"Are you serious? Doesn't it bother you even if it means that you will lose the woman you love?" Rose
couldn't help but ask.
Listening to her question, Ian showed a bright smile and said, "Love cannot be forced. Rose, I'm well
aware of what you are playing at. People won't be fooled again. So, I advise you—stop where you are!"
After saying that, Ian left the restaurant. Leaving behind a trembling Rose who couldn't calm herself
down.
How did Ian know about her wrongdoings? Was he probing her? All these thoughts filled Rose's mind.
"No, there is no way that Kevin's in the know too," Rose said in a trembling voice, but her heart was still
terrified.
Thinking about Kevin's meaningful look at her that day before he left the hospital, her heart began
beating like crazy.
In a hurry, Rose knocked over her cup of coffee. From the edge of the table, the cup fell to her thigh,
and instantly, hot coffee spilled out. All she felt was a searing sensation as the coffee burned her thigh.
"M-Miss, are you okay?" the waiter asked nervously.
"I'm fine, ah—" Rose's misfortune didn't end with just a burnt leg. The moment she tried to stand up
with her trembling legs, she slipped on the now wet-with-coffee floor.
Watching as the situation turned grave with each passing second, the waiter said to his co-workers,
"Help this lady. I'll go get the manager."
When the waiter found the manager, he saw a tall man talking with him. The man had dark hair, abyss
black eyes, and a chiseled jawline. The waiter felt lost for a second when he saw the man.
"I'm in a meeting with the general manager! Didn't anyone stop you from coming in?" the manager said
with clenched teeth and a taut face.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. But a lady fell down outside, and I'm at a loss," the waiter said in a
trembling voice.
All of a sudden, the manager's face darkened. Everything was going okay till just a moment ago. He
was reporting the ongoings of the business to Mark, who kept on nodding as if satisfied. However, just
when the meeting was about to end on a happy note, this waiter decided to come in and drop such
news. How could the manager not be angry now?
"Let's go out and have a look," Mark said calmly.
He was faster than the manager. So when he walked out, he saw the lady who fell down sitting with her
head hanging down.
Because her hair had covered her face, Mark was unable to see her face. But he could clearly see the
red marks that marred her porcelain legs. They were scalded!
Seeing this, Mark said, "I'm sorry. I'll take you to the hospital."
As he spoke, he picked Rose up. She panicked when she felt someone picking her up, but after feeling
the familiar breath, she calmed down and instinctively hugged Mark's neck.
She buried her face in Mark's arms and let go.
Mark was well aware of these little actions, but he knew that this was an emergency and he couldn't
pay it much attention.
In the East Mountain Villa.
Anne's dark purple handbag laid on the table. It had a small mirror in it, which was currently reflecting
Anne's side face as she did her makeup.
She wasn't fond of heavy makeup, so she only touched up her face lightly. She had soft skin, and her
lips were painted with coral red lipstick.
"Miss, are you going out?" the maid asked when she saw Anne.
"Yes. Please take care of Eddy for me," Anne said.
In fact, Anne felt a little guilty when she saw Ian come back all of a sudden. After all, she failed him.
Regardless of her acceptance of the fact, she knew that Ian would be angry and would not see her
again. Yet, he came back abruptly and said that he had something important to discuss with her.
"Then, I will inform Mr. Kevin," The maid said.
However, Anne stood up and replied indifferently, "No, thanks. I have nothing to do with Kevin. Are you
going to monitor my whereabouts now?"
"Apologies." The maid lowered her head. Although she was uneasy, she still listened to Anne. After all,
the maid had no right to speak in this house.
After leaving, Anne went straight to the Heaven Lake Garden. It was a large park with beautiful
scenery.
The fragrance of flowers filled her nostrils as soon as she stepped into the park. Heaven Lake Garden
boasted an enormous collection of flowers. From spring to fall, from January to December, from
scorching summers to biting winters, it had blooming flowers. It had blossoms every day of the year, to
say. Owing to its beauty, it was a great tourist attraction.
The car stopped at the parking lot. When she got out of the car, she saw Ian staring at her. His eyes
filled with glee. He wasn't mad at her.
"I'm sorry, Ian. I—"
"Shh. I know." A gentle smile appeared on Ian's face. It was like a warm spring breeze that dispelled
the anxiety in Anne's heart.
"How is everything in France?" Anne asked.
"Everything is fine; I was little busy with my work, so I couldn't contact you often." Ian tried to hide his
uneasiness with this sentence.
Ian was a powerful man, no doubt. But... he was a human too. He had feelings just like any other
human. Let alone him, anyone would feel devastated if the one they loved wouldn't love them back.
Whether by fortune or misfortune, he was already going numb to such disappointments. He even
believed that it was God-given fortune that someone like Anne was his friend.
