Much to Kevin's disappointment, no one was there when he went down to the dining room.
"Your meal is ready, Mr. Kevin. Is there anything else I can get you?"
"Where is Anne?"
Displeased, he threw his chopsticks on the table. The servant trembled in fear.
"Miss. Anne said that she would have food in her bedroom, so..."
"Send my food to her bedroom too." With a grunt, Kevin went upstairs and walked into Anne's bedroom without even knocking on the door.
As the door swung open, Anne was just about to swallow a spoonful of porridge. When she saw Kevin's angry face, she coughed and nearly choked on her food.
"What are you doing here in my room?" she asked as she patted her mouth with a napkin.
"Why? Am I not allowed here?" The servant entered and placed his food on the table where Anne was, and then quickly left with her head down. It puzzled and angered him that her first reaction towards him was always hostile and unwelcoming.
He had already sent Cherry away. What else did this woman want?
Sometimes, his fury was so intense that he wanted to go and hit her, just to see if she was capable of having any other reaction towards him. It was hard for him not to think that this woman's heart was made out of stone.
"I told you already that I agreed to live here just so that I can be with the baby. You know how difficult it is for me to be under the same roof as you are. Please don't just barge into my room like that." Slowly and carefully, Anne tried to explain herself once again.
Hearing such ruthless words made Kevin even more infuriated. His hands balled into fists at his sides. 'Ungrateful woman!' he thought. Although he wanted to shout these words at her, he bit his tongue. He knew that the harder he was on her, the more she resisted him.
"Don't think that I'm doing this for you," he replied. "I'm just doing this for the baby. Don't you think it's nice that he has a complete family? Actually, I was hoping you'd let me see him. The baby is not yours alone, after all." Putting his hand in his pockets, he shrugged indifferently and looked carefully at Anne's reaction.
Much to his dismay, she rolled her eyes at him.
"Ha-ha. So now you're suddenly the child's father? Tell me, how was the baby doing before I came here? Cherry mistreated him horribly without you even knowing about it! On top of that, the baby was very underweight!"
Even though the worst part was over since Cherry had been kicked out of the house, so many bad things had happened to the child. These things might have been avoided if only Kevin had paid more attention. Because of this, Anne couldn't help but hate him even more.
"I..." Lowering his head, Kevin was left speechless.
In truth, he actually really loved the baby. When he found out that Anne had gone abroad, he had an overwhelming sense of loss. He was so sad that he was not able to take care of himself nor the baby. During those times, he really thought that Cherry would take good care of the child.
If he told her that he was too sad to take care of the baby, Anne would be sure that he had gone out of his mind. And if he told her that he had expected Cherry to be nice to his baby, he was not sure if he would be driven out by Anne.
"What? Don't have anything to say? Then please go out."
Pointing at the door, she glared at him icily.
Defeated and embarrassed, Kevin turned around to leave. Just before he was about to step out the door, the baby suddenly cried.
The baby's sweet voice immediately made Anne's expression soften. "Oh, baby. I'm sorry. Did mommy wake you?"
At this moment, Kevin suddenly came up with an idea. "See? The baby gets upset whenever we fight. So, whether you like it or not, you and I will have our meals together for the baby's sake." In his heart, he was deeply thankful that the baby started crying as if on cue.
'Ugh! Is this guy for real?' If anything, his statement only made her angrier.
The first thing she wanted to do was to push him out and lock the door. All he was doing was disturbing the time between a mother and her son.
However, she couldn't help but agree that the baby did need a harmonious family environment.
"Fine. When we're done eating, get out and don't come back here again uninvited." After saying that, she turned her attention back to the food in front of her and quietly continued eating her meal.
Kevin's heart flooded with happiness. Finally, after so many attempts, she had agreed to spend some time with him. Walking up to the table, he sat down in front of her and started eating as well.
The two of them ate slowly, not bothering to say a single word to each other. Meanwhile, the baby had his eyes wide open in curiosity. He looked at Anne, and then looked back at Kevin. Eventually, the corners of his small mouth curled up as if he was smiling.
