Ch. 1311..1320

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1311

Someone Like Her

However, it wasn’t Sabrina whom she saw after opening the door. Instead, it was the secretary whom Solomon had arranged for her when she first arrived.

“Ms. Minamoto…”

As they were both from Jetroina, out of formality, Akiko had no choice but to bow respectfully to Ichika, who was a noble in their country.

Ichika was rather disappointed to see the woman. However, due to her good upbringing, she concealed her emotions well and smiled politely at Akiko.

“Akiko, what’s the matter?”

“Ms. Minamoto, someone has taken a video of you and Ms. Hayes together in the mall just now, and it was reported in the news. Because of that, there’s a rumor going around now saying that you’re Mr. Akiyama’s fiancée. I’m here to ask you about it.”

“What?”

When Ichika heard that, a blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks at once.

“I see… What did Mr. Akiyama say about it?”

The fact that not only did the woman not deny it but asked about Solomon’s reaction instead roused Akiko’s anger.

As rage and jealousy overtook the woman, she stared at Ichika and replied without thinking, “He’s quite upset.”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing that, the girl’s eyes widened, and her sweet face went pale.

“H-He’s upset? Why?”

“He doesn’t like people spreading such rumors. Ms. Minamoto, Mr. Akiyama already has someone in his heart. That’s why he chose not to date all this while. The reason he brought you here is entirely out of his respect for Mr. Tsurka.”

Akiko was indeed scheming.

She even told Ichika about what had happened between Solomon and Sasha.

After listening to Akiko’s account, Ichika lowered her head, feeling devastated and heartbroken. She had thought that Solomon brought her back because he had feelings for her.

Wait a minute! Mr. Akiyama is already thirty. Isn’t it normal for him to have dated others?

Besides, even though Akiko said that Mr. Akiyama is upset, I’ve not verified it personally. Moreover, Sabrina told me that it was Mr. Akiyama who asked her to accompany me.

Ichika pondered for a moment and had a new perspective over the situation.

“That’s all right. It’s not a big deal that there were other women Mr. Akiyama liked in the past. It’s already history anyway. Akiko, I think you should leave now. I’m going to Mr. Akiyama’s house for dinner tonight. I’ll talk to him about it then.”

After hearing Ichika’s reply and seeing how mature and understanding the girl was even though she had just stepped into adulthood, Akiko felt like someone had just slapped her in the face.

Although she was marinating in resentment, she knew she had to leave as Ichika had already made that request explicitly.

As such, she had no choice but to go off reluctantly.

Right after Akiko left, Ichika returned to her room and started searching for the prettiest dress she had.

…

Meanwhile, Sabrina was at home busy instructing the housemaids from the Hayes Residence, who were helping out with dinner preparations.

She was jotting down the recipes of some of Jetroina’s famous dishes according to her own experiences, all while making calls to various hotels under Hayes Corporation, requesting for the freshest ingredients to be delivered over.

Ring… Ring, Ring…

“Hello?”

“Little Ian, is that you? It’s Mommy. What are you guys doing? Why did you pick up Aunt Sabrina’s phone?”

Ian had helped to answer the call after noticing how busy his aunt was and was pleasantly surprised to hear his mother’s voice.

“Mommy, Aunt Sabrina is busy giving out orders to everyone helping with dinner preparations. Another aunt is coming over for dinner later,” Ian replied after taking a glance at Sabrina, who was extremely occupied.

Another aunt?

Sasha, who was in Jetroina and had just been released, was momentarily stunned when she heard that.

Who’s the other aunt?

With a confused expression, she looked at the man next to her, who was helping her to change into a new hospital gown.

“I guess he’s referring to the daughter of the Minamoto family. She was seen hanging out with Sabrina in Avenport, and it was reported in the news today. Almost everyone knows about it now.”

“What?” Sasha’s eyes lit up at once after hearing that, and she could barely contain her excitement.

“Is that true? That’s great! Seems like Solomon is pretty serious about that girl. If not, why would he ask Sab to bring her around? I guess wedding bells will be ringing pretty soon.”

Sabrina had already started imagining Solomon’s wedding and couldn’t stop smiling, while Sebastian merely looked at her.

The truth was, he had not been very pleased when he first saw the news. That was because when he saw Ichika’s picture, he realized that the girl, who had just stepped into adulthood, resembled Sasha when she was eighteen, the age when she married him.

Sebastian suspected that that could be the reason Solomon had agreed to bring that Jetroinan girl back to Avenport with him.

Naturally, he felt a flicker of irritation at that.

However, after seeing how pleased Sasha was, his anger completely dissipated at once.

Sebastian realized that he had no reason to be upset.

Solomon did not love Sasha any less than he did. However, he had chosen to back out and give them his blessings. Not only that, but he had also been a great help to them.

It made sense that he would want to date someone who reminded him of Sasha, and there was nothing wrong with that.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1312

The Hayeses Are In Excitement

Sebastian snatched the phone over.

“Hey! What’s that for? I’m not done yet.”

“What are you looking at? Don’t think you can do as you please just because you came out of the isolation room. You need to have a good rest as you still have a treatment in the afternoon. Xayden is still missing some ingredients needed for the antidote. You should ask Dr. Shoki to give a stronger treatment so that the bacteria will stop replicating.”

Sebastian’s face was stoic, and he did not look like he was ready for any form of discussion.

Without any other choice, Sasha could only pout and agree.

When Sebastian carried her toward the hospital bed, she wrapped her arms around his neck and asked, “Sebby, can we rush over to attend their wedding then?”

The man narrowed his eyes.

“Are you really so interested in attending the wedding?”

“Yeah. It’s been a long time since I’ve attended such lively events.”

“But why are you looking forward to their wedding? All you have to do is to get well soon; I’ll give you a grand wedding when that time comes!”

