Chapter 5 Taking Care Of The Mistress

After she had been splashed by Kevin, Anne was now standing in front of Cherry with her clothes still dripping.

Kevin's presence loomed over her from behind. Wearing a neat shirt and a pair of casual pants, he had his arms folded. Obviously, he was going to enjoy seeing her getting embarrassed.

"Why are you all wet?" Cherry's tone was a mixture of surprise and concern. "Quick, go and change your clothes."

The worry and nervousness in her voice made her look like a kind older sister taking care of her sibling.

But Anne knew that she was just pretending.

Cherry's eyes were telling a different story. They didn't care to hide the joy and victory she must have felt.

"I'm here to apologize to you. Then I'll go change my clothes." Although she could see through Cherry's hypocrisy and disguise, Anne kept her expression impassive. She didn't want to expose her.

No matter what she said, there were always people ready to believe in Cherry's deceptions.

"I said it wasn't your fault. Why are you apologizing?" Cherry moved her gaze to Kevin, a hint of false accusation in her voice. "You overreacted. It's really nothing to do with Anne. You worry too much about me. People get sick sometimes. How can it be Anne's fault?"

It seemed that she was blaming Kevin instead.

However, in Anne's eyes, this was just her way of showing affection.

All this time, she had been immune to their feelings being displayed openly. No matter how disgusting it was, it wasn't something she hadn't heard of before. She had seen way more repulsive performances.

What she was observing now couldn't affect her in any way.

"I shouldn't have let you wait for the driver in the rain and get wet. It's all my fault. Cherry..." She took an almost imperceptible breath, gathering all her strength. "Please, forgive me." As though someone had just punched her in her stomach, it pained her to utter those words.

She even felt the taste of blood making its way up her throat.

And Cherry seemed to be feeding off Anne's distress. "Please don't say that," she voiced, curling the corners of her mouth in a complacent smirk.

"How am I supposed to forgive you if you didn't do anything wrong? It's all…" In an attempt to show the sincerity of her concern, Cherry sat up and started to get out of bed to hold Anne's hand.

Growing indignant, Kevin rushed forward and pushed Cherry back on the bed. His words came hurried and slightly anxious. "You're still sick. Why would you get up?" With a glare in Anne's direction, he then added, "She deserves it."

Cherry stared at him with a reproachful expression, pretending to blame him.

Kevin knew better than to make her angry, so he quickly pressed his lips to hers.

While Cherry returned the kiss, a contented smile blossomed on her face.

Looking away slowly, Anne felt a cold breeze enveloping her body and penetrating through her very core. She wished she could leave that place at once.

She opened her mouth ready to speak, when Kevin broke in sulkily. "A family dinner will be held at the old house tomorrow at five o'clock." He turned his gaze toward Anne. "You need to go too, to take care of Cherry."

With her mouth still agape, Anne stared at Kevin in surprise, while Cherry blushed shyly.

Without further bothering to look at Anne, Kevin turned his back to her arrogantly. "It was you who made her get sick." His voice was cold and emotionless. "If you don't take care of her, you won't be qualified to enter the old house."

Anne's hands started resolving into angry fists. Access to the old house was only allowed to the people of the Fu Family and their respectable relatives. She was Kevin's wife, the granddaughter in law of the Fu Family. The thought that she could only enter the house if she took care of a mistress was outrageous.

As she glared at Kevin's back, her eyes froze with repulsion. It was as if her heart had been stabbed by a poisonous arrow, its venom slowly paralyzing her body.

"I see." In spite of everything, she maintained her composure. "I'm leaving now, so… Cherry, have a good rest."

"Be off. You have spoiled the air in here." Kevin's words were sharp and stinging like a thousand needles ready to pierce through her body.

But her heart was already peppered with holes created by him. She would have never imagined that such a handsome and noble man could be both a magnificent and a ruthless being able to hurt people in a way that even taking a single breath around him was painful.

She didn't know such men existed, until she married Kevin.

After all, maybe it was true that if someone didn't love you, they could make your life a living hell in a matter of minutes. Anne had learned it the hard way.

'Kevin, I'm a human being too, just like Cherry.'

Taking a deep breath, Anne hurried downstairs, her body swinging wildly. She felt dizzy and immediately fell to the ground on her side.

"Anne!" Seeing her like that, Emily got scared and rushed to hold her.

Pale and feeble, Anne regained consciousness after a few seconds and stood up. As she spoke, she felt weakness wash over her body. "I'm fine."

"You're cold like an icicle. Let me help you get in the car," Emily mouthed, still holding her tight.

Color was draining out of Anne's face and her skin was growing gelid. She didn't look well. Kevin... He was too cruel to her.

In fact, Emily felt sorry for Anne. Helping her take a few steps toward the car, she uttered with a hint of guilt in her voice, "Anne, it's all my fault. I won't let our people get in touch with them next time."

