Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar-Chapter 20: But the Heart’s Pain is Sharper Than a Knife

The pain made her grimace, and her right ear felt plugged, ringing loudly.

Mrs. Ainsworth stood there, completely motionless.

"Nora Ainsworth, let me tell you something. You’re going to the Lynch family’s home to explain this in person. I don’t care what it takes, but you cannot let them call off the wedding. If you can’t do it, then get out of this house and never come back!"

Mr. Ainsworth’s words made Nora Ainsworth feel that a side of him he had always kept hidden was now completely exposed. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

’What man would willingly become a stepfather out of pure selflessness? He was no exception.’

"Wouldn’t that be for the best? Leon Lynch and I aren’t in love, so how could we possibly get married? If I marry, it will be to a man who would give his life for me!"

"Nora! Be quiet!" Mrs. Ainsworth walked out gracefully, rebuking her.

"Mom—"

Mrs. Ainsworth’s expression shifted in an instant. She grabbed Nora and forced her down at Mr. Ainsworth’s feet. "Apologize!"

Nora Ainsworth stubbornly held her ground, refusing to admit fault. This angered Mrs. Ainsworth, who grabbed her by the hair. "Is this how I raised you? Who gave you permission to speak to your elders like that!"

Nora Ainsworth clenched her fists. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her voice was flat and emotionless. "Uncle, I was wrong."

’She usually called him Dad, but from this moment on, she would never call him that again!’

She knelt there ramrod straight, but the pain in her heart was sharper than any blade.

Mrs. Ainsworth froze, her hand trembling slightly.

Mr. Ainsworth didn’t even raise his eyes. "Fine," he said, his tone unreadable. "Don’t let it happen again. However, you will still go to the Lynch family at once to apologize. If Leon’s mother is willing to let this go, then we’ll consider the matter settled."

He left the rest unsaid.

Mrs. Ainsworth nudged Nora Ainsworth. "Hurry up and thank him."

"Thank you, Uncle." She stared at the ground. ’If her mother hadn’t lied from the very beginning, telling her he was her biological father, she never would have called him Dad in the first place. It was only recently that she’d found out this ’father’ was actually her stepfather.’

’As for her biological father, she had never met him. Her mother never brought him up, only telling her that his surname was Ainsworth.’

’It was because of this shared surname that she’d mistaken her stepfather for her real father.’

’If she hadn’t caught the household staff whispering about it, her mother would never have voluntarily told her the truth.’

’It was just a name. She hadn’t thought much about it and just kept using it, never realizing that a stepfather is, in the end, nothing like a real father.’

"I’m going upstairs to change my clothes." She stood up and looked at her mother, but no words came. She silently went upstairs.

She chose a purple overcoat, a black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and tall boots. Her long hair was tied back loosely. She packed the clothes from her closet into a suitcase and zipped it shut.

She then placed the suitcase behind the door and went downstairs.

The driver dropped her off at the gate of the Lynch family’s home.

Nora Ainsworth had a premonition that she would either be viciously berated or met with cold sarcasm.

As she entered the Lynch home, it seemed that even the butler’s eyes held a trace of mockery.

She walked into the living room.

Mrs. Lynch seemed to be waiting for her. She was holding a white cat, her expression one of indescribable elegance.

Leon Lynch sat beside her, and his expression darkened when he saw Nora Ainsworth arrive.

"Mrs. Lynch, I’ve come here today specifically to—"

Before she could finish, Mrs. Lynch held up a hand and pointed to the sofa. "Sit down first. Listen to me."

Nora Ainsworth sat down a short distance from Leon Lynch.