Ch. 116..120: The Adorable Twins and Their CEO Daddy Chapter 116-120

Chapter 116

Eliana was hurt…

She was so focused on chasing after Hodge that she did not even notice the glass shards on the table. Actually, she did not even know that those glass shards had pierced through her skin.

The moment Preston reminded her about it, she suddenly felt pain all over her arm, stinging her.

She could not help but think of everything that had happened to her in the past few days.

Nicole had slapped her in the face; then she had almost gotten stabbed by a paper knife; and later, she had fallen to the floor while trying to grab her cellphone. However, she felt more miserable now because of her injuries and the bleeding.

How could she be so unlucky?

“Preston, don’t you think that I have been really unlucky lately? I suffered a lot and I got hurt!”

“We need to get your wound dressed first.”

Maurice’s expression darkened at once, and it seemed as though there was a storm brewing in his dark eyes.

The blood dripping from Eliana’s arm was making him uncomfortable.

“Sit here while I go and fetch the first aid kit.”

Maurice escorted her into the private room and went to get the first aid box.

Eliana’s heart softened as she saw the busy man. She was moved to see that someone cared so much about her and even felt the pain lessened.

Holding a pair of tweezers, Maurice carefully removed the glass shards from her arm.

“I didn’t expect you to be so skilled at first aid,” Eliana muttered in a low voice, a warm emotion filling her heart.

“How can I not be skilled? Do you know how many of your wounds I’ve treated lately?” Maurice said with self-mockery. But the concern in his eyes was obvious.

Eliana curled her lips and said, “And how many times did you treat my wound? You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

After all, he was a gigolo who was involved with many women, so it was only natural for her to think that he must have treated other women’s wounds.

An inexplicable feeling of envy spread in her heart when she thought of Preston helping other women so gently.

Maurice’s heart skipped a beat as he realized what he just said.

He had almost exposed himself just a second ago by revealing that he had treated her wounds.

“Could there be anyone who is as dumb as you?” Maurice quickly changed the topic. “Even though you’re a grown-up, you still don’t know how to protect yourself.”

After cleaning the wound, he applied some hydrogen peroxide over it to disinfect the wound.

The moment the cotton swab doused in hydrogen peroxide touched her wound, Eliana could not help but gasp in pain.

“Endure the outcome of your recklessness.”

Although Maurice was pretending to be cold, his movements were very gentle.

Gradually, Eliana’s pain subsided, but she could not stop thinking about Hodge.

Hodge had been a senior employee at the Pierce Group, so he must know what had happened back then. Why was he so keen on hiding the truth from her?

Thinking of that, she felt as though someone was covering her eyes with a veil, making it impossible for her to see the truth.

Maurice finally wrapped a bandage around Eliana’s arm, and when he looked up, he saw her frowning.

It was not surprising to him that he did not hear her screaming from the pain. She had been absent- minded for a long time now.

“Are you thinking about that man you were chasing? Tell me, why were you chasing him? Maybe, I can help you.”

Maurice was also confused. Eliana had asked him about Hodge before, and she had been really emotional at that time. Why was she so keen on finding Hodge?

Since it was about her painful past, Eliana was a little hesitant.

It was true that Preston was the father of her kids, but was he worthy of her trust?

She had trusted someone with all her heart, and when that person betrayed her, it had been engraved in her heart. Was she really going to risk opening up to someone again?

For some reason, she recalled all of her interactions with Preston.

He had gotten injured at the black market while trying to save her, and he had provided her with an umbrella when it had rained that day. He had even gotten her a birthday cake.

Until now, she did not realize that they had experienced so many things together.

Gritting her teeth, she decided to make a bet again.

“That man is Hodge Chadwick. Several years ago, my parents were set up, and their company went bankrupt. Both of them died. And Hodge was a key figure at my parents’ company, so I think that perhaps he knows the truth about it.”

Although Eliana sounded very calm, Maurice could feel the weighing sadness in her voice.

She was usually very optimistic and strong, but now, she seemed like a fragile porcelain doll, which made him want to take care of her.

