Crossing her arms over her chest, Selma glared at Kevin. "I did all this for your own good. Can't you
see that? What's wrong with you? She has just been back for a day, and you already are bewitched by
that woman?" Her eyes darted towards Anne briefly before they returned to Kevin.
He massaged his temples.
"Mom, can you please leave these things alone? Let me handle them myself, okay?" He couldn't agree
with his mom on this at all.
He couldn't fathom the reason behind his mother's dissatisfaction towards his wife. Anne had suffered
immensely before she came back to him and gave birth to two beautiful children.
Kevin knew in his heart that he shouldn't have provoked Selma for Anne's sake. But now the situation
was really getting out of hand.
Anne was his wife. Seeing her miserable like this made him feel horrible as if a knife was being pierced
into his heart.
Selma looked at Kevin in astonishment, and then turned her gaze towards Anne, who was holding
Sally in her arms. Sally had gradually stopped crying, but she looked at Selma fearfully.
"Ha-ha..." She chuckled sardonically. Her gaze shooting daggers at Anne. The latter had been missing
for two years. When she came back, she was holding a child. Who would believe that the child was
Kevin's?
Selma brought the child here for the sake of the Fu Family. Now, she was being blamed!
It seemed that there was no place for good people in this planet.
In that case...
"Kevin, let me tell you clearly. From now on, you must choose between the two of us. It's either me or
this woman." Giving both Kevin and Anne a withering look, Selma turned around and stormed off,
furious and seething.
Anne had been a silent observer from the beginning, swallowing every humiliation without a word.
Once the older woman was out of sight, she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
Since Selma was Kevin's mother. No matter how insufferable she was, Anne would always tolerate her.
But this time things had turned ugly and she had enough of her mother-in-law's whims.
Anne was also a mother and she couldn't stand her children being wronged.
She wouldn't endure silently anymore. She needed to stand up for her children.
Anne raised her head, shot Kevin a pointed look before leaving as well.
"Anne..." Kevin called, helplessly watching her retreating figure.
He thought that when Anne returned to him, they would get back together. Why was this happening to
him now? When he finally thought that he could be happy again?
When Anne returned home, Eddy rushed to her and said excitedly, "Mom, you're finally back."
Anne gestured for her son to be quiet before gently putting her asleep daughter on the sofa
Children were always sleepy.
Eddy looked at his sister and asked worriedly, "Why are her eyes swollen?"
Anne frowned as her gaze fixated on her sleeping daughter. Sally had cried for a long time, which
would naturally make her eyes red and swollen. However, she didn't want to upset her son by telling
him the truth.
So she put on a smile instead, and replied, "It's because Sally felt sleepy."
Eddy was no longer a two-year-old child.
He knew that his mother just didn't want to tell him the truth, so he didn't press the matter any further.
However, when he saw his sister like this, he couldn't help but feel sad.
Anne turned around and looked back at Kevin, who was standing behind her, quietly waiting for her. He
gazed at Anne, his eyes swirled with emotions. He murmured, "Anne, it's all over. We..."
But she was having none of it. She cut him off, "Let's have a talk." Anne's voice was cold and devoid of
emotions.
Kevin's heart ached at being on the receiving end of her icy wrath. He spared a glance at Eddy, who
immediately understood his father's silent instruction, and said, "I will take good care of Sally."
Kevin nodded, bestowing a small smile to his son before he followed his wife into the room.
In the room, Anne stood in front of the window with her back towards Kevin. He closed the icy distance
between them and hugged her from behind. Her form turned stiff but she did not pull away.
He started speaking gently, "Anne, it's my mother's fault, I know, but anyway, she is an elder and I..." he
trailed off. Kevin knew that where the conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were
concerned, the position of the middleman became the most difficult one and he was now getting a first-
hand experience of it.
Anne felt a burning sensation at the corner of her eyes. She took a deep shaky breath, trying to hold
back her tears.
She refused to cry anymore, to be helpless. 'Now is not the time to be vulnerable,' she told herself.
"During the two years that I was imprisoned by Kim, I missed you all the time. I wanted to come back to
you and give you a surprise! I wanted to let you know that you don't only have Eddy, but also Sally and
Simon. I wanted to reunite them with their father!" Anne's voice was distant, almost detached, as if she
was describing someone else's story.
"But time passed and Sally and Simon were also growing older. I waited for you. I thought you would
come and rescue me but you never came and I was under the impression that you had moved on and
remarried.
But fortunately, you didn't. I came back to this family again. Kevin, you don't know how excited I was to
meet you again and how much I love you.
For you, I can endure your mother's insults and even tolerate her unreasonable behavior. But I will not
stand quietly and endure anything when it involves my children!
I'm also a mother. I love my own children, and I'm willing to lose my life for them."
Kevin tightened his embrace just a little and murmured hoarsely, "Anne, don't say that. I know
everything, I know everything!"
Shaking her head, Anne broke free from Kevin's arms, and turned to look at him. She said indignantly,
"You don't know! You don't know!
No matter how much I love you, I can't stand my children being wronged. I have to go. I have to get out
of here and take Sally away. I need to find Simon."
Eddy had lived here for so many years, and Selma loved him very much. Anne was not worried about
him. The only worry swirling in her mind was regarding Sally and Simon.