Anne noticed this, and thought that maybe the baby really was smiling because Kevin was there as well. As a result, she felt a little less adverse towards Kevin.
Despite this, she still didn't say a single word to him.
A little while later, Kevin's phone suddenly rang, and the calm atmosphere was shattered.
Glancing at his phone, he saw that it was Cherry calling.
'Damn it!' Without a second thought, he turned off his phone and slid it back into his pocket.
"You should answer her call," Anne said expressionlessly. "You've bothered me enough. Get out."
Since they had nearly finished their meal, she figured that there was no longer a reason for him to stay there any longer. Irritated, Kevin cursed Cherry again in his heart. 'That damned woman's timing couldn't have been more perfect!'
Standing up, he gave a cold, hard look at Anne. "You know, sometimes I wish you'd get off my back. I'm just doing what I think is best for the child. If you think that I'm doing this because I want to be with you, then you're wrong."
"Well, I feel the same way actually," she sneered. "It would be best if we only interact with each other when we're in front of our son."
With a scoff, Kevin opened the door and walked out.
"Stay out of it! If anyone's a fool here, it's you! You're just a pathetic divorced woman. And that son of yours? Good luck explaining to him why he's from a single parent family! He's nothing but a little bastard." With a scoff, Cherry raised her chin and turned her head away from Anne in disgust.
She felt proud that at least she was still an unmarried woman unlike Anne.
At this moment, as Cherry basked in her pride, Anne quickly walked up to her and slapped her across the face.
The shock she felt was even greater than the immense pain burning on her cheek. Her cousin, who she had always bullied and pushed around, slapped her.
"How dare you hit me?! Who do you think you are?!" Raising her hand, Cherry was about to hit her back. However, Anne quickly caught her tightly by the wrist.
It was only then did Cherry fully realize that this woman in front of her was no longer the weakling she knew before.
"You can hurt me. You can insult me. You can even tell lies about me. I don't care. But don't think for one second that I will let you insult my son like that."
As soon as Anne finished speaking, she gave another slap on Cherry's face. There was so much force in her blow that it nearly made Cherry blackout.
Dropping to the ground, Cherry held her hand against her face, stunned with what had just happened.
"Don't test my patience," Anne sneered. With a scoff, she turned around and went back inside.
It took a long time before Cherry came back to her senses. Kevin had drove off long before she was able to get back up on her feet. Humiliated, she clenched her hands in rage, her fingernails digging deep into her skin. "Just wait and see, Anne. I still have a lot in store for you."
YS Hotel.
Situated right at the heart of the city, YS Hotel was one of the most prestigious places in the country. Everything about it exuded luxury, and its world-class service was definitely something the rich and powerful were keen on.
It was precisely because of this reason Kevin had purchased a long-term lease on one of the hotel's private meeting rooms. He knew well how popular this place was with the big bosses.
At this time, Kevin was talking business with a jewelry merchant, Garret Wan. As they were talking, there were times that Garret Wan wanted to say something but ended up keeping it to himself. This made Kevin feel a bit of contempt towards him. Still, he wore a friendly smile on his face.
"It's so boring to be talking about business, Mr. Garret. What do you say we have a few drinks with some lovely company?" Kevin offered. After dealing with so many people, he had a good idea what had been on Garret Wan's mind.
"Well, Mr. Kevin... A business savvy man such as yourself knows how to have fun! I wouldn't say no to a good bottle of wine or brandy," Garret Wan answered eagerly as he rubbed his hands together.
It was all too obvious that he was excited, especially since he would have a beauty to accompany him later.
There were also a handful of hostesses Kevin had arranged precisely for times like this. All of these hostesses were indeed very beautiful, and ready to entertain him and his guests at any given time.
A few minutes later, the double doors opened. Garret Wan's eyes widened as he saw all of the gorgeous women come in, each holding a cold bottle of wine.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Attracted By My Ex-wife