"Don't bother. What you want to do is none of my business." With that, Anne walked past Rose.
"I didn't do anything wrong. You two are already divorced," Rose murmured after a long pause.
She knew that doing this was against her own principles but no one knew what was going to happen in
the future. No one could have predicted what was going to happen.
She kept trying to talk herself out of her guilt as she made her way to the old house of the Fu Family.
Just outside the East Mountain Villa, hardy trees we're planted. Since A City was located in the south,
the tree always received sufficient sunlight and water even in the winter.
Anne lugged her suitcase as she trudged along the path. She looked back at the place that gave her a
lot of sad memories. When she decided to leave, she felt burdened instead of relieved.
"Miss Anne, if you're going to leave, at least wait for Mr. Kevin to return home," the servant advised.
The servant knew how much Kevin valued Anne but Anne didn't seem to care.
"No, there's nothing left to discuss," Anne said plainly.
She was afraid that she would find it difficult to leave if she waited for Kevin to come home.
"Well, Miss Anne, why don't you just tell me where you're going? At least I can tell Mr. Kevin where to
find you when he comes home," the servant said.
Unfortunately, Anne didn't respond. Instead, she got into the taxi.
"To Well Hotel." Anne only told the driver where they were headed after the car had driven off so that
the servant wouldn't be able to hear it.
Anne didn't say a word throughout the entire car ride.
The warm atmosphere in the Well Hotel enveloped Anne. This place never failed to make people feel
the spring breeze no matter what the season was.
This made Anne feel inexplicably sad.
"Don't be so sentimental. You still have a lot to do," she murmured, psyching herself up. She raised her
head, holding back the tears that were brimming at the corners of her eyes.
There were shutters on the windows at the 2nd floor of Well Hotel. This allowed anyone from the inside
to see what was going on outside. Still, their privacy wasn't compromised as the shutters shielded any
outsiders to see the inside.
Dressed casually, Ian sported a beige sweater which he paired with khaki suit pants. His slender legs
set off his tall figure. The way he carried himself made him look elegant and noble. But the people
close to him could never be fooled—they knew very well just how arrogant and unruly he could be.
He liked to pass time on the 2nd floor, observing passersby. As he rested, he could read through
people's minds just based on the looks on their faces. It served as a kind of training for him too.
The moment he caught sight of Anne, the look in his eyes shifted.
'Didn't she just go home yesterday? What is she doing here again?'
Shoving aside his doubts, he headed downstairs where Anne was.
When he noticed Anne raise her head, seemingly holding back her tears, his heart twinged in pain.
"I'd like to get a room for one month, please," Anne said hastily as she handed her VIP card to the
receptionist.
"Hey, didn't you just leave? What are you doing here again? Are you purposely luring Kevin to find you
here?" Ian asked sarcastically.
He had a nostalgic look on his face as if he was seeing a friend he hadn't seen in a while for the first
time.
"Why do you care? Ian?" Anne sneered.
At the mention of his name, he was startled. It turned out that she did remember him. When he recalled
his conversation with Kevin yesterday, the look on his face dimmed.
"Looks like you're trying to hide from him," Ian pointed out.
This time, Anne ignored him and headed upstairs.
"Hold Miss Anne's room. We don't have any rooms left in the Well Hotel," Ian said playfully.
"We don't have any bad blood between us. If you and Kevin aren't on good terms, there's no need for
you to take your anger out on me. Is that how a gentleman should behave?" Anne kept her gaze
frontwards, the look on her face unfathomable. Even though she was down and out, she still held her
head high so that no one would be able to step on her.
"I'm helping you, Anne. Do you want to go back with me? I promise I won't let Kevin find you again."
Truthfully, Ian felt offended that Anne assumed he had bad intentions. Still, he swallowed his anger and
patiently explained himself to Anne.
His enthusiasm coupled with his strange and unreasonable behavior was what made Anne wary of
him.
"No, thanks. Keep your ideas to yourself. I'm not going with you," Anne turned him down without any
hesitation.
"Anne, are you sure? Can't you see I'm just trying to help you?" Ian pressed in a low voice.
While the Q Group hadn't participated in the ranking of all the companies in the past few years, he was
still on par with Kevin in terms of ability. He handled things smoothly that everyone merely obeyed his
orders. Not knowing how to behave, he exposed a side he normally reserved for work to Anne.
Anne glowered at him. The atmosphere in the Well Hotel suddenly turned cold.
