Inside the ward, Anne woke up several times.
The window was open, but the blinds were pulled down. She rubbed her eyes. The outside world
seemed hazy and dreamlike.
As she hadn't seen Eddy in days, she wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible.
But just as she was about to lift her blanket, the door suddenly opened.
It was Rose and Mark. Anne hadn't seen Mark in a long time.
"Anne, are you feeling better?" Rose asked worriedly.
She seemed sincere, while Mark looked equally concerned.
This touched Anne's heart. She was grateful for the care they had given her. Despite everything that
happened between Rose and her, it felt like neither woman held a grudge against the other.
It was true that they shared the same father but had different mothers. But Rose never made her feel
like an outsider.
"I feel much better. Thank you," Anne replied with a smile, feeling a little relieved. She had dropped the
hatred for his father who caused her mother's tragedy.
"That's good. I heard you were in an accident just as I arrived home. I was so anxious that I asked
Mark to come with me and visit you," Rose said.
"Does... Dad know about it?" This was the one thing Anne cared about the most.
Rose chuckled and replied, "I see that you're not used to calling him Dad. Don't mind us. You can call
him whatever you like."
But yes, he does know that something happened to you. He was supposed to come with us, but my
mother said something to him, so he didn't come. But he promised me that he would visit you soon."
Rose tried her best to explain everything, hoping that Anne would understand.
In their family, only she and Liam accepted Anne wholeheartedly. Valentina would always make it clear
that she didn't care about her husband's other daughter.
Not only was Anne the child of her rival in love, but she was also the one who took away her son-in-
law. How could Valentina possibly approve of her?
"Okay," Anne nodded slightly before sitting back on her bed.
"Do you want to go out for a walk? I'll go with you." Rose sat next to Anne, worried that she might be
bored.
"Yes, but I'll go later. I'm not hurt. I was just a little scared. It's nothing serious," Anne replied
indifferently.
Hearing this, Rose frowned. "How can you say that? When I was a child, my mother would constantly
worry for me over the littlest slip or injury. To think that you were just in a car accident!"
Her words suddenly reminded Anne of the childhood she spent with her own mother. Her eyes turned
blank as her thoughts drifted to the past.
Watching the shift in her expression, Rose wondered whether it was because she mentioned Valentina.
She knew that her mother did a lot of things to her half-sister that made the latter uncomfortable. "My
mother is a good person. She was just shocked because she had never heard of you before. She didn't
know that Dad loved your mother so much."
Her voice shook as she spoke. It seemed as if she doubted her own words.
But Anne felt relieved by what she said. It was fortunate that her own mother did not suffer much in
love. She just didn't get to be with the man she loved. In comparison, Valentina had the worse
experience. She could never erase the memory of her husband's first wife. Now that Anne had grown
up, she realized that the harm was already done and she could do nothing to rectify it. The best choice
for her to was to move on.
"I know and I don't care," Anne replied with a smile at the corners of her mouth.
"I know you won't mind. I like you very much, Anne. In fact, the first time I heard of you, I wanted to ask
you to come live with us." Rose spoke enthusiastically.
Watching as the two women talked to one another, Mark realized that Rose was truly a kind girl. It was
probably the reason he began to like her. Despite the L Group's success as an international company,
she did not grow up as a spoiled brat.
He admired her kindness and generosity.
"Rose, you're talking too much. Anne is getting tired," Mark cautioned as he pulled her to him.
"Yes, your voice is giving me a headache already," Anne teased.
"I'm sorry. I just feel so happy that you've finally opened up to me. My efforts were not in vain," Rose
said bluntly.
She felt so close to Anne as if they were actual sisters, and wanted only to be honest with her.
"It's fine. I forgive you. But the next time you visit me, can you come in a clean dress?" Anne gave a
slight frown but there was warmth in her expression.
It was then when Rose looked down at her clothes. She had been in such a hurry to go to the hospital
that she ran into a servant carrying soup. She didn't even notice that some of the food spilled on her
dress. Looking at the stain, she felt thoroughly embarrassed.
"Oh, my God! Why didn't you tell me, Mark?" Rose exclaimed in a reproachful tone.
But Mark didn't see the mess until Anne pointed it out. He, too, turned red with embarrassment.
"I need to change my clothes. Come with me, Mark," Rose ordered.
It was the first time Mark had heard Rose speak to him that way.
"Okay. But where are you going to get changed?" They were far from the Luo Family's house.
