Chapter 9 His Persistence
With his eyes on her pallid face, Kevin felt his heart ache as the words of apology he had prepared to pronounce were struggling to make their way out of his throat.
In the end, his initial intention resolved to crumbles. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"Ha." Anne's lips curled into a feeble sneer. She wanted to stand up for herself, but on second thought, it didn't really matter indeed. In ten months, she would divorce him, and everything related to him was losing significance.
Feeling suddenly tired and sick of seeing him, she turned around and sighed faintly. "You can leave now. I need some rest."
Her indifference made Kevin's heart ache even harder. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the strength to tell her how he felt. "Have a good rest."
As he walked out of the room, mixed feelings were starting to come to the surface. He should have been overjoyed. Instead, all he felt was anguish and gloominess.
In an attempt to make sense of his feelings, he raised his hand before his eyes, noticing that it wasn't shaking and his vision was unclouded. Then why was he feeling like that?
He was going to be a father. He was going to have a child. Why was he unhappy?
Most importantly, he was about to break up with the woman he was sick of.
Lifting the corner of his mouth into a slight smirk, he admitted to himself, 'Kevin, you should be happy.'
Then he strode away, his eyes returning to their usual sharp and cold expression.
Silence engulfed the room where Anne and Sam were now alone.
Trying to wriggle away from under her blanket again, Anne was stopped by Sam once more. "What do you need? Tell me."
In an emotionless and blunt tone, she replied, "I want to get out of here."
On the pathway in the front yard of the old house, Kevin was standing before Ruth with a gelid expression on his face.
Glancing anxiously at Cherry, Ruth faked a commiserative voice as she apologized to Kevin. "Mr. Kevin, I bumped into Anne by accident. I didn't know that the water would spill out and fall on Cherry." With her hand teasing Kevin's arm coquettishly, Cherry barged in promptly, "Kevin, don't take it to heart. It was just a petty accident that shouldn't affect the amicable relationship that everyone enjoys. I like Ruth very much. I don't blame her."
At this time, Anne happened to be downstairs, witnessing the scene.
She had stopped in her tracks upon noticing that Kevin was there. But then, she strode past him as if she hadn't even seen him.
As he watched her passing by, Kevin interrupted his discussion with Ruth and ran after Anne at once. "Where are you going?"
"Home," without turning to him, Anne uttered that one word in an icy tone.
Kevin followed her closely, keeping an attentive eye on her steps. He was afraid that she could trip and fall down if she wasn't careful enough. "I'll drive you there." Cherry's face clouded over at the sight of Kevin escorting Anne so thoughtfully. Trying hard to suppress her anger, she fixed Anne with her lips pursed tightly.
Ruth raised her eyebrows and leaned toward Cherry subtly. "In ten months, she will leave Mr. Kevin for good."
As to calm herself down, Anne took a deep breath before answering Kevin. "No, thanks. I have a driver."
Still following her closely, Kevin didn't seem to mind her tone. "I'll ask the driver to go home."
Without warning, Anne stopped walking and turned her gaze toward Kevin. With anger gleaming in her eyes, she spoke spelling out her words. "Are you afraid that I will hurt your child? Don't worry. I also want to divorce you as soon as possible."
At her words, Kevin halted abruptly.
With his almost 1.9 meters of height, he was a tall man, but now he felt small and insignificant.
He took a step back and hissed angrily, "It's good that you understand."
For a second, color drained from Anne's face. She turned on her heels and left without a word.
Watching her walk away, Kevin felt rage boiling up inside his chest. At last, he shouted through gritted teeth, "Cherry, let's have a party to celebrate that we are getting married in a few months!"
His intentionally loud voice reached Anne's ears, making her shoulders tremble slightly.
Sam had seen everything, but he chose not to say a word. Keeping his head low, he walked beside Anne quietly.
After getting in the car, Anne sank in the backseat with a sigh. She let her eyes drift on the scenery outside the window. The city was rather lively even at night. The streets were full of couples walking hand in hand, talking and laughing cheerfully.
Shifting her gaze, she looked down at her belly.
Flat as always, there was nothing unusual about it. But she knew that a little human being was starting to grow inside of it.
Without the burden of the contract weighing on her, she would have been happy to be a mother. Sadly, that was not the case.
"Prepare some fresh food for me and send it to the Grand View Garden. As soon as possible."
The sound of Sam's voice brought Anne's attention back to the present. "I don't feel like cooking now," she pointed out in a tired tone.
The Grand View Garden was where she lived. She thought that the reason why Sam had just bought food was because he wanted her to cook it herself.
"You need to eat something. The baby needs it." Sam's voice was calm and steady as usual. "I'll cook for you."
