Time flew by quickly.
Life had been surprisingly peaceful.
Ella had a pretty good idea that Eric had pulled some strings behind the scenes, which is likely why Carter Group had stopped bothering her.
Even Mason, to her surprise, had been behaving, dutifully dating Chloe. Every time Chloe called, Ella couldn’t help but feel worried.
After all, Mason was still a man with ulterior motives.
Over the past two months, Mason’s dating history had been dug up and gone viral on the school forum, reaching over a billion views!
But in Chloe’s eyes, he was still perfect. There were several times Chloe dragged Ella along on her dates with him, almost making Ella sick.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and while Ella was in class, she suddenly got a call from Eric, asking her to come to his office immediately.
Ella had no choice but to ask her teacher for leave and hurried to LXL.
LXL’s business had been booming, with more and more artists joining, including some big-name celebrities. It was clear how much effort Eric had put into the company.
When she arrived at Eric’s office, Ella immediately noticed a thin, humble-looking man. He was short, with skin darkened like charcoal from the sun.
Ella froze. This was the same man who had saved her and Eric that day—the pigeon farmer.
His features bore a striking resemblance to Grandma Carter, about 70% similar. His nose, eyes, and face shape also resembled her mother, Isabella.
After all, they were blood relatives. How could there not be a resemblance?
"Ella, this is Mr. Bobby Martinez, the man we found," Eric said, pulling her out of her thoughts. Ella took a deep breath, feeling her eyes well up with emotion.
The feeling of meeting a family member, perhaps, was just .
"Hello, I’m... Ella," she said, extending her hand respectfully, not minding that Bobby’s hands were dirty. He was, after all, a worker who had been pulled away in the middle of his job, only realizing what was going on after he arrived.
Bobby stood up awkwardly, the humble simplicity of a countryman evident in his demeanor.
"Hello... I... I’m Bobby."
"Mr. Martinez, please don’t be modest. Because of your help, we were able to save our lives. Thank you!" Ella said with a sincere smile.
Bobby nodded and smiled bashfully. "It was nothing, just lending a hand."
"Mr. Martinez, since you don’t want any compensation, there’s another matter we’d like to discuss with you," Eric said, getting straight to the point. "We suspect... you might be Ella’s uncle. Would you be willing to do a DNA test to confirm?"
Bobby was stunned, standing there for several seconds before he could process Eric’s words.
"Really? I... I was just speaking casually. You don’t need to take it seriously!" He thought that he had said something that made Eric and Ella misunderstand, just because he felt a certain familiarity with them.
"My team recently gathered some information. The son your Grandma Carter was separated from was sent to the western outskirts around that time. So it’s quite possible..." Eric glanced at Ella, whose expression shifted slightly.
If this Bobby really was her uncle...
Then Sean had been unbelievably cruel and heartless, sending his own son to live with a poor family that could barely feed themselves!
"Mr. Martinez, we are sincere. We hope you’ll cooperate with us, okay?" Ella said softly, suppressing her anger.
Bobby agreed, and they all went together to the DNA testing center, where blood was drawn in secret. Seven days later, they would have the results.
Eric had arranged everything for Bobby and his wife, but their son, Dean Martinez, had not contacted them for a long time.
Ella felt a bit disappointed, but she knew it wouldn’t be long before they could confirm their relationship. Besides, Eric had already sent someone to track down Dean.
However, due to Bobby’s family being so poor, they didn’t even have a single photograph of their son. To this day, Ella had no idea what Dean looked like.
After leaving the hospital, Ella and Eric returned to LXL, but as soon as they got out of the car, they were swarmed by a wave of reporters.
"Ms. Davis, are you and Mr. Nelson married?"
"Ms. Davis, we’ve heard you’ve already purchased a marital home. When do you plan to hold the wedding?"
"Ms. Davis, there’s a rumor that Mr. Mason was your ex-boyfriend and that you were still seeing him while Mr. Nelson was away on business..."
The questions grew more and more outrageous. Eric calmly pulled Ella closer. "Let me make an official statement—Ms. Davis and I are married, so please stop believing these baseless rumors."
With their fingers intertwined and the rings on their left hands sparkling, the reporters were in shock. Most had assumed Eric was only casually dating Ella.
After all, Ella was just a freshman in college and had no visible talent in the business world.
What they didn’t know was that Ella had been keeping a low profile. There was so much more they weren’t aware of.
Their bodyguards quickly separated the reporters and escorted Ella and Eric into the VIP elevator.
Ella’s heart felt warm with happiness. Eric’s public declaration meant that, within ten minutes, news of their marriage would likely spread across the entire campus.
"How are you feeling? You must be tired after having so much blood drawn. I was pretty worried about you," Eric teased, gently pressing Ella against the elevator wall.
Ella shrugged her shoulders. "I’m fine. It was just a little blood, nothing to worry about."
"Really? You don’t need some comforting?" Eric grinned, his magnetic voice making Ella’s heart race even faster.
"No, no, I’m fine..." She shrank back a little, glancing at the elevator’s surveillance camera. If someone saw them getting too close... that would be beyond embarrassing!
But Eric wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. He gently lifted her chin. "Your lips are getting fuller and more beautiful by the day."
Ella rolled her eyes. "I’m an adult now. My lips have been for a while."
"Well, since you’re an adult, why are you worried about people seeing you being affectionate?" Eric smirked mischievously, his eyes gleaming like stars.
Ella felt a wave of frustration. How did he always manage to see right through her?
Eric’s lips pressed down on hers. The kiss was soft and tender, not intense, but it still made Ella’s nerves tense up.
"Stop... not here! Not !" Ella frowned, genuinely uncomfortable with the idea of being watched.
"Relax. No one can see us," Eric said, holding her head still, his smile wicked. Ella’s face turned a deep, rosy red, making her even more irresistibly charming.