Taken By My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 68: Chapter 68

Summer brought the entire campus to life, with activities unfolding everywhere and everyone diving into a new round of busyness.
Fresh from her class, Lorraine was called into the office of her department head, Ethan. She wasn't quite sure why she had been summoned and politely pushed open the office door. With just a casual glance, she was aback.
Standing by the window was a figure, his back to her, with a straight posture and an air of distinction. Even in a simple white shirt and black trousers, he exuded an allure that made one eager to see his face.
Lorraine was all too familiar with this silhouette. She could think of no one else but Eugene who could possess such an elegant presence. She wondered what he was doing here.
Ethan greeted her warmly. "Lorraine, come over here."
Eugene turned at the sound of his name, his gaze landing squarely on her face, expressionless.
Lorraine's heart buzzed with a jolt. Her first instinct was to quickly wipe the sweat from her face and tuck her slightly disheveled hair behind her ear. She tried to steady her still uneven breathing.
She had just finished a PE class, completing a long-distance run, and was now dressed in a white T-shirt and blue tracksuit. 'I must look a mess,' she thought to herself.
It had been two months since they last saw each other. She had encountered him in the most unexpected place, completely unprepared, yet there was a tiny spark of delight in her heart. She lowered her head, fearing her eyes would betray too much.
Eugene stood his ground, watching her fidget with a steady gaze.
Lorraine wanted to escape, but Ethan pulled her over. "Lorraine, I called you here to discuss something important. Listen carefully, and you'll need to cooperate with the school's arrangements."
It was about the centennial celebration of the university, a significant event. She didn't expect that the Moore Group had become the sponsor.
Lorraine tried her best to appear calm, casting a composed glance at Eugene.
Ethan's voice grew more excited. "You'll be in charge of liaising with the representative from Moore Group for this celebration."
Securing this sponsorship had been incredibly challenging. Ethan had used every connection he had to bring Eugene on board. Naturally, he couldn't afford to be careless and quickly called in what he considered his best student to assist.
Moreover, Ethan had heard that Lorraine had some connection with the Moore family, though the details were unclear. Ethan felt confident that involving her was the right choice.
Lorraine's scalp tingled with unease. She was at a complete loss for what to think and could only force a smile. "Mr. Moore, hello."
Eugene didn't respond, continuing to look at her indifferently as if she were a stranger. There was not a trace of a smile on his face.
Lorraine bit her lip, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and lowered her head, falling silent.
Lorraine's performance was far from satisfactory. Ethan tried his best not to frown, maintaining a chuckle. It was terribly awkward. Fortunately, his phone rang, saving the situation.
Ethan quickly answered, "Hello, yes? What did you say? Say that again."
He walked out the door while talking, thoughtfully closing it behind him. Inside, only Lorraine and Eugene remained.
Lorraine stared at her toes, at a loss. Soon, she heard clear footsteps approaching. Step by step, they came closer, and then, as expected, passed by her.
His handsome profile flashed before her eyes. The door opened and closed, all in less than three seconds. She was alone again. He hadn't even spared her a parting glance.
Lorraine stood there, trembling slightly. She couldn't help but recall the news she had seen in the paper yesterday—Eugene and Elsie emerging from a restaurant, surrounded by reporters, supposedly on the verge of their wedding.
Lorraine had only glanced at the news, thinking she could just move on, but now she remembered it all too vividly.
She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, but her heart felt as if it had been weighed down by the gloomy clouds outside the window, unable to lift.
Ethan returned from his call, beaming. "Mr. Moore, it's such an honor to have you for the celebration."
He froze mid-step as he entered the office. After a stunned three seconds, he asked, "Where's Mr. Moore?"
"He left," Lorraine replied calmly.
"Left?" Ethan was flustered. "How could he leave? We haven't even shown him the plan. What if he changes his mind?"
"Is there anything else? I should head to class now," Lorraine said, eager to move on from the awkward conversation.
"Wait. You can't leave yet." Ethan hurriedly caught up and thrust a stack of documents into her hands. "Take these to the Moore Group and make sure they get directly into Mr. Moore's hands. Got it?"
Lorraine was aback for a moment.
The road ahead was long and fraught with challenges, especially when the person at the end of it was Eugene. Lorraine hesitated even more.
The next morning, Ethan kept calling to urge her. Unable to refuse any longer, she put the documents in her small backpack and chose what she thought was an appropriate time to head to Moore Group's office building.
On the top floor of Moore Group, Isaac stood outside the CEO's office and knocked gently.
"Come in." Eugene's cool, authoritative voice commanded.
Isaac entered to find Eugene still seated at his desk, deeply engrossed in work. Even the pressure of his pen on paper seemed cold and hard, much like Eugene's demeanor these days—indifferent, distant, and unapproachable.
One day two months ago, Eugene had suddenly called everyone in the middle of the night for an emergency meeting and overtime. Since then, everyone had been working, eating, and sleeping at Moore Group. No one knew exactly what had happened.
Only Isaac was aware that the girl from Silverlake Villa had gone back to school.