However, her story sounded strangely familiar to him.

Her surname was Pierce…

He immediately thought of the Pierce Group, which had been acquired by his Moran Group a few years ago.

After the bankruptcy of the Pierce Group, the boss had jumped off a building, committing suicide and soon his wife had also died.

They had a daughter at that time. Was it Eliana?

Chapter 117

Eliana heaved a long sigh of relief after revealing the truth.

This was the first time she had uttered these words to others.

This secret had been weighing on her and now that burden was gone. For a long time, she felt like she had been wandering in the darkness with the weight of this secret, but now she finally found another person whom she could share it with.

After hearing what Eliana had said, Maurice fell into silence. However, Eliana mistook his silence.

“I’m not looking for your sympathy, Preston. I can take care of my own problems. Don’t take my words to heart. I don’t expect you to do anything.”

There was a distant look in Eliana’s eyes as she felt a little embarrassed after saying that.

She wondered what it was about this man and his presence that made her so talkative. It was as if she could really open up to him without hesitation.

Maurice snapped out of his thoughts and noticed the rare shyness on Eliana’s face. A smile played at the corners of his mouth almost immediately.

It was then that he realized that she trusted him.

He looked at Eliana seriously and said, “I will help you.”

Eliana didn’t expect Preston to be so serious. Besides, he gazed at her with charming eyes. No normal woman would be able to resist such charm.

“Leaving aside the matter, let’s get down to business… The ring! Yes, I have some news about your ring.”

Eliana tried to change the subject because she couldn’t bear his intense gaze on her anymore.

Maurice deliberately didn’t expose her thought. Instead, he turned around, put away the medical kit and slowly asked, “Okay, tell me where the ring is.”

Eliana had her heart in her mouth and her lips trembled as she opened her mouth nervously. “Your ring… I have lost it.”

The brief moment of silence was pure agony.

Strangely, at this moment, Maurice had a feeling that it was within his expectation.

“But! Don’t be alarmed! I know exactly where it is! It’s a complicated story and I can’t explain it clearly in a few words,” Eliana blurted out, but her tone revealed that she felt guilty.

“Then please explain.”

“It… It got eaten by a dog,” said Eliana, lowering her eyes in shame.

“Then the dog got lost, right?” Maurice asked.

“How did you know?”

Was Preston spying on her? How did he know about the dog?

Maurice shook his head speechlessly. Such a ridiculous incident could only happen with Eliana.

Finally, everything made sense.

The missing dog was indeed Eliana’s, and she was Nana’s friend. The boy and girl twins were Nana’s children, and the ring had been taken to the kindergarten by the twins, where Silas had seen it before. Then the ring got eaten by the dog, and that idiot Corbin was the reason why Nana lost the dog…

The incident was perfectly coherent and was clearly a story of amazing coincidence.

Maurice’s prolonged silence made Eliana feel guiltier and more ashamed.

“Preston, it’s really my fault, but don’t worry. I’m not an irresponsible person. I am willing to make compensation for your loss. No matter what the cost.”

After going through a life-changing experience five years ago, Eliana knew well the pain of losing a loved one.

The biggest regret of her life was that after her parents passed away, there was nothing left of them and so she didn’t have anything of theirs to remember them by.

Therefore, she could imagine just how devastated Preston would be; after all, she had lost his late mother’s belonging that had been left to him after her death.

Maurice didn’t mean to make things difficult for Eliana, but when he saw the nervous look on her face, he had a strong urge to play a trick on her.

He bent down and got closer to Eliana, until they were so close that he could hear her heart pounding inside her chest.

“Have you made up your mind yet? That ring is very important to me, so…”

The moment Eliana felt Preston’s warm breath on her cheeks, her mind became a mess. Her knees felt weak, almost as if she was going to crumble to the floor any moment.

Maurice smiled playfully and his tone was seductive. He eyed Eliana from top to bottom with a mysterious glint in his gaze.