Sebastian lowered his gaze that was full of seriousness to look at Sasha. It was so intense that the latter’s heart even skipped a beat.

Our wedding?

Indeed, that was a topic they had brought up countless times after Sebastian regained his dominant personality. They had even reached the preparation stage back then when they returned to Avenport for a short trip.

Unfortunately, it was put on hold after the matters relating to the Jadesons broke out.

Burying herself into Sebastian’s warm embrace and enjoying his manly scent as she listened to his powerful heartbeats, Sasha suddenly felt as if she had gotten everything she wanted in the world. It was a fulfilling and blissful sensation.

…

Later that night, an extravagant party was going to start at Frontier Bay.

Since Sebastian and Sasha were not around, Sabrina called all of the Hayeses over as she figured she would not be able to handle it alone.

“Saul, help me attend to the male guests later.”

“All right,” Saul replied readily.

Subsequently, every member of the Hayeses received a task to do.

At that particular moment, it seemed like no one had outcasted Solomon because of his identity as an illegitimate son. Instead, everyone was busy attending to the chores for his party.

Likewise, Ichika saw the same scenario when she set foot into the garden of the extravagant villa.

Everyone was busy preparing to welcome her arrival.

A pristine white carpet stretched across the entire spacious and beautiful garden, from the entrance to the villa door. Along the two sides were white roses, her favorite flower.

It was more than appropriate to say that the Hayes had put in a lot of effort for this party.

“Wow, so you’re my aunt? You’re so pretty.” A little girl’s crisp voice suddenly sounded beside Ichika.

She lowered her head to take a look, only to find a doll-like little girl with a pair of round, watery eyes beside her. Her appearance was so breathtaking it was as though she had walked out of a book.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Vivian. Let me bring you in.”

Vivian stretched her tiny hand out delightfully as an invitation to bring Ichika into the villa.

Her two brothers, Matteo and Ian, were given the task to play the violin and coordinate the decorative projections in the garden during the party later that night.

As she had nothing to do, she decided to head over to the garden to lead the way for Ichika.

When the two stepped into the living room, everyone in the room was thrown into an uproar upon seeing the lady. They immediately stood up as they warmly welcomed Ichika.

Of course, she was a little taken aback at the grand welcome and thus stood frozen on the spot.

“H-Hi… I’m Ichika Minamoto. Nice to meet you.”

Oh my goodness! So polite and gentle. Is this what people call a noble lady?

It was like love at first sight for everyone.

Meanwhile, Solomon was shutting off his laptop when he received a video from Sabrina. Playing the clip, he saw a lady in Jetroinian traditional outfit arrive at Frontier Bay.

As he watched the crowd gathered around that Jetroinian lady, rage pulsed through his veins.

Sabrina!

Just then, Akiko happened to come in as well. Seeing Solomon’s change in expression, she hurriedly brought out her sake. “Mr. Akiyama, are you going back? How about you bring these two bottles of sake back too.”

“There’s no need. I need to go to Frontier Bay. Ichika is with Sabrina now.”

“Huh?” Unable to contain her astonishment, Akiko gasped.

Solomon, however, did not look too pleased with her reaction. “Why are you yelling like that?”

Akiko was dumbfounded.

It took her a while to calm down after suppressing the fury within her. “I’m sorry, Mr. Akiyama. I-I was just too shocked to hear that news. Why would Ms. Hayes bring Ms. Minamoto to Frontier Bay?”

“How would I know? She’s always been a busybody.” Solomon sounded slightly frustrated in his reply as he shut off his laptop and stood up.

Akiko clenched her fists tight, slightly astounded by his attitude.

Shortly after, Solomon strode out of his office. Upon seeing that, she came over and requested, ”Mr. Akiyama, let me come along with you.”

“You?” Solomon turned around and glared at her. “Why do you want to come along? I’m not going there for work, so you don’t have to come with me.”

“That’s not it. I just thought I could help send Ms. Minamoto home if she gets drunk at the party. After all, she’s still single and is a fine lady. What do you think?” Akiko patiently explained.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1313

In the end, Solomon still brought Akiko with him to Frontier Bay.

By the time they arrived at the villa, almost all guests were already at the venue. All that they were waiting for was Solomon’s arrival to get the party started.

“Uncle Solomon, you’re finally here. Aunt Ichika has been waiting for you inside for a long time.” At the sight of Solomon’s arrival, Matteo smiled brightly and teasingly pointed toward Ichika, who was in the garden.

Instantly, a look of awkwardness settled upon Solomon’s handsome face.

“Matt, what are you talking about? She’s not your aunt.”

“Oh… She will be in time to come.” Matteo then burst into a peal of mischievous laughter.

While they were engrossed in their casual banter, Akiko was quietly clenching her fists tightly while suppressing her raging emotions at the side.

Meanwhile, Ichika was getting overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the Hayeses. When she saw the three walking in, one of them being Solomon, she felt a sudden pang of joy within her.

It was as though she saw help coming her way, and without hesitation, she quickly trotted over to Solomon while in her clogs.

“Mr. Akiyama…”

Accompanying that soft and gentle voice was the sight of Ichika lowering her head, her cheeks blushing red from the awkwardness.

Solomon was instantly at a loss for words.

That was the exact reason why he could never bear to steel himself and reject her.

Ichika was too innocent and pure.

It was as though she was a newborn to this world. She seemed so oblivious and naive that it almost felt like a sin for Solomon to be overly strict with her.

“It’s fine. They mean no harm. Let’s go in,” Solomon gently comforted.

A sweet smile instantly bloomed on the embarrassed Ichika’s face.

As she lifted her head, her sweet smile revealed her two dimples. Her look was equivalent to that of a child that had just received her favorite candy.

