The word "invitation" was gilded on the card.
In the soft light, the card shone with a faint luster. Sam saw the names on the invite. It wasn't Kevin and
Rose, rather it was Kevin and Anne.
"Damn! Kevin, what the hell are you doing?" Sam released a heavy sigh. There was no way that he
could accept such a contrast.
"As you can see, I'm marrying Anne," Kevin said gently.
At the mention of Anne, Kevin's tone was as gentle as the spring breeze.
"I didn't expect that." Patting Kevin's shoulder, Sam sighed a few times. Apparently, he still hadn't
recovered from the shock.
"Loser, remember to come to my wedding," Kevin said slowly.
In the past, both of them loved Anne. Kevin was one step ahead of Sam and successfully stole Anne's
heart. Kevin sure was lucky, wasn't he?
At first, Sam was happy. But when he heard Kevin's words, he frowned and said, "Gloat all you want,
Kevin. This is the only chance you will ever get to ridicule me. But now I have someone I like. If not, I
would have been depressed to death."
The conflict between the two had long since been resolved. After all, they grew up knowing they were
friends.
"Good. You are lucky that you realized your mistakes and mended them before it was too late. Had you
tried to be my love rival, I wouldn't have spared you," Kevin said proudly.
Looking at Kevin's smug face, Sam just wanted to kick him out of the room. But remembering what
Anne told him, he said gloomily, "Kevin, isn't it a little too early to be celebrating your victory? The
marriage is between you and Anne. I get that you are willing to marry her; are you sure that she is also
willing to marry you?"
All of a sudden, Kevin's face went taut. He glared at Sam with anger overflowing his eyes.
"I-I'll be there on time," Sam said.
Seeing that Kevin had no intention of leaving, he asked, "Why are you still here?"
Kevin laid on Sam's bed and said, "I will stay here tonight."
Annoyed, Sam couldn't help but hit the floor with his feet. He had dreamt of the day when the second
person to ever lie on his bed would be a beautiful woman. But who decided to lay down instead? Kevin!
That bastard took his future woman's most prized second spot! Sam sure was unlucky, wasn't he?
"Go away. I don't want to sleep in the same bed as you," Sam said coldly. His face kept on twisting. He
was ready to fight Kevin till death if he refused.
"That sounds about right. I dislike sleeping with men on the same bed too. You should sleep on the
sofa. And please, don't forget to make yourself at home." Kevin's smug voice traveled to Sam's ears
and irritated him to no end. Just when he was about to rush towards him for a fight, a pillow struck his
face.
"Not being polite at all, are you? You do know that this is my house, and you are an outsider, right?"
Sam asked with gloom.
Sam knew that he could beat Kevin up, but he didn't dare act rashly. If something happened to Kevin,
the wedding would be delayed. Well before that, he would have to suffer the wrath of his mother,
Selma. And his own mother would also definitely punish him for stirring up trouble.
He looked at Kevin woefully and finally went to sleep on the sofa while hugging the pillow.
In the East Mountain Villa.
After a long night, the sun rose.
Anne sat on the tatami next to her favorite lemon tree. Next to her was a cradle. In this cradle laid
Eddy, looking peaceful and happy. Anne would gently rock the cradle from time to time.
It was quite a harmonious and beautiful scene.
The sunlight entered through the glass roof and gently glowed on the lemon tree. After being filtered by
the lemon tree leaves, the sunlight finally hit the tatami.
Eddy stretched out his hand, trying to catch the sunshine. However, the wind would blow from time to
time and shake the windows a little. Every time the windows shook, the light would dance a gentle
dance and move away.
To Eddy, this seemed the most fun game ever. He giggled every time the light moved and would try to
catch it again.
"Mom, I want Dad." Eddy's soft voice was like a soft feather teasing her heart.
But hearing what Eddy said, Anne frowned and gently held him up.
"Honey, we shouldn't trouble Dad. He has something to deal with. I will take you to see the ducks,
okay?"
When Anne coaxed Eddy, she would be very patient. There would be a charming smile on her face. No
one could draw parallels between her and the powerful vice president she once was.
"Okay."
While Anne was talking with Eddy, a thoughtful servant quickly brought out a set of duck toys. She filled
water in the small air cushion pool and placed the ducks in it.
Then seven ducks from the set silently floated in the pool.
When Eddy saw the floating ducks, he insisted on taking one out and playing with it. Giving in to his
cute pleadings, Anne took one out.
After wiping off the water on her hand with a cloth, Anne gave the duck to him.
"Miss, the Young Master has a lot of toys. Do you want me to bring them out?" the servant asked
tentatively.
However, Anne shook her head disapprovingly and said, "Eddy is young now; he can't play with them
all at once. This duck should do."
All these toys were gifts from Kevin. But she found these to be unsuitable for Eddy. Any of the toys was
worth at least tens of thousands of dollars and one of them was a toy car, which was worth hundreds of
thousands. These made his life seem quite lavish, but that was exactly what she disapproved. It was
not suitable for someone so young to play with toys worth more than what some people made in an
entire year.