“I guess I’ll have to think of a way for you to make it up to me…”

Chapter 118

Eliana’s body became numb in an instant, as if an electric current had passed through her body.

She was a little alarmed by the tone of his voice.

“What do you want? I am not going to sell my body to you as compensation, if that’s what you have in mind!”

Crossing her arms across her chest, Eliana stepped back and stared at Preston warily, like a frightened little animal.

She could feel the goosebumps upon her skin and the breath caught in her lungs in the presence of the Devil standing before her.

What she didn’t know was that her behavior would only make her more attractive to him.

Maurice chuckled and said, “You’re crazy if you think I would be that desperate. I don’t know what you can do to compensate me yet, but I’ll decide later. Besides, I’m sure you won’t try to run away from your responsibilities.”

“No! No! No! I won’t!” Eliana nodded repeatedly and added, “The ring belonged to your mother. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to bring it back to you. But, before that, you will…”

“I will what?”

Maurice leaned forward again, his thin lips almost touching Eliana’s skin.

It was almost as if any moment a kiss would land on Eliana’s cheek.

Suddenly, the atmosphere around them intensified. As she looked up at his handsome face, Eliana swallowed nervously.

‘What should I do?’

She only wanted to compensate for the ring, not by herself!

Maurice just wanted to make a fool out of Eliana.

There was an adorable pinkish blush on her cheeks and her beautiful eyebrows looked like they were painted on by master painter. At that moment, he was drawn by her charming eyes.

At such a close distance, he could catch a hint of Eliana’s fragrance with every breath.

Everything about her seemed so alluring that he felt a strong desire for her that needed instant satiation.

While Maurice was biting his lips in pure arousal, Eliana’s words snapped him out of his lustful imagination.

“I’ll tell you what… I’ll be your mother. Don’t worry about anything. I will give you all the maternal love you need,” Eliana suggested seriously.

Maurice didn’t know what to say.

“Get out!”

She wanted to be his mother?

What an ungrateful woman! It was almost impossible to have a decent conversation with her without him getting infuriated.

As soon as the man gave the order, Eliana was taken away and thrown out of the Imperial Golden Club, leaving her with a confused expression on her face.

She looked up at the gloomy sky before turning around to look at the closed door of the Imperial Golden Club.

A strong gust of wind blew over Eliana and she shivered like a dry leaf.

She felt as useless as a four-day-old cabbage that got left on the streets to rot.

Indeed, her entire life seemed to be cursed.

She owed the CEO money and the gigolo a ring now. On some deeper deliberation, Eliana started to find a strange resemblance between the two men. Was her fate entangled with theirs?

Perhaps, a visit to the nearest fortuneteller could help her see into the future so she could avoid such disasters from ever entering her life.

After mulling over the matter for some time, Eliana decided that it would be better to use the fortuneteller’s helps to find the dog instead.

The most urgent problem at hand was finding the dog, so that at the very least, she could keep her dignity in front of the gigolo and avoid the miserable fate of being humiliated both by the CEO and the gigolo at the same time.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to Eliana.

Meanwhile, she had no idea that there was a camera aimed at her from a dark corner of the road just outside the Imperial Golden Club.

The person who pressed the shutter stared at her attentively and then confirmed her identity.

Elsewhere, a dimly lit lamp cast a little light on a figure sitting on the expensive office chair. In front of him was a big French window from which he could overlook the nightscape of the entire city.

The glass of red wine in the man’s hand sparkled, casting a scarlet reflection on his hand.

“Boss, is this the person you’ve been looking for? It seems like she’s a regular at the Imperial Golden Club and she was last seen meeting Hodge.”

The man reporting was stood in the middle of the room, bowing his head with respect. The photos of a woman were scattered under the small lamp on the desk.

The woman in the photos was none other than Eliana. Some of the photos were shot when she was working in the Design Department and some were shot when she was entering the Imperial Golden Club. Besides, he even took a picture of her while she was holding Hodge’s hand inside the Imperial Golden Club.

The chair turned around slowly, revealing a middle-aged man’s face. His expression revealed a cold and murderous side to him that made the person before him tremble with fear.

