Renewal Of Love
Chapter 463 A Real Change Of Heart

A couple of days later, the Fu Family welcomed a few guests on their doorstep. It was Rose and Mark, together with their precious daughter, Paula.

When the doorbell rang, Selma came to answer the door instead of Anne.

With arms folded across her chest, Selma didn't invite Rose in and gave her a long, condescending look, her hostile gaze sweeping over Rose slowly from head to toe.

After a few seconds, with a little sigh, a peaceful smile graced Rose's face as she greeted Selma politely, "Hello, auntie."

Sliding her gaze away from Rose, Selma lifted her brows nonchalantly and ignored her. Earlier, Anne already shed some light on what happened to Rose, but Selma couldn't believe her ears after hearing the story. Only a silly girl like Anne would consider a statement coming straight from Rose's mouth.

If changing someone's personality was that simple, could Rose do it?

"Mark, I know you're a smart guy, so I want you to answer me honestly. What can you say about Rose's change?"

Selma asked him straight to the point, her voice not faltering a bit.

Embarrassment flashed across Mark's face, and a slight frown created little wrinkles around his eyes. But with Selma being older than him, he answered respectfully, "Auntie, people undergo pretty remarkable changes over time. Perhaps it would help if you looked at them with new eyes.

Let's take Kevin and Anne as an example. Back then, you were vehemently against their relationship. But at the current moment, you're already wishing them both love and true happiness, right?" Presented with this point, Selma nodded in agreement.

"I'm a bit apprehensive regarding the sincerity of some people. Some people are so fixed in their ways that they cannot change. Who knows, they might have kept a few tricks up their sleeves."

Selma shook her head as she moved aside to let them walk in.

Embarrassed, Rose widened her eyes in shock, and she sighed helplessly. Her cold hands gripped Paula's hand tightly and led her inside the house.

What happened before was already a thing of the past. Like what Anne said, what mattered most to them was living in the present and hoping for the best in the future. As long as Rose tried her best to prove her reformation, Selma would eventually change her opinions on her.

After Anne was informed of the arrival of the guests, she felt excited and walked out happily to join them. A few days had gone by since their last meeting, and Anne instantly noticed the positive energy in Rose's aura, and her face looked more plump and full.

"Welcome! Please sit down and make yourself comfortable." Anne emerged and greeted them. Then she looked at Paula with a huge smile and her arms outstretched. "Paula, come give your aunt a warm hug."

They had met before, so Anne was no stranger to Paula. The girl directly squeezed into Anne's arms, who couldn't stop grinning.

A delightful smile surfaced on Rose's face when she saw the affectionate exchange. She couldn't help but ask, "How is Emily doing recently?"

Anne smiled warmly in return and replied, "Don't worry. Both of us did our best to ensure Emily's safety during that accident in the shopping mall, so I'm positive she would do just fine. Relax, all is well with her. Rose anxiously nodded and settled down on the couch.

Since her arrival in the Fu Family, Rose had her share of a handful of memories. But now that it had crossed her mind, she felt pathetic. It was a little overwhelming for her to be sitting snugly in the living room with that thought nagging her.

Anne's cleverness led her to see Rose's uneasiness. "Rose, you're my sister. Is there something troubling you for you to show up at my house? You know you can tell me," Anne said as she grabbed Rose's hand.

Anne cast aside the past with her explicit validation of their kinship. From now on, she regarded Rose as her dear sister. It was a pretty common doing for a younger sister to visit her elder sister. Rose nodded heavily after having understood right off what Anne was implying.

At that same instant, Kevin arrived home from work. The moment he caught sight of Rose and Mark, his face lit up and his brows quizzically raised while walking up to them. "What a nice surprise! I haven't seen you guys in a long time. Anne feels bored from staying home these days. You should drop by often and have a chat with her."

Initially, Kevin and Anne had planned to start up LF Group as a design company, but they feared that Anne's reputation would have adverse effects. With the scar on Anne's face having been removed surgically only recently and still healing, they thought it wouldn't be wise to start the company's operations now.

Left without a choice, Anne needed to stay at home following the doctor's orders. Getting stuck at home bored her to death.

