Renewal Of Love
Chapter 485 The Dispute Ensues

Anne dialed the number from which the call had been made.

At first, she thought Colin would answer the phone but she was met by the greeting of a youthful voice. It was none other than little Ella.

"Hello?" Ella's voice was soft and sweet. She spoke well.

"Ella, you called us, right? Eddy wasn't here when you called though. What's up?" Anne said kindly.

Ella asked, "Will you and Eddy's father come to watch the show on Children's Day?"

Generally speaking, the kindergarten would be the most joyous place on Children's Day. If parents had the time, they would never miss the opportunity to be part of the festivities.

Since Kevin was on his business trip, the decision would fall upon Anne on whether to attend the event or not.

The LF Company ran smoothly so it didn't require too much of Anne's effort. In the circumstances, she thought it would be easy for her to attend.

Then Anne answered, "Eddy's father is on a business trip but I'll be there."

Frowning with suspicion, she continued, "Why did you want to ask us about it? Did your father ask you to do so?"

Without any undue hesitation, Ella answered, "My father is also on a business trip so he won't be home in time to attend the Children's Day. I don't have any company."

Anne raised her eyebrows. She hadn't anticipated that Colin would also be away at this time.

So Ella's intentions were clear...

Anne laughed, "I can pick you up."

She didn't sense any underhandedness with the call. This little girl just wanted some company for Children's Day.

It was normal for most parents to accompany their kids on Children's Day. That was how it worked. It was natural that Ella would feel alone and disheartened if she didn't have anyone to accompany her. But Anne hadn't initially thought this little one would have thought that way.

Eddy pulled a face. He tugged urgently at Anne's clothes with a disapproving look.

Anne pinched Eddy's little face. But Eddy turned around and stomped out angrily.

'Why does mum have to take her with us?!' He thought, disgruntled.

Hearing Anne's promise to pick her up, little Ella was thrilled. She gave a few words of sincere thanks which melted Anne's heart.

After ending the call, Anne raised her eyebrows in thought. Maybe - just maybe - this lovely little girl might end up being her daughter-in-law.

If that were a possibility, she thought she ought to put more effort into it.

"Mom, I will go with you too." Simon and Sally had both come up to Anne and addressed her in unison.

Raising her eyebrows at their eagerness, and feeling a little overwhelmed, Anne just nodded.

She guessed that she would be able to manage four kids at once, albeit a task of note.

Taking her nod as agreement, Simon and Sally jumped in celebration.

It was such a lovely moment for the family.

Compared to the joyful atmosphere at the Fu Family's house, Cherry's home was positively melancholic.

Cherry had spent the entire day trying to keep Andrew with her, begging him to stay. As for Andrew, he was dying to leave but did not know how to refuse Cherry's incessant pleas for him to remain. Plus, after due consideration, he realized that perhaps he was the only person who knew that Kristine was in fact Cherry. That being the case, he still had something to gain from maintaining a close association with her.

If they broke up, it would just draw bad publicity to them. 'Why would we want to do that for no reason?' he thought.

But the main issue they needed to deal with now was Alan.

Alan hadn't returned since he left late last night. At Cherry's pressing, Andrew stayed with her but he remained vigilant in respect of her behavior.

After all, she was a murderer. If she lost control, he would not know what to do.

Her home was like a wolf's den, and Andrew was a helpless sheep awaiting its fate. He could not escape.

He was helpless and knew it was a bad situation, but he was also very greedy to gain something from it.

At nine o'clock, they heard a knock at the door. They both snapped their heads to look at the door, simultaneously.

They didn't need to look. They knew it was Alan.

Unsurprisingly, it was Alan. He opened the door and frowned when he saw that Cherry had Andrew sitting with her on the couch.

He had anticipated that Andrew would have left by the time he returned.

Alan sneered and arrogantly strode across the room. He walked to the far end of the room, took a seat on the couch opposite them, and kicked off his shoes. He crossed his legs and then glared directly at Cherry.

Cherry's entire body began to shiver. She did not have the guts to look directly at Alan, so she lowered her head submissively.

Andrew had a shadow of a frown on his face, he was uncharacteristically quiet. This was very different to his usual confrontational stance.

"Kristine, I have already instructed you that I do not want to see this guy at your place when I return. So what is he doing here?" Alan's voice was icy with coercion. He looked Cherry up and down. Cherry screwed up her face and gritted her teeth. She couldn't help but finally look directly at him. "The two of us have put on a ruse of a relationship for work. If Andrew moves out, I can't predict what the paparazzi will say in their news reports. But I do know this - it will cause a stir and our fame will decline rapidly.

And, we need the money that comes with the fame right now."

After seeing them together for so many days, Alan had figured out that Andrew and Cherry were a fake couple - she didn't need to explain.

Alan put his feet up on the table and laughed a grim laugh. "If it were not for you, I would still be an exceedingly rich and wealthy man. You will not be able to earn even a portion of what I earned in your entire life. Don't you owe me everything you have, and will ever have?"

Cherry shivered slightly and lowered her head.

Now that Alan had discovered that she had in fact killed his sister, and not Anne whom she had framed for the crime, he naturally apportioned blame for all his losses on her head. She would be enslaved by him forevermore.

'But...'

