business.
Mr Taylor, her biological father, was neither thrilled not disappointed by her return
Chen wasn't their only child, anyway.
She was their third daughter, the youngest.
Besides, he had bigger concerns at that moment,
Less than two months before Owen returned, the Taylor Group was hit by an
Mr Taylor and his two sons were struggling to find a way out.
Gwen volunteered to help.
ra rival's aggressive business strategy and teetered on the verge of bankruptcy.
She was desperate to cling to her newfound family, but she didn't know what she could do.
She once worked as a marketing director at the Garner Group, but it was purely a nominal position
She spent most of her time playing secretary and mistress to Gideon
Austyn's appearance was a godsend
She found him wandering alone on the streets, looking lost.
He had no idea who she was
After they got to talking, Gwen cealised that Austyn had lost his memory.
An Idea came to her.
She brought Austyn home.
Though he no longer recalled anything about his past, he had lost none of his sharp business acumen
With his help, the Taylor Group was brought back to life.
Gwen's position in the tainly was thus secured.
Her parents welcomed the news of her engagement to fason and gave him the position of vice president at the Taylor Group
If things went well, Gwen could very well be chosen over her two older siblings as the heiress of the Taylor Group.
He's Jason, Not Austyn
den pased outside the vice president's office and checked her makeup.
She glimpsed Austyn through the glass door.
He was sitting behind a desk, head lowered, hard at work.
Twilight streamed in from the glass wall behind him and cast his head in a soft, yellow halo
His shirt sleeves were rolled up, revealing two sinewy forearms.
Owen drank in the view
In the past, she was besotted with Gideon GamZL
But even she had to admit, Austyn was better-looding.
It wasn't just about the face.
Austyn seldom smiled.
His solemn look, his intellectual acuity, plus his Imposing height, made it easy for others to look up to him.
It had been four years, but Gwen still couldn't believe how lucky she had been when she found him.
She could never forget Gideon, but she was slowly starting to fall for Austyn
She was the one who proposed to him.
It was unconventional, but she didn't care.
Maybe after she dealt with Gideon, she could finally settle down and start a family with Austyn-no, Jason.
Owen reminded herself not to slip up in front of her fianc
'Why are you just standing there? Come in."
Austyn's voice broke her reverie.
He beckoned at her.
Owen collected her thoughts and entered the office.
"You didn't tell me you were coming, Austyn said.
Gwen smiled.
She circled the desk and stood in front of his chair. I wanted to surprise you'
"Are you feeling better?"
Gwen checked into the hospital when she was attacked by a suddenbour of high fever.
She was afraid she'd caught the bug that had been making its rounds in Hinton, but it turned out to be just the common th
"Much better." Owen pouted. "You were supposed to pick me up at the hospital today."
"Was?' Austyn frowned.
'I told you that last night!
Austyn tried to recall.
He spent last night mulling over his conversation with the woman called Kira.
'It probably slipped my mind. Sorry'
He pinched the spot between his eyebrows,
Gwen had to drop the subject when she saw his exhaustion.
'It's almost six o'clock Time for dinner. You shouldn't push yourself so hard."
have a business dinnerlater."
We can still grab a quick bite to eat. How about just a sandwich? You love that bistro on the comer of Eighth Street'
'I don't think I have time for that," Austyn swept a hand over his desk. I've still got loads of work to do.'
The Taylor Group had missed the boat when most of the traditional retailers transitioned into e-commerce.
Austyn had been trying to gain a foothold in the online marketplace, but he didn't have the first-mover advantage or the connections.
Progress was slow.
Earlier this afternoon, just received intelligence of an impending price warplanned by an ambitious new entrant who tried to break into the Rinton market, He needed to come up with a response fast.
Owen's face fell
"You forgot to pick me up at the hospital this moming. Now you can't even find the time to have dinner with me?
Austyn leaned back in the leather swivel chair and assessed Owen.
Hes Jason, Not Austyn
Are you mad at me?"
"Well, yes!"
He tapped a finger on the armrest
'There's something I've been meaning to ask you.'
"What?" Owen was still miffed when she didn't get either an apology or a compromise from him.
"You knew who I was. He raised a hand to stop her when Gwen opened her mouth. 'Don't bother denying it. No one home."
just picks up a random stranger and brings him
Gwen gave him a name-Jason
she helped him procure a new set of identity papers,
She talked him up to her parents and entrusted the heavy responsibility of saving a huge corporation to him, even when he himself wasn't so sure if he could do it
No one could place that much trust in a stranger.
"When you took me back to your house, you knew exactly who I was."
Gwen wrung ber hands. 'I..
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Austyn fixed his penetrating gaze on her face. "What else are you keeping from me?
Gwen hung ber head.
Of course, she knew who he was.
She was shocked when she saw Austyn McCarthy, president of the prestigious M Group, roaming on the street like a vagrant.
The first time she saw him was in an abandoned warehouse.
She was locked up in an iron cage, thanks to her foolish decision to save kica when the woman was kidnapped.
Austyn walked into the warehouse by himself, facing down the ruthless man called Santoro,
He took a beating for Kira's sake.
He got on his knees for Hira's sake.
p his life for that woman.
He was ready to give up!
Gwen watched everything from inside the cage, and she was jealous.
Gideon had eyes only for Kira
He forced Gwen to undergo painful plastic surgeries just so she would look like kira
And now, this handsome stranger was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for kita as well,
Later, Gideon even took a bullet for Kira
Owen's heart was filled with bitterness.
Why did Kira get to have everything?
When Gwen saw Austyn McCarthy in Rinton, she never once thought about calling
Austyn told her he was fished out of a river, unconscious.
The kind strangers who rescued him had no idea who
he was.
He had no identity papers on him.
His clothes were almost tom to shreds.
The worst part was,
his memory was a complete blank
At first, Gwen was prepared to tell him his identity.
He was the president of the M Coup
Making him indebted to her could work to her advantage.
Maybe he could help her gave her parents' company.
The Wedding Day Can't Get Here Fast Enough.
But Owen hesitated when she searched the news online and discovered that the M Group had a new owner.
Something big must have happened.
Owen was going back and forth over the decision to tell him the truth.
But when she brought him home and saw the desperate looks on her parents' faces, she changed her mind.
The Taylor Coup was bleeding money each day and on the verge of insolvency
Owen needed help.
So she said nothing and let Austyn believe she was just a Good Samaritan.
He was grateful, of course, and didn't hesitate to help out when she told him about the company's predicament.
Later, the more he proved his worth in the company, the harder it was for her to come clean
What if he decided to retum to Stamford?Material © of .
Then she would be left high and dry, and her parents would once again give her the cold-shoulder treatment... Owen lived in uneasy silence for the first couple of years. nother mind was gradually put at ease when Austyn's frequent trips to the neurologist proved to be futile.
The doctor told him that he had a one-in-a-thousand chance of recovering from his retrograde amnesia, likely caused by a traumatic event.
The bullet holes and scar on his body told Austyn that continuing to pry into his past might open up a can of worms.
After that, he busted himself with work and seldom brought up his memory issue again.
Chen relaxed.
But Kira's appearance must have agitated him, so much so that he was asking about his past again.
Owen stared at the floor.
She could feel the physical intensity of Austyn's interrogative gaze.
When the silence in the office grew stifling, she finally said, "You didn't ask. So 1 thought maybe you didn't want to know."
When she looked up, her eyes were brimming with tears. Are you blaming me? I didn't lie to you. I just...'
She just didn't volunteer the truth.
Austyn studied her face for a long while.