Liam noticed Anne didn't seem happy. He realized perhaps he had said something wrong. He couldn't
bear the thought of hurting her. He already owed a lot to Anne and her mother.
Liam looked guilty. Clearing his throat, he said, "Your mother worked hard to take care of you, didn't
she?"
Listening to his words, Anne raised her head. She didn't expect Liam would ask about her mother. After
thinking for a while, she said, "I always told her she seemed very tired, but she always dismissed me
saying she wasn't."
Her words intensified the guilt that Liam was feeling. There was once again a short pause. And then,
Liam gazed at her with his sad eyes and said, "It was all my fault. I neglected my responsibility as a
father and made you both fend for yourself."
Anne understood this man was indeed guilty. The truth was, Anne didn't care about the past anymore.
"Everyone had their own life to take care of. It was a long time ago. Perhaps, back then you didn't have
the ability to go against your family."
Anne's words brought him some comfort. A smile appeared on his face and Liam was relieved.
"You and your mother came back to the Ye Clan later, didn't you?" Liam queried.
"Well, the Ye Clan felt that what my mother did shouldn't be known by everyone. They wanted it to
remain a secret. They didn't want us there. However, my uncle contacted us after my grandparents'
demise. He took pity on my mother and wished to help us so we went back."
As she spoke, she tried to smile. But the truth was, she hadn't liked going back to the Ye Clan.
Even though she led a very difficult life before moving in to the Ye Clan, she preferred it. At the Ye
Clan, she was incessantly framed and bullied by others.
She told herself it was all in the past and forced herself to get rid of those terrible memories.
"Okay." Liam didn't dare to look at Anne.
The atmosphere in the living room became tense. The only voice that came was from Eddy.
"Dad!" he exclaimed. Kevin had appeared out of nowhere.
Both Anne and Liam looked at his direction. Kevin was standing near the door. It seemed like he had
been here for a while now.
Anne looked at him and said unhappily, "You didn't tell me you would be back so soon. Why are you
standing out there?"
Kevin flashed her a smile. The evening light shone through the French window, making his smile a little
distant but gentle.
"Seeing that you two are having a good chat, I didn't want to disturb you both." The smile on Kevin's
face widened. He was patient with Anne.
Watching their exchange, Liam nodded slightly. This time, he had witnessed a different side of Kevin.
When he saw Kevin with Rose before, he only saw his gentlemanly side. He didn't seem to genuinely
care about Rose.
"Dad," Kevin said, turning his attention to Liam. Now that the tension between Anne and Liam eased,
Kevin's attitude towards the latter changed.
Seeing that Kevin didn't take him as an outsider, Liam laughed and said, "It seems it's destined that I
will be your father-in-law."
While they were talking, Liam's phone rang. Anne thought someone had called Liam.
But it turned out it was just an alarm.
Liam turned off the alarm and said, "I'm leaving now. I'll see you in a few days."
Anne nodded slightly. "I hope you can bring Eddy to see us often. After all, we are your family.
Valentina is a nice person, so please don't take your previous encounters with her seriously. And once
again I apologize for not protecting you when I should have," Liam said.
Liam found himself in an awkward situation. He hoped that he could reconcile things with Anne and at
the same time, he didn't want to hurt his wife. But things didn't always turn out as he expected.
If he had uttered these words in the past, Anne wouldn't have forgiven him. After all, Liam had
abandoned her and her mother.
However, she has changed now. She had her own child, and she had suffered a lot to be with Kevin
again. She believed in giving forgiveness easily.
"Okay." Anne smiled, trying to convince him that his apology had been accepted.
With a sigh, Liam left the East Mountain Villa. After that, Anne was lost in thought.
She seemed quite focused in her thoughts. Her eyes seemed to be covered with mist. And if one
looked closer, they could tell she seemed a little sad.
Kevin thought she must be missing something, maybe her mother. He couldn't help but reach out and
hold Anne in his arms. He wanted to comfort her so he pulled her in an embrace. He realized her
hands were ice-cold.
"Anne, let's go to your previous home. It might make you feel better." Kevin rested his chin on her head
as he made this suggestion.
However, Anne thought he was referring to the Ye Clan. Shaking her head slightly, she said, "There's
no need to go back. I don't want to see that house."
The mere thought of the Ye Clan made her uneasy in her stomach.
Kevin realized she had misunderstood him. Smiling, he corrected, "I wasn't talking about the Ye Clan. I
meant the place where you lived before you shifted to the Ye Clan."
Kevin thought that place was filled with beautiful memories. She would feel quite nostalgic if she went
there. He wanted to make her happy and in the process learn a bit more about her past.
Hearing that, Anne frowned slightly, as if she didn't agree with what he had said. A moment later, she
said, "I don't know if my previous home will still be there."
As far as she could remember, the house she lived in was old and shabby. Years had passed and she
couldn't tell with certainty whether it would still be there.
"It won't hurt to go and take a look," Kevin insisted, hugging her tightly. He wanted to give her all the
warmth.
When Kevin arrived there, he realized this area was incompatible with A City. It was shabby and worn
out, looking like it was on the verge of collapse. There was almost no one living in it, and some of the
doors were covered with moss.
Kevin had come here by himself. He was aware that Anne hadn't lived a luxurious childhood. However,
this was beyond him. Seeing the terrible house that stood before him, he couldn't help but feel a little
sad.
He couldn't imagine how Anne managed to live here. He wasn't expecting a great house but he hadn't
known the extent of her poverty.
He stood still as his eyes scanned his surroundings. He saw an old doll in red, hanging by the door. He
couldn't make out its features. Rain had ravaged it.
Once he got a good look of the place, Kevin made a decision. Taking out his phone, he rang his
assistant and said, "I want to purchase an old town. I will send the address to you and you need to
make a plan as soon as possible."
In Claire Jewelry City, people were coming and going.
Everything was working normally until Rose stepped inside.
She was clad in a white baseball shirt and also wore a baseball hat. With her sneakers, she stomped
inside.
The waitress didn't recognize her at first.
"Where is Mark? I want to see him,"
Rose announced loudly. Even though she tried to exude confidence, there was a quiver in her voice.
"Oh, it's Miss Rose. But our CEO is in a meeting."
Upon hearing this, Rose went ahead, ignoring everybody's plea to stay behind. They didn't want her
interrupting the meeting. However, she wouldn't listen. She must see Mark at any cost.
She pushed opened the door and stood by it, staring straight at Mark who was having a heated
discussion with someone.
He was talking about the next month's product plan, but her arrival brought him to an abrupt stop. The
people in the meeting room didn't dare to say anything because most of the company's senior
executives were aware that Mark had a close relationship with the daughter of L Group.
"That's all for today's meeting. If any problem comes up, we'll solve them later," Mark said flatly and
dismissed them.
One by one, the people in the meeting hall dispersed. Rose's gaze hadn't left Mark. She continued to
look at him with her grieving pair of eyes. But she wouldn't say anything. She was waiting for him to
speak first.
"What are you doing here?" Finally, Mark broke the silence.
Deep in her heart, Mark was still a gentle and elegant man. However, it pained her to think he was
trying to ignore her.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Rose questioned.
Mark hadn't anticipated such a straight-forward question. It caught him off-guard. After a short silence,
he cleared his throat and said, "I wasn't ignoring. I had something important to deal with in the
company. It kept me occupied."
However, as soon as Mark finished speaking, Rose said coldly, "You are just making excuses!"
Hearing that, Mark was taken aback. Rose continued to complain, "You are jealous because you think I
liked Kevin!"
She was a very direct woman. If she had something to say, she would blurt it out. Moreover, she knew
she had to say it all out. If she didn't even have the courage to say it, then how could far could their
relationship go!
"No," Mark said. Even though he refused to admit, his face darkened.
"Listen to me Mark, I have never liked anyone else! You thought I like Kevin and I don't blame you. It's
just that I am used to having everything I want. I pursued him because he behaved indifferently towards
me. It was nothing but my arrogance. The person I truly like is you."
As she spoke, there was a sudden shift in Mark's expression.
"Love is different from challenge. And this is the first time I have been in love. You have to forgive me
because I have zero experience when it comes to love." Rose had said it all. Now she was a bit tired
and on the verge of tears.
Feeling a little distressed, Mark instinctively wrapped his hands around Rose's shoulders. He was
about to say something, but was stopped by Rose's hiccups. He detected a faint smell of wine.
'Did she drink wine?' he wondered. 'I am not going to let her drink again,' Mark decided. It looked like
she couldn't hold liquor.
Shrugging these thoughts away, he thought about Rose's sudden appearance and confession. It
brought a sense of warmth in his heart. Her words were like music to the ears. He couldn't help but
smile. He didn't care about what happened before. He wouldn't dwell on the past. Looking at Rose, he
realized the past days had been hard on her. She seemed aggrieved and sad.
In the AN Group, a document lay on the rosewood table. The table was quite empty, so the document
was conspicuous, making it the first thing anyone would spot.
Leaning on the black leather sofa, Kevin held the document in his hand. It contained the plan to acquire
the old town.
He was in a sour mood but the thought of building a new home for Anne cheered him up.
Once he opened it, he was stunned. According to it, his assistant's plan was to build a new modern
town. His smile froze.
Without wasting a second, he called his assistant, asking him to come up immediately. Within five
minutes, the assistant arrived.
"Mr. Kevin, what can I do for you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kevin threw the document on the table and asked, "Is this the plan
you gave me?"
Kevin's cold expression scared the assistant. And the worst part was, the assistant had no idea what
he had done wrong.
"Mr. Kevin, this is the plan we got after a week's research. That place hasn't been developed yet. If a
new town is to be established, it must be done in such a way that it attracts merchants and buyers.
Moreover, not all the people in the old town have moved out. This way, we could easily attract their
attention and have them back."
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