The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 890 For Me Or For The Baby

Anthony was not angered by Sue's words. He stared at her with a delightful smile and teased, "Don't forget that I have bought you. You are going to be my wife soon."

"You..." Sue was still not in the state of mind to take these words casually. She was indeed upset about this, but couldn't do anything to change the situation. Darting a cold glance at Anthony, she refuted, "I didn't ask you to buy me."

"Yes, yes, yes, you didn't ask for that. I did it out of my wish," Anthony continued to tease her. He enjoyed the short bitter sweet fight with Sue and smiled at every expression of anger on Sue's face. After a long time he felt peaceful and happy from within. It was evident from his behavior that finally he was contented.

But Laura didn't enjoy this much. She interrupted the young couple and spoke with a frown, "Let's eat something to fill our stomach. Sue hasn't eaten anything for a long time. She has to eat something for her health and for the baby."

"Good idea," Anthony agreed with a nod. Sue didn't say anything, so he turned to ask Sue's opinion, "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't want to eat," Sue replied impatiently. "I just want to go back now."

"Then let's go to Hong Fu Restaurant. It has really good cooks. Let's order fish soup for you. It's their special dish. It's popular, nutritious, and healthy." Anthony decided for Sue, completely ignoring what she had said.

"You..." Sue was so angry that she couldn't even replace any word to say. It seemed that she had no control over anything anymore -- not even whether she wanted to eat or not. Hence, she just got into the car with much reluctance.

Sue could not decipher the reason behind the sudden change in Anthony. It was so quick and abrupt that it was unbelievable for her. The same person who had been so indifferent to her even when they were together was now so much devoted to her that he even agreed to pay an hefty amount of money just in order to marry her!

Anthony was so caring towards her that he booked the table and ordered the dishes on their way there, so once they reached the restaurant, the waiter would just lead them in and serve them the dishes straight away. He booked a private room, as he didn't want Sue to be annoyed by the noise of other customers eating there.

When they were eating, Laura kept filling Sue's plate with the meat, vegetables and desserts. She was so hospitable that there was no room for Sue to refuse. Though she did not feel like eating, Sue took a few bites.

Ever since she had become pregnant, she had completely lost her appetite for food, so she only finished a small portion in her bowl. She put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth gently, and said flatly, "I'm full."

"So fast?" Laura questioned with a frown.

"It's Okay, Sue," Anthony said to Sue after exchanging looks with Laura and asking her not to force Sue to eat. "Well, if you don't want to eat now, that's fine. Later if you have appetite again, tell me and I'll buy for you."

Sue was unhappy with the answer. Though Antony looked happy and sorted, Sue was still fighting her inner dilemma. Her mind was restless and wanted a clarification. It seemed that Anthony was not going to talk about it anyway, so she started, "Anthony, I think we need to talk and make things clear between the two of us. I don't want to see anything going astray."

After a pause, Sue continued in a cold tone, "I think we already agreed, that we've broken up. Why are you still doing this?"

Laura frowned at Sue's words with discontent and reprimanded, "Sue, now you have Anthony's baby with you. You shouldn't speak in such a manner."

"Aunt Laura, I have made it clear, that this baby is my own baby. It has nothing to do with Xiao family," Sue affirmed without being bothered by Laura's disapproval.

"You..." Sue's defiance enraged Laura but she managed to suppress that, as she was afraid that her anger would harm the baby.

"Don't worry, Mom. Let me handle this," Anthony said to his mom and stopped her from saying more.

Turning his eyes to Sue, he started speaking in a very calm and polite voice, "Sue, I know why you want to break up with me. One reason is that you think I still love Sheryl, and the other reason is that... you don't want your family to be a burden for me, right?"

Upon hearing that, Sue eased the crease of her brows and pursed her lips.

Anthony kept looking at Sue waiting for a reply and then probed, "If you don't say anything, I'll take it as 'yes' then." Sue remained quiet. Anthony was elated to see Sue's silence. As far as he knew her, her silence proved his assumption to be correct. This made him hopeful that Sue was still in love with him, but she was just troubled by external factors. Staring at her with a determined look, he said, "Sue, then let me sort the things out one by one."

Taking a deep breath, he started, "Firstly, as for Sheryl..."

The very mention of Sheryl brought a disgruntled look on Laura's face. She shared a why-do-you-need-to-bring-her-in-now kind of a glance with her son which he ignored. Seeing his attitude, she barged in and said, "Sue, rest assured. If he ever dares to retain any form of connection with Sheryl, I will give him a harsh lesson on behalf of you. You don't have to worry about that."

