Chapter 165
I was on edge the whole afternoon. Sophia messaged me, saying Ava had said in their group chat that she'd already hired a private investigator to dig into Mrs. Morgan's identity.
And she also wanted to check Levi's marriage records.
Thankfully, that's illegal - it involves privacy issues, so the staff won't share that information with her.
I didn't expect her to act so quickly.
I shouldn't be worried, but I still felt really nervous.
After work, when I got home, I went to find Levi in his study.
Indigo told me he came back in the afternoon and video-called Celestia to tell her about my pregnancy.
Celestia wanted to come home, but after he promised to take good care of me, she felt better and said she'd be good and wouldn't come back for now, so I wouldn't tire myself out taking care of her.
So my plan to bring my daughter back fell through again, but we'll see each other at the family gathering during the holidays.
"Can I come in?"
I pushed open the study door without knocking.
When Levi saw me, he closed his files and put down his pen.
"Come in."
I sat down in the chair across from him, looking at the ship model on his desk, and couldn't help teasing him.
"Not worried you'll knock it over again in excitement?"
"Then I'll just put it back together."
He meant he wasn't worried - if it broke again, he'd just rebuild it.
If I hadn't accidentally knocked it over last time, I probably wouldn't have known he was the boy from my memories, and he wouldn't have realized I was the Jessa who gave him the stars.
"Did you need something?"
"Can't I come see you without a reason?"
The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile.
He rarely smiled, so even a small smile felt special to me.
"You can."
I traced a circle on the desk, deciding to ask him about it.
"Did you tell Ava today that you have a wife?"
"Yeah."
Suddenly, I didn't know what to say. I guess I couldn't really blame him.
"Do you have a spy at the company? Already worried about me?"
His words made me laugh. I was being a bit dumb - I was too eager, wanted to get to the bottom of things, so I gave away that I knew about this.
But I had no intention of monitoring him just because I'm now a shareholder of the Morgan Group.
"Ava thinks of me as a friend. If she finds out about our relationship, she'll definitely be mad at me."
"Only a few days and you are already friends?"
"We've only met twice."
Levi pressed his lips together. "And that makes you friends? I remember you don't make friends easily."
"Do you know me that well?"
I was so frustrated. He clearly doesn't care about me, but now he's acting as if he understands me.
"She'll find out eventually."
That day, he was planning to make our relationship public, but I wasn't ready. Now I think I understand his feelings - he doesn't seem to have any feelings for Ava at all.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have said those things at the company.
"She said she wants to marry you. I don't think she'll give up."
I looked into his eyes, wanting to know if he was lying.
"I made myself very clear."
Levi didn't even blink. I couldn't tell if he was being truthful.
"I'll go check if Indigo's done with dinner. I'm a bit hungry."
I made up an excuse and left. I took deep breaths in the yard. Every conversation with him felt like a battle of wits. Why couldn't we just talk openly and honestly?
Indigo came out with my phone.
"Mrs. Morgan, it's a bit cold in the yard. Your phone kept ringing, so I took the liberty of bringing it out to you."
"That's fine."
We're all family here - I didn't think it was wrong for her to get my phone.
I saw "Elliot" on the screen, and my eyes involuntarily drifted toward the study.
"Mrs. Morgan, I'm still making soup. I'll head back now."
Indigo knew when to leave and quickly went away.
I walked toward my secret spot while answering - it's quieter there.
"Hello?"
"Blair, I really need to apologize to you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."
I had no idea what he was talking about. Why was he apologizing right off the bat? Was WR not planning to work with us anymore? But our company wasn't looking for more funding anyway.
"What's wrong?"
"Ava knows you're Mrs. Morgan."
My heart sank. This was like a bombshell that completely stunned me.
"I drank too much at a dinner party before and accidentally mentioned your relationship with Mr. Morgan. There weren't many people there, just my assistant. I thought they would definitely keep it secret."
"They promised me they absolutely wouldn't tell."
"But today Ava asked my assistant about it. My assistant might have a thing for her - I noticed before that he looked at her strangely, showed her special attention."
"So he told Ava. I just came from a gathering, and he just told me. I don't know what to do. I'm really sorry."
Everyone who knew my identity was reliable, except him.
I knew he and Ava were friends - why didn't I warn him beforehand? His assistant revealing this now is really bizarre.
Why would he do this? What's his motive!
"Are you still there? I'm really sorry. If only I hadn't run my mouth. I don't know what I can do to make this right."
Right now, I really didn't know what to say. Elliot kept apologizing, but it was pointless.
It was Levi who told him in the first place. If Levi hadn't randomly told him I was Mrs. Morgan, Elliot wouldn't have known about our relationship.
"Ava asked me to dinner. I'll go explain to her."
What could he explain? Whatever he said would seem weak and powerless. At that gathering, Ava enthusiastically showed me Levi's photos, and I pretended not to know him.
Today I almost got caught anyway when I said I hadn't been at the Morgan Group very long, but that excuse wouldn't hold up under scrutiny.
I'm sure Ava has no good impression of me now.
I didn't care about my own image - I just thought this whole thing was ridiculous.
"No need. Let's just let this play out naturally."
Since we couldn't take back what was already said, anything more would be pointless. Ava already knew, and it wouldn't be long before she called to confront me.
"I'm really sorry. I'll apologize to you in person."
"I need to have dinner now. Let's leave it at that."
I couldn't get mad at Elliot just because his assistant told Ava about this. He had helped me when Heartstrings Jewelry was in trouble.
As soon as I hung up, Ava called.
"Hello?"
I didn't want to hide anymore, so I answered.
"Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you just tell me you're Levi's wife?"
"It's a long story."
"Let me tell you something - even though you lied to me, even though you're Levi's wife, I still won't give up."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This woman was so difficult. Even knowing about our relationship, she still wanted to pursue Levi.