The place was enveloped in a pleasant warmth.
Playful banter filled the air as Anne and Kevin poked fun at Sam and Emily. Even Eddy and Sally joined
in with their own witty remarks. It was rare for the East Mountain Villa to be so full of life.
It was as if Kevin was once again learning to smile after knowing nothing but coldness for the past two
years. His smile and laughter grew more and more frequent as the hours passed.
After dinner, they maids served some cut-up fruits for dessert. It was already late, but they had barely
noticed the pass of time as their conversations deepened into the night.
They were still enjoying each other's company when Emily said, "It's time for us to go back, Anne."
She snuck a furtive wink at Sam and squeezed his hand lightly. Kevin and Anne had just been reunited
after being apart for such a long time. Emily wanted to give them their space.
Sam quickly picked up on her intentions and nodded, "It's way past bedtime for the children too. We'll
go ahead and let you rest."
"Are you two lovebirds in such a hurry to have your date?" Anne said. Her face was a little flushed from
drinking a few glasses of wine, and her voice had a lilt to it as she spoke. "I still have a lot to say to
Emily. Can't I borrow your girlfriend for a while?"
"Anne," Emily chastised her lightly. She was used to Anne's antics, but she felt a little embarrassed,
and frankly a little sorry for Kevin. "Why do you always make fun of me? You and Mr. Kevin haven't
seen each other in a long time. I think the two of you have more things to talk about."
"Emily is right," Kevin, who had been silent, answered. He turned to Anne with an almost cold
expression and continued, "I'm sure you will have plenty of time to catch up. I also have a lot to talk
about with you."
"You... But we aren't..." Anne began to protest.
But before she could finish her words, the sound of the doorbell rang across the room.
"I'll get it!"
Eddy jumped up excitedly and rushed towards door.
"Dad!" His voice floated from the end of the hall. "Grandma is here!"
It was Selma.
At the mention of her name, an uneasiness settled upon Anne. Two years ago, Selma had welcomed
her and treated her well, but Anne was only too aware that it was because she was pregnant with
Kevin's child. A lot could have changed in the long stretch of her absence, and Anne had no idea what
Selma thought of her now.
Still, it would be common courtesy to see her, now that she had come here.
Kevin was taken aback by his mother's sudden appearance as well. He knew that Selma had been out
on a business trip. She shouldn't have been back for another three to five days, but here she was now.
Anne recovered quickly and stood up, going by herself to the door to greet Selma. The others naturally
followed her to the porch.
"Mom, I thought your trip would take a few more days," Kevin said. A frown creased on his forehead as
he watched Selma, who was dragging her suitcase. "You should have told me you were coming back
sooner. I would have sent someone to pick you up."
"Send someone to pick me up?"
Selma scoffed, eyeing Anne from head to toe as she stood next to Kevin.
She did not bother with pleasantries, nor did she try to hide her distaste. Her sharp eyes raked over
Anne's figure. Anne could almost feel the cold graze of her glare. She had an inkling that her sudden
arrival had something to do with her own return, and that Kevin and the others had been caught in the
crossfire of her anger.
She did not expect to be treated warmly—she knew that she and Selma were cordial at best. Still,
where was all this animosity coming from? Shouldn't it be a happy occasion that Anne had come back
with Sally?
Was she still holding a grudge over what happened with Rose?
Anne masked her expression with calmness and greeted her as if nothing was amiss,
"Mom."
She then tugged at Sally, who was timidly hiding behind Kevin. "Sally, call her grandma," she said.
Sally didn't like the fierce-looking woman in front of her, but she obeyed her mother's words. "Hello,
Grandma," she said in a small voice.
Kevin's eyes shifted from Anne to his mother.
He could not decipher his own mother's anger. Sally did as she was told and greeted her obediently.
What else was there to be upset about?
As he mulled this over, his eyes met Anne's and he saw her eyes mirror the confusion in his own.
"Who are you calling your grandma?"
Selma answered sternly, her voice devoid of any warmth. Sally shrank back behind Anne, frightened by
the older woman's unwelcoming gaze.
"I don't know you, nor where you came from. So let me ask you instead. What is a stranger like you
doing here, staying comfortably at my son's house?"
Selma crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down at Sally, almost as if she was inspecting a
defective purchase.
"Mom, how could you say that? Sally is my daughter and your granddaughter!" Kevin said, stepping
between Sally and her mother's cold gaze.
"Kevin, you are a fool!" Selma shouted angrily. "Do you know what the papers are saying? Just take a
look in the internet. Your name is plastered everywhere! Go out and see what the media outside are
talking about. 'CEO of AN Group: Raising a Kept Woman’s Child.' Do you really think you are still a
happy family? And how could you just take her word for it, huh? Think about it clearly. This woman
disappeared for two years and suddenly brought a child back. How can you even be sure that she's
yours? Who knows what she could have been doing from wherever she came from?"
The rising voices alarmed Sally and she burst into tears from the thick tension in the room.
"Grandma, how could you say that about my sister?"
Eddy said, stepping forward protectively at the sight of his sister’s tear-streaked face.
"Eddy, you're still a kid. Stay out of this. You don't understand." Selma pulled Eddy forcefully to her side
and said, "That girl is not your sister!"
"Mom."
Anne had reached the end of her tether. She could stand here all day and listen to Selma curse at her
and call her whatever name she saw fit, but it was a different matter altogether if her children were
involved. She could not just stand back and keep on listening to her attack her daughter. Her fists
shook as she controlled her anger.
If anything, she was the victim here. Why was Selma speaking as if she had been the one wronged?
She could have looked past the fact that Selma was slandering her to her face, but she had spoken
carelessly about her children. That was something she could never let go.
In the midst of the roiling waves of her anger, another thought came to her. Who was spreading these
rumors? It had already been two years since she had disappeared. She should have already been
yesterday’s news.