Perhaps this was the reason for Eugene's foul mood and cold demeanor these past two months. But Isaac didn't dare to jump to conclusions; he could only speculate.
"What is it?" Eugene finished reading a document, didn't even look up, and immediately moved on to the next one.
Isaac snapped back to reality and quickly said, "Just now, the dean from the medical college, Ethan, called to say that Ms. Shaw is on her way with the documents."
Eugene's hand, which was signing a document, suddenly paused. He lazily glanced at Isaac. "Do I need you to come in and tell me about such a trivial matter?"
Isaac was aback, thinking he had misheard. After all, it was indeed not a big deal—just a sponsorship for Eugene's alma mater. Money was never an issue for Eugene.
But what made it special was that after hearing about it yesterday, Eugene had personally visited Auretian University. Isaac had subconsciously assumed that Eugene cared, which was why he had come to report it. But he didn't expect Eugene to be so indifferent.
Isaac bowed his head. "I understand. I'll have Ms. Shaw hand the documents to the secretary then."
Eugene nodded, expressionless, and continued working.
Isaac left the office, already sweating. 'I thought Mr. Moore went to see Ms. Shaw yesterday, but it seems I was wrong,' he thought to himself.
The moment the office door closed, Eugene put down his pen and massaged his temples. The numbers on the documents suddenly became dull and uninteresting.
He heard footsteps outside the door, not the usual sound of employees' leather shoes or high heels. He focused, trying to pull his thoughts back to work, but he couldn't help glancing toward the door. Someone was turning the doorknob.
Eugene quickly averted his gaze and looked back at the documents. He picked up his pen and meticulously made marks on places that didn't even need his signature, as if the footsteps didn't affect him at all.
The door opened. A melodious voice came from the doorway. "Hi, Eugene."
Eugene's brow furrowed as he put down his fountain pen. He hadn't expected Elsie to be the one who came in.
She wore a pink athletic set with short sleeves, paired with crisp white sneakers. The tennis racket in her hand completed the look. This sporty vitality contrasted sharply with her usual flirtatious aura.
"What's it?" Eugene leaned back, his voice indifferent.
"Can't I visit you if I don't have anything to say?" Elsie pouted coquettishly.
Recently, Zackery had it upon himself to do quite a few things against the Gordie father and son on Eugene's behalf. Elsie increasingly felt that she was special in Eugene's eyes. So, her tone with him had become more casual and natural.
Eugene didn't respond, just looking at her with an equally oppressive gaze.
Elsie gradually felt a bit uncomfortable and quickly gave in.
She walked over in a coquettish manner. "I was worried that sitting in the office for too long would be bad for your health. I thought I'd invite you to play tennis with me. How about it? Afterward, we could go to Silverlake Villa, okay?"
Lorraine took the bus to the Moore Group. Having been there several times, she had become familiar with the receptionist, who didn't stop her. She made her way upstairs smoothly.
On the top floor, everyone in the office area was busy with their own tasks. Even when they heard her footsteps, no one looked up.
Lorraine had intended to find Isaac, but when she couldn't find him, she had no choice but to steel herself and walk directly to the CEO's office, peering in nervously.
The door was slightly ajar, and Lorraine didn't need to push it open to see inside. Eugene was seated in his chair, with Elsie leaning close to him in front, and she could hear Elsie's coquettish voice. They seemed to be flirting.
Lorraine's breath caught in her throat as if someone had blocked it. She took a step back and hurriedly turned to leave. But she accidentally bumped into Isaac, who was coming out of the break room, nearly falling over.
Isaac quickly stepped aside. "Ms. Shaw?" His voice was loud enough for the people inside the office to hear.
The next second, the door was opened. Eugene stood there, tall and upright, his gaze landing on her back.
"Lorraine?" Hearing Eugene's familiar yet cool voice, she stood there in a daze. She had a thousand questions she wanted to ask him, but at this moment, she felt she had no standing, no right to ask anything.
The words Lorraine had been about to say turned into a bitter smile. Lorraine took a deep breath, turned her head, and looked steadily at Eugene. "Sorry for interrupting you two."
Eugene's eyes flickered with some emotion. "You've misunderstood—"
But Elsie walked arrogantly to Eugene's side, linked her arm with his, and sneered at Lorraine. "What are you doing here? Eugene and I are about to play tennis. Could you move? Don't block our way."
The harsh words caused Lorraine's heart to ache sharply, but she still forced back the tears in her eyes and managed a smile. "Sure, I'll leave right away." She turned around and fled without looking back.
"Wait." Eugene shook off Elsie without hesitation and reached out to grab Lorraine, but he missed.
Lorraine rushed straight for the elevator, as if staying there for another second would be unbearable torture.
The elevator doors quickly opened, and Lorraine ducked her head and ran inside, pressing the close button rapidly. The heavy metal doors slowly closed, blocking Eugene's figure as he ran toward her.
Lorraine closed her eyes, and tears silently slid down her cheeks. But before she could even feel her sorrow, an unexpected event occurred.
The alarm blared without warning, and at the same time, there was a loud rumbling inside the elevator. The floor display turned into a red line. The elevator had malfunctioned.