Unluckily Fated With the Billionaire

Encounter 8: Who Are You

“Wow. No wonder my son has only visited me once since he came back, he already had such a beautiful lady with him!” A woman’s voice exclaimed.

When I turned my head in the voice’s direction, I saw a stunningly elegant woman who looked like she was in her 40’s. She was wearing formal attire, a blouse paired with slacks that screamed ‘expensive.’ She had a mischievous reaction on her face as if she was teasing and very delighted at the same time.

And she looks so much like Liam!

“Mom, what are you doing here, barging in without even telling me?” I heard Liam sigh while massaging his temples.

“Well, I’m your mother~ When did I even knock or notify you that I was coming into your office, hmm, sweetie? But if you’d told me you had a beautiful guest here, then I would’ve done that~” She said in a singsong voice, then went to sit on the sofa right across from mine. She examined me from head to toe and I could tell that she wasn’t disappointed.

“What’s your name, hija? Oh, wait, is that a lunch box? Liam hijo, did your girlfriend here bring that for you?” By the time she was speaking, she was grinning from ear to ear with her hands tightly clasped in front of her.

My eyes widened and I felt my jaw drop on the floor at what she just said, while Liam just sighed again and shook his head. Oh God, the mischievousness indeed runs in their genes!

“A-ah, please excuse me, ma’am. My name’s Zairiel Celeste Mendez and I am your son’s psychologist. I came here to pay back my debt by bringing him a homemade meal, as he suggested. And… uh, I have a fiancé.” I nervously said and flashed a professional smile, then bowed at her. She looked shocked when I told her that I was her son’s psychiatrist, which made me nervous again. I threw a look at Liam to see his reactions, but thankfully, it was nothing bad.

“My… son’s psychiatrist? Liam—“

“Mom. Let’s talk about it later.” Liam said, his tone indicating that it was final, and his mother just went silent. For only a little while.

“OHMYGOD HIJA, you already have a fiancé? Oh please, excuse my actions earlier,” She apologized, her hand clasped to her mouth. “It’s alright, ma’am,” I said and smiled. It seemed that she was just about to apologize again when Liam spoke.

“We’re lucky that it was just her, mom. What would’ve happened if she was some high-ranking client or investor instead?” He scolded. There was authority in his voice, but his mother seemed to be unfazed and just chuckled. I got the chills when she did that because of the similarity with Liam’s, the only difference being the voice pitch.

“It’s instinct, sweetie~ Besides, I would’ve known if she was a client or investor. Did you forget that I’m also an executive like you? And I’d never seen such a pretty client before from experience.” She winked at me when she said the last part and I couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle while blushing.

“Well, it’s time for me to go out. My beloved son’s glares are burning a hole right through me already,” She said, then stood up, sending a very meaningful smile to her son. “It was nice to meet you, Zairiel hija. Thank you for helping my son.” She said before bidding us farewell and going out.

“… So, it runs in the genes, huh?” I teased.

“I guess so. She’s really bizarre, but she’s a good person. Just bizarre.” He said while smiling a little.

“That I could tell. But you really look like her, and she’s very gorgeous and elegant.” I said, but when I realized something, it was already too late.

“Hmm, does that mean that I’m gorgeously handsome too?” He smirked, which irritated me once again. Doesn’t he have a mirror to look at? That’s something he could tell himself and a given fact. But I won’t tell him that. Who knows how big his head will get. When I didn’t answer, his smirk died down a little.

“Book me an appointment for tomorrow, Doctor.”

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As I was walking in the hallway, I heard clinking sounds of heels nearing my direction.

“Hija! Aren’t you my daughter’s friend?” Adelaide Mirren, Liam’s mother, exclaimed. I was a little surprised by her sudden appearance and her question. “Y-your daughter? You mean Leigh Adelaine?” I asked. With the mention of her daughter’s name, her eyes widened and lit up. She nodded and looked at me with expectance.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but I think you had the wrong person. I'd actually never seen or heard of her until your son mentioned her to me.” I explained. It’s really odd that the Mirrens kept mentioning her to me.

“Liam… mentioned her?”

“Yes, quite a few times already. He kept asking me if I knew who his sister was, but I’ve never really known of her. The very first Mirren I got to know of was Liam, ma’am. Is something the matter?” I asked. She stared at me for a while, and it looked like she was analyzing whether I was telling the truth or not. After a few seconds, she regained her composure and smiled at me.

“Ah, I’m very sorry for that, hija. Both me and my son must’ve mistaken you for another person. Are you leaving now? And Liam didn’t even escort you out? That child, really.”

Weird.

“It’s alright, ma’am. I was the one who told him that I could go on my own. It was a pleasure meeting you.” I said, then smiled. I waited for her to excuse me before I went straight for the elevator.

Leigh Adelaine Mirren. Who are you really, and why does your family always get me connected to you?

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Today was the day I decided to dig more about Leigh Adelaine.

After a counseling session with a patient, it was around 11 AM when I typed the name Leigh Adelaine Mirren on my Google search bar. Unfortunately, nothing came up. But that was another odd thing.

Typically, when you search for someone up on Google, a few things connected to that person will definitely pop up, either their social media accounts or something. But with hers, it was completely empty, as if it had been erased by someone.

Why would a Mirren’s profile be like this? And it’s the same with their family photos. Liam and his mother definitely acknowledge her, but why wouldn’t she be in any family photo of them, except for that one I found?

Speaking of that photo, I tried to look it up again, but it wasn’t showing up anymore. I tried searching for every keyword related to it when I found it, but there really was nothing.

Wait a minute.

She’s from a very influential and famous family, but there’s no information or articles or pictures of her on the net. The family pictures that include her were deleted. Liam spoke solemnly of her when we were under the tree on the campus.

Could it be—

“Good morning, doctor.” I got startled when the door opened and a Liam Mirren showed up. How perfectly timed is it that I was just formulating a theory about his sister, and then he comes barging in?

“Mr. Mirren. Please sit down.” I said in a professional tone. He seemed taken aback by the formality, and the words I expected came out of him. “Why the formality? Didn’t you just personally bring me a meal yesterday, and even met my mother?” He asked and made himself comfortable on the sofa across my desk.

“We’re in my workplace, Mr. Mirren. As of this moment, I am your doctor, and you are my patient.”

“Well, alright. I came here to… open up.” It was what I was expecting, but I still got a little surprised. It seemed like it was just yesterday when he came shouting on my hotline and telling me I'd never be able to help him.

“Thank you for being brave, Liam,” I said in a comforting voice. It was something required to do in this kind of work, but it’s not fake. He might’ve really been in bad trauma that he refused my help back then, but now, he’s finally opening up.

“First of all, I’d like to apologize for my rude behavior on the hotline.” He apologized while his head hung low. He seemed to be sincere, so I nodded and let him continue speaking.

“There was an accident… where I felt that I was the reason why someone died from it. The guilt from it kept on eating me up, and every night, I’d dream of that person.”