Three Years Forgotten, Why Go Crazy When I Say Goodbye? novel Chapter 171

A face so handsome it belonged in a museum was suddenly inches from hers. Caught entirely off guard, Willow Horgan felt a hot flush rush to her cheeks. She silently thanked the darkness of the car interior, grateful he couldn't see how thoroughly he had flustered her.

She quickly averted her gaze and shifted awkwardly in her seat. "I really couldn't say. We haven't known each other for very long, and in the past, most of my communication was strictly through your executive assistant, Mr. Vance."

"Haven't known each other long?" Silas Thorne chuckled softly. "Then why do I feel such a strong sense of familiarity when I look at you? I can't shake the feeling that we've met somewhere before."

"When I was stationed at the West Coast office in Seattle, I occasionally went to Merit Biotech to report on work," Willow explained. "Perhaps you happened to see me there by chance."

But she had been much heavier back then, struggling with her weight. Honestly, she would rather he hadn't seen that version of her.

Silas shook his head slowly. "No, it wasn't then." He knew exactly how many times she had visited the headquarters and everything she had done there.

"It must have been earlier than that."

"Then I really have no idea. We must not have crossed paths," Willow replied, genuinely drawing a blank. If it wasn't during her years in Seattle, the only other significant period of her life was an experience she refused to dwell on.

Because she actively avoided thinking about that particular chapter of her past, she certainly wasn't going to bring it up in front of him now.

Sensing her unspoken boundaries, Silas didn't press the issue. "If you don't remember, let's leave it at that," he said smoothly, though it was clear to him she truly had no recollection.

"We've arrived. Let's head inside."

He gestured out the window, and Willow immediately pushed the car door open and stepped out into the night.

The crisp evening breeze helped cool the lingering heat in her cheeks. Silas hadn't pressured her, and every question he asked had been perfectly polite, yet she couldn't help but feel a nervous, fluttering tension around him.

She started to tuck her phone back into her purse, but his deep voice stopped her. "Of course you can. Take as many as you like. If the lighting here isn't to your taste, I can have them prepare a different suite."

"No, this is absolutely perfect," Willow said with a bright smile, moving closer to the glass to find the best angle.

Watching her intent focus, Silas felt a swell of affection mingled with a sharp pang of confusion. When she mentioned it was her first time at a place like this, it had caught him completely off guard.

As far as he was concerned, courting and marrying a woman meant laying the finest things the world had to offer at her feet. An exclusive dinner was the bare minimum.

Yet she was saying she had never experienced this before?

Was it simply not their scene? Or was her marriage to that man far more hollow and neglected than he had ever imagined?