Rose glanced at Kevin and noticed how remarkably handsome he looked, and he had a dignified posture oozing with charisma and confidence. There was something magnetic in his presence that could drive women insane.

Together with the wisdom and wealth that he had acquired, the qualities he possessed would make him an incredible rarity in this world for over a hundred years.

There was nothing wrong with being enamored of such a guy!

But Rose knew her heart's desires very well and was fully aware that he was her brother-in-law. Besides, her happiness didn't revolve around him, but it rather rested on Mark's hands. Kevin had belonged to her past, and Rose had better things to do than dwell on it.

Rose's appreciative gazes on Kevin's handsome face were done without malice or deeper meaning. Her affinity toward Kevin's appearance no longer involved feelings of intimacy or compulsion. Time might heal all wounds, but it could also change many things.

Before long, Rose averted her gaze, and when she spun around, she saw Mark. When their eyes met, they shared a meaningful smile without requiring any spoken word.

The three naughty kids playing around in the room ran out immediately after hearing Rose's arrival.

Back then, when Rose was under Kim's control through medication, she had hurt Sally. This bitter experience prompted Sally to hide behind Eddy the instant she saw Rose. Simon, who was standing beside Eddy, also had a dreadful reminder of Rose's violent streak, and so did Eddy. This resulted in all three of them staring sternly at Rose as they stood rooted to the spot.

Initially, Rose felt the urge to step forward and hug the kids, but she changed her mind when she felt their hostile stares coupled with tense postures. Finally, with a hopeless sigh, she balked.

Rose realized she had to deal with the repercussions and assume responsibility for her past actions.

Anne met their eyes and offered a tender smile as she spoke. "Eddy, Sally, and Simon, come here. I want to introduce you to a special guest. Please say hi to your Auntie Rose!"

Before Anne's introduction, the three of them had long known who the woman was. None of them moved for even an inch and continued to stare at Rose warily.

Helpless, Anne gave Rose a sympathetic smile and walked over to the kids. She softly asked, "What did I tell you? Your Auntie Rose won't do anything to hurt you. She will nice and treat you kindly. Have you forgotten what I said earlier?"

Anne slowly reached out and patted Eddy's shoulder. The child seemed to have figured out what the careful gesture meant and bit his lips with a slight glance at Anne.

Despite the previous unfortunate incidents, his mother remained open-minded and forgiving, not minding about past mistakes. Sadly, Eddy was traumatized by her experiences that he still considered Rose to be very bad.

Meanwhile, Eddy espied Kevin as if waiting for the go-ahead before making any movement. Kevin signaled an encouraging nod, which Eddy understood. Kevin likewise hoped Eddy to take her siblings forward A child's worldview of adulthood differed greatly from an actual adult. For kids, it was full of complications, like viewing the world through a kaleidoscope. Even for a precocious kid like Eddy, she felt defenseless.

Eddy stared into Simon's eyes with tenderness, as if reassuring him not to worry. Being a brave little boy, Simon traced Eddy's steps forward.

"Hi, Auntie." Two sweet, innocent voices rang out in unison.

Rose was heedful of her actions as she looked at the two kids with care. "Eddy, Simon, I know I haven't been good to you, and I made a lot of mistakes before. But now I'm changing all that, and I promise not to do anything bad to you from now on. Can you please forgive me?"

After staring silently into each other's eyes, Eddy and Simon again turned to Kevin for support. When he dipped his head and smiled, the two kids also nodded.

Sally, who was left standing alone, felt her small body seizing up. Anne hesitantly looked over at her, who in turn laid her eyes on Rose before wallowing in tears.

Among the three kids, Anne and Kevin had always doted on Sally. Seeing her teary-eyed changed Kevin's expression from relief to worry, and he promptly walked up to her side.

"Hush, Sally. Daddy's here now. Can you tell me what's wrong?" Kevin knelt and took Sally in his arms.

