It'll Come Naturally
Chapter 1701 Any Importance (Part One)

Rain didn't wake up until noon time came. His mind was still in a whirl since he had drunk too much last night.

His hand moved to blindly replace his cellphone which seemed to be lost somewhere in his bed. However, he didn't expect to see its battery drained. Frustrated, he threw it back onto the bed forcefully and staggered to the bathroom.

His knees were wobbly when he reached the wash area. A few seconds after and he was already looking at the gaunt face that was staring back at him from the mirror. He couldn't help but doubt if the man he was seeing was him. His reflection was just too far from the lively and high-spirited self he had always known.

'Annie, this is the last time that I'm allowing you to hurt me this much. From now on, I will go back to the life I had before you came. You have made me realize how worthless I am to you. Since you don't value me, I will put myself higher than you could ever reach. You can't hurt me anymore, Annie. I will not give you the chance to do it anymore, ' he thought.

There had been a lot of changes with Rain's perspective since last night. He was eager to live together with his children but he knew clearly that they loved their mother more than him. He would not be so cruel as to take them away from Annie by force. However, he hoped to at least have access to his kids. Thus, he called Annie right after he took a shower.

"Hello, Rain?" asked Annie as soon as she picked the phone up. She was a bit surprised to receive a call from him this early. Edward had said that Rain had drunk too much last night, thus, she thought that he was still asleep.

"Yes, it's me. Are you free today? I want to have a talk with you," Rain said in an unusually apathetic tone. He had controlled himself quite well that his voice came out cold and dry without any trace of emotions at all.

"How about we meet after an hour?" Annie checked her wristwatch. Little did Rain know that she was dying to talk with him too.

"I'm okay whenever you're free. Decide which place is most convenient to you," Rain said in a polite tone. However, the courteousness that he showed stung Annie's ear, thus, she thought, 'Why am I feeling that something has changed with Rain?' The indifference in his tone made her feel sad. However, she didn't dare to ask him what was wrong, so she just said, "Okay, I will send a message to you soon."

"I'll wait for it then. See you later!" Rain hung the phone up as soon as he finished talking. It was as if the person he just talked with was just a nobody. He acted so good that no one would even think that he had loved the same woman for years.

On the other hand, Annie was stunned and was left speechless for a while. Rain had been trying to reach out to her since the day she had come. It was only her who had been avoiding him all the time. The sudden change in Rain made her really uneasy.

Although every color went well with Rain's fair skin, he never liked wearing white that much. However, he still found himself wearing a white suit today which was a little weird based on his personality.

He did nothing but to sit blankly inside his room while waiting for Annie's text. William gave him a call earlier and asked him some questions about the company. He couldn't be more thankful that his secretary didn't bother to ask why he was absent.

It had been more than two hours and he was about to lose his patience when he received Annie's message. Goodness! Did Annie really need to choose a place that far? The address she wrote would take him more than hours to drive. However, he didn't want to miss the chance to talk with her, thus, he immediately picked his car key and walked out of his house.

One long drive after and he finally reached the place where Annie was. She was already sitting inside the cafe when he stepped in. Based on how she looked, it seemed that she had been in this place for quite some time now.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Rain greeted coldly. His beautiful face was void of any emotion as he walked to her table.

"Never mind. I've just arrived anyway and this place is a little far from your address," Annie answered. As a reaction, she furrowed her eyebrows while looking at him confusedly. She still couldn't figure out Rain's sudden indifference with her.

"Would you like something to drink? Or have you already ordered anything?" Rain said as he sat down. He was acting as if he didn't care about how Annie looked today at all. He had been discreet when he gave her a quick once-over secretly with the corner of his eyes. He had to admit, her extraordinary beauty could still take his breath away after all these years. Nevertheless, he chose to remain mum about it and just kept it to himself.

"I ordered a glass of lemon iced tea for me and a cup of black coffee for you. Is that okay?" There was a sudden hesitation that showed on Annie's face when she spoke. She knew that Rain had liked black coffee years ago. She wasn't sure though if Rain had already changed his preference by now.

"Thanks!" replied Rain with a nod. To be honest, he hadn't drunk black coffee for a long while.

"You're welcome. May I know why you asked me out?" Annie tried her best to smile sweetly at him. The only thing inside her head as of this moment was to clear all the misunderstandings between her and Rain. What Edward had told her this morning had melted her heart, thus, she wanted to give them another chance.

"I think it's necessary for us to have an agreement about our kids," said Rain in a serious tone. He didn't even hit around the bush anymore and just stated his point directly.

"About our kids? I beg your pardon. I don't think I understand what you mean," Annie's voice trembled upon hearing what he said. She wasn't used to seeing him like this and his presence was making her anxious.

"Huey and Joyce are my children regardless of whatever is between us. I won't insist on making you live with me anymore since you refused it. However, I want to have the rights to see my kids anytime I want." A bitter smile cracked Rain's lips as he stared at her. God knew that he was trying to be as reasonable as he could. He was only proposing his idea to her after all. As always, the final call would still depend on what Annie would say.

Flustered, Annie wasn't able to open her mouth and just gazed at him blankly. She thought, 'What does that mean? Is he giving up on us?'

"Is it that hard to respond to my conditions, Annie?" it was Rain who broke the sudden tension that suddenly filled the space between them. Her silence made him frown a bit. 'You can't be this selfish to me, right?' his mind silently sighed.

"No, but can I give my opinion?" Annie was able to recover herself and evaded his stare. She had been told that he had fallen in love with her. Furthermore, she had also been told that this man had never experienced at least a day of happiness without her. seemed that those were just empty rumors and nothing more. He shouldn't be giving up this easy if those were true, right? She didn't think that Rain's reactions were making sense at all.000000000000000