It'll Come Naturally
Chapter 1712 An Engagement Ring (Part Three)

"I literally just arrived at home when Huey called me," Rain replied curtly. He kept his eyes on Joyce, not meeting Annie's gaze.

"Thank you for taking us here. I didn't know what I'd do if you weren't here." Then, Rain looked at Annie. She panicked all of a sudden -- what if he knew that another man had confessed his love to her?

"Thank you? Are you kidding me? Joyce is my daughter. Don't thank me as if I'm just some random guy who was kind enough to lend a helping hand," Rain snapped back at Annie.

"No, please don't get me wrong. I didn't mean it that way." she defended.

"Okay. Why don't you tell me what you meant? And what happened to Joyce? Where did you go?" Rain held his stare on Annie, expecting a decent explanation. 'Why is she like this? The way she talks... it's like I'm not even the father of her children!' he thought to himself.

Annie looked away, unable to handle his burning glare. "I... well... Fred said it was nice in the countryside, so we took the children for a picnic today." She stole a quick glance towards Rain. "It was all my fault, and had nothing to do with Fred." The last sentence had Rain infuriated. 'Really? I was just asking where you went. You couldn't wait to defend that brat. You really love him, huh?' he thought.

"Ha-ha! Really? If you wanted to go out on a date with that man, just go with him by yourself. Why did you have to bring my children there? What were you thinking? Do you want my children to call him dad and have a happy family dinner?" Rain spat sarcastically. "Did you even have any idea that it's winter now and how much colder it is in the countryside?" Rain fired one question after another, his eyes glistening with anger.

Annie looked down, her hands balling up to fists at her sides. "Rain Xia," she said, her voice trembling. "Why are you so mean to me? I was so scared just moments ago that I might lose Joyce. I'm in this strange city, with no one to turn to. I don't know where the nearest hospital is. Even if I did, I still wouldn't know if that hospital is any good. Can't you understand how frightened I was?" Annie had been depressed even since she came back to the city. She had been holding in her feelings for so long. She needed to -- for the kids' sake. But now, it was too much for her to handle. "Obviously, you don't understand because you've done nothing but yell at me! You've never consoled me, not even once!" she exploded. She turned to Rain, tears running down her cheek.

Rain was stunned for a couple of seconds when he saw her crying. Then he held her in his arms, doing his best to comfort her. Annie sobbed harder, trying to push him away. The more she pushed, the more Rain's arms tightened around her. He was ready for Annie's harsh words. But the tears and the hurt on her face?

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to blame you. I just couldn't bear how you treated me when I saw you after so long," Rain cooed. The first thing he wanted to do when he saw Annie again was to hold her in his arms. Blood rushed through his body as he felt Annie's warmth after years of separation. Before, he was still too proud to tell her that he still had feelings for her -- that he still loved her. Now, he just couldn't bear it anymore.

"No, of course you did! You're always so cold and harsh towards me. You keep on saying hurtful words and expect me to forgive you right after. You even told me you'd marry me but you never even got a ring!" Annie cried. She no longer tried to push Rain away; she just sobbed against his shirt, letting the soft fabric absorb all her tears. Rain's scent wafted into her senses. Annie sobbed softer, feeling a wave of comfort running through her body.

"Okay. I'm sorry. It was all my fault. I won't be cold towards you anymore. I won't say any hurtful words. And you want an engagement ring? Okay, I'll go buy one now." Rain consoled her in a soft voice, stroking her hair. After a couple of seconds, he pieced everything together, only then realizing what had been said. Rain pulled away from Annie and looked her straight in the eye, his face in shock. 'What did she just say? So does that mean it's not that she doesn't want to marry me but because I didn't buy an engagement ring?' he asked himself in disbelief.

"Annie, what did you mean by that? When you mentioned the ring? Are you saying that as long as I propose to you, you'll come back to me with the kids?" Rain asked, his voice trembling. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"What? No, I didn't say anything..." Annie lied poorly. She looked away, embarrassed. She just got too excited that she went way ahead of herself and opened up to Rain more than she had anticipated. 'Oh god! How embarrassing!'

"No, I heard you say it! The only reason we're not married yet is because I didn't buy an engagement ring sooner. Tell me that's true!" Rain put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him in the eye. This was his chance to finally get back together with her. "No, come on. It was just a slip of the tongue. Don't take it seriously. I was just... going through a lot of emotions with Joyce being sick and all." Annie lowered her eyes to avoid eye contract with him.

"Really? Wow... That really hurt." Rain lowered his head, trying his best to look sad. He gave a fake sniff, pretending that he was on the verge of tears. Annie turned to him, suddenly full of worry. "Hey, Rain. Are you okay?" Annie bit her lower lip. 'Did he really get hurt from what I said?'

Rain convincingly acted like he was sad, but in reality, he was thrilled. He had just found out that Annie still loved him, and that was the best news he had ever heard in a long time.

"Rain?" Annie called out as her hand reached to touch his back. 'Did he really believe what I said?' she thought.

"Shh!" Rain suddenly looked up at her. "Don't talk. Let me take a close look at you." He cupped her face and gazed at her affectionately. All this time, he had thought that she didn't love him anymore. But now, things were different. He didn't know what he needed to do. Right now, all he wanted to do was to kiss her right then and there. His face inched closer to hers, his breath hot on her face. Annie was surprised, but she didn't resist.

Just when their lips were about to meet, Joyce groaned, waking up from her sleep. Annie and Rain straightened up right away.

"Uh, I'm going check on Joyce." Annie stood and walked up to Joyce.

Rain was a little disappointed, but a strong raging fire was starting to burn inside him. This was the chance he had waited so many years for. It was just a matter of time for them to get back together.00