The CEO's Doll ✔

Chapter 12

"I see." I stop at a traffic light.

Noah pauses and says, "What about you? Have you never dated?"

"I just want to be alone and raise my child in peace."

The green light comes on, and I smoothly step on the gas pedal.

There is a moment of silence in the car, and then the topic shifts to something else.

We're both adults now, and adults have their unspoken understanding.

So, neither of us discusses the past or certain people from the past.

Even though news about that person can be seen on major news websites every day. His tech company is thriving, and he has even ventured into real estate and the film industry. There are female celebrities arguing over him and getting jealous of each other, which is quite lively.

So, I haven't been reading the news for a long time.

The restaurant I booked is quite famous. Porchetta is their signature dish, with the pork deboned and then roasted on wood using traditional methods for at least eight hours. And because of the addition of spices like rosemary, it doesn't feel greasy.

I park the car in the parking lot, and Noah gets out of the car with his briefcase in hand.

Suddenly, there is a "crash" sound in the air, like something hit a box.

I close the car door and curiously glance at him.

Noah raises his briefcase and explains, "It's a new sleep aid developed by a Swiss institution, no side effects. I bought it for a patient."

"Yeah, there are many insomniacs these days," I nod, "You must be making good money."

Noah laughs, "Not just them, sometimes even I have trouble sleeping myself."

We walk into the garden of the restaurant and sit in the cool October night.

We ordered wine and start chatting, with no particular purpose, just chatting to pass the time.

I don't know if it's the effect of alcohol or meeting an old friend in a foreign land, but I slowly feel like I'm dreaming.

Through the torrents of time, I unexpectedly see a tall figure and my 17-year-old tearful face.

That phone call came at this very moment.

Noah looks at his suddenly lit phone screen and raises his head abruptly. "Macy..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

I blink in confusion, then straighten up and remove my hand from under my chin.

And so, I also see clearly the name on the screen.

"It's okay, just answer it," I say nonchalantly.

Who can I blame? I can only blame my own misfortune, that none of my wishes can come true. When I was a child, I desperately hoped for my mother's recovery, but my mother passed away. As I grew up, I tried to avoid any news about that person, even across the Atlantic, but I couldn't make it.

Noah's phone keeps ringing. He presses the answer button, but Elliot's crying comes through from the other end of the phone.

The crying is so loud that it can be heard across the dining table.

"Elliot, take a deep breath," Noah demonstrates the calmness of a professional doctor, "Follow me, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Let your muscles relax."

He's still crying, like a child.

"Noah, I'm reading that diary again," his voice broke, "That sex diary."