"But you're my daughter. We can't change that." Seeing her act so tough, Liam had no choice but
soften his own tone despite his anger.
After all, it was useless to be anxious. More than anything, he just wanted to reunite with his daughter.
In order to do that, he had to make Anne accept him.
"Yes, there's nothing we can do about that. What you can do is to never bother me again. If I remember
correct, you're Rose's father and she's Kevin's fiancee. If you're wise enough, you should know what to
do."
Anne thought that if Kevin could only marry someone with a certain blood type then it was better to be
Rose than anyone else.
She'd always known that even if she was accepted into the Luo Family, Liam would never change his
mind. The fact was that he had left her mother. What was the point of belonging to a family like that
anyway?
All of a sudden, realization dawned on Liam. He glanced at his daughter, realizing that she wasn't as
weak as Kiana was. This way, the guilt he felt had lessened.
"I know. I'm sorry for what happened with you mother but listen to me, Anne, I love you so much. I was
absolutely sincere with your mother back then. I had no control over my life," Liam said helplessly.
However, Anne seemed unfazed. She didn't want see her father. Now that what had happened in the
past was brought up, she felt it was necessary to ask a few questions for the sake of her mother.
"Yes, it was forced. The Ye Clan hasn't risen to prominence yet at that time so the Luo Clan didn't like
my mother. She wasn't good enough for the Luo Clan at that time. Can you just decide already?" she
asked.
Her voice was dripping with resentment. Liam couldn't contradict her because what she had said was
true.
After the Ye Clan had risen to prominence, Anne probably knew what a real aristocratic life was. She,
too, was well-aware of the unwritten rules.
"Your grandmother passed away ten years ago," Liam said awkwardly.
He thought she wouldn't worry about anything else since he told her that he now had the say of
everything in the Luo Family. To his surprise, an ironic smile broke into Anne's face.
"Since she died ten years ago, why didn't you ever come to see my mother?" Anne inquired.
Liam seemed embarrassed. "At that time, we were both happy with our own lives. I didn't think I had
the right to disturb her anymore."
"Mr. Liam, you're so cruel." A sad smile tugged at the corners of Anne's mouth as she stared Liam
down.
Her cold eyes were so piercing that he felt he had said something wrong.
"Mr. Liam, I think you're very happy with your life right now. My mother has become nothing but a
distant memory. If it weren't for me, I doubt you would have still remembered my mother," Anne spat.
"No, it's not like that. I just can't face it. I can't handle it," Liam said anxiously.
"What can't you face? Do you think that just because ten years has passed, things have changed? Do
you think that time changes all the pain that you put my mother through? Did you even think about how
brave it was of her to give birth even though she wasn't married? She came home but she didn't bring
glory to her family. Even though her brother was good to her, the others looked down on her. Did you
even think about what would happen to the child who would grow up without a father?" Anne's voice
was icy cold but the grin on her face extended from ear to ear.
Her smile could be likened to a poisonous flower—beautiful but dangerous.
"Anne, listen to me. I felt sorry for your mother. I couldn't bring myself to visit her. I wasn't brave
enough. I know it was my fault. I'm the reason why you had to suffer so much. I'm sorry." Tears welled
up in Liam's eyes, sadness written all over her face.
Anne didn't seem the least bit moved. To her, Liam's remorse couldn't make up for the hell she went
through when her mother died.
"I don't have a father. Mr. Liam, please go," Anne said plainly.
"I know it'll take a while before you can warm up to me. I won't force you into anything you aren't
comfortable with. Either way, I'm still very happy to see you. Here, I prepared 20% of the shares of the
L Group for you. It's compensation for everything I've done."
Liam placed the document on the table next to her. The minute she signed it, the contract would
immediately take effect.
The sneer never left Anne's face. She already had 10% shares of the AN Group. If she signed this
contract, she would have 20% shares of the L Group. This would make her the richest woman in the
world.
How pathetic! All her life, people abandoned her.
