Chapter 291: My Twins

"Is she really coming?" inquired Soren as he gazed at Cloe who was leaning against the door and wasn't even trying to offer any help.

"I told you already that Chief will come," answered Cloe as she rolled her eyes at this friend of hers. For some reason, he found it hard to believe that Raelle agreed to this meeting so easily. "If it brings her profit, she'll definitely have a look."

"You speak as if Raelle Xiang is a money-grubber. Does she even lack money?" Soren joked as he displayed his knife skills by chopping the onions in a fluid motion.

It looked pleasing to the eye. It even made Cloe feel a little jealous. She also cooked, how come she looked like she didn't know what she was doing while he looked like everything was right under his control? Not only that, it was a delight to just watch him work in the kitchen. She could only mentally tsked at the situation thinking his wife hit a jackpot. No wonder his wife was so eager to get married when he had only graduated from university back then. She already must have seen that someone might snatch him away from her.

"She doesn't lack money. Only her family inheritance is enough to make her live a life of ease. But as she always says, there is no harm in having more money. After all, there are no set rules about how much money you can have, right?"

Soren shook his head when he listened to Cloe, "That sounds so much like her." Then he gave her a look, "Are you just gonna stand there? How about you help me a little here?"

Cloe raised her hands to make her stance clear, "Don't even think about it. My Chief has taught me well. I don't do free labor anymore."

Soren gaped at her in disbelief and tsked, "You used to be such a good girl. It seems Raelle's company really turned you into a profiteer."

Cloe shrugged her shoulders, "What I am today, all the credit goes to her. So, even if I get the urge to curse her sometimes, I still very much respect her. And more than that, I admire her. You have no idea what she is capable of doing. I was a straight-A student and was already quite proud of that. But being with Raelle made me realize that the world is a bigger place and the people have unbelievable talent in this big world."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd assume, you've fallen for Raelle," said Soren with a sly smile on his face.

"If you can have a crush on her, why can't I?" retorted Cloe straightforwardly.

Soren was choked by her words, "Will you please stop bringing that up? If my wife heard it, I'll be in serious trouble."

"Aren't you a little too scared of your dear wifey?" asked Cloe. She had noticed how cautious he always seemed whenever he talked about his wife. 

"It's because..." he paused unnaturally and gazed at her deeply before he shook his head. "Let's drop it here. You won't really get it even if I said it." He poured some oil in the pan and recalled something, "Hey, have you thought about my suggestion from last time?"

"About what?"

"About the blind date with my wife's brother," answered Soren. "How can you even forget about that? Have you started taking your life that easily?"

Cloe smiled a bit sadly as she replied, "To be honest, I haven't thought about my life in a long time now. But I did ponder over what you said last time. I do need to get out of my little bubble. I should begin again at some point in my life so why not now?" She took a brief pause and added, "And as Raelle Xiang always says, if you can do it now, why bother leaving to later?"

"So, you agree to the blind date?" this was the point that Soren was focusing on.

Cloe nodded her head, "Yes. Since you think so highly of your wife's brother, I think I can give him a chance."

"Awesome! That's great news!" announced Soren almost looking like a kid who was excited over getting his favorite toy. Cloe really couldn't tell why he looked so happy about it.

"Soren, why are you so happy?" she couldn't help asking him in a straightforward manner.

"How can I not be?" retorted Soren. "You are a dear friend to me. I have long been worried about you wasting your life because of your ex or your family. So, you can't possibly imagine how glad I am that you agreed to give yourself another chance."

Cloe felt his happiness was intoxicating which made her smile as well. It felt good to know that someone genuinely cared about your happiness. And this feeling was really precious to Cloe.

"Thank you!" said Cloe.

Soren frowned at her, "For what exactly?"

"For taking time out of your busy life to worry about me," answered Cloe with a playful smile.

"Silly girl! I've always been worried about you," he told her sincerely. "And if there is anyone I am most confident in, that person has to be my wife's brother. I really believe you will like him."

"If you say so," echoed Cloe. "By the way, what's his name?"

"His name is Cui Xukun. He is 29 and he is a Corporate lawyer," told Soren.

"Did you marry into a lawyers family?" inquired Cloe. "I remember your wife is also a lawyer."

Soren nodded in agreement, "Yes, my wide is an entertainment lawyer."

"Is it a family business?" asked Cloe as she raised her brow.

Soren chuckled and said, "You're spot on with that. But both siblings chose their own careers. It wasn't because their parents wanted them to inherit the firm or anything." He thought of something and asked, "Do you want to see a picture of him?"

"Do you have it?"

"No, I don't have it but I can just ask him to send me one," said Soren as if it was no big deal at all. And he truly believed it wasn't a big deal.

"Forget it," responded Cloe after thinking about it carefully. "I don't trust photos. You can only learn about a person after meeting him face-to-face."

"Well, that's also true," agreed Soren. "Then I'll ask him when he has time. I'll arrange everything responsibly, you just have to show up."

Cloe nodded her head and went out to explore his house. She soon came back and asked, "Don't you have two kids? Why can't I see them?"

"They are staying with their mom these days," said Soren. 

"Have you separated from your wife?" asked Cloe curiously.

Soren glared at her, "Don't jinx my happy married life. It's just that whenever my wife takes on a difficult case, she leaves me alone saying that I am a distraction who doesn't let her work." He sighed out heavily, "And I can't even argue when it comes to giving her some personal space."

"Wow! You're a good husband, Soren!" praised Cloe wholeheartedly. "I never thought you'd be one but you really are."

"Even spending years with Raelle didn't teach you that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?" retorted Soren. "People say Raelle Xiang is a cold, heartless, and difficult person. Although all that is true, don't forget those are not the only defining qualities of hers. Her keen observation. Her way of caring about the people who mattered in her life. Her way of keeping everything in her life balanced. All of these things make her seem a lot more human than a lot of humans I have met in the corporate world. She is an honest person. A principled person. It's a rare quality in the times we live in."

"And then you say I always talk about Chief," said Cloe as she smirked at him. But she couldn't help agreeing with every single word he just said about Raelle. If she wasn't like that, Cloe would have never been able to spend so many years with Raelle in comfort. Now, even Raelle's expressionless face was a lot more comfortable to her than most people's calculating smiles. In a way, Raelle was like a mirror that only reflected reality. There were no shades of deceit on her.

As Soren covered the pan with the glass lid, he wiped his hands on his apron and rummaged out his phone from his apron's pocket saying, "Come here, I'll show you, my twins. They are so cute. They look just like me."

Cloe raised her brows at this brag. He was acting like a typical father who wanted to show off his kids before his friends but Cloe couldn't even say anything to him for this. At this moment, she found him to be quite foolish as well. A man who always had his emotions in check was acting like this because he wanted to show off his kids.