Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“No, we’re not close…” Halston chuckled, then said smugly,” We’re just friends who slept with each other once. You’re right, I shouldn’t be acting like a busybody.”
“Clearly, you have nothing else better to do.” Blushing, Flossie snapped, “Tell me why you called, or I’m going to hang up.”
“Wait!” Halston blurted out, then quickly asked, “Where are you now? Who are you with? Are you safe?”
“How is that any of your business? All you need to know is that I’m safe. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have the time to speak to you on the phone, would I?” Flossie tried to speak calmly to eliminate Halston’s doubts.
“Really?” Halston was naturally cautious, so he didn’t trust Flossie. “No, I won’t believe you… unless you have a video call with me.”
“What? No way! We’re not even friends, so what right do you have to check up on me?”
“I’m not checking up on you, I’m just worried about you.” Halston sighed, then said urgently, “Just tell me where you are. Do you need my help?”
“Listen, I’ll tell you one last time-l’m at my old friend’s house. We have a good relationship, and I have a very good life. You don’t have to worry about me. If you have that much time on your hands… you’d better worry about yourself. ” At first, Flossie wanted to end the call, but she soon remembered what Adie had said to her the other day.
“What do you mean? Do you know something?” Halston immediately asked, sensing that something was wrong.
“No, I don’t, but… I can tell you from experience that one’s partner can be the one that hurts them the most. Master Guajardo, I heard that you’re a loyal and loving man. You love Miss Seraphina wholeheartedly, but I heard that she might not be the person you think she is. You’d better be careful.” Flossie felt that was the best she could do. If something went wrong with Halston’s brain surgery, it would be a result of his deliberate ignorance, and he would just reap what he had sown.
“Seraphina?” Frowning, Halston asked, “When did you meet her?”
“We didn’t meet; this is just a reminder. Just forget what I said if you don’t want to know.” Flossie felt like she was getting too involved, so she said indifferently, “Okay, I’m going to have tea with my friend now. Bye.” She quickly ended the call and sighed deeply, feeling ashamed at how she had reacted to him.
Flossie wondered why she had poked her nose into Halston’s business. Halston and Seraphina were childhood sweethearts who loved each other and were going to get married soon, and if they started fighting because of Flossie’s call, Flossie would be a certified homewrecker.
She didn’t want to ruin someone else’s marriage.
Meanwhile, Halston was staring at his phone with a complicated expression. Sitting beside him in the CEO’s office of Guajardo Enterprise was an expert hacker Elijah had spent a fortune to hire, and Elijah himself.
“Did you find her?” Halston asked the young man who was typing vigorously on his laptop.
“Yes!” The young man adjusted his glasses, his face alight with excitement. “Ms. Ellsworth’s current location is in a forest eighty kilometers away from Beach City based on the signal transmitted by her phone.” He quickly gave Halston the specific coordinates, including the latitude and longitude of her location.
Elijah looked up the coordinates online, but when the search results came in, his eyes widened. He cleared his throat and said to Halston hesitantly, “The coordinates belong to a manor, Mr. Guajardos… and it seems to be in Jovan’s name. Is she with Jovan now?”
“You don’t have to explain it to me. I’m not blind!” Halston snarled and punched the table. He chuckled coldly, then sneered, “Well, well! I was worried that something had happened to her, but she was just having a reunion with an old friend. I should really mind my own business.”
“Please calm down, Mr. Guajardo. Ms. Ellsworth is single now, so she can meet whoever she wants. It’s a bit inappropriate that you care about this so much.” Elijah knew that Halston had lost his memories, but his concern for Flossie seemed to be ingrained into him. Halston would always lose control when it came to Flossie, and Elijah felt sorry for him. If things between Halston and Flossie truly had ended,
Elijah hoped that Halston would forget about Flossie and start a new life with his new partner instead of dwelling on the past and exhausting his mind.
“Ms. Murphy called earlier. She was worried about your health because you’ve been working overtime ever since you recovered. She made some soup for you,” Elijah informed Halston calmly.
Halston massaged his temples and said impatiently, “Tell her I don’t need it.”
“But she’s already downstairs, and it took her a few hours to make the soup. She even burned her hands making it, so it’ll be quite sad if you make her leave now…” Elijah threw in a good word for Seraphina.
To be honest, Elijah didn’t really like Seraphina much because she was scheming and two-faced, but right now, it seemed like she was the most suitable partner for Halston. Besides, she and Halston had grown up together and felt deeply for each other, so Elijah hoped that Seraphina would be Halston’s new partner if he was destined to be separated from Flossie. Seraphina seemed to love Halston as much as Flossie did, which was a good thing for the arrogant Halston.
“She burned her hands making it?” Touched, Halston put his phone down and forced himself to stop thinking about Flossie. He raised his hand and said, “Let her in.”
Instantly, Seraphina excitedly opened the door and rushed into the office. “Halston!”
Seraphina skipped to Halston cheerfully, carrying a thermos. She unscrewed the thermos, filling the office with the rich smell of the soup, and said, “I made you chicken soup. It’ll be good for your stomach, since you have gastritis. You should hurry up and drink it.”
“Wow, it smells so nice, Ms. Murphy! I didn’t expect you to be so good at cooking,” Elijah praised Seraphina from where he was.
Halston flipped through a contract aloofly as he sat at his desk. Without lifting his head, he said to Elijah coolly, “Drink it yourself if you think it smells so good.”
Seraphina gritted her teeth at Halston’s cold tone as she poured the soup for him.
However, Elijah was no fool. He immediately waved his hand and refused, “No, I wouldn’t dare to. This is what Ms. Murphy made for you, Mr. Guajardo, so who am I to drink it? I’ll just have some water.”
