Anna was sure that saying that would irritate “Joshua”. But “Joshua” was only surprised for a while before quickly calming down. He said, “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“I apologize. You’re a perfect man, and you’re probably speechless about having to go on a blind date, right? And you met a weirdo like me.”
“That’s fine. “Wayne said calmly, which caught Anna off guard. She had never seen such a considerate man before, so she suspected he acted like a gentleman.
While the waiter was serving the meal, Anna measured Joshua and tried to look for the slightest flaw in him.
“Dr. Moore, I heard you are very busy with work. So, you must be struggling to take care of the children on your own.”
Anna chuckled and said, “It’s fine, I’m not that busy anyway. To be honest, I don’t want to have any more children in the future because I already have two.”
Joshua nodded and said, “Okay, great! I also think that way. I don’t want more kids either.”
Hearing that, Anna was taken aback.
“I’m not sure I can raise a child to be the person I want him or her to be. So I thought it would be a good idea not to have kids. And in all these years, I haven’t met anyone who shares my viewpoint. In fact, I had no expectations for this match before I arrived here. But after hearing what you said, I think we should totally get married.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Anna exclaimed, surprised.
“I don’t like joking with people. Although I’m not much of a kid person, I’ll try my best to get along well with your daughter. I’ll treat them the same way as I do with my son Matt… Ahem! I mean, my friends’ kids.”
“Huh? But didn’t you say that you don’t have a child? So, what’s with you son, Matt?” At the same time, Anna thought, No, no, no. You can’t be Wayne, right? If so, then…
“Mr. Davis, I hate to be blunt but, are you really Mr. Davis? Could you please take off your sunglasses and mask so that I can see your face clearly? Well, right after I see your face, you can put them back on,” Anna said while praying in her heart, Please don’t be Wayne. Please don’t be him…
Knowing that his false identity would soon be exposed, Wayne had no choice but to take off his sunglasses and mask.
Upon seeing his face, Anna stood up, took a step back and shouted, “What the hell?! Wayne, what are you doing here?!”
Hearing Anna’s exclaim, everyone else in the restaurant looked in her direction in confusion. Feeling awkward, Anna smiled in embarrassment and sat down.
Then Wayne said after he put away the sunglasses and mask, “As for you, Anna, can you explain to me what you are doing here? I assume that you didn’t change your name to Nancy Moore, right?”
“You…” Anna blushed in embarrassment and pouted. Just as she was about to lose it, she held back her anger as she didn’t want to make a scene in the restaurant that was packed with people.
Taking a few deep breaths, she managed to calm herself down and said, “Fine! Nancy asked me to come here in place for her. As for why I agreed to such an absurd idea, I won’t ask you why you pretended to be Joshua Davis as long as you don’t ask me why.”
“Okay,” Wayne answered without hesitation.
“Wait… That’s it? Aren’t you curious about why I got here?”
“I am. But since you said so, I won’t pry into it,” Touching the rim of the cup in his hand, Wayne looked her in the eye sincerely and said, “Anna, it’s been a while. Ever since you’re gone, I’ve been missing you every single day. Do you have any idea how tormenting it is for me to wait for you to come back to me for five years? Do you know how much Matthew wants you to come back to see him even for once? Do you have any idea how much we miss Tammy?”
“I… I’m sorry,” Frowning, Anna looked down at the table and mumbled, “I know it’s my fault that I didn’t even visit Matthew once during the last five years, and I know it’s inappropriate for me to prevent Tammy from seeing you just because I tried to avoid seeing you. But Wayne, I’m not the only one to be blamed for what had happened.”
“Really? Then why did you suddenly…” Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Wayne frowned and asked, and he was interrupted by Anna.
“Please, Wayne. Please stop playing the blaming game. I’m not in the mood for it. Now that we’d met on such an occasion, I think it’s better for us to clear things out between us. After all, you’re still Tammy’s dad no matter what, and I’m still Matthew’s mom no matter what. And I don’t want the grudges we have toward each other to affect their relationship.”
“I’m listening.”
“God… I know this day would come sooner or later, and I’ve played the scene in my head for like, millions of times. Still, I’ve never imagined that we would meet each other and talk things out like this,” Taking a sip of the drink, Anna sighed, “Do you know what my dream is ever since I was a child?”
“No. You’ve never mentioned it to me before.”
“Well, that’s because from the moment that I was forced to sign the contract to become your surrogate, I’d already thought that I would never ever make my dream come true. Back then, I was studying at a medical school. Almost everything went well until I met you on that very special night.”
Silent, Wayne nodded, signaling for Anna to continue the topic.
“Wayne, I was only twenty at that time, and I wasn’t prepared to become a mother at all. Can you imagine how desperate I was when I found out that I was pregnant at such a young age? Can you imagine how devastating it was for me when I was forced to stop the abortion and sign the contract because you asked your men to threaten me to sign it with my father’s business?”