“Okay, Mr. Akiyama.”

She then followed behind Solomon.

Not far away at the villa’s entrance, the Hayeses could not stop singing praises after seeing the pair together.

“They look so good together.”

“I know, right? What a perfect match!”

Hearing those compliments, Sabrina was thrilled and turned to look at Solomon and Ichika.

Anyone could tell from her eyes that she had so much love for the pair.

With Solomon’s arrival, the party soon commenced. To take extra care of Ichika, Sabrina had specially arranged for the two to sit at the same table.

Seeing that, Akiko was about to head over to the same corner to settle down when Sabrina came over.

“Why are you heading over there? It’s not working hours, so you aren’t his secretary now either. There’s no need for you to serve him. Head over to the other table instead.”

Finishing her words, she pulled Akiko along and headed to the table where the Hayeses’ sisters-in-law were sitting at.

Akiko’s face turned purple in rage.

Yet, that was not the most devastating blow. What she could not put up with was how all the Hayeses’ sisters-in-law grabbed their plates and stood up upon seeing her coming over.

This Jetroinian woman is from the Sato family.

They could be tolerant toward Solomon, but they would never forget that Frederick had died at the hands of Akiko’s brother, Ken.

With that, the party proceeded with everyone enjoying themselves, except Akiko. She was cast aside and left all alone for the entire night.

Sabrina Hayes! Ichika Minamoto!

She grabbed the fork so hard it almost seemed like she was about to bend it in half.

The party lasted for almost three hours and only ended at around ten that night.

When Sabrina came over, she found Ichikas’s soft face red after all the wine she had fed her earlier.

She then abruptly leaned close to Solomon beside her and muttered, “Do take good care of her tonight.”

Solomon was stumped.

After stifling his emotions for the whole night, he could no longer stand this woman’s insanity anymore.

“What nonsense are you spouting, Sabrina?”

“I don’t think I said anything inadequate. I only told you to take good care of Ichika. If you’re unwilling, how about letting her stay here then? There are many rooms here anyway. Besides, I’m sure Sebastian wouldn’t disagree either.” Sabrina shrugged, appearing as if she was doing everything for his own good.

Solomon was so furious that he felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Right then, as he was about to storm off, Akiko appeared.

“Fret not, Ms. Hayes. Ms. Minamoto is the daughter of an influential family. I guess it’ll be more appropriate for me to send her back. We’re both women, and besides, we’re also from the same place. I believe I know her better.”

Finishing her words, she walked up and held onto the drunk Ichika.

Since Akiko had put it that way, Sabrina figured it would be disrespectful had she continued insisting. As such, she said nothing further.

In the end, Akiko sent Ichika home.

“All right, Mr. Akiyama. I’ll bring her up. It’s late; you should head back for some rest. Rest assured, I’ll take good care of her.”

At Palace Hotel, Akiko helped Ichika out of the car as Solomon stepped on the brakes in front of the entrance. She then shooed him away, assuring him that she could handle the drunk lady by herself.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1314

Solomon was a little hesitant initially, but recalling what Akiko had said earlier and knowing that it was not appropriate for him, as a man, to insist in this situation, he finally agreed to it.

With that, Akiko took Ichika up to the hotel’s penthouse suite all by herself.

Bam!

The displeased Akiko kicked open the door with force even though she could have opened it with her hand.

Ichika, still a little tiddly and thus had been laying her head on Akiko’s shoulder, turned to look at her.

“Akiko, how could you be so rude?”

Rude? Akiko scoffed internally.

After dragging Ichika back to the suite, Akiko threw her onto the bed without cleaning her up.

“Have a good rest. I’m heading back now.”

“Huh?” Lying on the bed, Ichika turned to look at Akiko blearily. “No. I have to shower and change my clothes before I can sleep.”

“Shower and get changed?” No longer able to hold her emotions in, Akiko had a look of ridicule on her face. “Ms. Minamoto, you’ve touched alcohol today. If your family hears about it or even sees your drunken stupor, you’ll face severe punishment. I believe you don’t need me to educate you on the etiquette of aristocrats, right?”

“What?” Ichika, still lying on the bed, instantly freaked out upon hearing those words.

Since young, she had learned about manners and behavior, especially when in front of outsiders. That included avoiding alcohol and refraining from behaving too unceremoniously. Nonetheless, she had broken all her vows while at Hayes Residence today.

What should I do?

The young lady felt dejected even though she was still tipsy.

Right then, an idea popped up in Akiko’s mind after seeing the guilty look of Ichika.

“How about returning to Jetroina tomorrow, Ms. Minamoto? Rest assured, I won’t tell your family about it. As long as you agree to it, I’ll pretend that nothing happened today.”

“Really?” Ichika’s eyes lit up instantly.

However, that light soon faded away after she mulled over it for a short while.

She shook her head profusely. “No, I can’t return to Jetroina. My family sent me here for an arranged marriage. I have to stay here.” After a slight pause, she continued with her instructions, “It’s fine, don’t let it bother you. I’ll call my family tomorrow to apologize for what I’ve done today. For now, prepare some lukewarm water for me. I want to get washed. Oh yes, get me some fresh clothes and light up a scented candle too.”

Despite being drunk, she still spoke clearly and logically.

It was evident she was still clear about her identity and status versus that of the woman in front of her, which was why she would instruct the latter as though she was instructing the servants at home.

Akiko’s face turned red with anger.

However, she did not dare to refute.

In the end, she suppressed the rage inside her and served Ichika to rest.

I must think of a way to make this girl return to her country tomorrow!

Akiko gritted her teeth as she thought about that.

However, she was clueless about what was happening at Frontier Bay that same night. After showering, Sabrina returned to her room and started busily texting on her phone.

