"What happened, Sam? I thought you were a great doctor. How come you didn't figure out that she
wasn't pregnant at all?" Kevin questioned.
Following Kevin's moment of distrust, Sam then stood up, stared pensively at him, and sighed. "Listen,
Kevin. I know just as much as you do. You know it's useless for me to try and find out the truth since
your mother always thinks I'm secretly working with you. Now, if I were to reveal the truth, I'm sure you
know very well what would happen next."
Kevin took a deep breath and lowered his eyes as he acquiesced in the reality of the statements he just
heard. Sam was right—even if he actually came clean before Selma, there was no way she would
believe any of it.
"I know. Anyway, I should go."
Just when Kevin was about to walk out, Sam called for him. "Wait a minute."
There was an evident change in his voice as his attitude softened a little. A little agog to hear what Sam
still had to say, Kevin stopped while his brows slightly furrowed. "What is it?"
"How's Anne? Is she doing well?" Sam asked quite hesitantly.
"You don't have to worry about her," Kevin answered in a dismissive tone. After all, he did mind what
had happened before.
"Of course. I just want to make sure she's okay. I'm just concerned as a friend. But if you don't want to
talk about her, I'll ask something else then. How's Eddy doing? It's been a while since he came in for
his check-up," Sam asked worriedly.
As Kevin stood by the door, he remembered little Eddy's adorable face and couldn't help but let out a
faint smile.
"He's doing fine. He'll be okay. We're taking good care of him," Kevin said with uncertainty.
However, as he realized what he just said, the smile on his face was instantly replaced by a gloomy
expression. Although he could rejoice in the fact that Rose was not pregnant and that he could simply
explain everything to Anne, his main concern at the moment was Eddy's health.
Since the only ones he cared about were Anne and Eddy, he wanted to make sure that things wouldn't
get even messier than they already were. For a moment, he was at a loss.
"All right. I'll just go and check on Eddy when I've got the time. By the way, what are you going to do
with Rose?" Sam asked without beating around the bush.
Kevin looked at the ceiling, took a deep breath, and shifted his gaze to Sam. "I will do what needs to be
done. Maybe in a few days, I'll make her leave."
"I see. I guess it's better to deal with it as soon as possible."
"I know."
The second they finished their conversation, Kevin went ahead and left the office.
Meanwhile, in the East Mountain Villa, the huge living room felt so empty and lugubrious. While Anne
sat on the sofa, she just blankly stared at the lemon tree through the window.
Although the cold season hadn't arrived yet, it was still a little chilly in the morning. Since Anne was
wearing thin clothes, she couldn't help but rub her delicate hands together for some warmth.
She tried to look as composed as possible, but she had never been that good at hiding her true
emotions. Now that she found out about Rose's miscarriage, she couldn't control her overthinking.
"Miss Anne, you seem to be feeling uncomfortable. Would you like me to call Mr. Kevin so he could
take you to the hospital?" the servant amicably asked as she noticed Anne's restless expression.
"No. No need for that. I'll be fine. I just need to rest for a while. You may carry on with your other
duties," Anne replied stubbornly, looking very tired.
Knowing that Anne wouldn't listen to her no matter how hard she insisted, the servant didn't utter
another word and decided to leave her be for now.
As the room fell into a deafening silence, Anne placed her palms on her face, feeling pretty edgy.
She hadn't had a good sleep since she received yesterday's news, and thinking about how Kevin would
take all of this kept her up.
Remembering that she and Kevin had nothing to do with each other, she kept reminding herself that
she shouldn't concern herself with him. No matter how Kevin dealt with what happened to Rose, there
was no reason for her to be affected in any way. Moreover, she figured that instead of moping, she
should actually find joy in this situation. Now that Kevin needed to spend more time with Rose, she
could be alone with Eddy in the meantime.
However, this thought only lasted for a second before it got completely shattered. When the front door
of the house opened, Anne instantly recognized the steady footsteps.
She just closed her eyes and pretended not to hear him, but she was surprised when she felt slender
fingers touch her head and onto her silky hair. She hated this kind of physical contact. As soon as she
opened her eyes, she immediately saw the teasing expression on Kevin's face.
Anne easily got agitated, and a surge of anger slowly filled her heart. She quickly removed his hand
and got up. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Rose right now?"
