"So that means Anne is indeed Dad's daughter, isn't she?" Rose repeated her question.
"It's not like that, Rose. Listen to me," Valentina nervously tried to explain.
"Why do you have to hide it from me, Mom?" Rose asked, ignoring Valentina's nervousness.
Looking at the disappointment on her face, Valentina was at a loss for words.
In the end, she just said, "It's all for your good, Rose." Although she was prepared to give her daughter
a detailed explanation, she could barely muster the strength to say it out loud.
"I'm exhausted. I just want to go to my room and rest," Rose said as she walked straight to her
bedroom, not giving any chance for Valentina to speak.
"This is all your fault, Liam. You were so busy with your stuff that you didn't even notice that Rose was
here. And now, she doesn't even want to listen to me," Valentina grumbled.
"All right, all right. You can try to explain once she feels more at ease, then," Liam replied with an
exhausted expression on his face.
All the décor in Rose's room was in various shades of pink, making it seem like a princess's bedroom.
Although the bed sheet was made from a very light and soft material, the wind was unable to ruffle it
up, because there was a string of crystal beading holding it in place.
Rose sat on her bed with her legs crossed. Her heart was filled with sorrow, but her eyes were
expressionless.
Even after giving it a lot of thought, she still could not understand how Anne was her sister.
"I should have seen this coming," she muttered to herself under her breath.
The first time she had seen Anne, she had thought that the latter strangely resembled her. However,
she had not understood the reason behind it then.
Now, though, she realized why they looked strikingly similar.
In fact, they both looked a lot like their father, Liam.
'What should I do? Should I just give up on Kevin? But I can't. And anyway, he and Anne are divorced
now, so what does it matter?' Rose thought to herself and sighed.
She did not know that she had been clutching her bed sheet and frowning in the process.
All of a sudden, there was a knock on her door. She chose to ignore it, but then she heard the door
opening.
The minute Valentina walked into her room, Rose yelled, "Can't you at least give me some privacy,
Mom?"
"I want to, but I'm so worried about you. And besides, your dad has gone out for a business meeting,"
Valentina said softly and heaved a sigh. Her face was dull and she seemed to be very upset.
Rose couldn't help but ask her the one question that she had been refraining herself from asking for all
these years. "Mom, Anne's mom stole Dad away from you. How could you let something like that go so
easily?"
For the past twenty years, Anne's mom and Valentina had gotten along harmoniously. However, Rose
did not understand the reason her mother was still putting up with her father.
"What other choice do I have, Rose? Although your father has always treated me well, for some
strange reason, I failed to charm him. With that being said, please don't pay any attention to your Dad's
words and ruin your life because of Anne," Valentina said with a cold smile.
"What else can I do, Mom? It doesn't matter what I do. Kevin doesn't seem to want to be with me."
Rose pouted slightly.
In order to win Kevin over, she had tried to please Selma, and had even tried to keep up with him.
However, Kevin always seemed indifferent towards her.
Although Valentina knew about the situation, she was not willing to give up. "It's important that you win
Kevin over, Rose. If you fail to do that, it's like you're losing to Anne...just like I lost to her mom. We
can't let that happen again," she said with a bitter smile.
Valentina rarely sounded this serious, so Rose made up her mind to try again.
"When you go to meet Anne later, why don't you ask her to come live with us? Since your dad has
already made it public that she is his daughter, there is nothing we can do about it. It would be better
for you if you'd just try and accept the reality. Who knows! Your acceptance might even make your
father feel guilty for doing such a thing to our family," Valentina continued.
Having been married to Liam for so many years, she knew well that it was better to accept his
misdeeds than to fight against them.
"But if she comes to live with us, won't you feel hurt?" Rose asked with a puzzled look.
"If Anne comes to live with us, we can keep an eye on her, and in return, we can avoid the risk of your
marriage being destroyed," Valentina said firmly.
The Luo Family did not have to worry about money, because they were very wealthy. However,
Valentina had always felt that Kevin would be the perfect person to inherit their fortune, because he
was a good man at heart.
"All right, Mom. But do you really think that I'm doing the right thing?" Rose's heart was in a knot, so
she couldn't make up her mind.
"Let me tell you something, Rose, nothing can be easily categorized as good or bad, because there is
a justification for everything. Besides, it's not like you're ruining someone's marriage, right?" Valentina
said with a snort.
"Fine, then," Rose replied reluctantly.
In Claire Jewelry City
Although it was freezing outside, the interior of the shop was warm and cozy.
"Hello, Miss Rose. What can I do for you?" one of the store assistants asked.
