"So, Sam, have you made up your mind?" Kevin had known Sam for a long time, and he knew that
mentioning his mother was the most effective way of dealing with him.
"I've made up my mind, Kevin. If you do this, aren't you afraid that I'll hurt your child in the future?" Sam
asked, gritting his teeth.
Infuriated, he made no attempt to be polite.
"I'm not afraid. My child is also your nephew," Kevin answered indifferently.
It seemed as though he did not care about his child at all. However, he had, in fact, already thought all
of this through. His intention now was to take advantage of Sam's integrity.
"I can stay in AN Group for at most a week. That's it," Sam said seriously. His face hardened, and his
tone was final.
"Sure," Kevin said with a smile.
"That's it? Just like that?" Sam asked, surprised. He had thought that Kevin wouldn't let him go that
easily.
"Of course." Kevin patted him on the shoulder as if he knew how tense he was.
"Okay," Sam replied, feeling relieved. He had hoped in the past that Kevin would treat Anne well. Now,
he had come to realize that whenever this man was around, someone was always bound to suffer.
All of a sudden, Sam noticed that Kevin was flashing him a charming smile. Something was wrong. He
knew it. Then, Kevin spoke. What he said almost made Sam cough out blood.
"You know what, Sam? This week, don't busy yourself with other things. Instead, come up with a plan
that would allow me to visit the company less often this year," he said calmly.
While Kevin spoke casually, Sam felt frustrated. It was as if the room had suddenly grown darker.
"Why don't you come up with that yourself?" Sam sneered.
"You can do it. By the way, I heard that Emily's family business is overseas. Is that right?" Kevin asked.
Sam was taken aback by the question.
"Yes. What are you planning to do?" He was afraid that Kevin would be so heartless as to use Emily's
family business against him.
"If you dare do anything to Emily, may God help you, because I won't show you any mercy," he
declared. He had an inkling that Kevin was up to no good.
"What are you talking about? I want to bring her business here, to our country, in the name of corporate
partnership. When this goes through, you'll only need to go to F Country to deal with follow-ups," Kevin
explained casually.
All of a sudden, Sam understood what Kevin meant. Emily would definitely not accept help from him,
but she would if it came from Kevin.
"What do you think, Sam? Am I the best or what?" Kevin said with a smile.
The two men were childhood friends and had grown up together. Over the years, they had cultivated a
deep relationship. Kevin would not let Sam suffer losses.
He only wanted to be with Anne.
"Okay. I will try to plan this out for you. Once I have an initial plan, you'll need to go over it. After all, this
is your company. I'm not the best person to make big decisions about it," said Sam seriously.
"Sounds good," Kevin said. Finally, the two were satisfied.
It was a quiet day in the coffee shop across from Claire Jewelry City.
People often had their afternoon tea at 3 PM, but not many people were in today.
The table was a shade lighter than the coffee that was atop it. In the background, music played as
smooth as flowing water. Everyone was enjoying their coffee in peace.
"When I went back that day, my parents were anxious and were not their best selves. I'm sure they
didn't come off as polite. Are you okay?" Rose asked cautiously.
"It's okay. In my opinion, their reaction was only normal. All parents worry about their children," Mark
answered gently.
Upon realizing that he was feeling better than she had thought, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. At the
same time, she could not help but admire how gentlemanly he looked.
"Yes, but after that, my father felt bad about having treated you so rudely, so he wants to have you over
for a meal," she explained, beaming with delight. As she talked, her face grew pink, the same way that
a girl blushed when talking to someone she liked.
The truth was that Mark didn't hate her. In fact, he knew that he was slowly beginning to like her, and
this confused him. Although he did not like her that much at the moment, he was willing to see where
things would go.
"If you think about it, it's my fault for making your family worry," Mark explained. There was a hint of
self-blame in his voice.
Rose only chuckled and said, "You are a good man, but you are too responsible."
"Isn't that good?" Mark asked.
"It's both good and bad. In other people's eyes, you are a trustworthy person. In other aspects,
however, such as in marriage, this tendency of yours may cause issues."
Mark smiled faintly upon hearing this. "I think I know what you mean, but there's something you don't
know. To people who are not important to me, I'm not like this."
"Well, maybe." Rose didn't want to talk about this until she was sure that she deserved to.
She gazed out of the window. She looked absolutely elegant but not intimidating. Everyone who looked
at her would feel like they could just walk up and talk to her.
