Ch. 176..180: The Adorable Twins and Their CEO Daddy Chapter 176-180

Chapter 176

Now that Eliana had finally uncovered the truth, she didn’t care about Erica anymore. All she wanted to do was to retrieve both her parents’ personal belonging.

Seeing that Erica had just been taught a lesson, Maurice casually handed the check to Theo.

With the check in his possession, Theo quickly sealed the deal with the person in charge of the auction house.

“Mr. Moran, we are greatly pleased to have you here with us. You are so generous.”

The person in charge looked at the auctioneer with a smile and gave a nod. The auctioneer immediately brought the music box to Eliana and handed the priceless item to her, bowing slightly in respect.

“Miss Pierce, congratulations. You are now the new owner of this precious antique.”

Eliana’s hands couldn’t stop trembling. The small music box was sold to them at fifteen million dollars.

But for her, what made it so valuable was not the well-designed box itself.

She lifted the lid open, and three miniature figures in western classical clothes stood up and began to dance to the sweet melody.

The three little figures included a man, a woman, and a little girl. Judging from the noticeable smiles on their faces, they were obviously a happy family. If one took a closer look, they would find that the little girl’s face bore a striking resemblance to Eliana’s.

It was no coincidence.

When Eliana’s father acquired the music box years ago, the faces of the three figures had been distorted and blurred due to its long history.

Wanting to enhance and personalize the item, Eliana’s mother had an idea. She suggested they draw new faces for the three little figures. As a child, Eliana insisted on drawing her image on the little girl.

Of course, Eliana’s father would not disagree. Since the miniature figures were a family of three as well, they could draw each of their own faces on them.

So he hired the most skilled craftsman to make the necessary changes. After a few hours, the finished product was a sight to behold.

That was why Eliana valued the music box so much. It served as a constant reminder of her family’s legacy.

The item itself didn’t matter much to her. What was priceless were the fond memories associated with it.

The music box kept playing familiar melodious music, which reminded Eliana of the happy times of her childhood. She could not help but shed tears.

Maurice chuckled and teased, “Weren’t you refusing the offer at the beginning? If I’m not mistaken, those seem to be tears of joy.”

Eliana rolled her eyes in response, and her mood suddenly shifted. She took a long look at the music box and finally handed it to Maurice.

But the confused man didn’t accept it. Instead, he simply stared at her in bewilderment.

“You bought it. I’m just glad enough that I was able to see it one more time. Maurice, thank you for reminding me of the wonderful days of my past. It’s too expensive, and I can’t afford it. Here you go.”

Insisting to give it to the rightful owner, Eliana raised the music box towards Maurice.

A wave of bitterness consumed Maurice’s heart. Was she so indifferent to his feelings? This woman would rather give up her family heirloom than owe him a favor. How outrageous!

Maurice pursed his lips and felt unhappy. He extended an act of kindness toward her, and she rejected his gift in return.

“Since you don’t want it, it’s worthless to me. I’d rather throw it away and be rid of it.”

Maurice extended his arm high in the air, pretending to throw the music box away. The frightened Eliana immediately wrested the music box from his hand.

Accidentally, the two’s hands clasped together.

As she saw their fingers intertwined, Eliana’s heart almost jumped out of her chest.

Maurice was also speechless for a moment.

The handsome pair didn’t show any resistance and let their hands hold each other instead.

Looking closely at Maurice’s handsome face, Eliana struggled to contain her emotions.

Why was he so good to her?

Processing the flurry of thoughts in her mind, Eliana suddenly realized that Maurice seemed to be constantly looking out for her.

He had already stood up to Erica for her twice. As for Evelynn, Maurice had singlehandedly taken down the Jarvis family.

Although Eliana had tried hard to find excuses for Maurice’s selfless behavior, now she could no longer deceive herself. It seemed that Maurice truly cared about her.

After a moment of hesitation, Eliana plucked up the courage to voice her thoughts.

“Why are you so good to me?”

Chapter 177

Maurice was able to hear Eliana’s voice, despite the fact that she was speaking in a whisper.