Rose was dressed casually, and she was wearing a large pair of sunglasses that covered almost half of
her face, but people still recognized her the minute she walked in.
In fact, everyone in A City knew her.
She was a very wealthy and elegant woman. She often visited the city to shop for the latest fashion
trends.
Rose nodded at the store assistant in acknowledgment, but didn't say anything.
"We're sorry, Miss Rose, you've come a bit early this season, so we still don't have any new designs
yet," the store manager said, walking up to her.
Rose took off her sunglasses and said, "Is there a designer here named Anne Luo? I want to meet her.
It looks like the jewelry piece I purchased last time was designed by her."
"Oh... Sure, I'll ask her to come right away," the manager said after a moment of hesitation.
Anne had her own office in Claire Jewelry City. She assisted all the wealthy, influential women with their
design queries.
Moreover, the aim of their store was to improve the communication gap between the buyers and
designers.
"Anne, Miss Rose is outside. She wants to meet you."
Anne was so absorbed in reviewing her design that when she heard someone calling her, she raised
her head and glared at them.
"Ask her to come in," she said coldly.
A minute later, Rose entered her office.
As soon as they saw each other, the atmosphere became tense.
"Hello, Anne," Rose greeted her with a smile.
She had always called Anne by her name, but now, she felt weird doing it.
"What's the problem?" Anne asked indifferently.
"I know who you are," Rose said flatly.
"So what?"
Anne was not planning on joining their family, so she gave Rose the cold shoulder.
"I just wanted to invite you to come live with us," Rose replied, biting her lip.
Upon hearing that, Anne was taken aback.
"But...why?" she asked.
She had always believed that the Luo Family never wanted her, so she did not believe Rose's words.
However, when she saw the genuineness in Rose's eyes, she couldn't help but be amazed by it.
"You're a part of our family. Besides, Dad is getting old and I don't want to upset him. I have always
thought of you as a good person. Although I have just learned that you are my sister, I know you well
enough to say that you are good at heart."
Upon hearing Rose's comforting words, Anne frowned in thought, but soon, she relaxed, remembering
her mother's words.
Her mother had told her that the Luo Family was a wealthy family that only cared about their status.
They had always been rich; that was the reason they could afford to make Rose free of all the worries
of life.
"Thanks, but I'm not interested. I'm not going to live in that house. Oh, and here's the contract that your
dad gave me. You can keep it," she said calmly, holding out a document.
Rose took the contract from her and went through it. She saw that her father had promised Anne a
whopping 20% of their company's shares.
"Dad must really love you to offer you such a large portion of the company's shares," Rose said. Her
tone was laced with an unmistakable sense of jealousy.
"Well, I don't need it, so don't bother." As she said those words, Anne felt more free than she had ever
felt before.
"I would advise you to take it, Anne. I know that you're a very gentle and kind-hearted woman. You're
refusing to accept it only because you're worried that it might embarrass our dad, right?" Rose's eyes
flashed with understanding.
"Like I said, I have no interest. Whatever my reasons are, it's none of your business," Anne said bluntly.
"I agree with Dad's decision to give you the shares because money isn't important to me. No matter
what, I have his love. I know you've suffered a lot in the past, so I want him to compensate you. But
there is one thing that I won't give up. I will definitely win Kevin's heart. Although I'm sorry for you, the
two of you are already divorced. I don't think I'm directly doing you any harm," Rose said seriously.
Until now, Anne had remained calm, but now, she felt like laughing.
Rose wasn't directly doing her any harm, and more so, she was helping her to cure Eddy's disease this
way.
But then why did she feel like her heart was being stabbed with a knife?
"I'll think about it and give you an answer soon. But I need three days, because I'm busy with work right
now. We're releasing new products the day after tomorrow," Anne finally said, regaining her
composure.
The truth was, she had a feeling that she would eventually go to the Luo Family's house. Even when
her mother was still alive, every time she saw other girls spending time with their fathers, she would be
very envious. Her mother had always been sorry that she couldn't give her a complete family. In fact,
Anne didn't need it, but her mother always wanted to give her the best.
Anne knew that if her mother was alive, she would let her go back to the Luo Family's house.
"Sure. But it'll be great if you come back to our family.. No member of the Luo Family can be easily
bullied. We will protect you in the future," Rose said sincerely.
However, Anne lowered her eyes. She had been too weak before; that was why she had been easily
bullied by Cherry and Kevin. But now, she had become strong.
Although her relationship with Rose was still a grey area, she said, "Thank you."
Rose nodded and left Claire Jewelry City.
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