For some reason, Chloe suddenly visited Edward’s office this afternoon. Accompanied by Samuel, she arrived at the Quantum building and headed straight to her husband’s workspace.
However, unfortunately, when she entered the room, Chloe didn’t find Edward there. According to the information she got from Ariana, her husband was currently leading a meeting and was expected to finish in thirty minutes.
While waiting, Chloe decided to read some business books available in Edward’s office. But after a few minutes engrossed in her reading, her gaze shifted to the laptop on the desk.
Quickly, Chloe got up and approached the laptop. She turned it on and started searching for something.
“I need to find the documents that Quantum is working on for Emaar Properties. That project is of utmost importance right now.”
Continuing to inspect the data, Chloe finally found what she was looking for. She hurriedly went to her shopper bag on the guest table, took out a flash drive, and returned to Edward’s desk.
With caution, Chloe began copying the data, although she hadn’t decided exactly what she would use it for. However, in her mind at that moment, she knew she had to act quickly before Edward returned from the meeting.
Chloe’s hunch proved right. Only a few minutes after she managed to copy the data, Edward and Nicholas entered the room. Both of them were surprised to see Chloe sitting casually on the sofa.
“Darling…” Edward greeted, bending his body slightly to give Chloe a quick kiss on the top of her head. “Why did you suddenly come here? Is there something urgent?”
Chloe raised her face to look into Edward’s hazel eyes. “No, I just wanted to invite you to have lunch.”
Edward raised one eyebrow. “Lunch?”
Chloe nodded and got up from her seat. “Is there something wrong with me inviting you to have lunch?”
Edward chuckled in response to Chloe’s question. Although in his heart, he still doubted the intentions behind his wife’s invitation. It was difficult now to trust her completely.
“Well then, wait a moment. I need to sign some documents first, and then we can go out for lunch together.”
After waiting for a few minutes, Edward took Chloe to a restaurant in the city center. While enjoying their meal, they coincidentally ran into Richard, who seemed to have just had a meeting outside the office.
“Oh, what a surprise to see you here,” Richard said.
Edward laughed and asked him to join their table. “Aren’t we inseparable?”
Richard chuckled in response to his friend’s teasing. “Don’t be ridiculous! Your inseparable friend is Tristan, not me.”
Edward glared sharply at him. It seemed Richard enjoyed poking fun at him, even though he knew very well how much Edward despised Tristan.
“Just so you know, I even met him during a meeting in Turkey,” Richard continued.
“And you should also know, Ed,” Richard added, “Tristan and your ex-girlfriend were in London together for a long time.”
Edward nodded. “Olivia even came to my office. She begged me to forgive her husband.”
Chloe, who had been silent and listening to their conversation, suddenly became focused when she heard the name that was being discussed by her husband and his friend.
“Wait a minute…” Chloe interrupted their conversation. “So, the person who hugged you at the office the other day was your ex-girlfriend?”
“Of course.” It was Richard, not Edward, who replied. “Olivia Adelaide, the woman whom Edward loved so much.”
Hearing Richard’s explanation, Chloe immediately looked sharply at her husband. “Oh… so she’s the unforgettable ex-girlfriend? No wonder you seemed to enjoy it so much when she hugged you yesterday.”
“Oh, come on.” Edward winced. He acted like someone caught doing something wrong. “Olivia is just my past, my dear. My future is with you now.”
Chloe let out a loud sigh. She shouldn’t be angry, let alone jealous. But for some reason, Chloe felt annoyed when she remembered the event where Edward readily hugged another woman affectionately. All men were the same!
“Forget it!” Chloe ordered. “It’s not important who you want to hug.”
Chloe continued with her lunch, ignoring Edward and Richard, who were still engrossed in their conversation. After finishing their meal, the brown-haired man excused himself politely.
“I’ll go now. Thanks for treating me,” Richard said.
Edward smiled in response. “No need to be shy, Rich. It’s only fitting for me, the wealthy one, to treat you.”
Richard smirked in disagreement. “Ah, I hate your arrogance. But luckily, you really are wealthy.” They both laughed. After saying their goodbyes, Edward prepared to leave as well.
Calling the waitress to bring the bill, Edward was surprised by the total amount he had to pay. Clearly, he, Chloe, and Richard had ordered only a small amount of food.
“Is this bill correct?” Edward asked to make sure. “We didn’t order much food, so why is the bill so inflated?”
The waitress took out the order slip from her apron, showing the length of the bill that Edward had to pay. “The amount of food your table ordered was indeed small, Mister. However, your brown-haired friend insisted that you treat everyone in the restaurant.”
“What?” Edward looked shocked. “Treat everyone who is inside this restaurant?”
The waitress nodded.
“Your friend did ask for that.”
“Damn Richard!” Edward exclaimed loudly. How could Richard deliberately play him like this?
With annoyance, Edward still paid all the bills. Before returning to the office, he first dropped off Chloe at the hotel.
****
“Aunt Sisilia, is Mom at home?”
At night, before actually going home, Edward decided to stop by his parents’ second home. He had promised Mama several times to visit more often. This was also a redemption for having often neglected the two people he loved the most.
“Mama is in her room,” Sisilia replied while tidying up the dining table.
Edward spent quite a while at his parents’ second home. Catching up and sharing stories about his recent activities.
“Ma, I have to go now. Chloe must be waiting for me at home.” Edward was ready to take his leave.
Liliana smiled gently.
“Alright. In that case, go home quickly. Mama doesn’t want Chloe to wait for you any longer.”
Edward nodded in understanding. As he was about to leave his parents’ house, Sisilia, who was cleaning the living room, suddenly called out to Edward and approached him.
“What is it, Aunt Sisilia? Is there something important you want to tell me?”
Sisilia paused for a moment. Her facial expression contemplating, as if she wanted to say something.
“There’s something I want to tell Mister.”
“Is it something so important?” Edward asked to make sure.
“It is very important, Mister,” replied Sisilia. “It’s about your wife,” she continued.
Edward furrowed his brows. A bit puzzled, why would the household assistant at his parents’ house suddenly want to talk privately. Especially about his wife. She must know about Chloe.
“My wife?” Edward asked. “What’s wrong with my wife, Aunt?”
“I’m sorry if I’m being bold. But I want to tell you about Mrs. Chloe’s birth mother, whom you’ve been searching for all this time.” Again, Sisilia paused, making Edward even more curious.
“Yes, what about Chloe’s mother?”
Sisilia took a deep sigh. Hesitant but eventually, the middle-aged woman answered her employer’s son’s question.
“I know the whereabouts of your wife’s mother.”