Now people were scrambling to give her shares. What good would that do to her when her son was
sick and her relationship was nothing but a carefully planned cooperation?
What was the meaning of such a life?
Leaving the contract untouched, Anne got up and left without looking back.
In the Young French Restaurant.
The lights were dimmed and each table was lit with a candle covered by a lamp-chimney.
The entire restaurant oozed of an authentic French atmosphere.
Rose took her time as she ate her foie gras and dessert, sneaking a glance at Kevin every now and
then.
A sharp contrast to Rose's eagerness, Kevin seemed somewhat absent-minded.
"Kevin, it took me a lot of time to find this restaurant. You know, I'm used to French food. It wasn't easy
for me to find a restaurant in A City that I liked." Rose wasn't chatty by nature but when she was, she
rambled.
"I see," Kevin replied indifferently as he took a sip of wine.
"You don't seem happy. You don't like the food here? We can try something else."
Rose slowly recognized that she was changing. She never would have done something like this in the
past. To her, love should be rational. If he didn't like you then there was no reason to force it.
It wasn't until then did she realize that back then, she wasn't in love with anyone yet. She was still sane
then.
How could she have known that falling in love with someone could make you lose your principles?
"No." Kevin remained aloof. While Rose was disappointed, she was already used to it.
"Our engagement ceremony's in ten days. Are you excited? I've been thinking about what dress would
look good. What do you think?" Rose kept trying to bring up a topic of conversation that both of them
could relate to but it was obvious that Kevin wasn't the least bit interested.
After a long bout of silence, Kevin's phone suddenly rang. It was Ryan calling.
As much as Kevin hated him, he would do anything to get away from this boring date.
"I'm sorry. I need to discuss this contract. I'll ask the driver to bring you home. I'm leaving now."
With that, Kevin put on his coat. He slid his phone into his pocket, a stone cold look on his face.
'Kevin, what do I need to do get your attention?' Rose thought as she balled her hands into fists,
disappointment written all over her face.
"Miss Rose, why are you alone?"
Mark walked over to her, a gentle smile on his face.
When he saw Rose, he couldn't help but feel upset. Why did he always bump into Rose when she was
distressed?
Initially, he didn't want to talk to her but figured it was better to be polite and greet her since they knew
each other. After all, it was late in the night and it wasn't safe anymore. Rose didn't also seem to have
any clue about this.
"My friend just left. Good to see you, Mr. Mark," Rose said, forcing a smile on her face despite being in
a bad mood.
"It seems that we are never meant to be together. Every time I see you, you're upset about something,"
Mark teased.
"No, no. I've just been busy with a lot of things. I have a lot on my plate. That's probably why I seem
stressed," Rose said awkwardly.
"Well, it's late now. You should go home. I need to go. It's not safe for a lady like you to be outside at
this hour." Then Mark left. He headed upstairs.
A sour feeling crept up Rose's chest as she looked at Mark's receding figure.
Why didn't Kevin seem to care about her? He just left her like that. They were engaged for Christ's
sake.
Meanwhile, Rose seemed visibly uncomfortable. Frowning, she grabbed her handbag and left.
In the Luo Family's house.
The chandelier emitted a bright luster, giving the place a cozy feeling.
Rose walked inside, a blank look on her face. She didn't even notice the servant because she didn't
want to have the soup.
"I don't think so. Anne's your daughter but about Rose? You already gave her 20% of the shares. Do
you still want to ruin the engagement?" Valentina's voice was sharp.
Rose stood by the door, frozen in place as Valentine and Liam continued to converse.
"Rose is a great girl. It's easy for her to find a good man. I owe Anne so much. How could I allow my
daughter to destroy Anne's marriage?" Liam sighed.
"So you want to protect Anne at the cost of Rose's happiness? Plus, Anne and Kevin are already
divorced. Do you understand?" Valentina was adamant.
"So is that why I look like Anne?" Rose suddenly chimed in. Valentine and Liam were startled as they
turned to the sound of her voice.
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