"It's late at night." Anne sat at the edge of the bed, beside Kevin and looked at the disgruntled man
guiltily. She hesitated for a while before saying, "I'm sorry to bother you at this time, but in order to
avoid others, we had to come to you at this time. We need to talk to you about something."
The last remnants of sleep had ebbed away. The old man now looked a little vigilant.
"I hope you know us more or less since we spent time in each other's company for the past few days.
Honestly, we came here to know whether your injuries were caused by Abel or by Kim." Kevin
explained carefully.
The old man's eyes filled with dread but he lowered his gaze immediately. Anne and Kevin could detect
his fear but the old man refused to speak.
The couple had predicted that.
The old man wouldn't budge and the couple didn't want to force out a confession from the ailing man.
Anne sighed dejectedly, "If you don't want to talk about it, we won't force you. In fact, we are here to tell
you that if it was really done by Abel, then he doesn't deserve to be your son. You don't deserve such a
painful life." She paused, gauging the man's reaction before continuing, "If you choose to stay with Abel
then he might hurt you in the future as well. You could come with us. Kevin has donated funds to many
well-known nursing homes. You could stay in one of them."
If it was really Abel who did it, then he had lost the right to be a son. Although it might be heart-
wrenching to separate a father from his son but letting him stay with his son would be equally harmful
for him.
"If Cory did it, even then we can think of a way to save you," Anne said with conviction.
The old man's lips trembled. He finally raised his head and looked at Anne and then at Kevin.
These two young people were really good to him. The old man had seen the netizens labelling Anne as
a whore but in his eyes she was a really good and kind-hearted child.
She was a considerate woman.
The saying — seeing is believing, was absolutely correct. He never believed anyone, no matter how
credible their words were, unless he saw it with his own eyes.
He said slowly, "Although I'm old, I know how to deal with people. I understand that you have come to
visit me at this time because you care for me and I am grateful to you for that.
But everyone has his or her own difficulties. I am sorry but I won't be able to comply with your request.
But I promise you that I will repay you in my next life because in this life, I don't know if it will possible."
The old man shook his head in dismay and lowered his gaze again.
A young face flashed through Anne's mind. Even Anne had sworn to herself that she would repay Bob
in the next life.
Now, an old man was saying the same thing to her.
Anne smiled ruefully as she thought, 'Is this retribution?'
"On that day, there were so many people on the street, but you happened to bump into me. In fact, you
knew who I was. All this was planned by you, isn't it?" Kevin asked, his eyes studying the old man
keenly. He then continued, "I made a guess. Kim or Cory has a very strong hold in the underworld, and
Abel is a gangster. For Kim, controlling Abel is not a difficult task. You did it to save your son, right?"
The old man widened his eyes and looked at Kevin in astonishment before he smiled wistfully.
The young man in front of him was a legend in the business world. He was the youngest and most
promising businessman.
Therefore, Kevin had a strong thinking ability. He could see through something that the old man had
tried to hide from them at a glance and now he realized that Kevin hadn't said anything out loud earlier
because he didn't want to embarrass the old man.
Silence prevailed in the room for some time. After waiting and not receiving an answer, Anne sighed.
The old man had closed his eyes again as if he had fallen asleep.
Helpless, Kevin and Anne had to stand up. She tucked the covers under his chin and bid goodnight
before turning off the lights. Then they left room.
In the darkness, the old man suddenly opened his eyes. The feeling of helplessness made his throat
become tight. He sighed before closing his eyes and letting sleep take over his senses.
'I'm really sorry, but I have no choice. I can only choose to do this.' These were the old man's last
thoughts before he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Kevin and Anne leisurely strolled down the city streets. Street lamps illuminated the path and the quiet
of the night was a welcome reprieve.
The atmosphere around them was warm and comforting. Anne tilted her head and looked at the
crescent moon that played hide and seek with the clouds.
"When you retire and the kids grow up, we two should enjoy our life. What do you think of taking a walk
every day, like this?" Anne turned her head and posed the question. Perhaps it was because she had
been in touch with the old man for a long time that she had been dreaming about their future.
Kevin's lips curved into a warm smile. He nodded and said, "Of course, it's good. But the road we walk
on can't be so empty like now. The path we will take, shall be filled with flowers on either side."
Anne's eyes crinkled as she beamed at Kevin. Just thinking of that scene made her heart fill with
happiness.
And once again Kevin found himself bewitched and captivated by that smile.
He would do anything for that smile because he was so in love with her.
Kevin took off his coat and put it around Anne. She smiled gratefully since it was starting to get chilly
and wrapped the coat around herself tightly.
Kevin's coat made her feel secure.
She wished for the road to not end. She intertwined her fingers with Kevin's as they walked, hand in
hand and Anne hoped for the time to stop.
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