Chapter 204 Compromise
Chapter 204 Compromise
When they arrived home, it was already midnight. The air was thick with fog making the villa faintly visible from a distance.
Kevin parked his car in the garage. Just as he was about to grab Anne's hand, he found that she was no longer there.
Disappointed, he knew that it was inevitable for Anne to be indifferent towards him.
As soon as he entered the living room, he spotted Anne who got up at the sight of him. She closed the door behind him in a seemingly deliberate manner.
It didn't take a genius to notice that she was purposely avoiding him.
Still, he knew this was what he had to do if he wanted to see Anne.
The lights in Anne's room had turned off. The curtains were drawn as darkness enveloped the room.
She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She felt disgusted at the idea of being in the same house as Kevin. She didn't know how long she would be able to stand this.
Sighing, she tried her best to fall asleep.
When she woke up, she was glad to find that Kevin had already left.
This time, Selma came early. When she did, Anne was having porridge in the dining room.
The bright sun seemed to dim in Selma's presence.
"Anne. I apologize for what happened last time," Selma said in a small voice.
Anne merely ignored her as she continued to eat her porridge.
"Don't worry, Anne. The baby is with me and your grandfather is taking care of him." The fake smile plastered on Selma's face made Anne sick to the stomach.
However, the mention of Eddy caught Anne's attention.
"Now I've got your attention." Selma flashed her a light smile.
"Stop acting like that. I'm afraid it might kill me. You don't need to pretend," Anne said coldly.
"You..." The pleasant look on Selma's face almost morphed into her usual cruel self but when she recalled what Carl had said, she reverted back to the charming facade.
"Just say what you want to say. We both know what kind of people we are. We hate each other. Why do you have to act like that? It's sickening." Anne's bleakness made Selma furious.
Anne had always been ungrateful. Selma was trying her best to be nice to her yet she was still mocked.
"Eddy's condition has only been getting worse. Sam flew abroad for work but the doctors in the hospital are very credible. They said that Eddy's health is failing. If he can be treated early enough, he can get better. We should work hard. We can't wait until he's four or five years old." As soon as Selma finished speaking, she noticed the grave expression that clouded Anne's face.
She could tell that Anne was upset.
After all, Anne was a mother who loved her son very much.
Even though Selma blew the whole thing out of proportion, there was still some part of it that was true. She refused to believe that Anne wouldn't agree.
Selma had already decided that Kevin was going to marry Rose. She never once considered how Anne would feel about it. After all, they were already divorced. Anne shouldn't even be an option anymore,
and she had no control over Kevin anymore.
"Where is he now? Is he at the hospital or at home? I want to see him," Anne said.
She seemed visibly shaken. She felt sorry for her child who had been suffering from his illness that was only getting worse.
"If you promise me, I'll let you see him," Selma said tentatively.
Upon hearing this, Anne sneered inwardly. Kevin and Selma were indeed family—they both used the same methods to threaten people.
"Well, I can't decide on anything until I see Eddy. Worst case scenario, I'll take my child with me. I don't want him to grow up under the influence of terrible people like the Fu Family."
"You..." Selma was too angry to utter a word.
In the end, she changed her mind. She figured it wouldn't make a difference if she let Anne see the child anyway. It would only speed up the process of Anne agreeing to Kevin and Rose's marriage.
"Okay, I'll take you there."
The old house of the Fu Family had been turned into a playground.
Toys were hidden everywhere as the glass house was elegantly designed to be above water.
It had been renovated ever since Eddy came to the old house.
Since the two had nothing to do at home, they were happy to take care of Eddy.
It wasn't hard to believe that the Fu Family cared about Eddy very much. Even then, Anne couldn't shake off the chilly feeling that enveloped her entire body any time she was around the Fu Family.
"He's in his room. Go and see him yourself." When Selma opened the door, Anne immediately saw Eddy.
Eddy was lying in bed. The bed was covered with light blue sheets designed with floral prints. A transfusion bottle hung by the bedside while a small bottle of medicine could be seen on the table— medicine to keep Eddy healthy after the transfusion.
Still, Eddy was noticeably thinner than before and Anne immediately observed this.
As she saw his little hands and little feet, her heart softened.
"I didn't mean to force you to leave Kevin. Kevin was acting insane. I never liked you but he strongly opposed. I've long foregone caring about your business. If it weren't for Eddy, I wouldn't have hurt you as much." Selma looked at Anne in the eye as she spoke.
