Chapter 151 Ex-Boyfriend
Samuel's two cars quickly drove away.
The one in front was leading the way, while Samuel sat in the back car, driven personally by Jeremy.
Amelia kept watching the two cars until they both disappeared from view, turning at the intersection. Only then did she gently press her hand against her chest.
Her heart had been beating fast just now.
Before this, only Finn had made her feel this way.
Ever since Natalie invited Samuel to have dinner with the Richardson family last time, she had already realized that her feelings toward Samuel were different from those toward other men.
But this feeling left her at a loss.
She wasn't alone—she had an entire team behind her.
Getting close to Samuel meant getting close to the danger of exposing her identity.
So that day, she coldly told Samuel and the Richardson family not to get close.
But while she could control her actions and words, she couldn't control her heartbeat.
There was no denying that Samuel was indeed a very charming person.
He was like a rose—beautiful, but with thorns.
To have him, she would first need to figure out if she was prepared to be hurt by his thorns.
Amelia considered herself a coward when it came to love.
Burned once, twice as careful. In the end, she managed to slow her racing heartbeat and calm down.
She returned to the living room. Liam had already gone upstairs.
Holden and Uma were nowhere to be seen, either—only Natalie was in the living room.
Natalie's health had always been poor, and Uma usually stayed by her side constantly.
Now that Uma was gone, Amelia knew that Natalie had deliberately sent everyone away.
Perhaps some things needed to be made clear with Natalie today.
Natalie's health had greatly improved—she could handle it now.
Amelia walked over to Natalie and sat down beside her.
"Amelia..." Natalie spoke up as expected. "You handled the Hagen family matter very well. I'm very happy and grateful to you."
Amelia held Natalie's hand.
"Mom, we don't say thank you to each other."
"Alright, no thank yous." Natalie smiled, though tears glimmered in her eyes.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm just thinking that all these years we've given you nothing, yet you've given us so much. I... I don't know how to repay you."
Amelia rested her head on Natalie's shoulder.
"Before, when other kids had their moms pick them up from school, I only had myself... Back then I would think, how nice it would be if I also had a mom to pick me up. Now I really do have one. I'm already very content. Your presence is the greatest reward for me."
She now had a home and a mother.
Natalie's tears fell.
"It's my fault. It took so many years to find you, and as soon as you came back, I made you suffer..."
"I haven't suffered, Mom. Everything I've done, I did willingly."
At first, she wasn't willing to do too much for the Richardson family.
But later, when they treated her with genuine care, she let her guard down.
Natalie wiped her tears and sat up straight.
Amelia also sat up properly, looking seriously at Natalie.
"Mom, if there's anything you want to know, I can tell you now."
But Natalie shook her head.
"I don't need to know anything. I just have one question to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Who do you work for now? Is what you're doing dangerous?"
"For myself. It's dangerous, but I can handle it."
"Good." Natalie nodded. "That's enough."
She didn't need to know anything else.
Amelia was surprised.
She thought Natalie would keep asking questions, but she didn't expect her to only care about one thing—whether she was safe.
Knowing she could handle it, Natalie asked nothing more.
So this was what real family love was like.
"Thank you, Mom."
She had been somewhat conflicted about whether to reveal her relationship with the Shadow Operations Division.
But now she knew her worry was unnecessary.
She also understood that Natalie had long sensed she was not ordinary, but had never said anything.
She gave her complete freedom and trust.
Natalie smiled gently and tucked the stray hair by her forehead.
"Silly girl, didn't we just say we're family and don't need to say thank you?"
Amelia smiled too.
When it got dark, Amelia said she needed to go out.
Natalie didn't ask where she was going, only said, "Be safe."
Amelia nodded and went to the Shadow Operations Division.
The underground project at the Shadow Operations Division was already taking shape.
In another month or so, they could probably start on the interior finishing.
"You guys are very efficient," Amelia said.
Byron smiled and said, "Thanks to Lyndon. With his help, we've been able to move this fast. Otherwise, the timeline would be at least half as long."
Amelia nodded.
"Starting tomorrow, make some moves at Thornfield, put on a show, let everyone watching us know that the Shadow Operations Division isn't what it used to be."
"Yes."
After finishing business, Amelia called Byron aside to a separate room.
"Look into this for me—has anything happened at Crystal Springs Resort in the past year?"
Byron's expression froze, but he reacted quickly, instantly recovering his composure before Amelia could notice the change in his expression.
He asked, "Why are you suddenly looking into Crystal Springs Resort?"
Amelia said calmly, "A friend mentioned Crystal Springs Resort to me several times. I think there might be something odd about it."
Byron asked casually, "Where should I start looking?"
Amelia shook her head. "I'm not sure either. Just look into it for now. Report anything unusual to me."
Byron responded, "Yes."
But in his heart, he had already guessed that the "friend" Amelia mentioned was Samuel.
That bastard who took Amelia's virginity actually had the nerve to bring it up with Amelia?
Good thing he didn't say much more. Otherwise, if Amelia had another episode because of it, even at the risk of the Shadow Operations Division being discovered, he would have killed him.
But at the same time, Byron felt somewhat relieved.
Relieved that the person was Samuel, not some sleazy middle-aged man.
At least Samuel was handsome—Amelia didn't lose out too badly.
But what exactly was Samuel's intention?
He brought it up, but didn't give details?
Byron was lost in thought when he heard Amelia call his name.
"I'm here." Byron quickly snapped back and responded.
He heard Amelia ask, "After that day, has Finn contacted you again?"
It took Byron two seconds to realize that the "that day" Amelia mentioned was the day he broke through Samuel's home firewall.
That day's matter wasn't actually an order from Finn at all.
He was afraid Amelia would ask detailed questions, so he used Finn as an excuse.
To Amelia, "Finn" was a forbidden zone.
Not only did she not let others enter it, but she also wouldn't go there herself.
He hadn't expected Amelia to bring up Finn on her own today.
Had she come to terms with it?
Byron said calmly, "No, no contact. Even if he did contact me, I would refuse everything according to your instructions."
Amelia nodded, then asked, "How is he doing now?"
Byron was even more surprised.
Why was Amelia asking about Finn in detail?
Hadn't she always just treated Finn as dead and never asked about any news of him?
What was going on with her today?
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Amelia asked, then smiled. "Don't worry, I won't be upset by news about him."
Seeing that she really did seem calm, Byron dared to speak.
"He got married last July. The wedding was very grand. He even invited me, but I didn't go. I also told everyone else not to go."
Amelia nodded and asked, "Is his wife that Scarlett Lewis?"
"Yes..."
Amelia smiled slightly, whether in self-mockery or something else.
But her chest felt stuffy, as if something was burning inside.
"Do they have children now?"
Despite her discomfort, she would ask about everything since she had started asking.
Ask everything, and maybe she would finally give up completely.
"I haven't heard of any children," Byron said.
"That makes sense. They're both still young. Having children too early would limit their freedom. They should enjoy their time together as a couple first."
Byron moved his lips, not knowing what to say.
Amelia said nothing more either.
The two were silent for a while. Finally, Byron couldn't help himself and boldly tried to console her: "Amelia, don't be sad. Finn, that bastard, betrayed you and married someone else. It's not worth being sad over someone like that."
Amelia hummed in acknowledgment, her voice unexpectedly calm even to herself.
"I'm not sad. Being sad over him really isn't worth it."
That's what she said, but her chest still felt tight.
She and Finn had been together for four years.
Finn had also made promises to her, saying he would never change his heart.
But a man's heart was like summer weather—it changed at the drop of a hat.
It was a very ordinary day. She had just finished a medical case and was sitting in the car, enjoying the evening breeze on her way home.
But on the road, she saw Finn hugging a girl in a flower shop by the roadside.
Amelia recognized this girl.
That girl was Finn's junior at the university.
Amelia and Finn were both low-key people who never deliberately showed off their relationship, so many people didn't know Finn had a girlfriend.
That girl didn't know either and had pursued Finn aggressively.
She had been jealous at the time and had a fight with Finn, after which Finn had no further contact with that girl.
She gradually forgot about this girl who had pursued Finn.
Seeing them hugging, her first reaction was that the girl was pestering Finn again, so she got out of the car and appeared in front of them.
She had thought Finn would explain to her that their embrace was initiated by that girl.
But what she didn't expect was what came instead—Finn's confession.
He said he had fallen in love with that girl.
He liked her liveliness and enthusiasm.
Amelia wasn't lively enough—she had always been indifferent about everything.
He also said that the girl's parents were both in politics and could help him advance his career, while Amelia couldn't help him at all.
She couldn't remember how she left that flower shop that day.
She only remembered that the girl looked at her with triumph in her eyes and pity.
After that, she deliberately cut off any contact with Finn.
Until today.