In the Luo Family's house.
An exquisite chandelier hung from the ceiling, and under this was a dark leather sofa in retro style. A
brewed tea in a clear water pot was sitting on top of the coffee table that was placed in front of the sofa.
"Hello, Mr. Liam," a deep voice said. It was the general manager of the branch who came in. He was
standing tall as if he could take on the world and there was a serious look on his face.
Seeing that it was the general manager that he had met that day, Liam was very excited. It bugged him
for days but today, the answer to whether or not Anne was his daughter would be revealed.
His jaw was tense and inside, his heart was beating fast. The idea scared him but he knew that he
needed to know the truth.
"Well, how is the investigation going?" he asked. Everyone knew of the Ye Clan and their capabilities.
They were once under the watch of the public; therefore, he believed that there was no problem finding
the answer he wanted to know.
"Earl's sister, Kiana, is Anne's mother. I have not found out about Anne's biological father but it's said
that she is an illegitimate daughter. This is all that we've got for now. This is the information about
Kiana." The general manager handed the documents to Liam for him to check as well.
Liam sighed but after hearing the result of the general manager's investigation, he couldn't help but
confirm that he was indeed Anne's father. He had always felt guilty for leaving, but he didn't expect that
Kiana would give birth to a child for him.
He opened the document with trembling hands. On the document, there was a photo of Kiana when
she was young. He stared at her gentle smile for a few seconds, remembering how it was back then. It
was not like she was in her early twenties, but it was exactly the same as he had imagined.
His eyes were red, and his lips were open, as if he was about to cry. Trying to calm himself down, he
caught his breath. His face was filled with excitement and pain, a mixture of everything he felt at the
moment.
"Mr. Liam, are you okay?" the general manager asked. He thought that Liam being upset had
something to do with the person in the file, but he didn't dare ask. It seemed a bit personal so he chose
to keep quiet.
Liam sighed. As if waking up from a trance, he looked at the general manager. "It's okay. You can leave
now," he said calmly, trying his best to steady his voice.
After the general manager walked out, Liam pressed the document against his chest. He allowed
himself to soften a little bit since he now had the room alone. He felt sad, but he still couldn't say
anything.
Over the years, he had always thought of being a responsible man no matter what happened. At least,
he shouldn't contact Kiana, which was the best choice for everyone at the time.
But after everything, he didn't expect that he still failed the woman he loved most in his life. He wasn't
sure whether or not she had hated him before she died.
"Kiana, I will protect our child from now on. I didn't protect you well enough when you were alive. I won't
allow Anne to suffer again in the future." Liam looked at the photo and finally burst into tears, holding in
his heart the promise that he hadn't had a chance to keep to Kiana.
In the AN Group.
Kevin lowered his head on the desk. Hanging above his head were more than ten lamps with black
crusts, which in fact, were usually not used.
But these lights gave Kevin a more serious look, because easy-going people would not like lights in a
cool color. So he kept them. He liked intimidating people.
"Mr. Kevin, someone is looking for you outside," a voice said. Kevin's door was open so he could hear
the assistant perfectly, much to his dismay.
"I don't want to see anyone," he answered bluntly. Since he couldn't find Anne, he didn't want to do his
daily work, let alone see an uninvited person.
"H-He seems to be Miss Rose's father," the assistant said uneasily. Although he didn't want to disturb
Kevin, he felt like it was an important visit.
The marriage was only consented by Selma. As Kevin didn't like it at all, he was not very enthusiastic
about his father-in-law.
Kevin sighed. It was not like he had much of a choice. "Tell him to wait for a moment. I'll go out after I
finish my work," Kevin said coldly.
Meanwhile, Liam was waiting in AN Group's receiving area. He was supposed to be happy as he had
become Kevin's father-in-law. But if anything, he looked worried.
"Hello, Mr. Liam," Kevin greeted politely when he reached Liam in the receiving area. After finishing his
work, Kevin came to see him even though it was against his will.
"Hi. I'm here for my daughter," Liam said straightforwardly, without any hesitation at all. It seemed that
Liam was about to blame Kevin.
Kevin knew that he had indeed neglected Rose these days, but he didn't seem to have done anything
out of line, so he didn't take his words seriously.
"Please go ahead," Kevin said. They were staring into each other's eyes, not wanting to back down
from the internal fight they knew they had going on.
"Alas—" Liam sighed.
"I want to ask you where Anne is." His voice sounded anxious and angry at the same time. He still felt a
mixture of emotions and he was trying his best not to show it.
"The matter about my ex-wife don't concern you. It has nothing to do with you, but don't worry because
I won't neglect your daughter." Initially, Kevin was worried that Anne would be hurt. But after he said
that, he thought it was unnecessary. Now, Anne had disappeared. He had searched everywhere in A
City, but he couldn't find her. If Liam could hurt her, it could be considered that he was capable.
"How is that so? Of course, it is my business! Anne is my daughter who has been missing for many
years!" Liam couldn't help raising his voice as he said this. He had to know where Anne was.
He had heard about what had happened to Anne before. He already felt that Kevin's harm to Anne was
simply appalling, and now it was showing.
Suddenly, Kevin's back became stiff. Apparently, he felt somewhat inconceivable.
'It turns out that Anne is Liam's daughter. Then, is Rose her sister?' Kevin thought.
Thinking about it, Kevin felt a headache coming.
"Well, Mr. Liam, this is your family matter. But if she really is your child, why has she been alone for so
many years?" he asked. Kevin could accept everyone blaming him for hurting Anne, but he wouldn't
accept Liam's pointing fingers. Liam hurt Anne, too. They were just the same.
