It'll Come Naturally

"Oh, no. We're good here. Just go focus on your work," Annie quickly reassured.

"No, Annie. It's not that. I have work there, you see." Fred took a job as a judge of some rookie singing competition in S city. He would have declined the offer in a heartbeat, if only Annie wasn't in the same city as well.

"Oh. Really? Are you extending your business to S City, too?" Annie, although maintaining her tone, frowned deeply. Somehow, she felt that Fred's coming here would only bring trouble. He had misled everyone at the party into thinking that she was his wife. Things would just get more complicated if he came here.

"No, it's just some kind of commercial work. I don't have other plans apart from that. But I am also thinking about accompanying you for a while until you've finished your work there," Fred replied. He felt very possessive of Annie; he couldn't handle the thought of having some other man swoop in and take her away from him.

"No, really. It's okay. If you think you need to look after me and the kids, you really don't. I can't ask that much from you. Besides, we're doing great over here." Annie tried to fake some enthusiasm, anything that would make Fred change his mind. "What? Don't you want to see me?" Fred said quietly. There was a hint of hurt in his voice. He had spent three years chasing after Annie, hoping that one day she would feel the same way he did. The last thing he wanted was to lose his chance with her. "Oh, no. It's not that. I'm just a bit tired recently," It was true, though. With her new job, new surroundings, and new information she had just learned, it felt as if her life was running along the fast track.

"You should get some rest then. Look, I won't disturb you anymore. Just don't be too harsh on yourself. You have kids to look after," he said. There was no doubt that Fred loved Annie to his very core. The only problem was, he never really directly showed those feelings to her. All those years, Annie had thought he was just being a good friend.

"Okay. Bye." Annie hung up immediately, not wanting to hear any more caring words from Fred.

Fred looked at the phone, stunned. He felt hurt that Annie had suddenly hung up on him just like that. He wanted to talk to her some more, ask about how her day was, how the kids were doing.

The next day, Annie went to MY Mall to do some market research. She heard that all the world-famous brands were there. Little did she know, however, that the mall belonged to FX International Group.

MY Mall was a place overflowing with luxuries. Anyone could find the most world-famous brands there. The floors and pillars were made out of solid marble, and the lights hanging above the mall shone brilliantly against the stores and items. The air even seemed to be sweeter there. Everything about that place was absolutely lustrous.

Annie browsed through some jewelry stores. She also tried to look for inspiration from everywhere else. It was difficult to be in the fashion industry -- you always had to be ahead to stay in the game.

'Is it her?' Annie saw Leena again. But this time, she was not staying with a man but with two peers. They talked and laughed happily, which made Annie admire a lot. They must be very close friends. Annie had never had such good friends in her life. That was just like a dream to her.

"Leena, you are so lucky to have Richard," one of Leena's friends, Patricia, said to her. "It's so easy to calm him down! Not like my son. He's always clinging to me. It gets so annoying! I have to come up with numerous excuses just to get away from him." Her son, Eden, would follow her all the time no matter where she went. Sometimes, he even squeezed in between her and Tom when they were trying to make out.

"It's all because of his father," Leena said matter-of-factly. "Kevin always talks to him like an adult. He never treats Richard like he's a kid, even though sometimes Richard may not understand him completely. But hey, Richard turns out to be a really independent kid." Her mother-in-law also mentioned that Kevin would be easily satisfied when he was a baby. Probably Richard inherited this good character from his father.

"Owen is also quite independent," chimed in their other companion, Michelle. "He has his father's temper, though. Like father, like son." She rolled her eyes. "Owen doesn't even talk to me that much. But anyway, I just try to keep it cool." The three women complained about their children, yet anyone could see in their eyes and how they sighed afterwards how much they loved them.

"Oh, speaking of which, I forgot to tell you about Luke. I get a bit nervous whenever I see him. He just seems like he's too cool for me! Did you know I've never seen him smile? Not once!" Patricia exclaimed. Eden was obviously scared of Luke as well. Every time Luke would throw Eden a cold stare, he would instantly go quiet. Tom joked about it, teasing that he'd like to leave Eden with Luke.

"I know what you mean. I get scared of that guy, too," Michelle replied, pursing her lips. Every time she did something wrong, Luke would cast her a chilling look. She would do his bidding in a flash. Before, she walked around doing as she pleased without any fear. Now, things were completely different because of Luke.

"No way! Luke is nice! He is not terrible at all." Leena looked at them with puzzled and hurt eyes. She could admit that Luke was cool and definitely not the friendliest guy around. But he would never hurt a fly!

"That's from your point of view." Patricia and Michelle rolled their eyes at Leena. Before they stepped into this inner circle, they had never known how those men doted on Leena. When they did, they finally saw it with their own eyes. Leena was totally the princess. Those men would grant whatever was requested by her. Michelle and Patricia would be lying if they said that they were not jealous of Leena. But they also knew for a fact that Leena was unique and irreplaceable. Everything and everyone had the destiny to fulfill.000