Renewal Of Love

"Don't cry. It isn't even serious. It'll heal in no time."

Cherry kept sobbing. Instead of feeling bad for her, Kevin felt exasperated.

He wanted to get angry but he didn't have a reason to.

"Is this because of Anne?" Cherry dabbed her tears dry, glancing at Anne who was sitting on her bed.

Why else would Kevin be here? More so, his hand was injured. This definitely had something to do with her.

At the thought of this, Cherry sharpened her gaze towards Anne.

Anne remained unperturbed, looking back at her calmly. After all, she was already used to this.

"It has nothing to do with her. I hurt my hand on my own," Kevin negated, casting a cold glance at Anne.

Cherry seemed mildly surprised that Kevin technically defended Anne. The resentment inside her heightened as she continued to glower at Anne.

Who knew what Anne did to make Kevin suddenly act this way? It seemed that she had underestimated her cousin.

"Kevin, let me bandage you up first. Look at your hand. It's bleeding." Cherry pulled Kevin, intending to leave with him.

Kevin followed behind her. With that, Anne withdrew her gaze, feeling a pang of pain shoot in her heart.

She almost lost her cool just now as she began to feel concern for him.

Still, she made sure to keep calm and collected. If she showed any traces of worry on her face, he would think she was just acting.

Just as he was nearing the door, he stopped and looked back at Anne, a series of complicated emotions flashing through his eyes.

All this did not go unnoticed by Cherry. She grew anxious. Why had Kevin's attitude towards Anne suddenly changed? What really happened here?

"Kevin..."

Cherry called his name in a low voice, her eyes filled with bitterness.

He felt a flicker of irritation but when he looked at her, he gave her a lopsided grin. He took her hand and they left together.

Silence restored in the room. Anne's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths as she thought of Kevin slamming his fist into the wall.

How angry was he that he used so much force enough to injure his own hand?

After a sleepless night, Anne woke up with two dark circles under her eyes.

It took her a few days of rest to recover and go back to work.

She figured it was much better to be at work rather than deal with Cherry every day at the villa.

As soon she stepped out of the villa, Kevin's red Ferrari pulled over in front of her, blocking her way.

Her face contorted. Not wanting to argue with him any longer, she decided to ignore him.

"Get in the car!" Kevin commanded.

Anne stopped and turned around to look at him, her expression hardened.

"Why would I get in the car with you?" Didn't he just tell her that he wasn't interested in being around her except when they had to have sex every once in a while according to the contract. Anger settled over him as he shot her a dirty look.

How ungrateful could she be? He was already offering her a ride yet she still had the nerve to snap back at him.

"I'm going to work. I can drive you there. Get in the car now," Kevin said plainly as he drew in a long breath, suppressing his anger.

Anne seemed skeptical. Since when was Kevin so nice to her that he would offer her a ride?

She would be lying if she said she wasn't flattered. Still, she wasn't naive enough to believe that he would suddenly change overnight. "No, it's still early. I can use the subway."

She didn't want to be around him because she knew he was only going to be mean to her.

Rage consumed him. He had never been rejected by a woman before. Anne really was audacious!

"I asked you to get in the car. Did you hear me?" Kevin's lips drew back in a snarl as he got out of the car and strode towards her.

"I said no!" Anne frowned as she jerked away.

What was going on with Kevin? He acted as if she owed him the entire world. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

"Anne, I'm giving you twenty seconds to get in the car with me or I'm ramming you inside myself!"

Smoldering with resentment, he leered at her.

Anne knew that he was a man of his word. If she didn't get in the car, he wouldn't hesitate to use force to get her inside.

With this in mind, she figured it was best if she didn't resist.

She decided to get in the car on her own accord, not wanting to cause any more trouble.

He simpered as he watched her settle herself inside the car.

He got back inside and started the car.

Anne sat quietly in the passenger seat and looked out of the window wordlessly.

The atmosphere was thick with an odd tension. He sized her up before breaking the silence and saying,

"You didn't want to see me?"

It might have sounded like a question but with his tone, it was hard to tell what he truly felt.

"You already know the answer to that,"

Anne said simply. Kevin paraded his mistress around the villa and spewed out hurtful words towards Anne every day as if it was his job. Why on earth would she want to see him? Kevin wasn't the least bit surprised with her cold answer. Instead, he seemed a little disappointed.

"Maybe if you were as kind as Cherry, I wouldn't hate you so much,"

Kevin said nonchalantly as he kept his eyes on the road.

Anne curled her lips. Why was he always mentioning Cherry? He always brought her up every chance he got.

"Well, once you find out the truth, you probably won't feel the same way."

He wouldn't be able to say that if he found out what really happened.

"While you're still pregnant, I won't bother you anymore as long as you behave yourself."

He would intentionally hurt her every day but as time passed, he eventually found it uninteresting. Now he found himself regretting what he did every time he was mean to her.

"What's up with you these days? Why are you behaving so strangely? Is it because of the baby?"

If Kevin had said these words to her before she was pregnant, she would have happily accepted them. However, that wasn't the case now. She knew the only reason why he would be nice to her was because of the baby.

As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't.

"Of course it's for the baby. Why? Did you think I was doing it for you?"

Anne's heart sank upon hearing the chilliness in his tone. Having mentally equipped herself for this, she wasn't too disappointed.

"Of course, I know better than to think that."

Even though they were married, they were no different from two strangers passing each other by on the street.

The air around them was thick with unease.

Silence fell upon them. Anne looked straight ahead. From her peripheral vision, she could spot his right hand tightly wrapped in gauze. After a while, she asked,

"How's your hand? Does it still hurt?" Her tone was calm as ever. She was still concerned about him, but she didn't want him to know.

"It's just a minor wound!" Kevin glanced at his injured hand indifferently.

Anne seemed visibly relieved. She'd been worrying about his hand since last night.

She was glad to hear that he was fine.

The two of them had a few more awkward exchanges before arriving at the company. The moment Anne stepped out of Kevin's car, she instantly attracted the attention of many people. "What's going on? Why is she getting off the CEO's car? Is the world ending?"

"I thought Mr. Kevin hated her? Why would he give her a ride? What's happening?"

The employees whispered amongst themselves, openly gossiping about Anne and Kevin.

Anne wasn't new to this-she had long gotten used to being talked about. Thus, she remained unfazed.

Just as she was about to head inside the building, she heard Kevin's deep voice.

"Wait for me here after work. We'll go home together." He couldn't stand the idea of her taking the subway when she was well into her pregnancy.

While he loathed her, he still couldn't control himself.

"No, thanks. I can go home by myself. I bet Cherry won't be happy to hear about this."

Anne was just doing her best to stay out of trouble.

Cherry was a petty woman who would take revenge over the smallest thing. If she found out that Anne went home riding with Kevin, who knew what she could do to Anne?

Since Anne was pregnant, she didn't have much energy to deal with the likes of Cherry nowadays. She longed to spend her days in peace and quiet.

"The subway is always crowded. If something happens to the baby, do you think you are able to take the responsibility? You can't say no to me."

Kevin wasn't all too pleased with Anne rejecting him not only once but twice just this morning alone.

Anne snapped her brows together. It seemed that Kevin was getting more and more overbearing. Didn't he care about Cherry's feelings anymore? Wasn't Cherry his sweetheart? "I see," she replied, her tone resigned. There was no point in arguing with him after all.