"It doesn't matter if you allow it or not. This is my decision and mine alone. I'm not just going to let
someone else raise my child. If you don't agree, I assure you that I'll fight you on this until the end,"
Anne said solemnly.
She lowered her gaze, arrogant in her demeanor as if she was ready to battle any time.
Meanwhile, Kevin's mind was an utter mess. It seemed that Anne wanted to leave him and take the
child with her.
How could he agree? He had worked so hard for so long to achieve this amicable relationship with
Anne. He couldn't believe that despite his sincerity in building this relationship, Anne would willingly
abandon it.
How cruel! Couldn't she see how much effort he had put in?
"No. I refuse. Anne, don't even think about leaving," Kevin said ruthlessly as he gripped Anne by the
wrist.
His eyes were bloodshot, his face stone cold, and his words emotionless.
He felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a sharp knife as the pain seeped inside him.
It was apparent that he held barely any value to Anne if she thought she could just dispose of him like
that.
Was it really possible that Anne would still have feelings for him especially after he had found out all
the terrible things that Cherry had done? Anne was a cold woman. No matter how much he tried to
make up for everything, it was all useless.
"From now on, someone will be watching your every move. If you leave with the child, just wait and see
what will happen." As soon as the words left Kevin's mouth, he immediately hated himself.
He couldn't believe he was doing something like this to the woman he loved the most. However, it
seemed he had no choice. There was nothing else he could do to keep her by his side. He had to do
what he had to even if it meant Anne hating him.
With that, he strode out of the room. The moment he did, Anne fell into a heap on the ground.
The dark purple hue of the carpet served as a sharp contrast to Anne's pale skin. Her wrist was still
reddened from when Kevin had grabbed it.
Anne's eyes were bottomless pits of darkness. She dwelled in the emptiness of the room as she felt
vulnerable more than ever. She crossed her legs, trying to get some warmth in her body.
"Anne, your life is so pathetic," she muttered to herself, her voice resounding in the heavy silence.
While the floor was chilly, she couldn't seem to feel it.
After a long time had passed, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep. By the time she woke up, it
was already nine in the morning.
Relatively, she had woken up a bit later than she normally would. Even then, dark circles had formed
under her eyes.
She got up and went to see the child but the child was nowhere to be found.
She figured Kevin must have taken the child to another place so that she wouldn't be able to see the
child.
Sneering, she glanced at the timid-looking servants that surrounded her. She grabbed her bag and
stalked off.
At the very least, she had no legal relationship with Kevin which meant that he couldn't restrict her
freedom.
In the YS Bar.
Loud music boomed across the room as sweaty, wild dancers littered the dance floor.
Anne wore a dark overcoat which she paired with black paints and brogues.
Even from a distance, she immediately stood out from the crowd in the bar.
Save for the glum look on her face, she seemed out of place.
She downed one glass after another as a bitter smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. At times, it
almost seemed as if she was sneering in self-mockery.
In just under an hour, there were about a dozen bottles in front of her. Any man or woman would be
intoxicated at this amount of alcohol.
It shouldn't come as a surprise then that she attracted a lot of people's attention. In particular, a man
wearing an Armani suit couldn't keep his eyes off her.
He gazed at her deeply as he smirked making all the ladies in the bar swoon over him.
He glued his eyes on Anne as his fingers played with the wine glass in his hand.
"Mr. Ian, why don't we go to the private room? This place is packed. I'm afraid they're going to bother
you," his assistant suggested, his tone cautious.
Ian Qi smiled as he put down the wine glass and promptly wiped his hands with a piece of tissue.
"No, wait here. I haven't been here in a while, but I found something interesting today." Ian Qi got up
and casually made his way towards Anne.
Anne seemed to be a heavy drinker which didn't exactly fit his perception of a good girl.
Mildly irked, he couldn't help but ask himself inwardly, 'Who did this to Anne?'
As he smiled faintly, his assistant felt scared. Based on past experience, this meant that the president
was angry.
"Reid, take her to the private room." With that, Ian Qi left.
In the private room, the lights were dimmed.
In Anne's drunkenness, her face flushed.
Ian Qi gawked at Anne and the smile on his face softened.
"Mr. Ian, do you want to sober her up?" Reid asked.
"No need. Let her sleep a little longer. Now leave," Ian Qi said coldly.
Needless to say, Reid was taken aback. Was his boss actually interested in this woman? It was
common knowledge that Ian Qi wasn't interested in women. Was he going to break his own rule?