Sabrina: Hubby, I quite like Ichika. She’s a nice and innocent girl, and adding on to that, she comes from a good background. She’s the perfect match for Solomon.

Devin: Pfft…

Faced with how Sabrina was full of praises for Ichika, Devin, who had never seen his wife as a matchmaker, was tempted to burst into laughter.

Devin: You’re really so fond of her? How about you try to matchmake them?

Sabrina: I can’t. That idiot won’t agree to it. He even deliberately distances himself from her. There’s no way I can pull them together even if I want to.

Devin, who was in his study drafting the attendees’ list for tomorrow, had no choice but to stop the work on hand after reading Sabrina’s text.

Devin: Perhaps you could create an opportunity? For instance, finding a way to make her stay at Solomon’s house? Or let her work at his company?

Sabrina: Oh?

His suggestion came off as a surprise to her since it had not crossed her mind that she could do that.

She hurried out of her room. “Wendy! Wendy! Come outside. I’ve something to ask you.”

Wendy, who was coaxing Jaena to sleep, stayed silent regardless.

“Wendy, so tell me. What do you think of the idea of letting Ichika work as Solomon’s secretary?” Sabrina’s eyes glowed with excitement.

Wendy was completely taken aback.

“S-Secretary? Will Mr. Solomon agree to it? And what’s more, Ichika is the daughter of a wealthy Jetroinian family. Will she be willing to work as his secretary?”

Wendy was, indeed, an experienced woman that could immediately raise so many possible what-ifs.

Sabrina slapped her thigh.

“That idiot doesn’t have the final say! I’ll decide for him. As for Ichika, I bet it’ll be easy for me to persuade her. Since she likes Solomon, I’m sure she’ll agree to it.”

“It would be great if that is so. But if she becomes Mr. Solomon’s secretary, then what about that Akiko woman?” Wendy asked again.

Upon hearing that, Sabrina’s face turned grim instantly.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1315

“That Jetroinian woman? I always feel like she’s up to no good, and just seeing her irks me so much. I’ll ask Solomon to let her return to Jetroina.” Sabrina was frank with her opinion.

In truth, no one in the Hayeses had a good impression of Akiko.

No one had agreed for her to work at Hayes Corporation back then. It was all because of Solomon’s pleas that she could ultimately stay and secure that position.

But if the Hayeses had to choose between Ichika and Akiko now, it was no doubt their choice would be the former.

Finally, after coming to a decision, Sabrina headed for bed.

…

At Hayes Corporation the following day, Solomon had just arrived at work when a red Ferrari came along.

Everyone in the building was astonished to see that.

Isn’t that Ms. Hayes’ car? She has the time to come to the office today?

Curious, everyone fixed their gaze on that car.

After the car came to a stop at the entrance, the door opened to a sexily dressed pretty lady. That lady was none other than Sabrina!

Cries of admiration instantly rang out from the crowd.

Ms. Hayes is married and has given birth. How is it possible that she still has such a good figure?

Just as the crowd thought that she came alone, they realized someone had opened the car door at the back too. Out came a young-looking lady in a pale purple maxi dress and a cream-colored beret over her head of long, wavy hair.

Gosh! Now, who’s this? She looks so sweet and cute, yet elegant too!

Everyone shifted their attention on that lady.

Paying no heed to the crowd, Sabrina closed the car door and strode into the building in her inches-high stilettos while holding onto the young lady’s hand.

“Ms. Hayes, you’re here?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Good morning, Ms. Hayes. Who’s this lady beside you?”

Finally, someone could not take it anymore and popped the question.

They had dared do that only because they found that Sabrina’s temper had improved recently.

When she heard that question, Sabrina openly and proudly introduced, “She’s the future wife of your president!”

Gasp!

The whole building was thrown into bewilderment!

Likewise, Ichika’s face blushed in embarrassment, so much that she only dared raise her head after entering the lift.

“That… I don’t think that was a good idea…”

“Why? Ichika, don’t you want to marry my brother?” Sabrina immediately threw the question back at her.

At once, Ichika’s head sank even lower.

“T-That’s not it…” Given her easily bashful nature, she found it tough to resist Sabrina’s liberal character.

Several minutes later, the two finally arrived at Solomon’s office.

When Solomon saw the two of them appear before him, he was so startled that even the pen fell out of his grip.

“What did you say? You want her to be my secretary?”

“Yes. Even Ichika has agreed. Though she’s young, she’s knowledgeable in many aspects like financial management, law, architecture. Besides that, she also plays the violin well and is a great cook. Ladies from wealthy families like her receive the best form of education! Don’t you dare belittle her!” Sabrina recited all of the lady’s merits.

Truthfully, Ichika was an extremely talented lady.

Despite her young age, she had already attained a Master’s degree in financial management.

Moreover, she had undergone assessments in law and architecture and attained considerably high achievements, at least in Jetroina. As for her culinary skills and musical talents, those were a must for ladies of wealthy and noble families.

After all, it was a norm for Jetroinian women to stay home to fulfill the duties of a wife after marriage.

Even Solomon was stunned in place for several seconds when he heard that.

This young girl is good at handling finances?

He finally cast his glance at her. In that split moment where their eyes met, that figure deeply engraved in his mind suddenly appeared on her.

That strong resemblance…

“Mr. Akiyama…”

Just as the three of them were in the office, the door got pushed open abruptly. Following that, a woman barged in.

Akiko? Sabrina’s expression turned stony upon seeing her appearance.

“Why are you here? Can’t you see we’re in the midst of a discussion? You have to know your place!”

“I-I…”

Traces of nervousness flashed across Akiko’s eyes as her face paled.

Moments earlier, she had heard from the employees downstairs that someone else would be replacing her position as Solomon’s secretary. And the person turned out to be no other than the lady before her eyes – Ichika.