"Ian, how could you talk to Anne like that? You're going to scare her."
Mark and Ian had an appointment with each other at the Well Hotel. Just as he arrived, he happened to
see this run-in between Anne and Ian.
"It's none of your business." Both of Anne and Ian answered in unison.
"I'm sorry, Ian. Anne is my friend. Please respect her." Unquestionably, Mark was trying to protect
Anne.
Ian kept his eyes on Mark as his mind raced. He could tell that Mark wasn't just protecting Anne—there
had to be more to this. The look on Ian's face grew even colder.
"Got it."
Ian immediately noticed that Anne relaxed a bit at the arrival of Mark.
"Anne. Ian's a good man. He's just a little isolated. Don't get mad. He doesn't normally meddle in other
people's affairs. If he offers to help you, he's not out to play tricks on you," Mark explained on Ian's
behalf.
"Mr. Ian, I apologize for what just happened." Anne didn't really like Ian. She was only polite because of
Mark but the coldness in her tone was still noticeable.
As Mark had proposed, Anne left the Well Hotel. After escorting her to the car, he headed back inside
the hotel.
There was very little chance that he could defeat Kevin.
"Ian, where are we going to take Anne?" Mark asked.
The gloomy look on Ian's face frightened him a bit. "Ian, what's the matter?"
This was the first time that he had seen Ian so angry. Mark and Ian had been friends since they were
young. They were more like brothers.
"Nothing," Ian responded glumly.
He couldn't possibly admit to Mark that he was a bit upset that Anne was closer to Mark than him. His
dignified image could be damaged if he did.
In addition to that, he never expected for Anne to be married and with child when he returned. He didn't
even know what was on her mind. He couldn't very well tell Mark any of this.
Things were still a bit hazy and just thinking about it made his head throb.
"The MH Villa is newly built. It's in the A City and no one knows who owns the house except me," Ian
suddenly said in all seriousness.
Since Anne didn't want to see Kevin, Ian intended to help her because he wanted Anne to not worry
anymore—and not for any other reason.
"Yes but why are you helping Anne this time? Is it really because she's your rival's ex-wife?" Worry was
written all over Mark's face.
"That's my business," Ian said curtly.
He often chose intimidation as his defense mechanism when he was feeling guilty.
In the East Mountain Villa.
When Kevin arrived home, he found that Anne wasn't there. This wasn't the least bit surprising to him
as he had already expected this.
It was half past six in the evening. The granite sky was accompanied by foreboding clouds as the
mountains in the distance were veiled in the fog.
He entered Anne's room only to find her closet open and contained remarkably less clothing now.
Suddenly, he was hit by a terrible realization that she really was gone this time.
"Where's Anne?" Kevin questioned as he grabbed the servant by the shoulders.
"Miss Anne didn't say anything," the servant stammered, fear could be detected in her eyes.
"Did she go see the child? Didn't she say she would go yesterday?" the servant added.
The look on Kevin's face dimmed as he got in his car, wasting no time. He was going to look for Anne.
In the MH Villa.
The place was decorated with a lovely sunflower painting that hung in the living room matched with a
light-colored carpet.
The moment Anne arrived, she was instantly moved. She didn't expect this of Mark—the place was so
cozy, like a breath of fresh air.
"Well, do you like it?" Mark asked nervously.
"Yes." A faint smile appeared on Anne's face but it was gone as soon as it came.
This short-lived happiness was not enough to make her forget the uncertainty that her life was. All of a
sudden, her chest tightened as her ill-fated memories flooded her mind.
"This is exactly Ian's style. It's curious how he looks so cold and indifferent on the outside when he likes
warm and pleasant things like this." At the mention of Ian, Mark's tone sounded affectionate.
"This is Ian's style? He likes these kinds of things?" Anne asked in disbelief.
Her eyes widened in shock. Mark couldn't help but find her adorable.
"It's not surprising that you don't believe me but yeah, this is Ian. He may look cold and distant but on
the inside, he's warm. He's a very caring person. When my brother and I were abroad, he was the one
who took care of us," Mark explained.
Curiosity about Ian riddled Anne's mind.
Even then, she had no plans on getting to know him. Everyone had their own secrets. Even she herself
looked strong on the surface but once she fell, she wouldn't even have the courage to stand up.
"I don't think it's surprising at all. Everyone has something that they're hiding. It doesn't matter if they
want to expose themselves or not. One thing's for sure; it's definitely something that will affect their
personality—just like now," Anne said matter-of-factly.
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