Chapter 304 - A Hug

A Hug

Keira gazed at his face greedily.

….

This past month, she had actually felt very lonely and missed him terribly.

But she knew she shouldn’t disturb him and Madeleine.

Letting him think she was dead was actually the best choice.

Therefore, even though she knew what he meant, she still said, “Mr. Horton, what are you doing here?”

Lewis set Amy down, handing her over to his assistant.

Tom wasn’t by his side, as he had been busy in Oceanion handling affairs for the Horton Group, and in Lewis’s absence, only Tom could keep the first branch of the family, people like Oliver, in check.

The assistant took Amy and went over to play with her.

Lewis then walked toward Keira. He had lost a lot of weight, looking especially haggard. With each step he took closer, Keira’s heartbeat accelerated.

Keira silently stepped back.

She didn’t know how many steps she had taken when she suddenly bumped into the couch behind her. There was nowhere left to retreat, and she could just watch as Lewis approached her.

The man was a head taller than her, and at such a close distance, she could see the hollows of his cheeks.

He still carried the pleasant scent of vanilla, the smell of his usual body wash…

Keira tensed her jaw and remained silent.

Lewis, however, moved closer and said slowly, “Before, you kept wanting to divorce in place of Keera, so I didn’t bother you, but today you’re divorced. Keira, can you come home now?”

Keira’s pupils shrank.

Had he recognized her already?

Was it that night?

On reflection, he chased after her the next day, yet she hadn’t acknowledged him, and afterward, Lewis hadn’t pestered her further and just left.

Did he see through her alternate arrangements?

Keira pondered for a long time…

No…

She had never given herself away, and besides, Keera’s existence was real. Lewis couldn’t possibly have recognized her.

With this thought, Keira once again assumed Keera’s fragile demeanor, the past month of pretending having made her well-practiced at acting weak.

She said, “Mr… Mr. Horton, I don’t understand what you mean…”

After her words, there was a long silence, and she didn’t notice any change in the expression of the man before her.

Keira slowly raised her head, wanting to see his reaction, but saw him just looking at her, smiling.

His smile was so tender, so indulgent, like he was humoring a child throwing a tantrum, which complicated Keira’s emotions for a moment.

She even hhad an urge to rush into his arms, to tell him she was Keira, to ask for his help rescuing her mother and to clarify everything that was happening…

Here’s the revised and connected version of the passage:

To let him bear the responsibility she carried… But this thought was fleeting. She persisted in acting like Keera, unwilling to acknowledge her true identity. After a while, she heard him sigh. “Keira, I’ve thoroughly investigated you and Keera over this past month. Keera seems weak, but she’s actually strong inside, truly not like you. She also wanted the divorce all along, and nothing about your behavior this month was suspicious. But do you know what the biggest difference between you two is?”

Keira really wanted to know! But she couldn’t say. She kept her head down, still silent.

Lewis didn’t need her to say anything and said in a low voice, “There’s one major physical difference between the two of you, and that is…” Suddenly, he lifted her chin, his rough hand reaching for the corner of her eye.

Lewis looked at her seriously. “Keira, I won’t say that your eyes look different and feel different because I don’t know Keera well. But you have a mole at the corner of your eye, and Keera doesn’t have one. That’s the biggest difference between you.”

With that, he rubbed at the corner of Keira’s eye. He was trying to rub off the foundation to reveal the teardrop mole underneath… But as his fingers moved, he froze suddenly. The skin there was smooth as ever, with no trace of a mole!

Lewis’s expression instantly became frantic. He lost his earlier composure, his hand rubbing forcefully at Keira’s eye corner again… But still, there was nothing!

Lewis’s pupils constricted, and he looked at her in disbelief. “How could there be… nothing?”

Keira stood quietly. Of course, she knew the biggest difference between herself and Keera, even going so far as to use a special solution to hide the mole to prevent being discovered by the South family who kidnapped her mother. She bit her lips, feeling weak and aggrieved. She said, “Mr. Horton, you’re hurting me…”

Lewis paused, and then he suddenly extended his arms and pulled Keira forcefully into his embrace. “Keira, I know it’s you. Don’t scare me, okay? This past month, I’ve been waiting for you; I can’t bear to lose you again…”

His words made Keira’s eyes well up. She sighed silently, clenching her fists.

It turned out that in the last month, Lewis hadn’t been recovering from his injuries, but lying in wait. He might not even have been sure she was Keira, but he clung to that belief, enduring until today. If she refused to acknowledge it now, indeed, it would be stabbing him in the heart a second time.

So, should she acknowledge the truth? Her inner conflict was intense, as if her thoughts had become two entities wrestling inside her mind!

But just when she hadn’t decided, her body reacted. She extended her arms and embraced the man’s waist…