She didn't want her son to grow up and become someone like Kevin. She didn't want him to be
arrogant and reliant on money.
Watching as her son became a kind and warm person was her greatest wish.
Eddy seemed to notice Anne's daze. He raised his head and looked at her. The sight of his excited
face as he tightly held the toy duck brought a smile to her face. She was amused by his cute antics and
the sounds he made.
"It's a wonder that Young Master came out a cheerful person when neither you nor Mr. Kevin is as
cheerful," the servant said.
At this moment, Anne smiled.
Owing to their childhood innocence, all kids became cheerful and happy in a warm and spirited
environment.
There was only one day left before the wedding.
The Fu Family's residence had been decorated in advance. The luxurious house was now as opulent
as a palace, full of nobility everywhere.
Selma had just come back from a meeting with Valentina. They had discussed about the wedding
ceremony.
As she was talking, she saw Kevin rushing outside. She stopped him and said, "Kevin, where are you
going? Everyone is very busy. Don't leave. Put aside the company's affairs for now."
"It's very important. I have to go," Kevin said.
Then he drove away from the Fu Family's residence because he wanted to see Anne and tell her the
news.
When Kevin arrived at the East Mountain Villa, his heart clenched when he saw the door was closed.
He opened the door with a spare remote control and was relieved when he saw Eddy.
The servant was surprised when she saw Kevin.
"Where is Anne?" he asked.
Kevin was here to personally inform Anne of his decision. He was going to marry her and put his mind
at ease.
"Shen went to meet the people from M Group. Miss said she wouldn't come back until three o'clock in
the morning," the servant said.
Hearing the servant, Kevin became anxious. He couldn't wait for that long. So he decided to go to M
Group and talk to her there.
The car rushed past as the road shone with the evening light. The road, which had dense trees on both
sides, seemed to meet the horizon at the end. The long path felt lonely.
Kevin drove anxiously.
He feared that Anne would miss the wedding because she didn't know anything about it. He didn't want
his careful planning to go to waste.
Kevin announced the marriage in such a grand way because the real bride was actual Anne. He felt
that he owed her a lot. He wanted to make up for everything he did to her. Before, their marriage was
just a contractual obligation. But now, he just wanted to announce to the entire world: he loved nothing
more than Anne!
As for others? He just didn't care about them enough.
Kevin drove at top speed. Within half an hour, he was already at the M Group. But as fate would have
it, he was disappointed once again.
It was almost time to get off work, so Mark chose another place to meet Anne.
Kevin was left with no other choice but to call Anne. But his face went morose when he found that
Anne's phone was powered off.
In N Community.
As it was a newly developed building, it only had a few people. As one of the early buyers, Mark was
entitled to a serene community.
It was a quiet place with nothing but trees around. The street lamps lit up at a fixed time and made the
roads glow.
The shadow of the trees stretched unnaturally and mixed with the trees.
Seeing this, Anne frowned and asked, "Is this where you want to talk?"
Mark smiled slightly. "Yes. Even though the M Group isn't as famous as the AN Group. We have
existed for a way longer period than AN Group. We have existed for several generations. And in this
long run, we have experienced everything from indescribable prosperity to unstoppable decline. Due to
the sudden rise in jewelry fashion, we are feeling pressured."
"So, are you trying to change your market position?" Anne asked.
Mark nodded. "You're right. If someone wants to look for something lavish and high-end, who wouldn't
look at the AN Group? It's not that I belittle myself, but that's the truth."
Hearing what Mark said, Anne agreed with him. Indeed, AN Group's reputation has been rising sharply,
and M Group is falling behind.
"AN Group is prosperous because Kevin is a financial genius. We are second in the market only
because of our generation's old popularity. But it won't last for long."
"Then what are you going to do?" Anne thought it was indeed a difficult problem.
"In fact, my brother has found a new business opportunity in the service industry, and it would run in
parallel with our main business in jewelry. Now that he is more focused on that industry, I have to go all
out," Mark said.
M Group's market share price had been on a gradual decline. So, Trey wanted to switch as he had an
eye for business. However, Mark was unwilling to give up the jewelry business which his family had
maintained for generations.
In other words, Mark was more nostalgic.
"What do you think I should do?" Mark asked.
At this time, a smile appeared on Anne's face. "I'm just a designer and don't understand the logic of
such operations. When I was in AN Group, I was the vice president and indeed participated in a lot of
activities. But the market orientation was decided by Kevin."
In this respect, Anne was willing to accept the difference between her own abilities and that of Kevin's.
"I know. But ever since you designed the main lineup for us, our company's performance has been
excellent. It even surpassed the AN Group in some instances. Do you know why?"
In the face of Mark's question, Anne smiled and said, "Maybe it's because I don't like things that are too
gaudy."
"Why do you think so?"
"Think for a second. Are huge diamonds and expensive price tags the things that make a girl—truly—
happy?" Anne asked.
Mark pondered for a long time without saying anything.
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