Frowning, Cherry turned to face Andrew head on while she considered the situation. Andrew had his head hung, eyes on the floor, with an unreadable, complex look upon his face.

Cherry pursed her lips and straightened up, shaking off her submissive stance. She said to Alan, "I will do whatever you want of me - but Andrew will be the one exception." Alan raised his eyebrows.

After everything that he had been through, Alan was now transformed from the brash man he once had been. He understood why Cherry was doing this one thing.

Cherry was terrified of being alone with him. He knew she feared that he would harm her in one way or another. This was why she had specifically wanted Andrew to remain present, as a witness and a protector.

'In that case...' He began to devise a devious plan in his mind.

"Cherry, I haven't felt the touch of a woman in quite a long time. In fact, I haven't had sex since Kevin sent me overseas. Don't you think a red-blooded man like myself should ensure his sexual appetite is satisfied?"

'Cherry?

Alan specifically called her Cherry, not Kristine!'

Andrew's body trembled of its own volition and he closed his eyes to steady himself. Although he had anticipated that this was the truth, hearing confirmation of it by the mention of her name drew out a reaction from him.

Kristine was indeed Cherry, the murderer!

All color drained from Cherry's face in an instant. She promptly stood up and glared at Alan.

'Damn it! Alan called my real name in front of Andrew!'

Gritting her teeth, Cherry continued to glare at Andrew but placed a fake sweet smile on her face, and she said, "Are you drunk out of your senses? Who is Cherry? I'm Kristine."

Alan sneered and continued, "That's enough. You are Cherry. No matter what you call yourself these days, you are still Cherry Ye. Do you think you can escape from the mistakes you have made and the people you killed?"

Cherry's legs turned to jelly. She couldn't support herself any longer and she fell onto the couch with a heavy thud. She unconsciously looked at Andrew for his reaction. He just looked at her without saying a word, with a complex expression on his face. He did not look surprised in the least bit.

Biting her bottom lip in angst, she considered whether Andrew had figured out the truth.

'Had he suggested he leave today just to escape me?

He...' She let her thoughts trail off and she responded, "Enough, Alan!" The fire of anger was suddenly ignited and fully ablaze in her being. After keeping this anger suppressed and bottled up for such a long time, Cherry finally could not contain it any longer.

She got to her feet and looked down at Alan seated before her. She shouted in a fit of blazing rage, "I know I killed someone, okay! But I did not mean to do it! I didn't mean it!

Kevin and Anne understand and so they've forgiven me. Why are you holding this over me?"

Alan slapped her hard across the face.

He was quick enough to strike her without giving her any time to defend herself.

He had used all the strength that he could muster. How could a meek, petite woman like Cherry withstand such a heavy blow? She fell to the floor in an instant, covering her face instinctively. "Forgive you?" Alan sneered maniacally as he closed his fingers around Cherry's throat. "You want me to forgive you? Well, so be it - if you can bring my sister back to life then I will forgive you!" Cherry's eyes widened in fear and shock. She frantically tried to grasp at Alan's hands, trying to free herself from his chokehold. But he was too powerful. She didn't stand a chance. She didn't manage to weaken his grasp in the least bit.

She could not get a breath in. She tried to open her mouth for some relief but no air could come in. The frantic scene suddenly seemed to move in slow motion. She could see Alan speaking so close to her face yet she did not register a word he said. She could not hear a thing.

Was this what the moments before death felt like?

Was this going to be the end for her?

Her eyes widened and her pupils began dilating. All of a sudden, she could breathe. She gasped a great breath of oxygen.

But her chest still throbbed with immense pain.

"Enough, Alan! Are you really going to kill her?"

The sound of a man's loud roar came to her ears as her hearing returned. Cherry took deep, steadying breaths. She was so thankful that Andrew had come to her rescue!

As she had anticipated, her decision to ensure Andrew had stayed with her had paid off. Had it not been for his presence, she would have surely died at the hands of Alan today.

Alan clearly had a deep-rooted desire to avenge his sister with her death at his hands.

"Andrew - stay out of this. It's none of your business!" Alan balled his hand into a fist and hit Andrew square in the face. Not expecting it, Andrew had no time to defend himself and fell to the floor.

"Cherry, you really are a piece of work. Back then, you took advantage of me and murdered my dear sister just to win Kevin's heart. Andrew has a bright future yet you selfishly drag him into our affairs. Are you willing to destroy him for your own selfish needs?"

Andrew, who was about to strike back, stopped in his tracks upon hearing Alan's words.

There was some sense to what Alan was saying. Cherry was still a murderer. The long arms of the law would not spare her for what she had done. Yet, he had done everything he could to get close to her in order to further his career and become a famous star.

If he got caught up in this troublesome business, he would never be able to realize his dream.

'This unfortunate scenario...' His thoughts were cut off by Alan's voice.

"Andrew, the woman before you is no saint. Let me tell you, she is a cold-blooded killer who just walks all over everyone to get what she wants.

Why else do you think she let you live here?" Alan looked down at Andrew with pity.

There were frown lines visible across Andrew's forehead as he lowered his head, thinking. Initially, he suggested he live with Cherry but she was completely against it. Then, she suddenly agreed. He realized Cherry had changed her mind just so that she could use him as protection against Alan.

Cherry did this only for herself!

Alan was right. Cherry indeed did this for her own selfish motives.