"It's not your fault." Sinking in the seat of the car, Anne closed her eyes drowsily.

Emily knew that Kevin was hurting Anne deliberately. She sympathized with her, but that wasn't enough to make a difference. The only thing she could do to help her was to be kind to her.

"You don't look good. I'll call Doctor Feng." Throwing her a worried glance, Emily grabbed her bag and started searching for her phone.

With her eyes still closed, Anne felt safe enough to be vulnerable around Emily. "You don't have to call him. Just prepare some clean clothes and buy me a cup of ginger tea. I'm supposed to have dinner with the people of KIA tonight."

"Alas." Emily pitied Anne. Even if she was tired, she still had to deal with the company's business.

Although Kevin could appear as perfect in other people's eyes, he was no more than a merciless and cold-blooded jerk who failed to uphold his responsibilities toward his wife and had an affair with another woman.

Standing in front of a large French window, Kevin took in the scene, watching how Anne's wet clothes adhered to her body and how her hair seemed glued to her head. She was looking like a drowned rat.

Her slim figure wrapped in those soaked clothes made her look even more fragile.

Seeing a woman so exposed moved something inside of him, making his heart ache.

He was about to call the driver and ask him to prepare clean clothes for her and turn on the heat in the car, when he remembered what she had done. He put down the phone he had just picked up, and his eyes turned cold again. The pity he had felt for her faded away in a second.

'Anne, your suffering is less than one thousandth of the harm caused by what you've done.'

Coldheartedly, he looked away and turned around.

After taking a hot shower, changing into clean clothes and drinking a cup of steamy ginger tea, Anne was feeling much better.

Fortunately, she had good physique in the first place and thanks to the advice of the doctor and dietitian of the Fu Family, she would need to drink a cup of hot tea and would recover from any headache and cold.

She was wearing a black low-necked organza top and a black knee-length skirt in the same fabric and geometric pattern. Flashing a pair of black high heels and her slender legs, she looked like a proud queen.

Every time Anne wore high heels and walked with her head up, Emily was tempted to say behind her, "Queen Anne, let me carry your shoes and bags."

But when she said this for the first time, the queen had dismissed her with a disdainful glance.

The dinner was booked by KIA at a private club on the riverside. This club also adopted a membership system, which restricted the access to a limited number of people.

It was in a building with a western style from the last century. Covering a large area flecked with many ancient trees, it dominated the landscape with its uniqueness and charm.

Anne didn't expect to see Ryan there. He was wearing a white shirt and a silver grey suit with a belt that captured his waist perfectly. His short hair was cut neatly and the elegance of his outfit paired nicely with his deep and attractive eyes.

Winking at Anne, he made her want to laugh.

She was quite surprised to see the dishes on the table.

Everyone in the room knew that Ryan specially tailored the dishes to her needs, but nobody said a thing.

When they proposed toasts, they served her the nutritious soups. Sitting beside her, Ryan grinned in her direction.

Despite his gentle expression, his eyes were extremely sharp and penetrating. As soon as anyone dared to bully the queen in his eyes, he would rush to fight them ruthlessly.

Everyone was therefore very careful in his presence.

An hour later, starting to feel a little bored, Anne excused herself and left, saying she needed fresh air.

Following her, Ryan examined Anne's colorless face and asked worriedly, "Are you okay? Let me drive you home. You look pale."

"I..." Just saying that one word was enough for Anne to feel dizzy again. Struggling to stand steadily, she instinctively tried to hold the handrail.

With panic growing in his throat, Ryan rushed to her side to hold her up.

But before he could even touch her, he felt his hand get slapped by somebody all of a sudden.

In a bold black suit, Kevin was standing behind Anne, who fell in his arms not being able to stay on her feet any longer.

She felt a familiar cold breeze breathing on her neck and got immediately sober.

"Mr. Xiao, don't you remember that she is a married woman?" Kevin glared heartlessly at Ryan, while the dim yellow light accentuated his hard-featured aspect.

He was looking even more ruthless and domineering. His shadow fell on Anne, making her suffocate for a moment.

Struggling to stand up and attempting to escape from his arms, she found herself unable to move as he was firmly holding her waist.

"I don't dare to forget it." Narrowing his eyes and throwing him a cold stare, Ryan added calmly, "I just want to help her as a friend."

"I thank you on behalf of my wife." Kevin lowered his gaze down to Anne's pale figure in his arms. His stiff heart felt a bit warmer again, but it was just a moment before it regained its indifference. "My woman never accepts somebody else's hand."

'My woman?' Because of these few words, Anne's heart stopped beating for a second. But what Kevin did next made her heartbeat go through the roof.

He lifted her up.

Dazed, Anne couldn't help but stare at him.

Under the light, his face looked even more glacial and his dark eyes were shimmering with cold-bloodedness.

That man... Was that man her husband, Kevin? She gazed at him without blinking. Was she in a dream?