“What’s the matter?” Solomon shifted his gaze to Akiko to give her a chance to talk.

At that, she could not hold her emotions back anymore. Instantly, her eyes reddened. “M-Mr. Akiyama, I heard from the staff downstairs that Ms. Minamoto is here to be your secretary. If that’s the case, then what about me…”

“That’s easy, Akiko. You shall return to Jetroina. You’ve been with Hayes Corporation for long enough. I think it’s time you should return to Jetroina for further developments.”

Even before Solomon had said anything, Sabrina jumped in and bluntly spoke her mind.

Akiko was horror-struck upon hearing what Sabrina said.

Hatred and resentment filled her eyes as she glued her gaze on Sabrina.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1316

Even Her Seat Used To Belong To Sasha

“Stop messing around, Sabrina. Bring Ichika back. This is a company, not some playground.” Solomon finally spoke up.

He wasn’t about to accept Ichika as his secretary, and after telling Sabrina off with a frown, he gestured for them to leave.

Sabrina’s eyebrows immediately shot up to her hairline.

Is he insane? I’ve already gone to such lengths for him and yet he’s not taking the chance! Is he actually planning on dying alone?

What about the Hayes family? That bunch of oldies has been getting more and more insistent. If Solomon doesn’t get a girl soon, are Ian and I expected to just surrender our shares up without a word?

Sabrina was starting to get annoyed. “Okay, fine. If you won’t take her, I’ll arrange for it myself. I’m still a shareholder here. I have the right to hire people, don’t I?”

Solomon fell silent.

Akiko, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, dug her nails into her palms at Sabrina’s words.

You really don’t give up easily, huh?

In the end, Ichika was brought to the planning and development department downstairs.

“Hi, everyone! I’m here to introduce a brand new colleague. This is Ichika Minamoto, and she’ll be working with us from today onward. As for her role…”

Sabrina drifted off as she turned to look at the young woman beside her.

Ichika was staring at everyone around her nervously, and when she caught Sabrina’s eyes, she started shaking her adorable round head frantically.

“I-I have no work experience, so I don’t mind starting from the bottom!”

This little cutie pie is much too modest! Sabrina thought. She’s both rich and extremely well-educated, yet she’s willing to start from the bottom?

She was starting to like Ichika even more.

“All right, then from the bottom, you shall start. Manager Snyder, you were under Sasha, so Ichika shall be passed on to you. Teach her well, okay? She’s going to lead you all in the future.”

She called over a manager and passed Ichika over to her.

Her words definitely held a deeper meaning to them.

By “leading,” Sabrina was insinuating that Ichika would become yet another lady boss and own their department, just like how Sasha had back then.

Sasha had been so good at her job that she had brought Hayes Corporation to new heights under her leadership.

With that, Ichika stayed in that department despite her highly-strung nerves.

“Ms. Minamoto, what would you like to do?”

“Huh?”

Ichika looked at the employees around her, all of whom were being extremely respectful, and quickly shook her small hand.

“It’s up to you! I’m just here to learn,” she said modestly. There were no traces of the attitude one might expect from a young lady from a noble family.

The employees of the planning department all heaved a collective sigh of relief.

Their department had caught wind of her arrival ever since she stepped foot in the company since everyone had made such a big fuss about it.

That was why they were extremely nervous when Sabrina walked in with her in tow. More than anything, they were afraid of offending the future wife of their president.

Now that they were actually interacting with her, they realized that she was really rather easygoing.

In the end, Taylor took her in as his assistant.

Sasha may have been all the way in Jetroina for her treatment, and it had been a while since she left Hayes Corporation, but she never left the group chat.

Thus, she heard about Ichika joining the company as soon as it happened.

Ms. Wand: Did a new colleague join today?

Mr. Lawson: Hi, Ms. Wand! You’re back!

Lisa: I haven’t seen you text in ages! It’s great to see your notification pop up, Ms. Wand.

Adrian: Yeah! I heard you’re in Jetroina for treatment. How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?

The whole group chat immediately became active after Sasha asked what she had thought was a random question.

After glancing at the man who had walked out to get her medicine, she happily started replying to everyone.

Ms. Wand: I’m pretty good! How are you all? Who’s the new colleague?

Mr. Lawson: We’re all doing pretty well. Our newest colleague is someone named Ichika Minamoto, and Ms. Sabrina was the one who brought her to us. Didn’t you hear about this, Ms. Wand?

Ichika Minamoto? Sabrina brought her there?

Damn, this girl is really getting good at this stuff! I can’t believe she came up with this just to matchmake the two of them, Sasha thought approvingly.

Ms. Wand: You have to take good care of her, all right? If there are any future instances where you have to correspond with the higher-level executives, just pass it to her.

Mr. Lawson: Understood!

Lisa: Hahaha, got it!

Adrian: Ms. Wand, does Mr. George know what you’re up to?

Hmph! Who cares if he does? Sasha thought.

The members in the group chat began sending a few pictures of Ichika hard at work.

The petite young lady clad in a light purple dress may have looked innocent and fresh, but her expression while working seemed both nervous and helpless.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1317

You Have To Go Back

Despite that, she was still working hard.

Sasha was extremely pleased at this.

It seemed as if this Jetroinian young lady was truly a good pick.

“What are you up to?”

She was still in the midst of a fun conversation when Sebastian walked in with her medicine.

At the sight of him walking in, she quickly tucked her phone away.

“Nothing. I was just chatting with Sab and the others for a bit.”

“Chatting? I thought we already made it clear that you have to rest. Your eyes are already so red. Remember what Haruto said? You shouldn’t be looking at any blue-light screens or electronic devices in general,” Sebastian said worriedly.

His dark irises were filled with concern but also a hint of anger at the woman in front of him for not heeding their warnings.