Finally, this lady came to terms with the fact that he had been wonderful to her.

“Why do you think that is?” Maurice said to Eliana as if on purpose to taunt her.

Eliana flushed and her eyes darted as the man’s hot breath dropped on her face.

“I’m a member of the Pierce family, so I’m guessing you want to make up for me in some way?”

Hodge said that Maurice was aware of her Pierce ancestry and that she had come to investigate him, but he kept her by his side anyhow. In the end, why wouldn’t he try to make amends?

Eliana was confident in the logic of her reasoning.

“Haven’t you realized it yet? That I’m not the puppeteer backstage?” Maurice pointed out.

“I know, but you acquired the Pierce Group, didn’t you?”

Yet another factor remained hidden because Eliana couldn’t bring it up. Before he passed out, Hodge had uttered the word “Moran.” Even while it didn’t seem that he was referring to Maurice, the Moran family was clearly involved.

She had spent a long time looking into the matter, but it was still a mystery to her.

Was she a dunce? Maurice was really curious about what was going on inside Eliana’s head.

“I have never owed anybody anything, and I don’t need to make up for anyone.”

Eliana didn’t open her mouth.

Maurice smiled, but out of boiling anger. “You still have your doubts about me, then?”

“No way!” Eliana was quick to deny it. “But…”

“What?” Maurice interjected.

“I’m not sure.”

Eliana’s brain was a complete jumble.

The evidence pointed to a member of the Moran family as the genuine perpetrator, not Maurice. Who would Maurice assist if the genuine criminal was from his family?

Would he come through for her? Or would he save the skin of the Moran family member?

Eliana couldn’t see beyond Maurice’s mask of mystery and didn’t seem to know how significant she was to him.

When she was ready to open up, she looked him straight in the eye and said, “Thank you very much for all of your assistance, Maurice, but I get the distinct impression that there are many things I don’t know about you. Is there any way I can entirely trust you?”

She couldn’t fool herself knowingly.

She was expecting Maurice to be entirely open with her and reveal the truths he had concealed at this point.

“I gave you an opportunity to know me but you blew it,” Maurice coldly said.

Eliana had the opportunity to know everything about him while he was still Preston, but she disregarded it.

It was as if a bowl of cold water had been thrown over her head, leaving her with a half-frozen heart.

“It’s time to go now that the auction has ended.”

Maurice let go of Eliana, turned around, and went out the door, leaving her in a state of awe.

Was he upset for whatever reason?

As far as Eliana was concerned, she had no idea.

Theo, Maurice’s new assistant, had been standing in the distance, observing the whole event while waiting for the two individuals.

Out of nowhere, he saw his boss walking away on his own.

Theo was taken aback and caught up with him. When he passed Eliana, he casually murmured, “Miss Pierce, come along.”

After that, Maurice swiveled around and gave him a scathing stare.

“Please don’t bother with this naive lady and ask her to go back by herself. I’d like to avoid her at all costs.”

Maurice walked away after saying this.

“Boss, wait.” It didn’t take Theo long to close the distance between them.

Afterward in the car, Theo pondered Maurice’s comments word after word.

His superior was quite something. Regardless of the consequences, Maurice remained unyielding in his resolve.

Was his boss hinting at something?

‘I’d like to avoid her at all costs,’ Theo repeated inwardly.

To be more precise, what the boss was trying to say was that… Miss Pierce should be fired by him on his orders.

Chapter 178

Eliana was completely stunned. She watched, dumbfounded, as the unscrupulous boss and subordinate duo Maurice and Theo, left her all alone without a single care in the world.

“Maurice, you bastard!”

She deeply regretted being moved by him, of all things.

Furious, she picked up the music box and stormed out of the auction house in angry steps.

Unfortunately, the fact that the hotel was in the suburbs made it hard for her to hail a cab. It took her an absurdly long time to find herself a ride. By the time she got home, her anger had reached its boiling point and she exploded.

“You know what, Nana? That jerk Maurice isn’t normal. Do you have any idea how abnormal he is?! He drives me up the wall! Anyway, I can’t stay in the Moran Group anymore. I’m at my limit. Let anyone who wants to work there do it instead. I’ve had enough!”

