When they finally went back home, it was very late. The children had fallen asleep in the car on the
drive home.
Kevin and Anne gently carried them one at a time into the house and tucked them into their beds.
After washing up, Anne and Kevin also felt rather tired. The two of them held each other lovingly and
fell asleep.
The next day, Anne received a call from Rose.
As of lately, Rose was in good health and had recovered well. She was not as sickly skinny as she had
been before, having gained some healthy weight. It suited her, and she no longer looked horrible like
she was all bones and bones.
Women loved to be beautiful. Seeing that she had slowly but surely recovered, Rose was very happy.
As a saying went, "Women dress up for their beholders." Looking at how far she had come in respect
of her figure, Rose wanted to buy some new clothes. She thought Anne would be great company on
her shopping spree.
There was nothing pressing left to do at home so Anne decided to accompany her. Emily also enjoyed
being in Anne's company so when Anne told her of her plans, Emily decided to go along with her to the
mall.
Emily was also quite curious about Rose's change in attitude. She didn't know who Rose was anymore,
such was the drastic change in her behavior. Emily thought she would go shopping to ascertain
whether or not this was a genuine change, for herself.
Rose was no longer as rash and impulsive as she used to be. She sat calmly on the bed, flipping
through a book in her hands.
Emily looked Rose up and down and raised her eyebrows.
Anne walked forward, knocking politely on the frame of the open door, to announce her presence. A
smile appeared on Rose's face when she heard the knock. She saw Emily was there too, so she
nodded in greeting.
"Isn't Mark here?" Looking around, Anne didn't see Mark and couldn't help asking.
Rose nodded and said, "I can't let him stay with me all the time. He has to go to work."
Anne nodded, but she disagreed, "Even though you have improved drastically, you are not in good
health yet. It's better for Mark to stay here with you."
"Don't worry. The doctor said I'm recovering very well. I'll be discharged from the hospital shortly. Look,
I've become a little more plump." As Rose spoke, she raised her arm and smiled helplessly.
In the past, Rose had been so focused on losing weight. But now she was so pleased that she had in
fact gained weight.
Anorexia really was a terrible illness.
Nodding her head, Anne said with satisfaction, "You do look much better than the last time I saw you."
Rose nodded and looked at Emily, "Emily, I heard that you have fallen pregnant. Congratulations."
Emily was two months pregnant now. After hearing Rose congratulate her, Emily nodded with a smile
but didn't say anything.
Rose's change in attitude and demeanour was quite unnerving. Emily could not adapt to this new Rose
just yet.
Anne could sense what was going through Emily's head. She looked down at her watch, and said to
Rose, "Time has gone so quickly! We'll have to get going."
Rose had already neatened and dressed up before the other two had arrived. She nodded, and went
straight to the mall with them.
The mall was the largest in the city. It catered for every retail need they could possibly have which
made things easier, as they just had to make one stop.
More importantly, Anne worried about Rose who was quite weak, even though she was steadily
improving. Anne didn't want her to do anything too strenuous and affect her recovery.
Opportunities for Rose to leave the hospital had indeed been scarce thus far. Taking in the wonderfully
lively mall, she couldn't help but laugh in glee.
Emily was eyeing Rose from beside her. She still did not trust Rose. Seeing Rose react so sincerely
while being in the mall, with such a wide smile across her face made Emily raise her eyebrows.
'Now, Rose is really...' Emily's thoughts trailed off, as she tried to think of an appropriate, decent word
to describe her.
"Emily, let bygones be bygones. Rose has made the effort to change - shouldn't we also do our part
and give her a chance?" Anne whispered discretely in Emily's ear.
Emily nodded obligingly. Anne was, of course, correct. If Anne could change her attitude towards Rose,
then she should do the same.
Moreover, no one was perfect; everyone had made some mistake or the other in their lifetime.
Previously, she had been so concerned with her feelings for Sam, that she had not taken the time to
properly understand Anne.
It was due solely to Anne's magnanimity, her truly kind and compassionate soul, that their relationship
had not taken a blow during that uneasy time.
"Look, Rose seems to have taken to that dress. Let's go have a closer look." Observing Rose, Anne
said to Emily.
Emily nodded with a smile, and followed Anne.
Turning around, Rose asked, "Anne, what do you think of this dress?"
"It's simple and elegant, and the cut is very flattering. I'm sure it would look great on your figure."
Nodding her head in approval, Anne made this comment to Rose.
Rose smiled and requested that the staff take the dress off the mannequin so that she could try it on.
Rose put it on and looked quite elegant and beautiful, just as Anne had anticipated.
She looked curiously at the figure which stared back at her in the mirror. She raised her eyebrows
slightly. Although she knew she was looking at herself, she felt that this reflection was a complete
stranger, different to the person she knew herself to have been before.
Perhaps it was her near-death experience which gave her this new sense of awareness and
insightfulness.
"I'll take it! Thank you," Rose advised the staff.
The staff attended to her need quickly ringing the item up and packing it neatly into a store bag for her.
They continued with their walk about the mall and decided to buy some jewelry. As a daughter of the
wealthy Luo Family, Rose was definitely never short of money.
However, it was when they arrived at a well-renowned jewelry store that they were faced by their
adversary.
Rose had just taken a fancy to a gorgeous heart-shaped gem with high-grade clarity. It caught the light
magnificently. It was a stunning piece on the whole.
Just as she was admiring the gem, a ruckus ensued from the entrance. They turned around to find the
source of this unwelcomed noise.