"Mom..." Anthony frowned and gestured Laura to keep quiet.

He knew Sue's state of mind -- his mother's assurance would not be of any help.

Moreover, he held himself responsible for the entire dispute among the three of them. Hence, evidently it was his responsibility to make Sue feel secure in her relationship with himself.

Laura finally understood his point and refrained herself from speaking. Anthony then continued, "Sue, trust me, what I spoke to you in the corridor just now, I meant it from the bottom of my heart. It is true that it took me a long time to be completely sure about my feelings towards Sheryl. That was the reason behind me being so hesitant. But now I have the answer. I have realized who I truly love, and it's none other than you."

Anthony spoke in a deep earnest voice. He wasn't shouting, but his words sounded like thunders to Sue's ears. She tried her best to keep still and silent. No one could gauge her state of mind from her face. Glancing at Sue, he continued, "As for your family..."

He paused. To be honest, it was absolutely new to him. He had never had to brush his shoulders with a person like Peggy before this. Although he found Peggy unbelievably troublesome and shameless, it was just because of her that his will for Sue became even stronger. After getting to know about Sue's family, he was determined to save Sue from her mother's grasp.

"I know you have been trying to save me from getting involved in your family matters, especially with your mother. But Sue, you should know where your limit lies. Since now it is not within your ability to solve your family issues, you should learn to hand that over to me and let me handle it for you. Please don't keep it to yourself." He then reached out his hand and touched her face gently, as if he was trying to soothe her wounds she got from her mother. "Trust me Sue, I'm not going to leave you because of your troublesome family. In fact, I want to stand by you. I feel so sorry for you that you have been mistreated by your family for so many years, so sorry that life has been so hard for you. Even with all those sufferings, you still made yourself such an optimistic and cheerful girl. I am so touched. All I want to do now is to just hold you in my arms and protect you. I will never let you get hurt again."

Anthony's words were so touching that Sue's eyes were about to be swelled up with tears. But, somehow, she managed to pull them back and replied with a forced smile, "But that is my own business." It was becoming increasingly difficult for Sue to maintain her composure. This was what she wanted. She loved Anthony from the bottom of her heart. And now as he was confessing his love to her, she was trying to resist it. She was getting carried away by Anthony's words but was trying with all her might to be practical and relevant. She wanted a clear view of Anthony's mind about herself.

"From now on, it is not your own business anymore," Anthony refuted with resolve. Sue looked down in order to avoid eye contact with him. Her face still had a pensiveness that made Anthony unsettled in his mind. Anthony pulled Sue's hands and placed them on his chest so that Sue was forced to look into his eyes. He wanted Sue to see the sincere love in his eyes.

Gazing attentively at Sue, he said, "Sue, from this moment onwards, I will stand by your side. No matter what happens, we will face the trouble together. Don't consider yourself to be alone in anything. We are going to be inseparable. Okay?"

Her heart was melting into a riot of emotions at the sight of his gaze.

Sue could see his sincerity when he uttered those words, but still she had some questions unanswered. She wanted to know why Anthony did this -- was it for her or for the baby?

If it was for just the baby in her womb, then she would reject him without hesitation. It did not matter how much she loved him or how much she dreamt of having a life with him. If he was here for the baby, she would not be able to accept this at any cost.

"You... What are you so much worried about?" Anthony asked anxiously. He could almost read her mind in her eyes. He could sense the pain, humiliation and dilemma, though she tried her best to conceal her emotions. Then he realized that there was still something holding Sue back.

"Sue, now there are only three of us here. Feel free to say anything," Laura prompted softly when Sue hesitated.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally gathered herself and asked, "What... What exactly is it that suddenly made you say all these things to me? Is it because of the baby?"

"You can say that." Anthony nodded in agreement.

'So it was the baby and not me,' Sue thought. A slice of disappointment flashed on her face, but was quickly captured by Anthony who had been carefully observing Sue's facial expression. He realized how Sue had interpreted and hurried to explain, "Sue, listen to me. I didn't mean that.

It was because of the baby and not for the baby at the same time. You could say that your pregnancy gave me a precious opportunity to come back to you. In fact, I've been thinking about this for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. I was confused myself about what I really want and who I really want to be with. That was why I didn't look for you. However, I found myself so excited and exhilarated to hear about your pregnancy. All I was thinking about since then was to be back to you, to marry you and to lead a happy life with you and the kid. The baby did help me make my decision, but trust me, I have come for you, not the baby."