He was Gerald.

Chapter 119

Gerald picked up a photo from his desk.

In the photo, Eliana was smiling happily and squatting down to feed the stray cats by the roadside. The sunlight illuminated her body dramatically and gave her a slightly hazy halo, making her look like a god in an oil painting.

It turned out that Eliana was the daughter of the Pierce family. No wonder her eyes looked so similar to hers…

For a moment, Gerald was stuck in a trance. Through the photo, he pictured the young girl of his dreams again. She was the woman he had been longing for but had never really possessed.

He was thinking about Ingrid White, Eliana’s mother.

Lost in thought, Gerald’s mind started churning out various schemes.

Eliana was a member of the Pierce family, and Maurice liked her.

The corners of Gerald’s mouth twitched upwards. This was wonderful news. He finally found Maurice’s weakness! Now, all he needed to do was think about how he could use Eliana to his advantage.

It didn’t take long before he hatched a plan.

Swirling the red wine in his glass, Gerald smiled viciously. “Bring Hodge to me,” he barked.

It was late. The moon quietly climbed up into the sky. Under the cover of the night, a storm was brewing amidst the shadows. Unbeknownst to her as she walked home, Eliana was standing at the center of the storm.

“Achoo!”

She sneezed loudly just as she reached her home. After rubbing her nose, she took out the key from her bag.

When she opened the door, she found that the living room was dark. The only light came from the children’s room.

“Eliana, you’re home!”

Nana walked out of the children’s room and closed the door behind her. She walked over and flicked on the lights in the living room.

“How are Aileen and Adrian?” Eliana asked as she shook off her shoes and put on slippers.

“They’re asleep. As for the dog… You don’t know how noisy it is,” Nana complained. Her head ached at the mere thought of the energetic puppy.

She shook her head, thinking she must’ve been out of her mind to have taken in such a troublesome pet.

Only then did Nana notice that there was a large gauze wrapped around Eliana’s arm. She immediately narrowed her eyes and anxiously picked up Eliana’s hand to check her wound.

“You’re hurt? Damn it! It was that damned gigolo, wasn’t it? How dare he bully a girl? So I lost the dog and I made the mistake. Worst case scenario, I’ll apologize to him. He should’ve come to me!” Nana snorted indignantly.

How dare Preston hurt her good friend?

Nana didn’t look like she was going to apologize at all. Instead, she looked like she wanted to teach Preston a lesson.

Eliana burst into laughter and waved her hand dismissively. “Relax, will you? It wasn’t Preston’s fault.”

“Then whose fault was it?” Nana frowned. It was clear that she didn’t believe a word Eliana said.

Eliana fell silent and then she sighed.

“Hodge Chadwick.”

Nana’s frown deepened. “Hodge Chadwick? Who’s that?”

“He used to be the second-in-command in the Pierce Group. He’s the only person who can tell me the truth behind the Pierce Group’s bankruptcy.”

Eliana subconsciously clenched her fists. No one wanted to find Hodge more than she did.

“Hodge Chadwick, you say? Wait. I’ll get a private detective to investigate him right now.”

As she spoke, Nana whipped out her phone, rushed into the bathroom, and closed the door behind her.

“Nana, open up! Stop being so impulsive!”

Eliana followed her to the bathroom and knocked on the door, but Nana had already made up her mind.

She knew that the death of Eliana’s parents had always been a thorn in her heart. Now that they finally found a clue, Nana was determined to do her best to help her friend.

She unlocked her phone and called Corbin instead of the so-called private detective.

“Hey, Corbin. I’m calling to tell you that the dog ‘thing’ has been discovered. There’s only one way for us to make up for the trouble we’ve caused.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Corbin sounded helpless. In that moment, he regretted getting involved with this crazy woman.

“I’ll explain later. Help me find someone first.”

“Who?”

“Hodge Chadwick.”

Chapter 120

The next day, Corbin told Maurice that Nana had asked him to look for Hodge.

“Sir, I think that there must be an issue or something.”

