Behind the smile, Rose sensed an air of mockery. She straightened her posture in a sign of defense.
Shaking her head slightly, Cherry tapped her fingers impatiently on her long, slender legs, and said with
a smile, "You two are really quite close sisters."
Unconsciously, Rose threw Cherry a frigid look. She said, "It's clear you aren't able to take care of
yourself. Instead of poking your nose in the business of others, rather focus on your own problems and
come up with some solutions."
Cherry froze on the spot, and looked at Rose with clear despise. The iciness in her eyes could be seen
even through the dark sunglasses that she donned.
Last night, Cherry had been at her lowest point and she wanted to leave that feeling in the past. She
wondered if Rose had already come to find out about it.
As far as she knew, Anne had never been the kind of woman to gossip or blab about others' affairs.
Kevin generally did not easily communicate his own feelings and stories, so she had expected he
would not share her problems with anyone, either. But who really knew what they would do, these
days.
It was also clear to her that Rose and Anne now shared a very close relationship.
'Anne!
Damn you, Anne!'
Cherry gritted her teeth and chipped a well-manicured nail unconsciously, due to her inner rage. She
gave Rose a dirty look and retorted, "Rose, we were good friends! I want to know, however, what made
you involve yourself so closely in Anne's life again. Is it a ploy to get Kevin's attention? Are you still
after him?
Let me just tell you that Anne has his heart. She's a strong woman and she will not be easily defeated,
especially in respect of love. You will not be able to take Kevin from right under her nose."
With a cocky smile, Cherry stood up confidently, and walked slowly up to Rose before whispering in her
ear, "Kevin is an obsessive man. He won't forget about Anne. Perhaps it's better to make her disappear
off of the face of the earth."
Rose's body began to tremble of its own volition. She unconsciously took a step back from Cherry, and
fell to the ground.
'This woman had once been incarcerated for murder.
Was she insinuating that I should kill Anne?
No, I will never do that!' Rose cut her thoughts off and responded, "You could not be more wrong,
Cherry. I can confidently let you know that I have no romantic feelings for Kevin anymore. I genuinely
see him as my brother-in-law, and only that. My heart belongs to Mark now."
She had long realized that Kevin wasn't her Mr. Right.
"Now, get this straight in your head, I have no fake relationship with Anne just to become closer to
Kevin." Although Rose was in a submissive position on the ground due to her fall, she glared at Cherry
with such affirmation in her eyes, that it shocked Cherry.
'Rose is a completely different person now.
She does not love Kevin anymore!' she thought.
"What happened to you?" Anne asked, having just returned to the office and seeing Rose on the floor.
A fiery look flashed across her face. She immediately assisted Rose in getting to her feet before turning
to look at Cherry with an accusatory glare.
Cherry looked at Anne directly in the eyes, without showing any sign of fear. There was still some fight
left in her but she smiled a begrudging smile.
Cherry had known Rose well, so she did believe that her heart now belonged to Mark, and that had
genuinely let any thought of having Kevin go.
'Anne, how did you come to have it all? The man you love is also madly in love with you. How did you
get so lucky? Now, your sister and you are great friends too. Why does God smile down on you so
graciously, yet completely ignores my desires?'
Indeed, Cherry wondered why God did not afford her any more chances when she had already
repented for her wrongs.
She lowered her gaze, clenching her fists at her sides. Andrew was still in hospital, completely
unconscious and showing no signs of improvement. Not only was Alan threatening her, Luke had
jumped on that bandwagon too.
She had so much bad luck manifesting her life!
She was the one who was going through the most pain and suffering!
Anne raised her eyebrows and looked at Cherry, surprised at her reaction. Then, she turned around
and looked at Rose who smiled at her sweetly.
Anne was confused. She had walked in on such an odd scene yet both women smiled as if nothing had
happened. She decided to accept it, and returned a smile to the women.
Cherry took the garments from Anne, and slowly unpackaged it, unfolding the clothing before her. She
was impressed. A look of amazement flashed across her face as she took in the inspired designs.
Anne's designs never fell short.
Her red talons fondled the baby blue material. "It's exquisite," she said in a low voice, full of admiration.
Unfortunately, she did not know how much time she had left to keep dressing so glamorously. Any day
now, she might wake up and find herself being detained once again.
Anne frowned with sympathy and let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. She thought that Cherry really had
reached a dead end now.
However, this did not mean that she and Kevin had a duty to become involved in her affairs.
Without wasting another second, Cherry picked up the garments and made her way directly to the
hospital.
There was a crowd of people huddled outside the hospital already.
Today was the last chance Andrew had to come back to consciousness. If he didn't, he would remain in
a vegetative state for the rest of his days. His loyal fans were praying outside the hospital, begging God
to take pity on him and miraculously cure him. They prayed deeply for Andrew to wake up and make an
appearance before them all.
With an exhausted sigh, Cherry walked into Andrew's ward.
Andrew was lying motionless in the hospital bed. He looked thinner than he looked the last time she
had been to visit him, and that was just yesterday.
"Andrew, you have a huge group of fans waiting outside the hospital for you to wake up. There are
more reporters than you can count. If you can just will yourself to come out of this coma now, you will
make front-page news across the country.
To be honest, this kind of opportunity for publicity is something all stars envy. As long as you are able to
wake up now, name and fame will be yours, manifold!
But it seems as if you do not even have it in you to be able to enjoy this attention anymore..." Cherry
touched his face gently. She stood up, tenderly kissed his forehead, and said, "It seems you won't be
able to awake from this coma. If that the case, may you sleep peacefully forevermore."
Then she took a step back and sighed heavily.
She did not want to accept the situation. She could also not bring herself to believe that such an
ambitious fellow would let everything fall away, and that he would just succumb to such a pathetic
state, resigning himself being bedridden for his entire life.