Eliana shook off her high heels, exhausted, and threw herself on the sofa as she voiced her complaints to Nana.

However, Nana was oblivious to Eliana’s displeasure. She was absent-minded, seemingly lost in thoughts, and didn’t reply to Eliana at all.

At the moment, all she could think about was Corbin. She couldn’t shake him off her mind no matter what she did.

“Nana? Nana, are you listening? Nana!”

Eliana, noticing Nana’s dazed state, sat up and patted her best friend.

“Ah…”

At this, Nana snapped out of her musings and returned to her usual self.

Eliana frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

Nana hesitated to reply. After a while, she relented and muttered softly, “It’s just… One of my friends is in trouble.”

Eliana decided to crack a joke to lighten the mood. “What? What sort of trouble? Don’t tell your friend was question by the police?”

Unexpectedly, Nana replied with a grim nod.

Eliana was dumbstruck, not expecting her silly remark to be real. She let out a shocked gasp, very much startled.

“No, don’t misunderstand. My friend’s not a bad person!” Nana immediately explained upon seeing Eliana’s shocked expression.

Eliana stared, suddenly feeling a tinge of suspicion. There must be something wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

With that in mind, she looked into Nana’s eyes and asked seriously, “So, is it your friend or your boyfriend? If it’s your boyfriend, you’d better make it clear. If not, you might get dragged into his mess. Who knows, you might get some jail time.”

“W-What are you saying? It’s a friend! Of course a friend. Jeez…” Nana hurriedly clarified, though her cheeks had turned beet red at that very instant.

“Really…?” Eliana, however, didn’t buy it. Not when Nana was blushing so hard.

“A-Anyway, let’s drop the topic. Didn’t you say you bought back your parents’ music box? Take it out and show it to me and the kids.”

Nana swiftly quickly changed the topic to put aside Eliana’s suspicion.

“Oh, yeah. Wait a moment. You’ll be so surprised!”

Just as Nana had predicted, she successfully diverted Eliana’s attention. Eliana carefully took out the precious music box and called to the bedroom, “My dears, come out to see something left by your grandparents.”

“Mommy, we’re here!” Aileen and Adrian immediately burst out of the bedroom and threw themselves at her, running excitedly with their little legs.

“Wait.”

Under the expectant gazes of the twins and Nana, Eliana carefully opened the music box. Three little figures appeared in the music box and began to dance to the soft tune.

“Wow!” The children’s eyes lit up at the sight, shining with delight.

“Mommy, look at this little girl. Doesn’t she look like Aileen?” Adrian said, pointing excitedly at the little girl in the music box.

“Me?” Aileen tilted her head and scrutinized the figure. Surprised, she said, “It really does look like me!”

Eliana smiled sweetly and stroked Aileen’s little head before pointing at the three little figures in the music box. “Of course. This little girl is me when I was a child, and the two adults are your grandpa and grandma.”

At her explanation, Aileen and Adrian grew more and more interested in the music box. They reached out their little hands and stroked the small figures with awe, careful to be gentle.

“Grandpa and Grandma are so beautiful,” Aileen praised, her little voice filled with affection.

“Of course! Grandpa and Grandma must be good-looking. That’s why they could have such a good- looking daughter like Mommy,” Adrian exclaimed proudly, his nose high up in the air.

“Eliana… This music box must be really expensive. How did you buy it?” Nana whispered curiously in Eliana’s ear.

Eliana recalled the auction. Feeling ashamed, she muttered a hasty reply, “You worry too much. Maurice was the one who bought it.”

“W-what? Maurice?!” Unable to hold back her surprise, Nana’s voice rose to a shrill octave.

“H-Hey! Keep your voice down!” Eliana hissed, glancing anxiously at the children.

“That’s great, Eliana! A man who’s willing to spend money on his woman is a real man.” Nana now gained a better impression of Maurice.

“Humph!” Eliana felt differently. Thinking of how ruthless Maurice was when he insulted and abandoned her alone at the auction venue, anger surged in her. He may have bought the music box, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t move her anymore.