Mark caught a glance of her and noticed that something about her had changed.
He liked Anne. It had been established. When he first saw Rose, he immediately saw similarities
between the two women. That was why he had begun paying more attention to Rose. Now, he realized
that this might not have been the case.
They were completely different people. Although Rose looked elegant and noble, she was actually
easy-going.
When he had first met Anne, he immediately noticed her strong personality and heart. In other words,
Anne was not used to being taken care of.
Realizing that he was probably overthinking things, Mark thought to change the subject. "Is the coffee
any good?"
Rose lowered her head. Looking at her coffee, she frowned and said, "To be honest, it's not to my
liking."
"What's wrong?"
"I like sweet food. I know, it makes it easy to gain weight, but I still like it. I can have sweet drinks every
few days, and I would still like them," Rose explained softly.
As Mark listened, he stirred his coffee mindlessly.
In the East Mountain Villa.
The carpet on the floor was unbelievably soft to the touch, and painted on it was an adorable cartoon
animal. There were all kinds of toys on it, too, just waiting to be played with.
Eddy walked around in his panda socks. Upon spotting the toys, he sat down to play for a while. Anne
happened to have some time on her hands, and so she rested on the sofa with her eyes on her little
boy the whole time. Looking at Eddy being his adorable self made her smile.
"Having fun, Baby?" Kevin asked. He had returned to see Eddy lying on the ground and playing with a
toy train. He stretched his arms toward the boy and lifted him up.
Eddy, now in an elevated position, immediately cheered up. He grinned, prompting him to salivate, as
children did. His eyes shone brightly.
Now that he was a year old, he was looking more and more like Kevin. No one knew just how
handsome he was going to be when he grew up.
"Didn't you go to work? Why are you back so early?" Anne asked, sounding unhappy.
She didn't think it was appropriate for Kevin to give Sam full control of the company's affairs.
"Well, I've talked to Sam," he responded, pinching her on one chubby cheek.
"What did you talk about?" she asked curiously.
"Just work. You don't have to worry about it. Take care of yourself and the baby."
He put one hand on her shoulder but kept the other on her face. Anne kept knocking it off.
"Sam has other things to worry about. Emily has been going through some things lately. He must be
worried about her," she said, concerned. She was afraid that the work in Kevin's company was getting
in the way of Sam's own business.
Kevin then smiled and said mysteriously, "It's okay. Sam's willing to help. Emily will be fine."
At that moment, Anne realized something. She stopped asking questions.
"Mommy. Hug!" Eddy, feeling tired, wanted Anne to pick him up. Before she could stretch her hands out
toward him, Kevin scooped him up and handed him to the servant.
"The young master is tired. Let him get some rest," he ordered.
Anne was not pleased. "Eddy wanted me. Let me pick him up."
"We just found out that you're pregnant. The doctor said that you should be extra careful in the next
three months. Don't you remember?" Kevin reminded her, furrowing his perfect brows.
This made Anne reconsider. Even though she did not like it, she decided to do as he said.
Although she had decided to heed his advice, Kevin remained unhappy. He had won against many
other men for her love, only to lose to Eddy. It was clear that she cared more about the little boy than
about him.
Despite this, he reached out and held Anne tightly in his arms. He had no choice in this matter. While
this might be the case, his love for her grew day by day.
"Let me go. I want to get some rest," Anne said. She managed to free herself from his embrace after
struggling a few times.
"You won't get any proper rest here. It's uncomfortable. Let me take you back to your room," Kevin
offered. Anne could not refuse.
"Okay."
They got into the room, and he tucked her in gently. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was from Sam.
"What's the matter?" he asked at once upon picking it up.
"Come to the company. I need you. This is important." The call was brief, but Kevin realized the
importance of it.
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Anne noticed that something was off. Her eyes shone with concern. "What's wrong?"
She always pretended not to care about Kevin, but this was not the time for that.
He looked deep into her worried eyes. He was so moved that he found himself trying to put her mind at
ease. "It's not a big deal. Don't worry. I just have to have a look at some things, and then I'll be back
very soon."
"Okay. Be careful on the way there."
Kevin promptly left, and in seconds, the room had fallen silent. Anne felt restless. AN Group had never
been in any serious trouble before. Seeing Kevin anxious worried her.
"Maybe it's just Sam needing some assistance with company matters," she murmured, trying to comfort
herself.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda