Chapter 8: A Pot of Boiling Trouble
John had a business meeting afternoon and wanted Lily to accompany him, but she preferred to stay home.
He couldn’t convince her, so he left, giving her a detailed list of instructions, even specifying where her hair ties should be stored.
She finally shooed him away, muttering that he could have talked for another half hour! Lily inwardly sighed. John was still so long–winded.
Staying behind, Lily had her own plans.
After watching his car leave, she summoned the butler to the study.
“Butler, you’ve been with the Jansons for ten years?”
Yes, ma’am.”
He answered respectfully.
John had instructed him earlier that Lily was in charge; she was the official mistress of the Janson household.
“How was Mr. Janson’s relationship with the children these past years?” Lily asked directly. The lack of interaction between John and Andy had worried her; the father–son conflict seemed deep–seated.
John had brushed it off with a vague mention of misunderstandings, but Lily sensed he was hiding something.
Ma’am, when I arrived, the two Masters and Miss Amy were already living elsewhere. Mr. Janson rarely came home…”
The butler wasn’t lying.
The house had been most lively during Lily’s visit.
John usually went straight to the deceased Mrs. Janson’s room on the third floor, staying for the whole day, then disappearing for days.
Andy rarely stayed overnight.
Amy and Ben occasionally visited but mostly lived in their apartments near school. The mansion felt more like a ghost house.
Lily sighed, it was a complete mess.
She accepted the reality, though.
It didn’t matter; she was back.
Finding the butler unhelpful, Lily was about to dismiss him when he said, with heartfelt sincerity, Ma’am, since you arrived, I’ve seen Mr. Janson smile. It’s the first time in ten years that I’ve seen him so happy.”
A classic CEO romance trope, belatedly delivered.
Lily twitched a corner of her mouth.
She didn’t want a cliché romance story where the original wife suffers a tragic fate…
Chapter 8 A Pot of Boling Trouble
Meanwhile,
In the chauffeured limousine, John reviewed documents, his impassive expression making the
assistants tense.
two
At the office, he didn’t need to raise his voice to reprimand subordinates; a calm tone and a steely. gaze were enough to make anyone sweat.
His mere presence exuded an undeniable aura of authority.
The butler’s comment wasn’t mere flattery.
He truly meant it.
The John Lily was with was entirely different from the one his employees and household staff
knew.
His gentleness was Lily–exclusive..
Even his son was excluded.
John called Andy.“Don’t bother her these days.”
“Ha, what are you afraid of?”
you
Andy was about to taunt him, but John’s calm voice stopped him.“If make her disappear again, you’ll regret it.”
Andy’s taunts ceased, his face paling.
“We don’t know the full story yet. Anything could happen.”
Andy remained silent, his silence an answer.
John hung up.
He rubbed his temples. “Notify all department heads of a meeting at 2 PM.”
The assistant responded.
A text message arrived.
John immediately checked it.
[After questioning the butler, Mrs. Janson went to bed.]
John exhaled, his eyes dark as he looked out the window.
Whether it was supernatural or man–made, he wouldn’t let Lily disappear again. Whether Andy believed it or not, he did.
He’d believed Lily’s return the moment he’d seen her crying in the bathroom.
But he needed to investigate the mystery behind it all.
He couldn’t endure losing her again.
The two assistants exchanged glances.
They didn’t know what was going on, but Mr. Janson seemed terrifyingly determined. Back in her room, Lily didn’t nap.
She logged into her social media accounts.
WhatsApp, Facebook, email…
Chapter & A Pot of Boiling Trouble
After meeting Andy, she began to rebuild her life.
Ben years was enough to be legally declared dead.
Her reappearance needed to be handled carefully.
She wouldn’t reveal the time–travel aspect to anyone outside the family; they’d probably think she
was insane.
John had kept all her accounts active, and her old phone number was still working. On WhatsApp, she found an unread message from her college roommate, Bella, sent a week ago:“Miss you.”
They had started a cosmetics company together after graduation.
She wondered how the company was doing.
She went to Facebook and searched for Bella’s account.
It had grown from 100,000 followers to over five million.
Her bio read: CEO of North Star Cosmetics.
The company seemed to be thriving.
The
more
precise relationship.
between the two:
Lily
was the
investor!
It seemed that she had a good business vision back then…
Lily’s smile vanished.
The comments on Bella’s Facebook were filled with angry messages.
Through keywords, Lily discovered the reason.
One of North Star’s products had a major recall due to quality issues and safety violations.
The quality wasn’t the issue; it was why she“, a woman missing for fifteen years, was being dragged into this!
On the trending page for North Star’s recall, a popular post detailed the company’s history. It stated that the recalled product used a formula from another founder, who had died years ago.
Bella had kept the production line running out of loyalty and sentimentality, even though it wasn’t profitable.
The formula had flaws…
The post emphasized that the formula hadn’t been updated in over ten years, implying that Bella had been badly betrayed by her partner.
Lily was speechless.
This PR strategy was… unconventional.
She’d been gone for fifteen years, and they were still blaming her?
Coincidentally, as Lily finished reading, Bella posted an apology, sincerely admitting her mistakes. Her interview transcript was also released, implying the same thing as the exposé: Bella was good; the other founder was bad.
ily:…
Chapter 8. A Pot of Boiling Trouble
She was being blamed for something she had nothing to do with?
She hadn’t even provided the formula!