The melodious tune from the music box blessed Eliana with a good night’s sleep.

Early the next morning, her phone rang before she could wake up properly.

Groggy and dazed from having been woken up so abruptly, she picked up the call without bothering to check the caller ID. “Hello…?”

“Is this Miss Pierce?”

“Yes, who are you?”

“I’m Theo Scott, Mr. Moran’s new assistant. We met yesterday.”

“Oh, Mr. Scott. What’s the matter?”

“Nothing serious. I just want to inform you of a company decision.”

“Huh? What decision?”

“You’re fired, Miss Pierce.”

…What?!

Chapter 179

Eliana was dumbfounded.

Maurice seemed fine the day before. Did he really fire her for something so trivial?

“Mr. Scott, may I ask something?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Eliana swallowed hard. “Did Mr. Moran decide to fire me?”

Theo sighed. “Miss Pierce, I hope you understand. Although it is difficult, I am only doing what Mr. Moran ordered yesterday,” he said with conviction.

No way! It was really Maurice’s order. That bastard! He was so petty!

Eliana was so upset.

“What about my stuff in the office?”

“Miss Pierce, I must remind you that you should not come to the company today because Mr. Moran is in a fit of anger. I’m afraid he will outburst again when he sees you. I’ll make time today to pack your stuff and send them by post. Please don’t ever come to the company.”

Theo felt he was very considerate after saying that.

“What about my debt?” Eliana asked again. “Am I now absolved?”

“Your debt? What kind of debt? Do you have a financial obligation to Mr. Moran?”

Theo was confused. His boss hadn’t told him about any debt.

“Forget it. You probably don’t know the whole story. Anyway, please tell Maurice that I will definitely pay back the money I owe him. I’m not the type of person who doesn’t keep her word,” Eliana grumbled.

Before Theo could even reply, Eliana had already hung up the phone.

She threw away her phone and lay on the bed, unable to express how upset she was.

Did Maurice hate her so much? Did he despise her so much that he forgave her debt just to get rid of her?

He seemed determined this time to cut her off from his life.

“Mommy, don’t you want to get up yet? It’s already late!”

The door was opened, and Aileen entered. Adrian trailed behind her.

Her daughter’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

Eliana rubbed her temples.

‘Cheer up! It’s not the time to dwell on your issues with Maurice,’ she reminded herself.

She was fine with being fired. She now had more time to spend with her children.

Eliana got out of bed and squatted in front of Aileen. “Baby, I’ll ask Nana to take the day off today. Mommy will send you to school. Okay?”

“That’s great! It’s been a long time since Mommy sent us to school.”

Aileen giggled, and Adrian, who had always been understanding, looked extremely happy as well.

“We’ll wait for you.”

Eliana felt sorry and sad as she watched her children walk out of the room.

Unconsciously, she had been neglecting her children due to her hectic schedule.

“Aren’t you going to work?”

Nana was confused to see Eliana washing her face unhurriedly.

“I was fired.”

“What? Who fired you?” Nana choked on the milk she was drinking.

“Maurice,” Eliana answered calmly. “Well, it’s time to end our story.”

Nana looked at her friend, whose eyes were filled with sadness, and she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

Eliana then turned around and took the children out without saying anything else.

They quickly packed their belongings and left. Nana was bored at home and didn’t know what to do.

‘How about I visit Corbin?’

When Eliana took the twins to kindergarten, she happened to run into Silas at the gate.

“Silas, over here!” Aileen greeted Silas from a distance.

Silas waved back at them and shouted, “Come here, Miss Pierce, Aileen, and Adrian. Something has happened.”

What happened?

When the three got closer, they noticed a crowd blocking the entrance. In the center of the crowd stood Ivy, with tearful eyes, and her nanny who was wearing a sullen expression.

“What happened?” Eliana asked.

“The kindergarten is not letting Ivy go in there,” Silas explained.

“Why? Because of what happened last time?”

Eliana was perplexed. She didn’t think the minor squabble was serious enough to kick Ivy out of school.

