When Elisa returned from the meeting, she saw Louis sitting in a corner with his head down, lost in thought. She wondered what he was thinking about. She walked up behind him, and he didn’t even notice her approach.
Elisa quietly curled up the corner of her lips, raised her hand to cover his eyes, and in a hushed tone asked, “Guess who I am?”
Louis stiffened for a moment, then relaxed instantly upon hearing Elisa’s voice. He touched her hand and asked, “What if I can’t guess?”
“If you can’t guess, I’ll cover your eyes,” Elisa said as she approached him from behind, leaning her whole body against his back, which made it look like he was carrying her.
As Elisa pretended to poke his eyes, she barely applied any force. Louis even blinked in her palm, his eyelashes tickling her hand.
Even after all this time, Louis was still easily embarrassed. Whenever she got close, his ears turned red, like a radar. Instead of playing with his eyes, Elisa preferred to play with his ears, gently pinching his soft earlobes.
“Why are your ears so warm?” Elisa inquired.
Louis, sounding somewhat uneasy, stammered, “It’s probably… because of the hot weather.”
“In that case, I’ll blow some air to cool you down,” Elisa said as she leaned in and blew air towards his ear.
With a sudden “boom,” his ears buzzed, and his body’s hairs stood on end. Louis caught a glimpse of the barely perceptible mischievous smile on Elisa’s face, and he instantly knew she was teasing him on purpose. What he hadn’t felt particularly warm before now turned from just his ears to his neck and then into his heart. His whole body was boiling with excitement.
Louis turned around abruptly, pulling Elisa into his arms without a word, pursing his lips and holding her tightly.
Elisa stared at his blushing face, about to laugh at him, but suddenly she paused, feeling somewhat at a loss.
“Louie, what’s wrong?” she asked.
Louis just held Elisa tightly against his chest, pressing her close.
Elisa, quiet as a cat, thought about everything that had happened today and guessed that Louis might be upset because of the ten-minute video online.
“The video online, did you help me deal with it?” Elisa asked.
Louis didn’t answer, merely saying, “I didn’t protect you well enough.”
“You’ve done well enough. Having you is my fortune. If it weren’t for you, I would have suffered more. So… don’t blame yourself,” Elisa gently freed herself from Louis’s embrace, cool hands cupping his chin to lift his face, her gaze tender as she continued.
“I no longer feel pain. I’ve changed my body, and even those scars are gone. Moreover, Finn has received the punishment he deserves.”
Louis held her small hand, looking at her intact fingertips, feeling a sharp pang in his heart. He tightened his grip and placed it on his chest, recalling the past. He asked, “Elisa, if I did something wrong, would you forgive me?”
“Wrong? How big of a wrong?” Louis didn’t dare say the sentence: I once cut off your brother’s hand.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Elisa grabbed his collar, frowned, and said seriously, “I can’t tolerate two things, infidelity and domestic violence.”
Louis didn’t seem like someone who would do either of those things, and Elisa believed in that.
Shaking his head, Louis firmly said, “I won’t.”
“I believe you.” Elisa let go of him, changing the subject, “Why did you bring cake again?”
“It’s your favorite flavor. I know you may not be feeling too good, so eating something sweet might help you relax.”
Elisa set her feet down and opened the cake box. The cake wasn’t large, but she knew this brand. Even the smallest piece of this brand’s pastry cost a couple of hundred, and a finished cake like this would easily cost five or six figures.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” Louis inquired.
“Tomorrow?” Elisa cut a piece of cake and handed it to Louis, pondering. “Isn’t it the weekend? I don’t have anything planned. Why do you suddenly ask? Do you want to go somewhere?”
“My dad has organized a charity gala and wants to invite you to attend tomorrow,” he said, emphasizing the word “invite” instead of “I’ll take you,” highlighting the respect for Elisa’s status, wanting her to represent [A. W].
Elisa instantly understood.
Mr. White’s intentions were not hard to fathom. Events organized by the White Group were attended by the rich and famous. Mr. White’s invitation was to confirm her status and, in addition, to show off.
“Will you go?” Louisasked for her opinion.
Elisa held the cake plate, took a bite of the cake, and said, “Of course, I’ll go. How can I refuse Uncle White’s kindness? I’ll have my secretary prepare my gown for tomorrow.”
“No need to prepare, my mom has already prepared it for you. I’ll have the driver deliver it to your home, and you can try it on when you get back later.”
“Okay.”
With no work in the afternoon, Elisa left work early and got into Louis’s car to head back to Vaquita Bay.
On the way, Elisa couldn’t resist asking, “I’ve always been curious about one thing. How did you suddenly regain your memory?”
Louis subconsciously tightened his grip on the steering wheel and then relaxed. He shifted the topic quietly, “And since when did you know I was Autumn?”
“Actually… I’ve always suspected your true identity, but I couldn’t confirm it. Do you remember when we went back to the White family in March? That night, I was with Brittany, and she showed me your childhood photos. They were supposed to be records of your growth, but you weren’t in any of them. Uncle White also said you had a tough upbringing. I wondered how someone born into a wealthy family could have had a tough upbringing. There had to be something hidden. And sure enough… I learned everything from Aunt Burns.”
So Elisa had known that Louis was Autumn since that early on, from the person who carried her home when they were kids.
Thinking back to that night, there were many loopholes. Finally, she could explain why Elisa’s emotions fluctuated so much that night.
Elisa always said he was a little fool, but wasn’t he a fool himself? He had kept such an important thing to himself, suppressing his boiling emotions until they gradually cooled.
Elisa didn’t speak not because she didn’t want to, but ultimately it was because of his family.
“Seeing me every day but unable to speak the truth, that must have been hard, right?” Elisa shook her head. “That’s not important now. What’s important is that you’re still here, you’re still you, unchanged. What’s different is that I like you even more than before, and it’s because of you. You shouldn’t blame Aunt Burns and them for keeping it from you. She was just afraid you’d resent her for losing so many years and suffering so much.”
It was too late for Louis to be brought back. His feelings for the White family weren’t as deep, and it was understandable that Mrs. White would worry that Louis would leave because of this.
Louis laughed.
Elisa looked at him, hearing him mock himself, “I never thought that one day I’d be jealous and so sour that I’d pull out my own teeth.”
The significance of A. W was Autumn, and also himself. Elisa would never deny her feelings.
Mrs. White had a red fishtail dress custom-made for her, with a slit from the thigh, accentuating her already perfect long legs.
The red dress had a backless design. Elisa’s skin was already fair, and the red color made her look like fine ivory, faintly glowing in the light. Swan-like neck, gracefully rounded shoulders, the exposed butterfly back, the shoulder blades on both sides looked like wings about to spread, so beautiful that it made people want to touch it.
The charity gala organized by the White family was held at the largest hotel in Quokka. Many people came that day, including wealthy businessmen, celebrities, and Elisa was undoubtedly the most eye-catching one.