcony railing and shouted, "Sweetheart, how about I drive you home?"

"No, thanks. I’d like to walk for a bit," she said, turning away and heading out the main gate.

Zoe Ellsworth took a deep breath. Suddenly, the air itself felt sweet.

Thinking back on what they had done all afternoon, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

’As long as the love is real, let’s just leave it to time. Time will reveal a person’s true heart.’

"Mommy, when will Daddy finish filming his TV show?"

Chloe Marshall smiled. "Soon, Dorothy. Have you finished your homework? If you have, Mommy will take you to visit Daddy on set."

Dorothy Ellsworth hopped down from her chair and threw her hands in the air. "Yay! I finished my homework! I haven’t seen Daddy in days! Mommy, let’s go!"

Chloe Marshall nodded. "There will be a lot of reporters there, so you’ll need to change. And Mommy has something to teach you. When you see the men and women with cameras, you should wave, smile, and greet them. They’re just trying to make a living, so be gracious."

Dorothy Ellsworth nodded. "I know, Mommy! Let’s hurry and change! Can we stay at the hotel where Daddy is staying tonight?"

"Of course."

Dorothy Ellsworth scampered up the stairs to change her clothes and came back down a moment later.

Chloe Marshall drove her to the set where Ethan Ellsworth was filming.

As soon as they arrived at the film studio, some sharp-eyed reporters spotted them and began taking photos from a distance. Dorothy Ellsworth, full of life, smiled and waved at the photographers. She even shouted with a laugh, "Mister, make sure you get my good side!"

The reporters were a bit surprised and smiled back at her, now taking photos of them openly.

They walked directly onto the set, where a fight scene was in progress. It was a scene where Ethan Ellsworth and another male supporting actor were fighting over the female lead. Both men had prop blood streaming from their noses. The moment someone yelled "CUT!", Dorothy Ellsworth grabbed Chloe Marshall’s hand. "Mommy, look! Daddy’s bleeding! What if he doesn’t have a sanitary pad?"

Chloe Marshall: "..."

She quickly covered Dorothy Ellsworth’s mouth and whispered, "Daddy has a nosebleed. He doesn’t need a sanitary pad."

"Then what does he use?"

"Because sanitary pads are only for mommies to use. And they’re only for us girls. Dorothy, you can’t shout things like that in front of everyone, or it’ll be embarrassing for Daddy, okay?"

Dorothy Ellsworth nodded, though she didn’t seem to fully understand. "Okay, Mommy, I get it. I won’t shout it anymore. A fancy name like ’sanitary pad’ is too embarrassing for Daddy. I’ll just call it a ’sanitary napkin’ from now on."

"..." Chloe Marshall corrected her again. "You can’t shout that either. Just listen to Mommy, okay?"

"Okay."

Ethan Ellsworth walked over, having missed his daughter’s shouts. He pulled out a tissue to wipe the prop blood from his nose, then bent down and scooped Dorothy into his arms. "Hey, my little treasure, you’re here! Come on, come with Daddy to remove this makeup. Afterward, Daddy will take you and Mommy out for a nice meal. How does that sound?"

Dorothy Ellsworth clapped her hands. "Yay, yay!"

Chloe Marshall quietly recounted the whole incident to Ethan Ellsworth, who burst out laughing.

He looked at Chloe Marshall. "This little girl is getting to be more and more like you."

"What’s that got to do with me?"

"She’s just as silly."

"Boss Ellsworth!" Chloe Marshall stomped her foot, the picture of pouting femininity.

Ethan Ellsworth loved seeing her act like this and couldn’t stop grinning.

The reporters captured every moment of the family’s happy laughter.

A short time later, the photos were sent to news agencies, and articles were being written.

In the dressing room, Dorothy sat in an empty chair. While the adults were talking, she picked up an eyeshadow palette from the counter and started smearing it all over her eyelids.

Chloe Marshall jumped when she saw what her daughter was doing.

"Dorothy!" She quickly took the eyeshadow palette away, half annoyed and half amused. "You’re being mischievous again."

Dorothy Ellsworth beamed at her. "Mommy, do I look pretty?"

Chloe Marshall found some makeup remover and started wiping it off. "You look beautiful. But our Dorothy is beautiful even without makeup. This stuff is for grown-ups. You’re still little and have perfect skin, so you’re already very pretty without it."

Dorothy Ellsworth nodded and let Chloe Marshall clean her face.

Just then, the lead actress, Nicole, returned. She walked over to Dorothy Ellsworth and said, "This is my seat. Get your child out of it."

Dorothy Ellsworth pointed to another chair. "Miss, that one’s empty."

"This one is mine. I want to sit here."

Dorothy Ellsworth hopped down from the chair. "Okay, you can have it, Miss."

She climbed onto another chair and sat by herself.

Growing impatient, she looked at Ethan Ellsworth. "Daddy, are you done yet?"

"Almost, almost. Our little rascal is getting anxious."

Dorothy Ellsworth hummed in agreement. Looking at herself in the mirror, she said with a grin, "Daddy, I look just like Mommy. Not like you at all."

Ethan Ellsworth laughed. "You’re still my precious little girl even if you don’t look like me."

Nicole shot Dorothy a pointed look. "It’s true, Boss Ellsworth. Now that I look closely, Dorothy doesn’t resemble you at all. Don’t tell me she’s not..."

Ethan Ellsworth’s eyes darkened as he cut her off. "Spreading malicious rumors is grounds for a lawsuit. If you don’t want to end up in prison, I suggest you choose your words very carefully."

Chloe Marshall was fuming as well. "You should worry about yourself. Meddling in other people’s business won’t get you pregnant."

Nicole was so furious she could barely speak. "You..."

Ethan Ellsworth stood up and lifted Dorothy into his arms. "Let’s go. We’re going to get something yummy to eat."

Once they were out of the dressing room, Dorothy Ellsworth said, "Daddy, that lady is so mean."

Ethan Ellsworth smiled. "If she’s mean, we just won’t talk to her."

"Daddy, don’t work with her ever again."

Ethan Ellsworth nodded. "After this show is done filming, Daddy won’t be taking on these kinds of idol romance dramas anymore."

"That’s even better! I don’t want to see you being all lovey-dovey with another woman on TV. What about Mommy?"

Chloe Marshall chimed in, "Didn’t Mommy tell you? It’s all just pretend."

"But I still don’t like it."

"Daddy won’t take on another role like this after he’s done with this show."

Dorothy Ellsworth planted a kiss on his cheek. "Good! I love you, Daddy."

The family of three went out for dinner, and by the time they returned to the hotel, Dorothy Ellsworth was already fast asleep.

Chloe Marshall checked the news and saw that photos of their family, including the one of Dorothy waving, had already been published. She never read the comments. She knew that many of society’s dregs, with their dark hearts, would spew all sorts of vile filth in the comments section, and she refused to look at it.

She opened a social media app and scrolled through her friends’ feeds. When she saw Herman Hawthorne’s latest post, she burst out laughing uncontrollably.

Ethan Ellsworth came out of the shower and, seeing her still laughing, asked, "What’s got you so amused?"

Chloe Marshall handed him the laptop. "Boss Ellsworth, you have to see Young Master Hawthorne’s latest post. I’m dying."

Ethan Ellsworth took it curiously. He had to see what was so funny, and the moment he did, he practically died laughing.

Herman Hawthorne’s profile had a new status update: Feeling pretty hungry tonight. Just ate some shit. Tasted good.

"What the hell? Has he lost his mind or something?"

Chloe Marshall handed him her phone. "Hurry up and call him. Ask him what’s going on."

Ethan Ellsworth immediately made the call.

"Did I pick up the wrong call? Young Master Ellsworth isn’t in bed cuddling his woman and wants to chat with me instead?"

Ethan Ellsworth chuckled. "You idiot. I don’t have time to chat. I’m just saying, can’t you post something a little more profound? A post like that makes me look bad by association, bro. It’s embarrassing."

"What did I post?"

"For crying out loud, go look at what you posted on your own page!"

Herman Hawthorne shot up in bed, opened his laptop, and took one look. He nearly died of rage.

"Holy shit, you really think I’d write something like that?"

Ethan Ellsworth shot back, "A ghost, then? If you didn’t write what’s on your page, who did?"

Herman Hawthorne took a deep breath, quickly deleted the post, and said helplessly, "Your sister wrote it. She’s the only one who knows my password. The girl is vicious!"

Hearing this, Ethan Ellsworth burst out laughing. "Yeah, my sister did a good job! She deserves a medal!"

"Of course you’d gloat about this."

"Excuse me, but I’m known for my compassion, not for gloating. You must have done something to provoke her, right?"

"No way! This afternoon, we were... How could she?"

"Ahem. Whatever is going on between you two, you can sort it out yourselves. I’m not getting involved. I’m going to bed. Good luck with that, bro."

Herman Hawthorne was about to say something, but the line went dead. He took a deep breath, immediately changed his password, and only then did he lie back down with a sense of relief.

’He idly started humming a little tune. "I can move heaven, I can move the earth, so why can’t I seem to move you? Little beauty, how could you do your man like this? I’m working myself to death for you, using up all my strength, trying to win you over with my gentle touch... so why do you have to screw me over? You shouldn’t have... you really, really shouldn’t have..."’

「Meanwhile, in Grestin, Toby Dalton had indeed mobilized all of his men, just so Nora Ainsworth could select a few to be her personal guards.」

She picked and chose, finally stopping in front of the four men who had been caught red-handed. She let out a soft, smug chuckle. The men stared straight ahead, but their hearts were pounding in their chests.

To their great surprise, Nora Ainsworth actually chose them.

Everyone here used alphanumeric codes instead of names.

These four men were designated 13F, 14F, 15F, and 16F.

Nora Ainsworth found the "F" suffix awkward to say, so she told the four men to drop it and just go by their numbers.

She moved into Toby Dalton’s room.

His room was massive, with wooden floors that felt cool underfoot after she took off her shoes.

The overall layout was excellent—simple yet stately.

’It didn’t match his dark personality at all.’

On the west side of the room were two beds. The sheets, duvet cover, and pillows on her bed were all blue, while his were a uniform, stark white.

Nora Ainsworth glanced around before sitting on her bed. Looking over at his desk not far away, she said, "Aren’t you going to put up a curtain or something between the beds? And what about between your desk and this area? It feels a little... exposed."