Chapter 161: Chapter 159: You Are My Woman, So Of Course I Will Dote On You (10)
Chloe Marshall turned to her side and looked at her. "But, Nora, when you have something in your grasp, you shouldn’t let it go so easily. Once you let go, it might be like a balloon that you can never get back."
Nora Ainsworth froze and turned back. "Chloe, I completely forgot to ask you. A few nights ago, you didn’t come back. Where did you sleep? Don’t tell me it was at Ethan Ellsworth’s place?"
Chloe Marshall’s face instantly turned bright red. "Well, that night, Madam Ellsworth insisted on pushing us into the same room. I wanted to come back, but Boss Ellsworth wouldn’t let me."
Nora Ainsworth was stunned. "And then—you two did *it*?! Chloe? How did you manage to pounce on Ethan Ellsworth?"
Chloe Marshall’s face grew even redder. "No, Nora! I didn’t pounce on him. It’s not what you think."
Nora Ainsworth lay down, looking at her. "Then what happened? Tell me everything."
So Chloe Marshall told her the whole story from beginning to end. After hearing it, Nora Ainsworth went nuts. "Chloe, why didn’t you take the chance to do *it* with him?! Don’t you realize he tricked you with his words?"
Chloe Marshall looked dazed. "Huh? I was tricked?"
Nora Ainsworth didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry. "You’re such an idiot. You think your blood was boiling because of some deer blood or whatever? Would you have felt that way if it wasn’t for him? Forget about just holding his hand all night—even if you had done something else, you wouldn’t have been the one losing out."
It was as if Chloe Marshall had just woken from a dream. "You’re right! If it wasn’t for Boss Ellsworth, would I have been so uncomfortable for so long? He made it seem like it was my fault, but he’s the real culprit!"
A corner of Nora Ainsworth’s mouth twitched. "You’re only realizing this now? You really are clueless."
Chloe Marshall turned her head. "Nora, do you think... am I really stupid?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because Boss Ellsworth always calls me that. After a while, I’ve started to think I really am stupid."
Nora Ainsworth looked at her seriously. "Chloe, haven’t you realized? Why do you think Ethan Ellsworth always calls you that? The truth is, he knows you’re not stupid."
Chloe Marshall looked at her, pondering. "Nora, I don’t know. Maybe he just does it on purpose because he thinks it’s fun."
Nora Ainsworth shook her head. "In my opinion, that’s not it at all."
Chloe Marshall fell silent. After a long moment, she said, "Nora, that’s impossible. He couldn’t be interested in me. I don’t even believe it myself."
Nora Ainsworth smiled. "Whether he is or not, Chloe, you’re worthy of being loved. You’re quiet and a bit ditsy, but sometimes you break out of your shell and show people a different side of you. That side of you is truly heartwarming."
Chloe Marshall replied, a little embarrassed, "Nora, hearing you say that makes me want to re-examine myself."
"No need to re-examine anything. Just stay the way you are. I believe it would be a crime anywhere in the world if a kind girl like you didn’t have a man to love her. Let’s get some sleep. We have work tomorrow."
Chloe Marshall tucked in her blanket. "Nora, good night."
「Elsewhere, someone lay awake all night. These sleepless nights had been going on for several days now.」
Every night, around midnight, the Men in Black on duty would see their Young Master out for a run. After his run, he’d go to the gym to continue his workout. Everyone knew in their hearts that ever since Nora Ainsworth left, the Young Master had been losing his mind.
But the worst of it wasn’t what was happening now. The night Nora Ainsworth walked out the gate, the Young Master, who had been on the third floor, went completely berserk.
That night, he gathered all the Men in Black and fought them one-on-one. No one dared to actually fight back, so they all became his punching bags.
The tragedy of that night was that all these normally stoic Men in Black were beaten until they were grimacing in pain.
Ever since that night, this group of Men in Black had noticed a change. The Young Master stopped taking his anger out on them and started tormenting himself instead. He’d run around the courtyard in the middle of the night and wouldn’t sleep until three in the morning.
Tonight was no different, so everyone nominated their captain to go and try to talk some sense into the Young Master.
After much deliberation, the captain finally agreed.
He ran up beside Quentin Grant, matching his pace. "Young Master, seeing you like this every night... we can’t bear it. Please, just beat us up instead. Don’t do this to yourself."
Quentin Grant glanced back at him. "What about me? Is something wrong with me?"
The captain had no choice but to say, "Actually, I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but we Men in Black also want to offer our Young Master some advice. Miss Ainsworth likes you, Young Master. We could all see that. If she left, I think it was also because of you."
Quentin Grant stopped running and faced him. "Keep talking."
"I think, Young Master, you first need to determine if she still likes you before you can take the next step."
For the first time, he revealed his true feelings to a subordinate. "She said she doesn’t like me at all."
"But women are all like that, Young Master. The vast majority of them say one thing but mean another. They might say that with their mouths, but in their hearts, they really do like you."
Quentin Grant’s eyes lit up, then dimmed again. "Impossible. That’s enough. You’re dismissed. I’m going back to rest."
The captain nodded. Seeing that he had stopped running, he felt a little relieved.
A crowd of men surrounded him, all talking at once.
"Captain, what did the Young Master say?"
"Captain, what on earth did you say to the Young Master? He stopped running."
"Captain, you’re amazing."
"..."
The captain waved his hand. "Alright, I didn’t say much. I just said that women often say one thing and mean another—that when they say they don’t like you, they actually do. But the Young Master said it was impossible. In any case, at least he’s stopped torturing himself, so we can all feel a little better."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Quentin Grant returned to his bedroom, stepped into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. He stared intently at his reflection in the mirror, suddenly recalling the time he and Nora Ainsworth had stood before this very mirror, nestled together. What a beautiful, pleasing sight that had been.
In the blink of an eye, things were the same, but she was gone. Her words from that night constantly replayed in his mind.
’She said she only did it to get revenge for how he had treated her before. Was that it?’
’Was she telling the truth?’
’But it seemed so plausible.’
’Saying one thing and meaning another?’
’Whether she was being disingenuous or not, I certainly was.’
’I said that even if she knelt before me and begged to come back, I wouldn’t give her a second glance. That was a lie.’
’When I said those things to the media, it was deliberate. I wanted to make her jealous. I didn’t mean any of it.’
’But clearly, it didn’t work.’
’In fact, it really seems like she’s never coming back.’
Sitting on the bed, Quentin Grant felt helpless. He couldn’t think of a better way. Getting her to stay by his side willingly now seemed like an incredibly difficult task.
His pride and self-respect wouldn’t let him lower his head and ask her to make up. Maybe he was scared—scared of her merciless ridicule. Or maybe he just didn’t want to face this cruel reality so soon.
Lying there, the whole room was filled with memories of their past. This bed was the evidence, the witness to their time together.
But why was he the only one left, withering away in this bustling city?
He opened his phone. No texts from her. No missed calls from her.