A woman with a haughty gait walked in with her nose in the air, followed by a group of paparazzi. They
knew this woman all too well - it was Cherry.
Rose screwed up her face and looked directly at Cherry, without even trying to hide the hostility she felt
towards this woman.
When Cherry entered the jewelry store, her eyes also opened wide with astonishment.
Ever since Kim had been detained in prison, Cherry had anticipated, with great worry, that Kevin and
Anne would ensure that they would make her life difficult. After some time wherein all was quiet, she
realized that they did not seem to want to interfere with her. Cherry had thought that perhaps she had
made too much of it before.
Nonetheless, without a strong person to back her, she would not try to make any trouble for Kevin and
Anne and unnecessarily provoke them without a leg to stand on. She really had not expected to see
Anne here, though.
In the moment, Cherry bit her lips and lowered her head. She was unsure how to react in this situation.
She really was trying hard not to rub Anne the wrong way.
"Look, that's Anne!" When Cherry was about to walk out of the jewelry store, a sharp-eyed paparazzo
noticed Anne's presence.
At his statement, everyone looked to Anne, and swarmed around her.
Recently, there was less and less news being reported about Kevin and Anne. It was actually a good
opportunity for these reporters to meet her.
"Miss Anne, why are you here? Are you going to select a new wedding ring? Will Mr. Kevin be the
groom?"
"Miss Anne, you threatened to take your own life in order to force Mr. Kevin to divorce you previously.
Are you actually considering marrying him again, after what has happened?
"Miss Anne, you had been very fond of Kim, and said so yourself. Now that he has been executed, by
shooting nonetheless, are you sad?"
Anne frowned as she was bombarded with questions, left, right and centre.
Emily's face darkened. She gritted her teeth and pushed the paparazzi. "If you want an answer to your
questions, book and interview with Miss Anne. For now, Miss Anne will not be answering any
questions. Please leave!"
It had been exceptionally difficult for these reporters to track down Anne. They were not going to leave
without a fight.
Caught in the middle of the crowd, Emily stumbled and fell back. Beside her, Anne's eyes widened in
horror.
Emily was pregnant. She couldn't afford any kind of injury, even a seemingly small fall.
Even Rose widened her eyes in shock and concern, and she immediately reached towards the floor to
break her fall.
Both Anne and Rose fell simultaneously.
With her eyes tightly shut, fearfully anticipating pain, Emily hit the ground. She fell onto a soft object
and the predicted pain never came.
Emily stood up at once. Her heart was happy, albeit surprised, when she saw that Rose and Anne had
both made a human cushion for her.
"Anne, are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Emily queried, nervously.
Anne immediately shook her head in response. She was wholly unconcerned with herself. She just
wanted to make sure Emily was okay. She asked, "How are you? Did you get hurt at all?"
Emily shook her head. "I didn't even fall."
Hearing this response, Anne felt a wave of relief come over her. She looked at Rose, and asked with
genuine concern, "Rose, are you fine? Did you get hurt anywhere?"
Rose was thin and quite weak. Anne was worried about how her body would react to such a tumble. It
was natural for Anne to have such a concern, especially with the current state of Rose's health.
The pain made Rose wince. She slowly got to her feet. She took a few steadying deep breaths and
shook her head.
Although it hurt a little, it didn't seem like it that she was badly injured.
With a heavy sigh of relief, Anne turned to the paparazzo with fire in her eyes.
"If you want answers, make an appointment for an interview. Now leave us be. This young lady here is
pregnant and look at what this scene has caused. If something had happened to her, who would be
held responsible?" Anne was the hostess of the Fu Family. She looked sternly at the crowd,
admonishing them justly.
What was of greater importance was the truth in Anne's words. It would be devastating if the pregnant
Emily suffered any kind of accident. The consequences would be too much too handle.
Under the rebuking gaze of Anne, the entertainment reporters all lowered their heads and did not
whisper a single word.
"All right, all right. Well, weren't you here to dig news about me? Why did you all go to Anne? What is it
that you want to know from me?" Cherry stepped forward and stated with a smile, "If there is nothing
that you would like to know about me, I will take my leave."
The paparazzi knew that Cherry was saying this in order to save face for the entire group. They
nervously looked between Cherry and Anne.
Cherry used to be Kim's girlfriend and she also had a complicated relationship with Kevin. Anne was
the same, having obscure relationship with these two men.
What was going on between them?
Everyone looked at each other. Their eyes darted back and forth.
Seeing this, Cherry turned around and walked out. The paparazzi had no choice but to follow Cherry.
They were well aware that the situation could not be salvaged if they stayed.
No matter what had happened between Anne and Cherry, Cherry was still the most influential female
celebrity. There would always be new headlines about Cherry.
Frowning and heaving a heavy sigh, Anne didn't dare to delay any longer. She immediately took Emily
and Rose to the hospital for a doctor's examination.
Emily and Rose both thought the examination was unnecessary, but obliged due to the unnerving state
of affairs.
Both of them were declared fine by the doctor. There was a small bruise on Rose's arm but that would
fully heal over the course of a couple days.
With a sigh, Anne looked at Rose with guilt and said, "I came to accompany you on a shopping trip but
I caused trouble for you instead."
"It's just a small bruise. It'll heal before you even know it. It won't even leave a mark. It really is okay,"
said Rose, with a forgiving smile.
Emily finally truly had a new opinion of Rose after the latter saved her. Rose had indeed changed after
her near-death experience.
"We will come to see you again in a few days," Emily said to Rose, as they left.
Rose was happy at the prospect and eagerly nodded her head.
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