Sally bawled before stretching out her chubby little hand, pointing into Rose's direction. Crying, she said in a quavering voice, "Bad Auntie! She once tried to throw me on the ground. I don't want to talk to her." In the past, while Kim's medicine worked on her, Rose had treated Sally nicely. However, once the medicine's effectiveness wore off, she would do the craziest things. She once tied Sally to the rooftop of a building, giving the child a most horrifying experience. Sally had never gotten over that traumatic ordeal, and it had become her worst nightmare that still haunted her until this day.

So it didn't come as a surprise when the plain sight of Rose would terrify Sally. She was paralyzed with fear, far beyond her control.

Simultaneously, Rose looked distressed at the sight of Sally. She exhaled sharply and said in a weak voice, "I was to blame for everything that happened. I'm the reason why Sally has severe trauma and anxiety. I can't blame her if she doesn't want to see my face ever again. Let's not punish the children further by forcing them to accept me now. Maybe someday, Sally will learn to trust me again." Anne let out a pitiful sigh as she stared into Sally's watery eyes. She still had a lingering fear whenever visions of that incident surfaced at the back of her mind. She alone was already petrified. How much more for an innocent child?

With a heavy heart, Anne found herself shaking her head. With Sally nestled safely in her arms, she slowly approached Paula and said, "Sally, meet your little sister."

Sally tried to open her eyes wide, but they were still puffy and moist because she just finished crying. Then she looked at Paula in between sobs.

Paula stared back at Sally, gently bit her lips, and casually strode toward Sally to wipe away her tears. In a sweet voice, Paula comforted, "Don't cry."

Sally nodded at once when she heard those words. Anne helped wipe Sally's tears using the back of her hand.

The children's world was constantly like this - an endless cycle of a pure, unadulterated sequence of events.

Meantime, Eddy and Simon cautiously ensconced themselves on Rose's side. Her sincerity in atoning for her previous mistakes was shown through her delicate approach toward the two kids.

A satisfied smile surfaced on Mark's face.

The present situation was certainly good and making progress.

Initially, there were only three children. But now, with the addition of Paula, Eddy had become the siblings' elder brother. Anne instructed Eddy to take good care of Paula.

With Sally and Simon under her care, Eddy had already felt helpless looking after them. Now, his responsibility just increased with the involvement of another sibling. He was reluctant at first to accept this additional burden, but when he saw how well-behaved Paula was, he agreed with a slight nod.

While the four children played and bonded together, Anne and the kids' parents were engrossed in a conversation.

Standing at the building's rooftop, Selma stared at the four people while frowning slightly. Doubts flitted through her eyes. Was it wrong for her to raise suspicions against Rose? Did Rose really repent and have a change of heart?

That evening, Anne and Kevin invited Rose and Mark to stay over for dinner, but Mark had already made restaurant reservations, leaving Anne and Kevin without a choice but to let them go.

After dinner, when Anne and Kevin were about to head upstairs to their room, Eddy stopped them. The two looked at him with a puzzled look on their faces.

With eyes peeled at Anne and Kevin, Eddy pouted and asked, "Has Aunt Rose changed for the better, or is she deceiving us?"

Since Eddy was the oldest child, he was naturally precocious. Also, some time ago, Rose treated the whole family surprisingly well. But at the end of the day, Rose tied Sally and his mother on the rooftop once How could Eddy not worry when something like this had already happened?

Smiling, Anne slowly crouched down, caressed Eddy's face, and said softly, "My precious little Eddy, I'm amazed at how attentive you've become. Don't worry. This time, Auntie Rose has changed, and I assure you nothing like that will ever happen again. I promise!

Besides, she already fooled me last time. I wouldn't fall for her trap again."

Eddy pursed his lips, looking at Anne with skepticism. Then he turned to look at Kevin, who only nodded in response.

"Okay, then. I believe you." Eddy rocked his head and looked at Anne and Kevin one more time before slowly making his way downstairs.

Watching Eddy's receding figure, Anne and Kevin looked at each other and laughed. Their little boy was too smart for them.

On the other hand, Selma, who was nearby and happened to overhear the discussion, frowned and contemplated whether Rose was seriously making a fresh start.

Due to the circumstances of the last incident, Selma had always considered Rose as a dangerous woman. She would always be on the lookout whenever Rose was around, especially when she saw her approaching the children.