Sasha quickly fell silent.

She lowered her head in both shame but also grievance.

It wasn’t like she wanted to purposely go against their advice, but sometimes she just couldn’t help it. Besides, hadn’t they already found a way to control the bacteria inside her body?

There was no way she was really going to go blind, right?

“I’m sorry, Sebby. I won’t do it again, so please don’t be angry at me.”

All she could do was give in.

Sebastian finally relaxed at her apology. One glance at her reddening eyes had him feeling regret and heartache, so he reached out to pull her into his embrace.

“I’m sorry. I was too harsh.”

“No, you weren’t. I know you’re doing it for my own good. I won’t look at my phone again, okay?”

Sasha felt even worse at the sound of Sebastian blaming himself and hugged the man back.

“Promise me that you’ll listen to whatever the doctors say until we have a proper cure for you?” Sebastian murmured. “Don’t do anything they tell you not to, all right?”

“All right,” Sasha agreed obediently.

Of course she would agree.

After all, Sebastian had done many things for her. He might not have mentioned any of it, but she knew about it all.

In order to look for those ingredients, Sebastian had worked himself to the bone. His eyes had become more sunken in the past few days, and even his pretty charcoal irises couldn’t hide the fact that they were bloodshot.

He must have been utterly exhausted, especially after experiencing so much.

That’s why she decided from now on to just listen and do nothing else. She would be good.

Sasha eventually fell asleep in Sebastian’s arms. He tucked her in gently before finally leaving the room.

“Mr. Hayes, has Madam fallen asleep?”

“Yes.”

“Dr. Shoki was looking for you. He said he has something to discuss,” Karl said slightly hesitantly.

He had been standing outside for a while now, and he wasn’t sure whether or not he should tell Sebastian about it.

Ever since Xayden had discovered the bacteria’s weakness, every single time Haruto had called for them, it hadn’t been good news.

It was either that their experiments had failed once again or that the materials they had scoured the entire world to find weren’t working.

It was to the point that Karl could very clearly see Sebastian’s instinctive reaction to hearing that Haruto called for them, which was an obvious frown and stress appearing in his darkened gaze.

Despite that, they didn’t have any other choice but to go over.

Sebastian finally arrived at Haruto’s office.

“Mr. Hayes, after mine and Xayden’s countless experiments, we have arrived at a decision. Based on the rate at which your wife’s body is deteriorating, we don’t have time to wait until we find the other materials. We decided to find the problem from her body itself, and hopefully, we can get to the root cause.”

“The root cause?” Sebastian frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What we mean, Mr. Hayes, is that we find what caused this problem in the first place. In this case, it’s the fetus that was once forced into her womb, so we would like to start from there,” Xayden said.

Fetus?

Sebastian was taken aback by Xayden’s words.

This was something he hadn’t thought of, and also something he was extremely reluctant to touch upon.

It was like a scar that never properly healed and would rip open again at the mere mention of it, fresh and bloody.

Sebastian fell silent.

“Mr. Hayes, have you forgotten where it was left?”

Haruto visibly deflated.

“No, I remember,” Sebastian said as he shook his head. He remembered Sasha telling him that the child had been buried under the thousand-year maple tree.

“That’s good. Bring it over as soon as possible. I know this is hard for you, Mr. Hayes, but based on my last few days of research, I’m sure I can find the origin of the bacteria in that child’s bones.”

“Yes!” Xayden nodded in agreement.

“Because Felicity forced that child to be born, she also forced your wife’s body to go through unnatural changes. That means that this child is actually one of her experiments, Mr. Hayes.”

The room fell into silence once again.

Finally, Sebastian stood up.

“Okay. I’ll go get it, and I’ll bring it back latest by tomorrow,” he decided.

After that, he walked straight out of the office.

When Karl heard Sebastian walking out, he silently followed behind him up until Sebastian reached the door of the hospital ward.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1318

“Mr. Hayes, if you don’t feel like going, I’ll go.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Sebastian straightaway refused.

He looked at the woman in the hospital room who was still fast asleep and stood still in the doorway. His eyes were full of pain and sorrow at the mention of the child, but he still wasn’t willing to let anyone else step in.

That very night, he left Jetroina and headed to Jadeborough.

Back at Oceanic Estate, Jonathan was still waiting for Sebastian even though his flight was only scheduled to land in the wee hours of the morning.

“He’s back! Mr. Sebastian is back!”

“Really? Then go and set the table quickly with the soup we made earlier and the spaghetti, too. He must be starving after such a long flight.”

“Okay!”

The maids of Oceanic Estate didn’t end up sleeping either.

They prepared a large, warm breakfast to welcome him when they heard he was landing early in the morning. In fact, they spent the whole night waiting for him.

When Devin fetched Sebastian back from the airport at about one or two in the morning, Sebastian walked into the house to find an old man with a cane waiting for him in the bright living room, standing in front of the fully set table.

The housemaids and butlers were standing next to the old man, welcoming him with open arms.

“Look! Everyone’s been waiting for your return. Now you know how much the people in Oceanic Estate love you, huh?” Devin mocked in a slightly bitter tone.

Even he didn’t get treated this way.

Sebastian pressed his lips together. He was at a loss for words, and all he could say was, “Thank you, everyone.”

Jonathan, Sebastian, and Devin sat around the table and ate for quite a long time that night.

“If that’s the case, I think it might actually be a good thing. That child was forced upon this world, and if it knew it could save its mother, I’m sure it would be happy,” Jonathan advised after hearing about everything.

After hearing that, Sebastian’s hand abruptly stopped with a fork in front of his mouth.

Happy?

“Yeah, Sebastian. Grandpa’s right. Think about it: if the child manages to save Sasha, then once she’s better, she might be able to have another kid. Who knows, that child might even reincarnate into that baby! Wouldn’t that be great?” Devin said as a joke.