Looking at Anne, he felt like everything was destined. The hazy future was now covered with only a thin
veil. Was she suffering? He didn't know. But he knew that she would never separate from Kevin.
Thinking of this, he felt sad again.
"It doesn't matter. It's all my fault, Ian." Anne made up her mind and decided to no longer keep him in
the dark.
On the other hand, Ian looked at her with gentle eyes.
"I don't like Kevin, but Kevin is my child's father. He is Kevin's son. I have to go back. Sorry, I let you
down." Anne lowered her head, and Ian just couldn't bear her sad face.
"You don't have to say that. Even though we can only be friends in this life, will you wait for me in the
next?" Ian tried to bury his pain and love in a casual joke.
"So, why did you call me to come here?" Anne asked, raising her head and trying to change the topic.
"Rose came to see me." Ian's face went cold when he mentioned Rose. He disliked her not because
she loved Kevin which made Anne made sad, but because she greatly underestimated how important
Anne was to him. Ian was more than capable of forcing Anne to be with him, but he would never do
that. He could never embarrass Anne like that nor put her in a tough spot like that.
"Why did she come to you?" Anne was confused.
"Let's not talk about it. You know that Rose suffered a miscarriage, right?" Ian asked.
"I know. Kevin hasn't been back in days. What's wrong with her? Is it something serious?" Anne asked
casually.
After all, Rose was her sister.
"Be careful of her. We think she was pretending to be pregnant," Ian said.
Ian wasn't very sure as the matter still had to be thoroughly investigated. He wanted Anne to be on her
guard. However, what Anne said next surprised him, as she seemed to not care about it at all.
"It has nothing to do with me," said Anne in an indifferent voice.
In fact, when she heard what Ian said just now, she was a little happy in her heart. But the happiness
was quickly drowned by a sudden realization. When Kevin married Rose, he failed not only her but also
their child. And now, it was his mess that he had to clean up. As the thought settled in her heart, it grew
cold.
"I just want to remind you that Rose is not the same as before. You should be careful." Hearing the
underlying seriousness in Ian's tone, Anne nodded.
"I see. So, you only called me to talk about this?" Anne smiled.
Hearing Anne's playful tone, Ian couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "No, it's not like that! I just had
some work here that needed my personal attention. Since you were in the way, I decided to meet up
with you."
The duo stopped talking after and allowed the warm spring wind to gently brush them. Everything
around was green, fresh, beautiful, and bright.
"Then I'll go back first." Seeing that Ian had stopped talking, Anne decided to leave and break the
awkward atmosphere.
Looking at Anne's back, Ian felt a sudden wave of yearning. "Anne."
"Hmm?" Anne looked back at Ian with a light smile on her face.
"H-how are you doing recently?" Ian asked
Ian's mind had decided to give up, but his heart was still unwilling. He liked—no—loved her. Seeing her
leaving back, he felt disappointed.
"Good," answered Anne.
"Umm... good? T-that's great." As if relieved, Ian lowered his head. Anne was some distance away, so
she was unable to see his expression.
However, before she could pay him any more attention, a sudden wave of panic swamped her. She
turned around and left in a hurry.
To her surprise, a classic Rolls-Royce was parked at a turn away from her in the Heaven Lake Garden.
She knew that there were only three cars in this model in the world. One belonged to Kevin, the second
was in France, and the last one was with the president of the K Country.
'So Kevin is here?'
Anne frowned. When she finally saw Kevin, his face was clouded with anger, just as she expected. And
the reason could be either one of the two: he witnessed her secret meeting with Ian, or he had known
from the beginning and was waiting to catch her.
She cast a cold glance at Kevin and left.
As a result, Kevin suddenly started the car, drifted, and stopped in front of Anne.
"Kevin! What are you doing?"
"Get in the car!" he ordered.
"Sorry, I have something else to do." Anne left without giving him any face.
Angry, Kevin ordered again. This time with a louder voice. "Get in the car!"
Kevin was clearly holding back his anger. Anne was aware that if she didn't comply this time, he would
force her to get in. She silently opened the door and got in.
Giving Anne no time to adjust, Kevin stepped on the accelerator and sped away. She was caught off
guard and bumped her head. Sensing Anne's hateful glare, Kevin slowed down a bit.
Two minutes after the car left, Ian walked past the place where Anne once stood. Seeing the scene in
front of him, Ian looked thoughtful, but nobody knew what he was thinking.
People weren't aware of what he was looking at or what he was thinking, but everyone could feel the
sadness that surrounded him.
People entered and left the hospital at an almost constant speed.
Yet, the ward that Mark arranged for Rose was quiet. With only a few people walking around, Rose
could finally breathe in relief.
"Mr. Mark, I'm really sorry for causing you so much trouble." As she looked at Mark, her heart softened.
Every time she saw Mark, she had a strange feeling. She didn't know why before, but now she finally
understood.
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