It'll Come Naturally
Chapter 1750 Not Daughter Of The Ke Family (Part One)

"Careful," Rain said to Tiana as he helped her walk into the house.

Annie rushed down the stairs as she heard the commotion. She saw Rain supporting Tiana by the arm. "Tiana, what happened?" Annie said.

"I'm fine. Just feeling a bit faint, that's all," Tiana replied with an embarrassed smile. Rain sat her down on a chair. She slumped down, trying to catch her breath.

"I'll tell you what happened. But right now, she needs something to eat first," Rain quickly interjected. Although taking Tiana home was not Rain's intention, he felt an explanation was in order.

"Okay. Maybe Tiana would like to freshen up a bit first?" Annie offered. Tiana looked like a mess -- her hair was in disarray, and her clothes looked sweaty and wrinkled.

Rain cast a sidelong glance at Tiana, and thought to himself that Annie had a point. "Okay, how about this? You take Tiana upstairs to freshen up while I go to the kitchen and ask them to prepare something for her to eat."

"All right. Tiana, let's go." Annie extended her hand to Annie, helping her up to her feet.

"Thank you, Annie," Tiana said, her eyes starting to water.

"Don't mention it. We're family," replied Annie with a comforting smile. Tiana felt so many emotions going through her -- it was as if her whole world had turned upside down. The people whom she had thought were her family had tried to hurt her, and then someone she barely even knew was helping and being kind to her right now!

"Huh." Tiana nodded absentmindedly.

They walked over to Annie's room with small, sure steps. "Okay, you sit over here for a while," Annie said as she guided Tiana towards the bed. "I'll just run a bath for you." Tiana sat down. Her gaze was still far off. 'What could have happened to her?' Annie thought worriedly. With a light sigh, Annie walked into the bathroom to fill the bath with warm water.

Tiana was still in shock and pain. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened.

She couldn't understand why the people she had loved and known her whole life were willing to sacrifice her for their own interest. Her very own family! What did all those years with them mean now? All the laughter, affection, and priceless memories... was it just fake all along?

"Hey, Tiana. The bath's ready for you. I'll put out some fresh clothes for you to wear." Annie had walked back into the bedroom. Tiana had not moved since Annie left. Annie couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. Although Annie's own family were not close to her, they had not harmed her at least.

"Okay. I'm sorry for all the trouble," Tiana replied meekly.

After her shower and putting on some clean clothes, Tiana looked much better. Her eyes, however, were still clouded with sadness.

Annie had been waiting for her outside. "See, doesn't that feel better? You look good," she said encouragingly. "Let's go downstairs and have something to eat."

Tiana only nodded silently and followed Annie to the dining room.

"Tiana, come. Have a seat. Please, eat," Rain offered. He worried that it might only be a matter of time before Tiana went through a nervous breakdown. She had been listless ever since she knew that he had traded something for her freedom. "Okay," she responded mechanically like a marionette.

"Rain, she doesn't look alright.." Annie said, biting her lower lip. Tiana looked worse than before she had walked into the bathroom -- even more distracted and depressed.

"I'll handle it." Rain read the time on his watch. "It's time to pick up Huey and Joyce. Can you go get them, honey? I'll talk to Tiana," Rain said with a soothing smile. "Alright. You stay and talk to her. I'll go get the kids," Annie glanced back at Tiana one last time and sighed.

Rain escorted her to the door, giving her a peck on the cheek before she headed out. His eyes were smoldering with love for Annie. He wanted to make sure she felt how much she meant to him. When Annie had left, Rain walked back to the dining room and sat across the table from Tiana.

"Tiana," Rain started, "I know you are sad right now. But you are a grown woman, which means you should be capable of handling difficult times like this." Rain looked at Tiana intently, hoping to see some sort of reaction. He was the worst when it came to comforting people, but right now there was nothing else he could do.

"Rain, it's okay. Just say what you have to say. I can handle it," her voice almost came out in a whisper. She raised her head a bit to look at him.

"Eat something first. For your sake. You might not be so hungry anymore after what I'm about to say." He pressed his lips into a thin line. He was sure that what he was going to say would cause Tiana even more stress. That made him feel terrible.

"But I can't bring myself to eat anything unless I hear what you have to say. Please," Tiana's voice broke as she fretted. Whatever Rain was going to tell her, she couldn't imagine it would be worse than her family working together to hurt her. That was the biggest blow in her entire life -- surely she could handle every other bad thing that would happen to her in the future, she thought.

"Okay," Rain took a deep breath. He paused, looking at her straight in the eye. "You don't have to be so sad about what they did to you... because you are not Sheena's biological daughter," he said to her. The Mayfly had confirmed it. His hunch was right all along. "What?!" Tiana's mouth went slack, her eyes widening. She had thought of that possibility before, but not once did she ever think that it would turn out to be true.

"You're not the daughter of the Ke family," Rain said, as if to make himself clearer. They didn't know who her biological parents were-- not yet at least; he had already asked the Mayfly to replace out.

"Huh! How can this be? This is crazy. You're lying. Tell me you are lying!" Tiana cried. The pain in her chest worsened. Grief flooded through her; not because she was not a part of the Ke family anymore, but because the only connection between her and Rain was also now gone. How could she continue to stay at his house now?

"I'm not lying. You should have sensed Sheena's attitude towards you, which is really not an attitude a mother should have towards her daughter," he replied. It might have sounded blunt and harsh, but Rain thought it was better not to beat around the bush.

"It's not that I'm sad over this whole family ordeal. I.. I'm sad that I'm going to lose you as my brother." Tiana's voice sounded so broken and hurt. After the abusive treatment the Ke family had given her in the past few days, she no longer had a home. She didn't want to have anything to do with that family anymore. She had just started to feel close to Rain. But now, it appeared as if that would change too.

"No, you won't lose me. I will always be like a brother to you as long as you like. I'm always here for you. Nothing will ever change that," Rain promised, smiling warmly at Tiana. He was in fact a sensitive man. It was one of his merits. However, his frivolity might have made people neglect that.

"Really? You still want to be my brother?" Tiana's face lit up, her mood greatly improving. Rain's words offered her much comfort.

"Yes, but don't you feel sad that you're no longer a member of the family?" Rain was surprised at her reaction. He could imagine that people would feel devastated at such news -- going hysterical, bursting into tears or something like that. But somehow Tiana seemed relieved.

"Why should I feel sad? You don't like the Ke family either, do you?" Tiana thought that since she was not a Ke anymore, Rain wouldn't hate her as much as he used to.

"My relationship with them is much different from yours," Rain pointed out. As much as he hated that family, they were in his blood. That would never change. He envied Tiana, and wished that he could wake up one day to replace out that his life had changed like Tiana's had. "I understand. I'm sorry. They're your real family." Tiana didn't know what to do with her life yet. But she had high hopes that she would figure it out. Things always eventually worked themselves out in the end.0000000