Silas shook his head, a calm expression on his face that belied his age.

“No, Miss Pierce. It’s because other parents have been complaining about Ivy’s mother. They claimed that every time she take Ivy to and from the school, she causes chaos by either taking other people’s parking spaces or inciting children to fight. They believed that Ivy should no longer attend this kindergarten.”

Eliana finally understood.

She was speechless.

It was exactly what Erica would possibly do.

Chapter 180

“Why don’t you let me into kindergarten? Did I do something wrong?” Ivy sobbed, clutching her nanny’s hand. Her eyes had become puffy from crying.

The kindergarten staff was in a dilemma. They didn’t mean to look like they were punishing Ivy.

The children in this kindergarten mostly came from wealthy and highly-respected families. The parents requested for Ivy to be kicked out. The staff could not offend and refuse them.

A kind staff member walked up to Ivy and comforted her, “Don’t cry. You did nothing wrong. It’s because of your mother… What about calling your mother over and asking her to apologize to those parents? Perhaps you can still stay here.”

“Really?”

Ivy wiped her tears and looked at the nanny with a hopeful expression.

“It’s not that easy,” the nanny admitted, her face flushed. “I’m not sure what happened. But Mrs. Harrison is always drunk and doesn’t care about her family. How could she possibly come here to the rescue of her child?”

The nanny was enraged by the mention of Erica’s name alone.

Every day, Erica drank and ignored Ivy. Then now, Ivy had to take responsibility for her mother’s actions. Even the nanny, as a servant, was disappointed, let alone the child.

“Do you mean Mom isn’t coming? How about me? I can’t go to school?”

Ivy’s tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry, Ivy. Who says you can’t go to school? If you can’t go to this kindergarten, you can go to another one. You don’t need to come here again,” the nanny said gently, holding her arm to comfort her.

Surprisingly, the obedient girl shook off the nanny’s hand and exclaimed, “No! I will stay here!”

Ivy was always reserved. She was even shy when she cried, afraid of making a bad impression on others. It was the first time she had cried out loud. The nanny was taken aback.

“I don’t want to leave…”

Everyone’s attention was now drawn to them. The nanny felt very embarrassed as she saw so many people watching them. She wished to disappear right that instant.

She held Ivy’s hand and dragged her away. Ivy kept struggling, causing onlookers to sympathize with her.

Aileen, who was standing in the crowd, felt sorry for Ivy. She tugged at Eliana’s sleeve and asked, “Mommy, can I talk to Ivy?”

When Eliana saw Ivy crying, she took pity on her. She would not vent her anger on this helpless and innocent child.

“All right, go ahead,” she said gently, touching Aileen’s head.

Aileen nodded and ran after Ivy.

“Wait!”

“Aileen…” Ivy turned to face Aileen. They were now standing face to face with each other.

Aileen took a tissue from her bag and handed it to Ivy, saying, “Please wipe your tears.”

Taking the tissue, Ivy asked hesitantly, “Aileen, have you forgiven me?”

“Yes…” Aileen nodded, but then added, “But you shouldn’t lie anymore. I won’t play with a liar.”

Ivy sniffed, but her eyes lit up. “Aileen, as long as I don’t lie, we… we’re still friends?”

“Of course! Come on, let’s make a pinky promise,” Aileen said with a sweet and friendly smile on her face.

Ivy finally smiled through her tears.

She extended her hand and interlaced her little finger with Aileen’s.

“No more lies. We’re not friends anymore if you lie again.”

“Haha…”

The two kids reconciled.

Eliana, who was watching silently behind them, smiled with satisfaction.

“Aileen is really an angel,” Silas commented.

Adrian raised his head and exclaimed proudly, “Of course, she’s my sister! And we have a wonderful mommy.”

“You are such a sweet boy,” said Eliana jokingly.

In the meanwhile, Nana mustered the courage to enter the hospital after hesitating for a long time.

Nana walked quietly to Corbin’s ward. But she did not dare to enter.

She peered in, as if she were there to steal something.

Sure enough, she was caught the next second.

“Who are you?”