She almost felt that she had accepted that she would have to return to prison.
How could that ever be possible? She had always resented that place, and would do anything to avoid
returning there. As long there was even the slightest glimmer of hope, she would struggle, fighting tooth
and nail against any chance of returning to that hellish place.
Just as she turned to leave, her hand was caught by someone. Cherry's body stiffened in shock, and
she instinctively turned around.
Andrew, who had been completely knocked out a moment ago, began to stir. His eyes opened slightly.
He looked a little groggy since he had been in a coma for so long, but it was clear that his drive and
ambition was still there, glowing in his eyes.
"Andrew!" Cherry exclaimed in surprise. Her eyes widened in astonishment. Her voice was full of
disbelief. "You're actually awake! You've finally come out of the coma! I knew you wouldn't let yourself
lie like this forever. You value your life and would never lose everything in such a way!"
Andrew looked at her with a meek smile. While he was in a coma, he could not hear anything - except
Cherry.
Cherry's words had given him a will to live. Yes, he was indeed an ambitious man and he had so much
that he was set on accomplishing. How could let himself be confined to this small bed for his entire life?
Now, his situation had attracted national attention in the media. If he made an appearance now, his
fame would rise to unprecedented heights!
Cherry used to treat him with such an insipid air of arrogance yet now her fate lay at his feet.
Fortune and misfortune were two sides of the same coin. They came to you together. He was actually
blessed by God with this incident. If he did not wake up, the fortune God was gifting him would be gone
to waste.
So, he had to wake up. He had no choice.
Cherry still had a look of utter disbelief etched across her face but she immediately ran to the door, and
alerted the staff, "Andrew is awake!"
Innumerable reporters had already gathered at the door. In the crowd, Andrew's personal assistant and
agent were also visible.
Hearing Cherry's exclamation, many people rushed into the ward in excitement.
The agent took in Andrew's state and sighed with great relief. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Andrew did not fail to meet his expectations. He would have to give him the best new-coming star
package from now on.
After all, Andrew had so valiantly injured himself in order to ensure no harm came to his girlfriend, none
other than the famous Kristine!
The common opinion in the media was that Kevin was the knight in shining armor, but after what had
happened, they would take that title away from him and bestow it on the all-too-deserving Andrew!
The fans who had been loyally praying for Andrew's recovery outside the hospital were overjoyed at
the news. Some girls even burst into tears of happiness.
Against all odds, there idol was not going to become a vegetable!
With a satisfied smile on her face, Cherry thought about how much easier it would be for her to deal
with Alan now that Andrew had come out of his coma.
But Cherry couldn't shake a thought from her mind: even though this situation had resolved itself, Alan
kept going too far with his threats to her. She needed to find a way to make him disappear so that he
would never have the opportunity to put her in such a situation again.
Not even a few minutes had passed since Andrew had awakened yet the media had already run many
stories online about the development. Andrew's name was everywhere. It really pushed him into the
entertainment spotlight.
Predictably, his so-called friends from the entertainment circles came to visit him, bearing flowers and
various other gifts.
Some of these people were just acquaintances, yet they showed immense enthusiasm to see Andrew.
It was so fake. They were just trying to gain some popularity by piggy-backing off his current media
coverage.
Andrew smiled but there was discernment in his eyes. He knew the intentions of these purported well-
wishers.
Cherry was Andrew's girlfriend, as far as the world was concerned. She could not leave. It was
imperative she played her role as supportive and caring girlfriend at this time.
Yet when Andrew threw a glance at Cherry, the look was complex.
On one hand, he thought that, had it not been for Cherry, he would not have been injured so badly in
the first place. On the other hand, he knew that he would have never been able to attract such media
coverage.
Plus, he know knew this woman's biggest secret - she had murdered in cold blood.
Andrew's body was still recovering from the ordeal it had been through. He was exhausted and went
back to sleep again by the afternoon.
Cherry took the opportunity to comfort Andrew's fans while he slept. She allowed a few of the fans into
the hospital. They stood at the door, staring in awe at the sleeping figure on the bed.
Cherry handled the situation very well. She smiled courteously, every step of the way. Everyone
present had a good impression of her from the way she carried herself in the circumstances. Many of
Andrew's female fans immediately decided to become fans of hers, too. Cherry's public relations shone
in this case.
Something that had been a disaster for the two of them initially had now blossomed into something
beautiful. There were unending headlines and stories reported on Andrew's return to consciousness
and their relationship mentioned with great admiration.
Cherry remained with Andrew, waiting for him to wake up. In the evening, he came to once again.
Andrew looked at Cherry before him with a smile. Noticing he had awakened, she asked gently, "Are
you feeling any discomfort?"
Andrew shook his head. Noting that they were finally alone, he asked, "Are you going to get Alan out of
prison?"
Naturally, many of the visitors had made mention of Alan and his role in this incident. Andrew knew that
Alan was in custody but that no sentence had been awarded just yet.
Since Alan had something to hold over Cherry's head, Andrew was sure she would go to any lengths to
get him out of there.
Cherry lowered her gaze and bit her bottom lip. Andrew was aware of her true identity now so she had
no need to hide it any longer.
"To be honest, I wish that Alan could just remain in prison forever so that he can't come near me ever
again," Cherry admitted. This was genuinely how she felt. It was the most sincere thought she had in a
long time.
"But..." She knew that it was not a practical solution so she continued, "I don't know what I should do. I
can't think of a way to cover this entire thing up. Apart from getting him out of the prison and doing my
best to tolerate him, to the extent of letting him do whatever he wants to me, what else could I do to
keep my secrets?" Her voice was soft and heavy with melancholy.
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