"I need to buy a new dress, of course. Go and get the car."
It was rare for Rose to lose control and Mark felt a little bad for her. He looked back at Anne and saw
that she was fine with it.
"We'll be back soon, Anne," Mark assured her. The two of them then left the ward in a hurry.
As soon as they closed the door, the once lively room turned still and quiet. Anne looked relaxed as
she felt warm in her heart.
Meanwhile in AN Group's building, the top floor was almost deserted, save for two persons.
The roof deck offered a view of the entire city not seen anywhere else.
Kevin's expression was cold as he stood overlooking the area. At that point, he was a most successful
businessman and he looked at his achievements with the determination to defend them.
"Mr. Kevin, you're here." His assistant ran up breathlessly and sighed with relief as soon as he saw
Kevin.
He knew that he would run into trouble if he couldn't find him.
"Well, have you done what I asked you to do?" Kevin asked indifferently.
"The man's name is Nicholas Si. He did come back from abroad. That's all I could find out about him,"
the subordinate said awkwardly.
"Anything else?" Kevin asked again.
"No." As he said this, his assistant looked flustered. Nicholas seemed like an ordinary man. He couldn't
understand why his boss wanted him investigated.
Whatever Kevin was planning, he was afraid that he would be blamed for it.
"You can leave now," Kevin replied flatly.
The assistant looked at his boss as if he wanted to say something, but stopped himself midway. He
only said, "I'll continue the investigation and will let you know if there's anything new."
"Okay," his boss said.
As soon as his assistant left, Kevin looked into the distance and lost himself in his thoughts. He didn't
even realize that he had slowly clenched his fists.
Whatever might happen, he decided that he would never let Anne get hurt again.
The view from AN Group contrasted starkly with that of CY Building.
Inside the CEO's office on the 36th floor, the dark decor subtly made people feel gloomy.
Even the layout of the room made people inexplicably upset.
But this was how Nicholas liked it.
He thought best in narrow spaces and so most of his decisions were made in that office.
"Mr. Nicholas, it looks like the AN Group has taken preventive measures. What should we do?" his
assistant asked respectfully.
Nicholas was standing in front of the huge glass window, holding an Italian goblet filled with a mellow
wine. He was casually swirling the expensive Lafite around the glass.
He then raised it to his nose to take a sniff. The wine gave off a deep aroma that he appreciated.
A playful smile appeared on his face.
"We can do something to Anne," he said. There was a glint of malice in his eyes.
The assistant frowned and replied with disapproval, "I heard that Kevin never took Anne seriously. He
treated her as a plaything and they're now divorced."
As Nicholas heard this, his smile turned upside down. "That's not necessarily true. That might have
happened a few years ago, but things change over time."
"That's true." The assistant nodded but still looked confused.
Frustrated, Nicholas replied, "Forget it. You don't know much about them, so just listen to me."
"So what are we going to do next, Mr. Nicholas?" he asked directly. His boss was too mysterious and
he didn't want to waste time guessing his mind.
"Get close to Anne," Nicholas answered. He could only need a chance to crush AN Group after he'd his
hands on Anne.
"What do you want me to do?" the assistant asked.
"I don't know yet. Just follow my instructions. Anyway, how has the company been doing recently?"
Nicholas asked.
"Business is fine. Nothing new nor serious, except for the fact that she's been making a scene again,"
the subordinate said after a careful look at his boss.
Fortunately, Nicholas didn't seem to be as angry as he was before.
"Well, let her do what she wants. If she asks for more money, just give it to her. But don't let her out of
your sight."
Nicholas lowered his eyes to hide his emotions, but when he turned around, he seemed rather lonely.
"Yes, and please take care of yourself, Mr. Nicholas. Kevin's not easy to deal with," his assistant
warned.
He didn't agree with Nicholas' decision, but as soon as he saw the expression on his boss' face, he
realized that he had no choice but to do it. In the end, he could only follow him.
"I know, but it doesn't matter. I have to try," Nicholas said coldly.
But based on his tone alone, his assistant could tell that he was getting weary.
He had always thought that Nicholas was an unscrupulous man, but everyone must have a reason for
everything they did. His boss was no exception. As for what others thought, this didn't concern him.
"Okay, I'll get everything ready."
When his assistant left, the smile on Nicholas' face disappeared. His eyes looked tired over his
expressionless lips. He dared not relax. He knew that everything would be over if he did.
As he thought of all the possible scenarios, he once again clenched his hands.
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