Sebastian didn’t reply.

He felt as if something heavy had just been slammed against his heart.

After hearing about the buried child in Jetroina last afternoon, he hadn’t relaxed since. However, at Devin and Jonathan’s advice, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

That’s right. I should be thinking that way.

He shouldn’t be drowning himself in remorse and regret, constantly blaming himself for forcing that innocent child into this world and not properly protecting both mother and child.

In reality, who could say that this wasn’t a destined chance for redemption?

Sebastian finally slept well that night for the first time in a long time.

The next day, he woke up early and prepared to drive to Aquene Temple, but Jonathan suddenly approached him.

“Let’s go together.”

Sebastian just stared at his grandfather, at a loss for words.

Devin finally pulled his attention back to reality. “After he knew about the incident, he’s never talked to your father. I think it’s time for them to meet.”

Sebastian still remained quiet, but he inwardly agreed.

In the end, Jonathan and Sebastian ended up going together.

The thousand-year-old temple looked even more beautiful after a few months of not having seen it. It was surrounded by lush greenery and was like a breath of fresh air.

Even though they had been destroyed, the trees had regrown and were full of life once more.

The streams, flowers, and even the little creatures that were in the forest were brimming with life as well.

Sebastian drove for about two hours before finally arriving at the temple.

“Ah, you’re here! I’ll go and get Master right now.”

The young apprentice at the gate of the temple immediately ran off to get Shin at the sight of Sebastian.

Sebastian waited at the gates silently, but Jonathan felt anger rise in him at the sight of the temple.

It had been more than thirty years, and he couldn’t believe that that scumbag had simply been hiding away here this whole time. His family was just a few hours’ drive away!

He hadn’t shown his face even once in all that time.

“That scumbag!” Jonathan cursed.

Sebastian was still silent.

He couldn’t be bothered to care about their father-son drama.

He waited for the old monk to appear and said, “I’m here to retrieve that child’s corpse. Sasha told me you were the one who buried it, right?”

Shin was taken aback. “Yes. H-What happened?”

His usually calm expression was clearly ruffled.

He probably wasn’t too excited by the prospect of digging up an already deceased child.

Jonathan jabbed his walking stick in his direction and said harshly, “Of course you wouldn’t know what happened! You’ve been hiding away here all these years. Do you even have the slightest idea about what happened back home?”

Both Shin and Sebastian fell into silence.

They both ended up not saying anything as Sebastian dragged Shin away to dig up the body.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1319

Sabrina Is The Real Obstacle Here

Two hours later, after all the necessary procedures, Shin personally handed the small coffin over to Sebastian.

“It was a kind child. I didn’t know it was destined for such an important task. Please take it.”

His simple words nearly caused everyone in the room to tear up.

Sebastian solemnly took the child from Shin and left the temple.

Jonathan was about to say something when Sebastian whispered, “Be nice. He lost two ribs.”

With that, Jonathan decided to swallow back everything he had been about to say.

Half an hour later, Jonathan finally emerged. Sebastian then drove back down the mountain.

“Are you going back to Jetroina today?”

“Yes. Haruto is waiting,” Sebastian replied mildly.

Jonathan didn’t say anything else, but he was visibly worried.

Everything was settled now, and all the Jadesons had to worry about was Sebastian and Sasha’s predicament. Jonathan was more hopeful than anyone else that this child’s corpse could heal Sasha.

Jonathan personally sent his grandson back to the airport.

“By the way, the kids are in Avenport. We’re not there to take care of them, so if you’re free after this, you can go check up on them,” Sebastian suddenly turned around to say right before boarding the airplane.

Jonathan’s eyes lit up.

“Okay! I’ll be free tomorrow after the election ends. I’ll go check up on them then,” he said in a gleeful tone.

Only then did Sebastian board the plane.

…

The next day in Avenport, Sabrina had planned to make a trip to the company so she could check out how Ichika was doing when Wendy suddenly reminded her that Jaena’s vaccination appointment was today.

“Oh, was that today?”

She ran upstairs to get Jaena’s vaccination certificate and double-checked it.

Oh, it is today.

She had to go to the hospital first, then.

Jaena was still playing around with Vivian in the garden as Sabrina walked out to rein her in. After she had learned how to walk, Jaena had been even more of a handful.

It was so early in the morning, and yet she still clung to Vivian as if the latter were her favorite doll.

As for Vivian, she may have already been close to ten years old, but she was still as playful and energetic as before.

After Jaena joined her, she brought the little girl all over the place to play. They would burrow around in the dirt and make mud cakes, and sometimes they would even catch a fish out of the pond and watch it flop around in their small hands.

“Oh my, where have you all been?”

Sabrina looked at the little bundle of a human being that she had just gotten her hands on. Jaena was covered almost completely head to toe in mud, and she could barely see a clean patch of skin.

Despite Sabrina’s veins nearly popping in frustration, the small child started chuckling gleefully.

“Fower… flower!”

Her little mouth opened and closed as she clumsily held out a bunch of colorful flower petals.

Sabrina fell silent.

Flowers? Sooner or later, the whole garden will be stripped bare by these two youngins!

Sabrina could only hurry Jaena off to the bathroom.

After giving her daughter a good wash, she carried her out and brought her to the car.

“Oh! Car!”

“Don’t mess around anymore, okay, Jaena? Sit tight! Mommy’s going to start driving.”

Within the fiery red Ferrari, Jaena was crawling around excitedly. Since she was a young kid who happened to be attracted by bright colors, she wanted nothing more than to explore every inch of this bright, shiny car.

Sabrina had to keep picking her up and stopping her from running everywhere.

However, every time Sabrina got her hands on her, she would crawl away giggling as her mother tried to strap the child safety seat into the car.