He watched Anne suffer. It was him who had gone too far back then. But compared to Liam, he had
never thought that a man could abandon a pregnant woman and marry another happily.
Liam said angrily, "I don't want to talk about this with you. I want to see Anne. I want to take her back to
our Luo Family!" His eyes reflected the pain he must have been feeling. His hands were shaking but he
kept them steady.
"Suit yourself. But I don't know where Anne is now. Although, if you can persuade Rose not to marry
me, I think that Anne will more likely return to your family!"
Nothing was important to Anne, or so Kevin thought. But then he remembered that when he had a
good relationship with Cherry, he heard from her that no one knew who Anne's father was.
"It seems that you didn't treat my daughter well. But I hope you can look for Anne with me. As for what
you said about Rose, I will think it over," Liam said, defeated as he sighed. Then he turned around and
left Kevin in the receiving area.
Standing by the transparent glass window, Kevin kept silent for a long time. His thoughts went to Anne,
wondering where she could have gone.
In the MH Villa.
It was early in the morning, a chill enveloping the villa as a fog could be seen just outside the window,
which was rare. When Anne woke up, she heard the door of the living room open.
But this time, Anne was no longer nervous at all. If she guessed right, it was Ian who came back.
She got up and opened the bedroom door. Sure enough, she saw him in the living area.
Ian's eyes immediately fell on her. "You wake up very early. How do you feel now?" Ian asked gently.
Looking at his concerned eyes, Anne suddenly realized that he wore a mask. He was a cold man on
the surface, but after getting along with him for a long time and knowing each other well, she felt his
warmth.
"Well, I'm fine now," said Anne with a gentle smile.
Looking at Ian, she now felt that nothing could destroy her and everything would be fine.
There was nothing wrong with Kevin and Rose's engagement. Eddy's condition might also be greatly
improved.
"T-That's good. Every time Mark mentions you, it seems that he is very worried about you," Ian said, his
voice coming out a little unsure. He averted his eyes away from her because he didn't want to reveal
his feelings.
Anne ignored this and said seriously, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to work in M Group." She
looked at Ian all the more closely, waiting for his reaction.
"Okay, that's good to know. But I have something to give you before you work." Ian took out a delicate
wooden box slowly and showed it to Anne.
Although she didn't know what was in it, Anne thought it was very precious. She felt hesitant to take it
out of shame that Ian had already been doing more than enough for her.
"No, Mr. Ian, you have already helped me a lot. I can't accept your gifts anymore," Anne refused
uneasily.
In Ian's mind, it was only a gift. But Anne thought it differently. For her, a man giving a woman a
valuable gift meant that the relationship between them was getting deeper.
Ian smiled a little, appreciating Anne's gesture. "Do you think that I bought it for you on purpose? I
happened to see a necklace similar to my painting at the auction. No one will want it anyway. It's
ominous, so I want to give it to you." Although Ian said it with a pretense of ease, he still looked a little
nervous.
Facing Anne, he opened the wooden box and there was a necklace with a pendant of broken wings.
Anne was stunned. The necklace was simple but very exquisite looking. It always gave people a feeling
of incomplete beauty and when people saw it for the first time, they would really remember what Ian
had said about it: ominous.
But Anne liked it very much. She liked it for no reason at all. She was captivated by the incompleteness
of it, as if reflecting her life. It was incomplete but worth having.
Seeing the expression on her face, Ian smiled in satisfaction and said, "Well, I didn't lie to you, did I?
But if you don't want it, I'll just throw it away. No one will take it anyway."
Ian thought that Anne's decision was final and he couldn't help but feel very sad. However, in Anne's
eyes, Ian looked disappointed because his painting wasn't recognized by others back then.
Thinking of the past, she felt a little guilty and said, "Well, it would be such a waste if you throw it away,
wouldn't it? I'll take it. Thank you."
Ian handed it over to her. Anne stared at the thin and delicate necklace that was shining with a faint
white luster in her hand.
In the AN Group.
Kevin's office had been isolated from everyone's sight for many days. No one ever dared to go near it.
Today, he was wearing a silver gray suit, and there was no expression on his handsome face. Working
on some paperwork, he drew a fluent line with the signature pen in his hand.
After he finished signing his name "Kevin Fu", someone knocked on the door. His head immediately
turned to it, not expecting anyone at the moment.
It was his assistant. "Mr. Kevin, I've got some news about Anne." Suddenly, Kevin stopped writing. It
was enough to get his full attention.
"Where is she?" he asked instantly, as if the question had been wired in his brain all along. He was so
excited that his voice trembled a little.
He really loved and hated Anne. He thought that she was aware of that. So how could she disappear
completely and so suddenly?
"Well, she probably has connections with the M Group now. If you want to investigate thoroughly, you
can ask Trey, or his brother, Mark," his assistant replied.
Almost abruptly, Kevin stood up and picked up the car key on the table with one hand. He didn't want to
waste any more second.
He looked at his assistant one more time and said, "You handle the affairs in the company." Then he
left the office, rushing to his car to go to the M Group.
"B-But, Mr. Kevin, I can't make this decision on this one," the assistant said worriedly. He was
confused, but Kevin was already on his way out. He watched him leave instantly, not hearing a word he
just said.
At this time, Kevin was only looking forward to seeing Anne come back as soon as possible, so that he
could go back to normal. After all, he was abnormal in normal times!
After leaving the company building, Kevin sped all the way to the Claire Jewelry City, afraid to waste
any more time.
When he reached the building, he left the car at the entrance for the valet to take over, and went
straight to the boarding room where the managers were having a meeting.
Although uninvited, he opened the door without knocking. "I'm sorry, sir. This is the private place of our
company. You can't enter it without permission." one of the managers said.
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