When she noticed how intent Anne's gaze at Eddy was, she lowered her voice, feeling mildly guilty.
She'd been against Anne from the very beginning. It could be said that she had never agreed to this.
"You don't have to say any of that. I'll do whatever you want as long as Eddy can recover. I'll leave the Fu Family but you need to promise me that I'll be able to see him regularly. I want him to come live with me for a period of time on a monthly basis," Anne requested.
Suddenly, the look on Selma's face shifted drastically.
"That's too much. Eddy is the child of the Fu Family. How could we agree to that? If word of this gets around, we'll be ridiculed." Selma immediately rejected Anne's request.
Anne was at a loss. It wasn't like she could do anything about this. She recalled the dream she had before—her own child had called someone else his mom.
The pain still pricked her heart.
"We can set that aside for now. But you need to handle Kevin. He refuses to get married. I think you're the only one who can convince him," Selma said in a low but clear voice.
"Don't you think your request is too much? How can I convince him to marry someone else for the sake of our child? Is everyone in your family this shameless?" Quivering in rage, Anne raised her voice.
"Our family owes you for all that you've sacrificed." Carl's voice suddenly came.
Ever since he found out that Eddy was ill, his health had been getting worse.
He slowly approached Anne. The sound of his crutches hitting the floor could be heard with every step he made.
His age had made him wiser than ever.
"I'll give you an additional 3% of the shares of AN Group. I heard that you have 10% and Kevin only has 1/3 of the shares. With this, you could live off the money for the rest of your life. You won't ever have to work," Carl said seriously.
Selma scowled upon hearing this. He would refuse to give his shares to others but would openly give them to Anne who wasn't even their family.
Despite her disapproval, she knew she couldn't say anything. After all, Carl had the right to do what he wanted.
"Are you really going to try to solve this using money again? Can't your family come up with something new?" A sarcastic smile formed on Anne's face.
"Don't you like money? We're trying to give you what you want the most. What else do you want?" Selma was furious.
She herself only owned 12% of the shares. Now that Anne owned 13%, this meant that Anne was above her now.
"No, I don't need your money. As for Kevin, I'll end things as it rightfully should. For the rest of the matter, you figure it out on your own," Anne said in a huff.
Her chest tightened in distress.
She was being forced into a corner with nothing in her hands to fight back with.
What else could she do besides compromise?
"You finally agreed," Selma said lightheartedly, heaving a sigh of relief.
Carl glanced at Selma indifferently and said, "Selma, you're too intolerant. Anne is still a child. She's not evil by nature."
On the contrary, he had grown to like Anne very much. Anne spoke her mind, never stabbing people in the back. She was also a talented and capable woman.
"So what? There are so many great girls out there. Anne's not unique. I think Rose is great too," Selma said proudly. This time, she felt that she had found a good wife for Kevin.
Carl shook his head at Selma's stubbornness. Without saying a word, he turned and stalked off.
Meanwhile, Selma imagined Kevin and Rose together much to her delight.
The night was dreary and the sky was colorless as if it was about to pour any minute now.
Anne slowly walked along the road, letting the chilly wind blow on her.
She was unfazed by the cold as her heart was utterly glacial.
"Anne!"
Rose's voice came out of nowhere taking Anne by surprise.
Rose had been invited to visit the Fu Family. She didn't expect to bump into Anne at the gate. She felt mildly disappointed but she still greeted Anne with a huge smile on her face.
However, Anne didn't respond.
"Anne, I'm sorry. You must have heard about me and Kevin. Do you still like him? Would you like me to help you get back together with him?"
While Rose had realized that she had started developing feelings for Kevin, she felt conflicted. She could see that Kevin still liked Anne and she felt it wasn't a good idea to get in between them.
"No need. Just mind your own business." Anne wanted to get the conversation over with but Rose wouldn't budge.
She couldn't help but be reminded of Cherry who often treated her kindly to her face but turned around and stabbed her in the back.
"Rose, has anyone told you that being too giddy gets annoying sometimes?" Anne spat, seemingly in a bad mood. Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
Rose was taken aback.
"I'm sorry. I know you think I took Kevin away from you but I didn't mean to do that. I really want to help you get back together with him even though I like him," she said sincerely.