'Baby.' The look in Anne's eyes changed suddenly. She started feeling a little irascible. Without replying, she turned her gaze to the window. Her mind was a mess. Observing her distressed expression, Sam raised his eyebrows apprehensively. "If you don't want..."
"No, I want this baby," Anne answered categorically.
With his eyes on the contour of her face, Sam stayed in silence for a long time.
Although Anne felt deeply irritable in that moment, she knew that she already loved her baby and would do anything to keep it safe.
In a dimly lit room of a high-end club, more than a dozen men and women were sitting languidly around small tables loaded with several glasses and bottles.
A strong smell of alcohol and expensive cigarettes permeated the air.
Kevin was sitting on the biggest sofa with his hand tapping irritably on the soft cushion. Cherry sat beside him in silence, looking gloomy.
Glancing at her, Alan cautiously handed Kevin two glasses of wine. "I apologize for my sister's recklessness. Don't be unhappy. You will divorce Anne soon..." "Shut up!" Kevin clenched his hands in furious fists as he glared at him angrily.
His whole body was trembling with rage, as if he was about to strangle Alan to death.
Frightened by his sudden outburst, Alan drew his glass back and turned to Cherry, his eyes begging for help.
Cherry was a little annoyed. Kevin had already lost his temper several times that night because of Anne.
Holding back her exasperation, she whispered to him, "Kevin, I want to go home."
He too wished to leave. As he stood up abruptly, he stretched his hand to Cherry.
While still hurting inside, she took his hand and gave him a loving smile.
Then, they strode off together.
"
After making sure that the two had left the room, Alan smashed the glass to the ground furiously. "What the hell! Kevin was the one asking us out because he felt unhappy. And now, he just leaves us here. When will he learn to control his temper? I'm a young master too!"
Eric shook his head sympathetically and put his hand on Alan's shoulder. "You know his temper. Just have a good time. Don't let him get to you."
Alan was so enraged that he emptied another glass of wine tilting his head back.
As the car was drawing near the Grand View Garden, Anne uttered, "I can cook by myself. Don't bother. You can go home now."
Without turning to look at her, Sam kept his gaze ahead. His expression didn't change, but his tone was growing persistent. "Your current situation requires the presence of a doctor. What if the fever returns? It could be very bad both for you and the baby."
'It is true, 'Anne admitted to herself. She had to agree with the doctor. "Thank you."
Her house was clean and tidy. Although she was a married woman, the place where she lived was as refined as the villa of an elite white-collar.
The floor was bright, and the tables and windows immaculate. A faint fragrance of leaves and grass filled the air.
After she had planted a lemon tree on the balcony, the scent of the yellow fruits had started to infuse the house with a delicate scent.
Pacing hurriedly, the servant brought the things required by Sam in short order.
Sam took off his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, revealing his strong arms. Right after that, he headed straight to the kitchen with the food. "Prepare a light meal. I have no appetite. No fish or meat, please." After instructing Sam, Anne started to trudge toward her bedroom.
She needed to take a shower and change into comfortable clothes.
Looking at her back as she zoomed out, Sam asked, "What do you want to eat?"
He knew her decision would depend on the cravings induced by the pregnancy.
After she took her time to think about it, Anne answered dully, "Whatever."
Leaning back on the left seat, Kevin frowned at the name in the contact list of his phone. He had tried several times to press that name, but to no avail.
Cherry was smart enough to grasp what he was thinking. Hiding her discontent, she put on a sympathetic face and broke the silence, "Call her if you're worried about the baby."
Taken aback, Kevin shifted his focus onto Cherry. As he made sense of her words, he took her in his arms with a smile.
He kissed Cherry on the forehead and replied, "I want to see if she is taking good care of my child. I don't want to delay the divorce for too long."
Finally feeling her heart lighter and happier, Cherry smiled, but said nothing.
Now in a better mood, Kevin pressed his index finger on 'Annoying Wife' and brought the phone to his ear.
The phone rang and rang, but nobody answered.
Anne was taking a shower when she heard her phone ringing. The sound went on until Anne came out of the bathroom. After she saw the name 'Mr. Kevin' on the screen, she put her phone on vibrate mode and threw it directly on the bed.
Without caring to finish drying her hair, she walked out of the bedroom. As soon as she entered the living room, she heard Sam's phone ringing on the cupboard.
"My phone is ringing. Answer it for me," Sam shouted from the kitchen after he'd heard Anne's quiet footsteps in the living room.
Her eyes darkened as she walked over and picked up his phone. Then, she turned on the voice and put it on the counter in front of him.
Sam was cooking. But he quickly got it after he took a look at Anne's face and then at the name on the screen.