Unexpected Heiress: The Cinderella Reversal

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However, Elliot Jimenez decided to call Moira Jane first.

Several rings passed before someone answered on the other end, a woman with a naturally languid tone as if a cat basking in the sun on a summer balcony: "Hello."

"Moira, still at the office?" Elliot Jimenez inquired.

"Yeah, working overtime today for the bid proposal," Moira Jane didn't mention the earlier incident of calling him during the day, leaving it for now.

"When will it be finished?" Elliot Jimenez asked.

Hearing his impatience, Moira Jane looked at the data and sheets in front of her and replied, "I don't know."

"Let me know when it's done. I'll... I'll send the driver to pick you up," Elliot Jimenez said.

"No need, I might be pulling an all-nighter tonight," Moira Jane responded, "You go to bed early; no need to wait for me."

In the end, Elliot Jimenez hesitated for a moment, then hung up the phone.

He found Wendy Scott's number in his contacts and dialed it directly.

She answered almost immediately, her voice soft, "Mr. Jimenez."

"Did you answer my phone today?" Elliot Jimenez asked directly.

"Yes, you were meeting with clients at the time, and I saw you were busy, so the phone was left outside. I didn't want to disturb you," Wendy Scott explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elliot Jimenez questioned.

"I noticed you didn't have that number saved, and she called, saying it was a wrong number, so..." Wendy Scott's heart skipped a beat.

"Don't answer my phone in the future. This is the last time," Elliot Jimenez said, then hung up without waiting for a response.

Moira Jane worked for two consecutive days and finally submitted the technical documents. The team collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

i

Tracy went downstairs to buy drinks for everyone, and in the tea room, the conversation somehow shifted to a particular topic.

A newlywed guy said, "My love for my wife has been consistent over the years. Although we just got married, we've been together since our freshman year! From just starting work until now, as long as I'm not on a business trip or working overtime, I pick her up from work every day, rain or shine."

A colleague raised an eyebrow in doubt, "Isn't your wife working on the east side? Aren't you two in opposite directions?"

"Yeah, so what? What's wrong with going in the opposite direction? For my wife, distance is not a problem!" the guy said confidently.

"Alright, we'll remember that. Let's see how long you can keep it up!" everyone teased.

Laughing, they all finished work early today, so by half-past five in the afternoon, everyone headed home for some much-needed rest.

Moira Jane's car happened to be restricted today, and the online reservation for a taxi showed the nearest one would take more than twenty minutes. So, she changed her route and headed towards the nearby subway station.

During the evening rush hour, the subway was crowded. As Moira Jane exited, a man behind her suddenly touched her leg.

Her pupils contracted, and she was about to grab the person, but the man moved quickly. After the touch, he swiftly slipped away, deliberately bumping into Moira Jane along the way.

She staggered a few steps, her high heels stepping on the tactile paving. Inevitably, her ankle twinged with pain.

Balancing herself, Moira Jane took a moment to recover and then continued walking.

Her ankle still aching, she walked slowly, gazing at the bustling crowd around her. She felt as if her heart was a sponge soaked in water.

Exiting the subway station, not too far from the villa area, she suddenly didn't feel like going back.

Her phone remained silent. Elliot Jimenez hadn't contacted her since she mentioned working overtime last night.

Moira Jane walked to a nearby café near the subway station, sat down, and ordered a cup of Americano.

Bitterness slid down her throat, but Moira Jane seemed indifferent. Her expression remained subdued as she sipped the coffee and leaned back in the chair, looking outside.

After a while, she withdrew her gaze, put on her earphones, and started listening to music, one song after another.

Time passed unnoticed, and it wasn't until the outside world was completely dark that she left.

Taking a cab to the villa area, Moira Jane gazed at the mansion in the twilight ahead and somehow felt a bit overwhelmed.

A small light illuminated the entrance. She opened the villa gate and entered the foyer.

The villa was very quiet, so spacious that it felt like a gust of wind had filled her chest.

Moira Jane casually prepared some food in the kitchen, ate quietly by herself, then returned to the bedroom, took a shower, and leaned against the bedside to read.

As time passed, Moira Jane felt tired but devoid of sleepiness.

Standing up barefoot, she walked to the window, looking towards a distant lake.

Lights were shining outside, and the lake was adorned with twinkling lights.

Moira Jane retrieved a phone from the safe, one she hadn't used for a long time, and turned it on.

The phone beeped with numerous notifications until it finally fell silent.

She glanced over them; most were bank transaction records. Those cards, she hadn't taken a single one when she left home.

Finally, she opened INS.

The top post, was posted by her mother just two minutes ago.

【Mom】: "Just bought a little island with someone, enjoying the sun, the beach, and handsome guys."

Below, the geotag indicated Seychelles.

The photos were in a grid, with her mother, Mrs. Shirley Gill Jane, in the center, lying on a floating mat in the water, wearing sunglasses, accompanied by a half-wet Alaskan Malamute named Bobi.

Bobi, the Alaskan Malamute, now five years old, had become the apple of her parents' eye, accompanying them wherever they went.