Sabrina was about to raise her voice, but luckily, Wendy walked out since she couldn’t help worrying.

When she saw the two of them chasing each other around the car, she didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

“Ms. Sabrina, you have to strap in the safety chair first before bringing Jaena in.”

“Ah.”

Sabrina was already sweating with the pure effort it took to get everything settled, so she just shrugged in defeat.

With Wendy’s help, Sabrina finally managed to get Jaena into the safety chair.

“Should I go with you?” Wendy suggested. “Are you sure you can watch Jaena on your own?”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, it’s not like it’s my first time!” Sabrina said with a wave of her hand before driving away.

To be fair, it wasn’t Sabrina’s first time alone with her kid.

But out of all days, today had to be the one day something did happen.

“Doc, where’s my kid?”

“Huh?”

The doctor who was administering vaccination shots to all the kids through the little window looked at the extremely frazzled Sabrina.

“You didn’t bring your kid in. Why are you asking me?”

“Wait, I did bring her in! You were the one who said that she had a high temperature and asked me to go and get a thermometer from the other doctor so we could measure it.”

Sabrina was so worried that she had unknowingly raised her voice while waving the thermometer around.

His Secret Lover Returning from the Dead Chapter 1320

Where Is The Kid

Her beloved baby Jaena had disappeared.

I swear she was sitting on the bench right in front of this doctor earlier.

When the doctor saw Jaena crying and throwing a tantrum, she had asked Sabrina to go and get a thermometer. How had Jaena just disappeared into thin air?

“Find my child! Why are you still sitting here giving shots?” she cried out anxiously. She couldn’t care less about the kids and their parents who were still sitting around.

The doctor started to feel nervous at Sabrina’s raised voice.

They all immediately stopped with the vaccinations and started looking for Jaena.

After half an hour, however, despite everyone at the pediatrics department joining the search, they still came back empty-handed. There was simply no trace of the yearling.

There was no way she could have disappeared within just a few minutes of Sabrina turning her back on her.

“If I can’t find my kid by today, you all will be paying for it!”

In her stress, Sabrina completely lost it and started yelling at the doctors.

All of them fell silent.

Eventually, one of them got annoyed by her words and said, “What does that have to do with us? You were the one who lost her. I asked you to go and get a thermometer, not leave your kid here with me. Did you expect me to be able to look after your child for you?”

“Y—”

“Let’s not mind her too much, Dr. Zimmer. She’s probably trying to make a scene on purpose. We should call the police.”

The doctors, after seeing that they really couldn’t find Jaena, started talking about calling the police before Sabrina could do anything else.

In truth, both sides were in the wrong regarding this matter.

Sabrina shouldn’t have left her kid with the doctor to get the thermometer. Even if that wasn’t what the doctor meant, it definitely came off that way to Sabrina since Jaena had been right there near the doctor.

She only went to the office right behind them to get the thermometer, too.

Thus, it was unfair for the doctors to talk about calling the police just to shirk their responsibility in this incident.

Sabrina was so angry, she was trembling as she pulled out her phone. “Police? Sure! In fact, I’ll call them myself.”

After that, she dialed the police chief’s number.

When the police chief arrived and immediately started being all respectful and polite to Sabrina, everyone in the room was taken aback.

“Please relax, Ms. Sabrina. We will take care of this. First things first, we have to find the child before figuring out whose responsibility it is, wouldn’t you say?”

That police chief was rather good at his job and was able to calmly sort through what Sabrina had told him.

She was already devastated after her child went missing and easily agreed with whatever he said.

The policemen started searching for the girl as well. This time, they were sure to thoroughly check through all the surveillance camera footage.

Through the footage, after Sabrina left to get the thermometer, they saw the doctor clearly take notice of the crying child in front of her. However, due to Jaena’s incessant wailing and sobbing, the doctor eventually stopped paying attention to her since there were more people waiting for their kids to get vaccinated.

Jaena crawled off the bench while sobbing after not being able to see her mother. She suddenly saw an adult with a kid walk past, so she hurried to clumsily follow them.

The whole reason she followed them was because of the large lollipop in the other kid’s hand.

“See? How could you say it had nothing to do with you?” Sabrina yelled in pain and frustration at the doctor.

The doctor finally remained silent.

The policemen continued to look through all the surveillance cameras.

Disappointingly, there was a single corridor between the clinic and the main hall which didn’t have any surveillance cameras installed in it.

Even after they checked the camera footage in the main hall, they failed to see Jaena there.

“Jaena!”

Sabrina finally couldn’t control the fear in her heart and ran outside.

The policemen could only follow suit.

They ended up searching through the corridor over twenty times, leaving no stone unturned. Despite all that, there was still no trace of Jaena.

Sabrina started swaying, unable to stand straight under her intense stress.

“Ms. Sabrina!” The policeman next to her hurriedly reached out and caught her from falling.

…

When Solomon heard about Jaena going missing, he was still in a meeting at the company.

Upon receiving news that something had happened to the girl, he immediately stood up from his seat.

“Got it! I’m coming over right now!”

What happened?

The top management of the company all looked at each other, completely unaware as to what had happened.

Akiko showed up and glanced at the other attendees mildly. “Mr. George needs to attend to a family emergency, so you all may disband for now.”

“Huh?”

Thus, the meeting was temporarily put on hold.

Taylor of the planning department also had to return.

Ichika had been downstairs writing out a project plan. She had just joined, so she was naturally a little unfamiliar with it. When she saw Taylor return, she immediately stood up.

“You’re back, Mr. Lawson!”

“Hi, Ichika. Are you done with the plan yet?”

Ichika was no longer the awkward, nervous girl Taylor had seen on the first day. She was now relaxed enough to have a normal colleague relationship with all of them.