It was too late when she realized how petty these words sounded like. First of all, this was Kevin's
home, so he could go back to this place whenever he wanted. Furthermore, when she said this, it was
as though she was a jealous wife who totally had feelings for him.
She started to get flustered at the thought of it. 'Why would I say that? God! It's so ridiculous,' she
thought to herself as she averted her gaze from Kevin.
"I came back to keep you company. That's all," Kevin said casually.
As if her heart was struck by an arrow, it helplessly struggled and violently throbbed.
"Don't joke around. Why do you need to do that? It's not like we're together anymore. I can manage by
myself," Anne responded defensively.
However, Kevin closed their gap and stood directly in front of her. His irresistible aura forced Anne to
raise her head and look straight into his eyes.
"We're together now. We live under the same roof with our child. Besides, why won't I do everything I
can for the mother of my son?" Kevin said devotedly.
"Don't twist our situation! It's not like I wanted to be here in the first place. As long as we take good
care of Eddy, we don't have to entangle our lives in every single aspect."
As soon as she finished her words, Anne clearly saw the change in Kevin's expression, indicating that
he didn't like what she said. At the same time, the pressure from him continually grew stronger. Since
she didn't have any intention of yielding, she decided to hurt Kevin first.
"Even if you don't like Rose, you're engaged to her. Now that her child is gone, you should be staying
beside her. Isn't that your responsibility?"
At this very moment, Anne looked in the other direction and thought about what Kevin had done to her
when he was Cherry in the past. She couldn't help but think that history was repeating itself.
Maybe this man was cold-hearted by nature.
"Do you really want me to go?" Kevin asked calmly. He seemed to have taken what Anne said to heart.
From his tone, it was pretty difficult to tell what was going on in his mind.
"Yes, please," Anne answered without looking back.
"I see." Without resisting further, Kevin turned away and left the living room.
After a while, the room went back to its peaceful state. As Anne breathed a sigh of relief, she felt that
her throat was so dry. She wasn't sure if she just didn't drink enough water, or if it was due to the
intense anxiety that she felt during her encounter with Kevin.
She then made her way to the water dispenser, took warm water with her glass, and drank it slowly.
Just recalling her miserable past with Kevin caused her heart to sink pretty deep.
"This is for the best. Just don't get involved anymore…" Anne murmured under her breath as she tried
her hardest to convince herself.
Right after she gave herself a pep talk, the servant came in with a large basket of luscious green
vegetables, which looked very enticing to the eyes.
"Mr. Kevin isn't here, so you don't have to prepare so many dishes. It'll just be a waste…" Anne
remarked.
The servant was kind of confused with what Anne just said because she thought that she had just seen
Kevin arrive a little earlier. Since she didn't want to pry on their private matters, she just nodded and
said, "Yes, Miss Anne."
Meanwhile, in France, the weather was fine. It seemed to be a good day to go for a dip.
Inside a huge gym, there lay an Olympic-size pool with a few people casually enjoying its clear waters.
Among them was a vigorous figure who swam and stirred up layers of waves until he reached the other
end.
When Ian got out of the pool, his assistant hurriedly took a warm towel and wrapped it around his
shoulders.
"How's the progress of the T contract? Is it going as planned?" Ian asked flatly.
"We're ready, Mr. Ian," the assistant replied, slightly nodding. "By the way, we received a rather strange
call earlier today. It was from your home country. The woman who called said that she wanted to see
you. What are you going to about it, Mr. Ian?"
"No. Just ignore her." Ian just waved his hand and let out a bitter smile.
It was very clear to him that the moment he went back, the situation would just get more awkward.
Although he had already stayed in France for quite a while, he still heard about the news since it was
spread worldwide. He didn't want to cause Anne any more trouble.
"Draft an official document for me and publicize it. I also need to make a statement about this situation
involving Anne. Be sure to protect her reputation with the best that you can. Understood?" Ian said with
a straight face.
After all that had happened, Ian still had a soft heart when it came to Anne.
Even his assistant was stunned. He thought that Ian should have gotten all steamed up, but it seemed
like his boss really loved this woman with all his heart. "Yes, Mr. Ian. But about the phone call—"
"Since the incident, there've been so many people who wanted to see me. Who knows what their
intentions are? I have no time to waste on them."
Hearing what Ian said, the assistant hesitated but knew that he still needed to say it. "Mr. Ian, this
person claims that she had something important to say… and it involves Miss Anne. She said she's a
member of the L Group."