"Okay, I'm leaving." As Reid left, he closed the door behind him.
Ian Qi's eyes grew serious upon Reid's departure.
He still nursed some anger towards Anne. He never expected to see her here.
As he gazed at the intoxicated Anne, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened these past few
years.
"Kevin, I hate you, Kevin..." Anne began muttering. She tended to be a bit too honest when she was
drunk.
She kept repeating Kevin's name under her breath. Initially, Ian Qi was confused. However, after he
listened more closely, a cold smile broke into his face.
"Kevin, my rival. I'm back."
When Anne woke up, the first thing she saw was Mark's face.
He had a gentle look on his face, much like Sam's. However, there was an unfathomable expression in
his eyes.
"Mr. Mark, what are you doing here?" Her head was throbbing as she woke up.
"Why don't you get more sleep? Yesterday, my friend called me asking me take care of someone. I
didn't expect it to be you. Why did you drink so much? You were alone! That's dangerous. Lucky for
you, you ran into my friend who's a good person," Mark said lightly.
"Oh, right, I'm sorry. I have to go," Anne blurted out, attempting to get up.
Suddenly, a cold voice came. "Since you don't seem to want to go home, don't go. I'll protect you."
Anne was visibly stunned at the sudden appearance of Ian Qi. For some reason, he seemed familiar
but she couldn't quite put her finger on it—where had she met him?
"Ian, stop it. She already has a child. She can't possibly leave her child just like that." Anne was moved
by Mark's thoughtfulness.
"Thank you for taking care of me but I really have to go back." Seeing that Anne was in a hurry, Mark
flashed her a comforting smile.
Meanwhile, Ian Qi was a little irked that Anne didn't recognize him.
"Stop! Did I ask you to leave?" His voice was icy cold. After a pause, Anne turned back around and
looked at him expressionlessly.
"Is there anything else? I'm sorry for spending the night here. Is this enough?" She took out 20,000
from her bag and placed it on the table.
Since the majority of the customers that frequented the YS Bar was rich and powerful, the price of the
room fared at about 20,000. Having spent the night in the private room, she figured she had to pay for
it.
"Anne," Mark called, worry laced in his tone.
It was obvious that Anne was taunting Ian Qi. Mark feared that Ian Qi would lose control and hurt her.
"This is not enough. I declined a huge order yesterday because of you," Ian Qi said coolly as he smiled
knowingly.
Upon hearing that Anne had a child, he panicked inwardly. However, he quickly recovered so that Anne
wouldn't notice a thing.
"That's your business. I used the private room but you declined the huge order on your own accord. I'm
sorry." With that, Anne turned and left, confidence ridden in her stride.
"Ian, don't get mad. Anne's a good person and she's very talented," Mark explained.
"You don't have to say that. I won't make things difficult for her." As Ian Qi spoke, he took out a small
box from his pocket. Inside the box was a necklace in the shape of a broken wing.
He intended to purchase the earrings but someone had already bought them before him.
Until now, Ian Qi still remembered the exact moment he saw Anne. His identity was special and he was
rather strange. He didn't have the best image in everyone's perception but no one dared to provoke
him. At that time, he absolutely abhorred Kevin.
All the girls were scared of him, even Cherry whom he thought was pretty. The only one who wasn't
scared of him was Anne.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that even after a long period of time had passed, he still couldn't forget
about Anne.
"Ian, why are you chill today?" Mark questioned.
"Of course. I already told your brother that you're going to take over the companies the day after
tomorrow." Ian Qi arched his eyebrows and grinned.
Upon hearing this, Mark momentarily froze before vigorously shaking his head. "No, no. I don't want to
take over the companies as long as my brother's still here."
"It's not up to you. Trey has already agreed," Ian Qi said gravely.
Dejected, Mark left. Meanwhile, Ian Qi seemed pleased with himself. He always had ways to make
Mark yield.
The smile on his face then instantly disappeared.
He looked solemn as he took the necklace out of the box, gazing at it for a long time. A hint of
disappointment seemed to cloud over his face.
At that moment, he didn't feel like the talented and capable man who could control Wall Street and
struck fear in everyone. Instead, he was a man who was complaining that time waited for no one.
"Anne, do you remember the boy who drew the broken wings for you?" Ian Qi uttered, frowning.
Eyebrows knitted together, he felt his heart ache.
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