Seraphina inhaled deeply to calm herself, then turned to Elijah with a fake smile. “It’s alright; I can pour you a bowl if you want, Mr. Young.”
“You’re so nice, Ms. Murphy, but I was just kidding. Please let Mr. Guajardo have it—he needs nutritious meals like this. You should help take care of him if you have the time…” Elijah said, then smiled nostalgically. “When Mr. Guajardo was still married, his wife always came to deliver soup to him, but she was different from you. She gave soup to everyone under the name of the company; she was really a kind and humble person.”
“Really?” Seraphina’s cheeks turned red in embarrassment. Elijah was quite a thorn in her side, and she had to get rid of him as soon as possible.
At first, Halston was absorbed in his work and wasn’t paying attention to their conversation, but he immediately looked up at the mention of marriage and his wife. “What did you say, Elijah? I was married before?” Frowning, he demanded,” Was I married before? Who was my wife?” After he lost his memories of Flossie, he had forgotten about many things, including his marriage and children.
“Umm…” Elijah swallowed nervously. He had wanted to tell Halston the truth many times, but always stopped himself.” My mistake, Mr. Guajardo. It was a woman who tried to win you over in the past, and she used to do things like that to please you. As for the details… I’m sure you’ll remember everything after your brain surgery this Wednesday.”
Halston’s brain surgery would be held at eight o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, and the head surgeon was Owen. Owen said that Halston would regain his lost memories after the surgery, and that he would recall a lot of things on his own. Elijah felt that if he told Halston about his marriage and children now, his damaged brain might have trouble processing everything. Like everyone else who had hid the truth from Halston, he didn’t want to make Halston’s brain injury worse.
“Didn’t you just say it?” However, Halston couldn’t be fooled that easily. He glared at Elijah fiercely and snapped, “I might have lost some memories, but I’m not stupid. You’re lying to me.”
“Mr. Guajardo, that’s not what I meant! Ah, it’s very complicated… ” Elijah clenched his fists, looking conflicted.
Halston raised his brows but didn’t persist. “Forget it—I’m sure I’ll find out whatever you all are hiding from me eventually. I believe in Owen’s skills.”
Clang! The thermos suddenly fell from Seraphina’s hand, and she screamed as the hot soup splashed onto her hand.” Ah, it hurts!”
“Are you okay?” Halston immediately put down the document in his hands and went to Seraphina.
“It’s okay, it’s just a slight burn.” Seraphina tried to brush it off, but she looked like she was in pain.
“Let me have a look.” Halston took Seraphina’s hand and leaned down to study it. When he saw hand was red and burned, he frowned deeply. “Take her to the medical room and tend to this, Elijah.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m really okay…” Seraphina trailed off as she looked at the soup that had spilled all over the floor. “But it’s a pity… I spent the whole afternoon making this soup for you, and now the carpet’s dirty too.”
“The soup can be made again and the carpet can be cleaned, but I’d feel guilty if you got hurt. Be good —go get your wound checked,” Halston said softly as he patted Seraphina’s shoulders.
“Oh… okay.” Seraphina was overjoyed at Halston’s gentleness, but at the same time, she was terrified that she would never feel this warmth from him again if the surgery went smoothly. Halston would be furious if he found out that she had bribed the previous doctor to do something to his brain.
“Come with me, Ms. Murphy.” Elijah led Seraphina to the exclusive medical room of Guajardo Enterprise. The medical staff tended to Seraphina’s burn while Elijah watched her from nearby, his arms crossed. He tilted his head as he observed her, then asked thoughtfully, “Don’t you think it’s hard to win Mr. Guajardo over?”
Seraphina turned to him, her eyes narrowed. “Do you find me relentless and annoying too, Mr. Young?”
“Not if you sincerely like Mr. Guajardo.” Inevitably, Elijah recalled how Flossie was in the past. “Ms. Ellsworth was the same as you-she took great care of Mr. Guajardo, but he only rolled his eyes at her and ignored her. In comparison, you have it better since you’re close to him and have been with him for half a year. He relies on you.”
Seraphina sighed and admitted, “But I feel like he’s growing more distant, and his feelings for me seem to have lessened too. Even you can see that he doesn’t want to be with me… Plus, it looks like he’s going to get back together with Flossie. If he does… what happens to me?”
“Do you believe you’re that replaceable, Ms. Murphy? Do you think you’re just something Mr. Guajardo is passing the time with? An accident, or perhaps an interlude?” Elijah asked teasingly.
“Mr. Young!” Seraphina snapped, glaring at Elijah.
Elijah raised his hands hurriedly in surrender. “I was just kidding, Ms. Murphy-don’t take it to heart. I just wanted to tell you that the way to win his heart is by being sincere, just like what Ms. Ellsworth did. Her true love moved Mr. Guajardo, which was why they were so madly in love with each other in the end. But I have to say… I’m curious about how sincere you really are, Ms. Murphy.”
Instantly, Seraphina’s features twisted into a hideous snarl. She glared at Elijah and sneered icily, “What exactly are you trying to say, Mr. Young? Do you doubt my feelings for Halston?”
“I’m not doubting your sincerity towards him, but I just want to know how deep it runs… How much would you be willing to sacrifice for Mr. Guajardo?” Elijah asked bluntly. He didn’t care if Seraphina thought him selfish or overbearing; he just wanted to be sure of Seraphina before he tried to help her get closer to Halston. After all, Flossie had almost killed Halston, so he had to make sure Seraphina didn’t have any ulterior motives.
“I’m willing to do anything for Halston, including giving up my life…” Seraphina bit her lip as she recalled what happened in the past, her eyes watery. “I’m sure you don’t know this, but… When that woman’s brother went mad and kidnapped Halston, I suffered a lot so Halston could come back safely.”