“Wait… Anna, I didn’t…”
“Shh… Let me finish. Of course you wouldn’t understand how I felt because you were still the indifferent and cold version of Wayne that would do whatever you could to get what you want back then. At some point, I’d greatly appreciate it that fate brought us together and I would smile every time I recalled the good old days we once had. However, sometimes, I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if I didn’t meet you that night; what would happen if Allie didn’t set me up that night.”
Seeing that Wayne frowned with a serious expression, Anna let out a sigh and continued, “Even after I managed to graduate from the medical school as I was supposed to a long time ago, I still couldn’t let it go. It still bothers me as to what could’ve happened to me if we hadn’t met each other that night. And… If we hadn’t met each other that night, would we still be together then?”
At that moment, Wayne interrupted her, “Anna, please believe me. I wasn’t the one who forced you to sign the contract back then. It was because my butler messed it up that you ended up being my surrogate. I…”
“Well, I can’t blame it all on you as Allie was one of the major reasons why the incident had happened. And now, she’s already six feet underground and our children have already reached their puberty. It’s pointless to discuss who was right or wrong at this point,” Anna said, put on a wry smile and took another sip of the drink.
“Right…” Wayne tightened his grip, his knuckles turning white.
“Okay, where was I? Right. However, even though I’m still haunted by the past, I clearly know that there’s nothing I could do about it. It’s not like I can just turn the clock backward as I want. What is settled in the past is already unchangeable. And gradually, after all the struggle I have suffered, I finally learned to move on.”
“What do you mean? Do you mean that you’ve finally gotten over me?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“But we have had such a great time together, haven’t we? Don’t tell me you were faking it all the time… We could’ve built a wonderful and happy family.”
“We did have our good old days, and I was indeed happy when I was with you. But, Wayne, don’t you think that our love was built on a very unstable foundation? Yes, I did love you and I did want to grow old with you. Still, from the moment I realized you were Matthew and Tammy’s birth father, everything changed. From the moment I realized that I fell in love with someone who had once nearly destroyed my life, I couldn’t think straight anymore.”
At that point, Anna had already had tears welled up in her eyes, and the rims of her eyes turned a bit red. Clenching the cup in her hands, she tried her best to refrain herself from shedding tears.
A while later, she added, “Wayne, you have to understand me. We both know that I’m always insecure, especially when it comes to marriage. I just, I just don’t want our marriage to end up like that of my parents. Up till now, it still hurts like hell every time I think of the fact that my father married his mistress, who caused my mother’s death. I can’t and I won’t forget the fact that it was the same woman who had killed my father! Damn it!”
Anna couldn’t hold back anymore. With tears streaming down her face, she covered her face and sobbed sadly. Wayne quickly handed over a piece of tissue to her, and she thanked him for it. Just as he was about to reach out his hand to hold her hands and comfort her, Wayne flinched.
Then withdrawing his hand in embarrassment, he said, “Anna, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what I’ve done in the past have had turned your life upside down. And I didn’t know that your parents’ failed marriage would have such a great impact on your life. I’m so sorry that I’ve hurt you in the past.”
“It’s okay. It’s not entirely your fault, after all. I’m also to be blamed for how everything turned out the way it is. Anyways, the kidnapping that happened five years ago was the last straw that made me give up on you. Wayne, being with you did make me happy, but it also made me worry about my life because ever since our fate was intertwined, my life had been full of uncertainty. And I hate uncertainty.”
“Originally, I thought I would be able to overcome my insecurity. But it turns out that I can’t. I just can’t. Wayne, sometimes, being with you is exhausting. Not only did I have to worry that you would learn the truth about my identity and then take Tammy away from me, but also, I have to always be on guard when facing the women who fawned upon you because they would either try hard to steal you from me or do harm to Matthew or Tammy.”
What?! I… Gosh! Why didn’t I think of it earlier? Had I known about it, I wouldn’t have said those harsh words to you back then. And you wouldn’t have left me without hesitation. Damn it! How could I be so stupid and ruin the love we had?!
Much as he wanted to speak his thoughts out loud, Wayne chose to shut it because Anna looked like she still had a lot to say to him. Then with a nodding, he said, “Anna, keep it on.”
“And when I found out that I was pregnant five years ago, I panicked.”
“What?! You were pregnant five years ago?!” This time, Wayne couldn’t hold back any longer. He exclaimed with a pale face.
“Yes, I was three months pregnant back then.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Anna? We could’ve sorted things out together.”
“If only it would be the case, Wayne. You think I didn’t want to sort that out with you? Of course, I did! By the way, thank you so much for saving me that day. After I was rescued and taken to the hospital after being kidnapped, I kept wondering whether to tell you about it for a long time. On the one hand, I couldn’t help thinking of the scene in which the five of us living in a big and warm family happily. On the other hand, at the thought that Matthew was almost murdered multiple times before by Ada and that she might still be an outlaw who would come back any moment to hurt us, I lost the courage to be with you anymore. Also, those hurtful words you said to me suppressed my willingness to be with you even more.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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