Could it have been Kim?
No—he was cruel man, but he would not resort to such underhanded tactics.
But for now, there were more pressing matters. Anne collected herself and restrained her fury as she
spoke again. "I can guarantee you that Sally and Simon are our children—Kevin and mine. We can
take a paternity test, if you still insist on believing all these nonsense. I have nothing to hide. As for your
personal opinion about me, there is nothing I can do about it, but please don't say these things in front
of the kids. They might not understand the words that you say, but they perceive your intentions clearly.
As adults, we should all try to set a good example."
"You bitch!"
Selma shrieked. Anne's words touched a sore nerve, and she erupted in anger.
"You think you can lecture me? Know your place. You might have managed to fool my son, but I am
different," she hissed, then turned to Kevin. "Kevin, listen to this woman! Are you really just going to
stand there while she speaks to me like this? Get her out of here!"
The frown on Kevin’s forehead deepened as he struggled to hold on to his reason.
It was just one trouble after another.
It had been the first time in two years when Anne had come back with their children that he had once
again found happiness. He wanted nothing else than to envelop himself in the warmth that he had lost.
But it was as if the world was adamant in not letting him rest. Here was his mother, stirring up yet
another troublesome scene and disrupting their peace.
"Anne," Kevin sighed as he rubbed his temples wearily. "You shouldn't have talked to Mom like that."
Biting her lips, Anne recognized her error and nodded. "I apologize for my manner of speaking, But I
refuse to apologize for protecting my children. You can say what you want about me, but do not drag
them into this. Not a single word against them."
"No one wants to hurt the kids," Kevin answered.
Anne's head turned sharply to his, and found a cold expression on his face as he continued, "We will
find out the truth soon enough."
Find out the truth?
Anne's eyes widened as she listened to him in disbelief.
Did he...?
Also believe those words?
Anne wanted to laugh at the absolute ridiculousness of it all. Was that all she amounted to the man she
had kept thinking of and longed for every day for two years? Were her words only as believable as the
headlines of tabloids?
The forlorn and crushed expression on Anne's face gripped painfully at Kevin's heart. He felt even
defeated as he thought of the misunderstanding that had just occurred. They had just found each other
again, and already there was a rift growing between them. But as much as he wanted to, he could not
comfort her at this time—not under Selma’s watching eyes. It would only complicate things even further
if she saw him taking Anne's side. He was stuck with the only choice, which was waiting for another
chance to explain things to Anne.
Oblivious to his true intentions, Anne felt the heavy pang of heartache fill her chest.
"Mom," Kevin looked at Selma pleadingly. "You should go back for now. Anne has just come back. We
should give her time to rest. Please don't make things difficult for Anne before we figure things out."
"Fine," Selma agreed begrudgingly. "This woman has made you forget your own mother, Kevin. Have a
good life, you two. I don’t give a damn anymore."
Without sparing another glance, Selma left the East Mountain Villa.
Anne's shoulders trembled from the intensity of her rage. Bending down, she picked up Sally who was
still sobbing and went back to the bedroom, running a comforting hand over the child's back.
"Mr. Kevin..."
Emily said hesitantly. She had remained silent for the rest of the ordeal, but she was anxious for Anne.
Did Kevin really buy all that nonsense?
"Sam, find out where the rumors came from. I want to track down all the sources and the people
involved."
Sam looked at Emily reassuringly before nodding.
"I'll escort Anne and the child to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow. You have nothing to worry
about," Sam promised.
Kevin nodded in a silent expression of his gratitude. Then, he turned to Emily next. "Emily, can you take
care of the media?"
Emily's face lit up at his words. "Of course, Mr. Kevin. Leave it to me. They won’t be bothering Anne for
much longer."
"I appreciate it," Kevin said, letting out a deep sigh, as if his exhaustion was catching up to him. "I
couldn’t be happier, now that Anne is back with our children, but these days are incredibly frustrating.
Thanks for both your help. Now I have to talk to Anne next. I’m sure she's also brooding over what just
happened."
"Don’t mention it. You should go to her now," Sam said, patting Kevin on the shoulder, then leaving with
Emily.
"Anne,"
Kevin's voice called out to her quietly.
She had already lulled the two children to sleep. Kevin had found her looking at them as they slept
peacefully, her eyes soft and tender.
"Let’s go back to our room and talk," he said gently.
"You mean your room,"
Anne answered heavily.
"Anne, please. Not now. I don’t want to start arguing in front of the children. They had seen more than
enough quarrelling for a day..." Kevin implored.
It seemed that his words had had made sense to her as she nodded.
"Okay," she said, standing out and stepping out of the children’s bedroom.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Once they were out of the room, it was as if Anne had put up all her defenses. She crossed her arm
over her chest and looked at Kevin as he sat down on the bed. They were in the same room, but Kevin
felt as if she was a thousand miles away from him.
He wanted to bridge that distance and scale her walls. "I trust you, Anne," he began.
Kevin raised his arm and drew her near, each movement slow and deliberate, as if he was giving her a
chance to escape if she wanted to. When she did not protest, he buried his head in her chest and Anne
felt the warm weight of his breath and the fabric of her shirt.
"I believe you... You can’t even begin to imagine just how much I love you. The rumors don’t matter. I
will always choose your words. Earlier, that was all smoke and mirrors. I couldn’t take your side in front
of my mother. It was the best way to protect you."
Anne remained in thoughtful silence for a few moments, quietly pondering about Kevin's words. Finally,
she answered, "Kevin, I know that all this is hard for you, and I understand your mother. I am a mother
too, and just like her, I will go through any lengths to protect my children. I couldn’t just sit there quietly
and let her keep running her mouth when it is my children who are being attacked."
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