Kevin shook his head vigorously. "No! You can't leave me. I love you too. You can't leave me alone
anymore. Not again!"
He reached out and held her again, gazing at her earnestly.
He had lost her two years ago and those twenty-four months had been filled with nothing but pain and
misery. How could he let her leave again?
"Unless I die, I will never allow you to leave me. Sally and Simon are my children, and I will protect
them," he vowed solemnly.
Anne's smile was bitter. "And Selma is your mother."
Kevin promptly said, "Anne, it was all my fault. But this time I assure that I won't let her treat you or the
children badly. I am here for you sweetheart. Please don't worry." His voice held no ounce of hesitation.
With moist but swollen and red-rimmed eyes, Anne held her husband in her arms. If possible, she
didn't want to let go or ever leave him again either.
Kevin breathed a sigh of relief, but he also knew that the situation could not continue like this.
There was a knock on the door followed by. Eddy's voice from the other side, "Dad, Mom, Sally woke
up and suddenly cried. She said she missed Mom."
Pulling away from Kevin, Anne hurried towards the door. Sally was frightened by what happened today,
so she must feel very sad now.
Sally couldn't help but run towards her mother and Anne immediately squatted down and hugged her
daughter tightly. "Honey, don't be afraid, okay? Mom will protect you here."
Sally bit her lips and complained, "Mom, I'm scared. Grandma didn't treat me well and scolded me."
Hearing this, Anne felt even more distressed. Kevin sighed wearily. He wanted this family to be happy.
On the other hand, Selma tried hard to hold back her anger, and went to the bar to drown her sorrow in
drinks.
The bar was lively, with various lights illuminating the place and young men and women dancing.
Selma shook her head and smiled morosely. She shouldn't be here at this age.
Selma sat in front of the bar counter and drank away her anger and sorrow, alone. The heavy and sad
aura she was emanating and her expensive clothes made her stand out, making other people avoid her
subconsciously.
They couldn't afford to offend such a person.
Selma glanced down at her phone and muttered disdainfully,
"What a shameless woman! How could Kevin treat me like this for her?"
How could her son be so ungrateful? She had always been concerned about his well-being and
happiness.
Begrudgingly, Selma answered the call.
From the other end, Kevin asked anxiously, "Mom, where are you now?"
Selma slurred contemptuously, "Kevin, how rare. You haven't forgotten your mother because of that
woman."
On the other end, Kevin paused for a moment before he asked again, "Mom, let's talk about it when
you come back. Where are you exactly?
Tell me, please."
Selma pondered for a while before giving him the name of the bar.
Kevin instructed, "Mom, don't go anywhere. Stay where you are. I'll send someone to pick you up right
away."
Selma snorted and hung up the phone. It turned out that he had sent someone to pick her up. 'Why
didn't he come himself?' she thought sulkily.
"Damn it! I'm at odds with my son because of Anne," she groused silently.
She must drive Anne out.
On the other side, when Anne heard the voice of Kevin on the phone, her mood soured.
'Is Selma coming back?'
Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned around and saw Kevin gazing back at her sheepishly
before answering her unasked question, "Mom is coming back but don't worry, I'm here for you."
Glancing down at Sally in her arms, Anne didn't say anything for the time being. For the sake of her
child, she would be strong and never give in.
This was the real Anne and they needed to be acquainted with her.
All of a sudden, the door was opened and Selma stormed in with a smell of alcohol permeating from
her. She narrowed her eyes at Anne.
This damn woman was still at her home.
"Anne, you were with another man for two years. How dare you come back? I accept Sally and Simon
as the children of our family. You can leave the two of them in the Fu Family and then get out," Selma
said venomously.
Anne scowled as she thought, 'Eddy has been taken away by them. Simon and Sally are mine. No one
can take away my children this time.'
But thinking of Kevin, she remained silent.
When she received no reply, Selma became more arrogant. She remembered Sally's behavior in the
hospital today and that increased her dissatisfaction with Anne. "Only in this home can Kevin's children
learn real etiquette. Look at Sally, what did you teach her during the two years she was with you? She
always cries. Is she like a child of the Fu Family? Is she like the heir of AN Group?"
That was the last straw.
Gritting her teeth, Anne stood up and looked at her mother-in-law coldly. However, before she could
say anything, Kevin's voice came from behind, "Mom, if there is no Anne then there is no heir."
"What did you say?" Selma stared at her son in disbelief. Kevin did not waver. "Are you insulting Anne?
Or are you insulting me or my children?"
Selma's eyes widened as she continued to stare at her son in astonishment. How could he protect
Anne so much now?
She was dumbfounded.
Not only Selma, but also Anne was a little surprised. However, Kevin looked so determined. He held
Anne's hand tightly, which clearly showed whose favor he was in.
Selma was an elderly woman and he knew that he couldn't contradict or disrespect his mother, but that
didn't mean that he would allow the elders to bully and insult his wife and children.
Moreover, Anne didn't get Selma's forgiveness, but continuously remained on the receiving end of her
arrogance.
If they wanted this family to be happy, they must let his mother know her fault. They must point out her
mistakes and flaws.
"Kevin, I'm your mother. Is that how you talk to me?" Selma shouted, recovering from her stupor.
Kevin sighed exasperatedly. He griped, "Mom, don't do this."
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda