Lost Me Gained Regret

"Alright, I'm on it."

Seeing her frustration boiling over, the assistant quickly seized the moment to leave.

The ringtone of the phone pierced the silence.

Summer glanced at the caller ID and answered in a cool tone, "Hello, Mr. Larson, what's up?"

Lately, there hadn't been any moves from Bella's end, likely she had dropped her suspicions.

With her resources flowing in, and after shooting for several magazines back to back, everyone seemed to be in her corner, showering her with praise every day.

Gradually, she started to feel a bit above it all, even Mark Larson didn't seem as important in her eyes anymore.

Mark, holding a photo just handed to him by an underling, asked coldly, "Has anyone been in your room these past few days?"

"Nope." Summer truthfully said, "I've got cameras installed, and my phone never buzzed with any alerts."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" Summer sounded somewhat exasperated. "Mr. Larson, you're worrying too much. If something was really wrong, do you think I'd still be here filming this show so carefree?"

After so many days without incident, she believed Bella had let go of any suspicions.

Mark scoffed coldly, "Bella went to see Jane this afternoon!"

The photo he was holding was of Bella getting in and out of her car in the Elmwood Villas underground parking lot.

Summer paused for a moment, then quickly pressed on, "And? Did Jane go back to Cloud Villas with her?"

"No." It was this uncertainty that had Mark unsure as well.

Hearing this, Summer let out a sigh of relief and became more confident, "Well, there you go. If Jane was really her daughter, why would she skip staying in a big mansion? Bella probably just went to see her about some custom dresses."

"Are you sure?"

Summer frowned, "You think they've recognized each other as mother and daughter?"

"Shouldn't I be suspicious?"

Mark's tone was icy, "For tomorrow's celebration, you better swing by Vista Town and figure out what Bella was really doing at Elmwood Villas." "You're being too jumpy... I just called her this morning, and nothing seemed off. I don't want to run back to Vista Town right now."

Lately, all Summer had experienced was flattery. If Bella had learned the truth, she wouldn't still be allowing Summer to use her resources. Compared to verifying Mark's baseless suspicions, getting more screen time on the show was more important for her at the moment. Mark's expression darkened, his gaze turned sharp, and he chuckled, "Fine."

"Then let me say one last thing,"

Mark pulled out an old photo from his notebook, gently caressing it, and warned in a chilling tone, "From today onwards, stop contacting me. You never knew me, got it?"Content © copyrighted by NôvelDrama.Org.

"Otherwise, you know what will happen."

Without waiting for Summer to respond, Mark hung up.

Idiot.

By now, whether Bella knew who

Jane really was or not, Summer was

no longer useful to him. Further

iment would only risk

O

everything down with her.

He grabbed the remote to close

curtains, shrouding himself in

the

shadows, and dialed a number ot saved in his contacts, "Kane's flight lands tonight, right?"

"Yes, BOSS."

The voice on the other end was respectful, "Kane boarded this morning; I drove them to the airport."

"Got it."

Mark responded coolly, a determined and dangerous glint in his eyes, then asked, "How's the task I gave you coming along?" "Rest assured, by tomorrow, everyone will know."

...

The next day, I woke up before my alarm even went off.

No sooner had I stepped out of my room than the doorbell rang. It was Christine.

I was slightly annoyed, "Don't you have a fingerprint, why didn't you just come in?"

"Well..."

Christine gave a meaningful look towards the master bedroom, "Didn't want to interrupt you and your man."

"There's no interrupting; he's not here."

I explained quickly, then asked, "What brings you here so early?"

Last night, Gregory didn't return to Elmwood Villas and only sent me a message saying there was some urgent matter with the Ford Group that needed handling.

He didn't go into details with me.

Christine suddenly remembered why she was there, urgently asking, "Is that message you sent me for real??"

"I drank too much last night, and when I woke up bleary-eyed and saw my phone this morning, it scared me awake!"

"On my way here, I kept looking at that message over and over, scared I was dreaming or seeing things."

"Ms. Taylor is really your mom??"

Her words tumbled out like

rapid-fire and faced with her utterly

shocked expression, I nodded,

pointing to the jade pendant afound

my neck, "Yeah, look, my pendant's back."

"Ms.Taylor... my mom brought it over yesterday."

I hadn't fully adjusted to my relationship with Bella, sometimes slipping and nearly calling her by her name.

I pulled Christine to the couch, leaning back, "Don't mention it, I still feel like I'm dreaming."

Returning to the country, everything had been going too smoothly, almost unreal.

It felt less like I had been abroad and more like I had been reborn, now facing a life completely opposite to my past.

Happiness felt almost artificial.

A wonderful partner, friends, a thriving career, and my mom turned out to be a big celebrity.