"L Group?" Ian's eyes suddenly widened.
To his surprise, he swiftly turned to his assistant. "Book me a flight back home as soon as possible."
About three days later, Ian returned to meet this woman.
At the airport in A City, he quickly recognized a beautiful woman who wore thick sunglasses. She stood
out among the surging crowd, looking like a famous model in her high heels, exquisite clothing, and
prim demeanor.
It turned out to be none other than Rose.
"Hello, Mr. Ian. I'm glad you accepted my invitation." Rose quickly reached out her hand and smiled
politely.
"Yes, hello…" Ian greeted back but deliberately dodged her hand as he passed by her, leaving Rose to
feel a little embarrassed.
Seeing this, Ian's assistant quickly handled the situation. After all, he couldn't let the L Group be
offended by his boss's actions. "Miss Rose, I'm sorry about that. Mr. Ian felt dizzy in the plane and
threw up a little before we got off. He didn't have the time to properly wash his hands."
"Ah… No. It's fine." Rose suddenly felt a little nauseated as she slowly held her own hand. She was
such a neat freak, so she just looked at Ian's assistant and forced a smile.
Seeing Rose's obvious reaction, the assistant couldn't help but smile subtly.
"Well, shall we go?" Rose collected herself and led them to where they could talk quietly.
Shortly, they arrived at the Maria Restaurant, a high-end western restaurant around A City.
As they settled down on their reserved seats, Ian wore a straight face and wanted to talk business right
away.
At the same time, Rose sat opposite him and delightfully scanned through the dishes served before
them.
"Miss Rose, I just got off from a long trip and currently have a bad appetite. I'm afraid you'll just have to
enjoy the meal yourself," Ian said honestly.
Looking at Ian, Rose felt a little thorn in her heart. She couldn't help but wonder why all these excellent
men fell for Anne. 'Tch. What's even good about Anne? She's so plain and boring.'
She started to feel like she was losing her appetite the more she thought about it. After eating up a few
pieces of the exquisite-looking beef, Rose grabbed the table napkin from her lap, gently wiped her lips,
and said, "Do you like Anne that much?"
Ian was slightly taken aback by the sudden question, but he kind of expected it knowing Rose's
personality.
With a faint smile on his face, Ian answered her question with another question. "Do you have any
doubts about it?"
"So, what are you doing in France? Don't you want to be with her? You know that Kevin and Anne have
a good relationship despite what had happened to them in the past. Obviously, as Kevin's fiancee, that
doesn't make me feel very comfortable. Hence, I personally contacted you to join hands with me. Why
don't we team up to take our lovers back? What do you think?" Rose asked with a scheming smile,
confident that Ian would agree with her.
She could clearly tell how much Ian liked Anne, so she thought that they were likely to succeed if they
worked together.
"Miss Rose, I heard that you just had a miscarriage. I imagine it must have been terrible. I think it would
be better for you if you focused on taking good care of yourself instead of meddling with other people's
affairs," Ian said flatly, then took a sip of the purplish wine.
Rose's eyes twitched a little when she heard his response. "Are you saying you don't want to get back
with Anne? I think you're contradicting yourself. If you really like her, won't you do anything to get her?"
Rose retorted, trying to convince him.
As Ian heard this, his face showed a dramatic change. He seemed to be in deep thought and his brows
got pushed into a frown. Rose was actually elated at what she saw, thinking that what she said finally
worked on him.
However, what Ian said next was the least of her expectation.
"Miss Rose, you were right when you said that I like Anne… and that is all the more reason why I
respect her wishes. If she chooses me, my arms will always welcome her. But if she chooses Kevin…
Well, I can only wish them happiness."
"What?!" Rose shook her head in utter disbelief.
"It's simple. I love her, so I don't want to make things difficult for her. Loving someone doesn't equate to
being selfish. Well, if you've already made up your mind, it won't make a difference no matter how hard
I explain it to you," Ian added.
Indeed, Rose was defiant to accept his logic. She wanted Kevin all to herself, despite knowing that it
was Anne who he really liked.
"I am engaged to Kevin. I'm his nominal wife. Why would I give him to someone else? Are you crazy?"
Ian smiled bitterly and looked straight into Rose's eyes. "So what? I'm also engaged to Anne. But if
she's happier with someone else, I'm willing to let her go."
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