The surrounding pictures showcased sunshine, beaches, and...

As for these handsome guys, in the corner of the last picture in the grid, Moira Jane finally spotted her father making an appearance.

She scrolled down the page and found that her mother had posted several sets of photos in succession. In one set, there were seven or eight tall, muscular guys, presumably sailors, and assistants on the island.

Below that, her father left a comment: "Interesting :) "

Just by looking at these photos and comments, Moira Jane could imagine her parents' expressions at the time.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Further down, her brother Nathan Jane had posted on INS. It seemed to be a grand event hosted by Worldlight Entertainment, as Moira Jane randomly opened a few photos and spotted several familiar celebrities.

As she was about to exit the app, she noticed a picture below with a surprisingly familiar hand.

The photo was posted by an internet influencer known as WWWendy, and it was unmistakably from a charity auction.

The first photo featured an elegant jewelry box, cradling a pair of ruby earrings.

The second photo was of a woman showing off her beautifully manicured nails, with a man beside her whose hand was the only part of him in the frame.

The man's hand, with distinct knuckles, was casually resting on the chair's armrest. Although there was no physical contact between him and the woman with the hair tie, it was still evident that they were sitting side by side.

The watch on the man's wrist was too familiar to Moira Jane. It was unmistakably identical to her husband Elliot Jimenez's, a custom piece that was one of a kind in the world.

The third photo was a panoramic view of the auction event.

The caption from WWWendy read: "Someone bought this for me. ♥♥♥"

Moira Jane's fingers clenched around her phone as she clicked on the avatar named "WWWendy". Delving deeper, she found that there was no shortage of similar posts within.

"With a certain someone in Venice today."

"Today's lunch was lavish, but he has a meeting soon, so we're rushing. We didn't even get to enjoy the king crab, such a pity.jpg"

"We're so tired today, good night!"

"Good morning, see you in a bit!"

...

Moira Jane looked at the corners of the man in the photos, his occasional appearance making her breath hitch, her heart constricting.

No wonder, the men at the company all speculated that Wendy Scott was Elliot Jimenez's wife.

They were together all the time. If she wasn't his wife, what woman could tolerate a stunningly beautiful secretary always at her husband's side, never asserting her dominance?

The blog posts from her mother and brother, and those from this woman, were constantly pulling at Moira Jane's mind. She felt like a rabbit, standing at the junction of the forest and the city, torn apart by two opposing forces.

One voice told her, "Moira, hang in there a little longer. Maybe he'll see your worth, and fall in love with you."

Yet another voice questioned her, "Moira Jane, is this what you want? What do you and that man have, other than an empty shell of a marriage? Before you married him, who would dare to treat you like this? Did you shed all your scales just to be hurt by this man?"

Her fingers curled up, and Moira Jane took deep breaths. In her daze, she remembered that she added WWWendy on INS four years ago after a gathering.

Back then, a senior sister had said she had a friend who wanted to find a designer, so she agreed to add her as a friend, though they had never met.

Now it seemed the woman who had showered her with compliments back then was this Wendy Scott.

Was it because Wendy Scott had become Elliot Jimenez's woman that she had straightened her spine?

Knowing that the man was married, she still posted such suggestive moments. Was it so glorious to be the other woman?

Moira Jane flipped through her contacts and opened the chat with her friend Aurora.

On the screen, Moira Jane's last words were, "Aurora, this is my choice, and I won't regret it."

Below, Aurora replied, "Alright, darling, I support you. But if it gets tough, remember to come back."

Moira Jane stared at the conversation on the interface for a while, shut down her phone, and securely locked it in the safe.

Feeling a bit thirsty, Moira Jane got up to fetch some water.

Just at that moment, the door on the first floor of the villa opened, and a man changed his shoes before walking in through the entrance.

She was on the second floor, looking down at him.

The instant Elliot Jimenez felt Moira Jane's gaze, he hesitated for a brief moment before continuing, then headed straight upstairs.

He reached her and asked, "Moira, still not asleep at this late hour?" Didn't she work an overnight shift yesterday?

"Feeling a bit thirsty," Moira Jane replied her thoughts in disarray. She moved around Elliot Jimenez, intending to get some water.

However, Elliot Jimenez beat her to it, turning to the water purifier and handing her a cup of warm water.

Moira Jane took it with a smile, saying, "Thank you."

After waiting for her to finish drinking, Elliot Jimenez took the cup from her hand and reached out to embrace her.

Encircled by his towering frame, Moira Jane's breath hitched slightly. Then she remembered - she and Elliot Jimenez hadn't slept together for several days now. This man, must be having physical desires again, right?

After all, despite Wendy Scott's ambiguous blog posts, Moira Jane still believed in Elliot Jimenez's character. He wouldn't stoop to infidelity within the bounds of marriage, even if his heart might not be entirely on her track.

In this moment of embrace, Moira Jane suddenly realized, "There's something I want to talk to you about." She thought, whether it's the forest or the city, she had made up her mind.