However, Maurice was not surprised to hear that at all, because it was pretty evident that the reason Nana was trying to find Hodge was for Eliana’s sake.

If he did not know that Eliana was the daughter of the Pierce family, then he might still suspect that she had ulterior motives behind her quest to find Hodge, but now everything was clear to him. She was only trying to find Hodge to figure out who was the mastermind that was responsible for the bankruptcy of the Pierce Group.

“Why are they trying to find Hodge?” Corbin asked in confusion.

“They’re doing it for the Pierce Group. Hodge is the only one who knows the truth behind the Pierce Group’s bankruptcy.”

“The Pierce Group? What does the Pierce Group have to do with Nana or Eliana?” Corbin was puzzled for a moment. “Wait… The Pierce Group, Eliana Pierce… Oh my God! Is Eliana the daughter of the Pierce Group’s boss?”

Maurice glanced at the shocked Corbin and commented lightly, “It seems that you are not stupid.”

“Didn’t you purchase the Pierce Group? Then, you and Eliana are…”

“Hmm…”

Corbin was about to say that Maurice and Eliana were enemies, but when he met Maurice’s cold gaze, he immediately swallowed his words.

“What should we do now?”

“You have to agree to find Hodge to Nana even if it means that you’ll have to dig a hole in the ground.”

Maurice had to keep his word since he had already promised to help Eliana.

Moreover, he also felt that there was something mysterious about the Pierce Group’s bankruptcy.

And it was because before he had bought the Pierce Group, his uncle had done something to the company.

Maurice remembered the news from that time.

The boss of the Pierce Group had committed suicide by jumping off a building, and his wife had followed him soon after.

Gerald had not made any moves after that, and thinking about it, Maurice realized that it could not be that simple.

And he was also curious about how Eliana had survived all those years. She had been the daughter of a wealthy family, and her family had fallen overnight. How did she manage to cope with such miserable things?

Maurice recalled the fact that she had agreed to act like his girlfriend for money and had been forced to work in the company to pay off the debt of one million dollars, and his heart ached.

He could not help but wonder how many such injustices she had suffered in her life.

All of a sudden, Maurice wished that he was able to turn back time and meet her sooner.

If he had met her earlier in life, then he could have…

What would he have done? Maurice didn’t dare to think further about it.

Looking at his boss, who was being so silent, Corbin sighed with mixed feelings.

Eliana had indeed changed Maurice greatly. In fact, Maurice had never been as concerned about a woman’s past as he was now, and Corbin could not figure out how much he really cared about her.

“Sir, do you still want me to look for the dog?” Corbin reminded him in a low voice.

At the very mention of the dog, Maurice’s expression darkened.

“How dare you mention the dog? You’re the one responsible for that.”

“Is the dog that important?” Corbin was perplexed.

Did Maurice really love Eliana so much that he even cared about her dog? Corbin could not help but complain in his heart.

Maurice suddenly sneered, “The ring I’ve been looking for the past five years is in that dog’s belly. And since the dog ran away, we have no way of finding the ring. Is the dog important or not?”

With an awkward smile, Corbin said, “Sir, you’re kidding, right? How could such a coincidence happen?”

Maurice raised his eyebrows at him. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

Corbin was completely stunned.

‘Why? Why does it always have to be me who gets hurt in the end?’

Ever since Eliana met Hodge at the Golden Imperial Club, she had been trying her best to find him, but her efforts were in vain.

However, she still had to continue working.

Soon, she resumed her normal life at the company and at home.

One morning, when she was about to enter the company building, a woman rushed forward and blocked her path.

“Eliana, you bitch!”

“Evelynn?”

Eliana looked at her in shock.

Evelynn’s face was haggard, and she was not looking like the elegant daughter of the Jarvis family now.

How did she become like that?

Resentment began to pour out of Evelynn’s heart the moment she saw her. She really wished that she could tear Eliana into shreds.

“What kind of vicious methods did you use? How could you let Maurice destroy the Jarvis family?” Evelynn screamed hysterically.