Hearing this, Cyrus Hawthorne turned his head to look at her, his eyebrows slightly raised, seemingly surprised, and then he replied to her softly, "Mm, it’s just that when I’m busy, it’s only once every two months." Ann Vaughn was shaken, unable to recover from the shock for a long time. Ever since that mysterious flower sender appeared, the question of who he was kept revolving in Ann’s mind. But after all these years, she still knew nothing about the person and couldn’t personally thank him. She never imagined... that this person was Cyrus Hawthorne! After the shock, a trace of doubt appeared in Ann’s eyes, "How did you know about this?" "As long as you have the intention, it’s not difficult to find out." Cyrus’s expression was calm, but his long dark eyes shimmered with gentle light. When Ann was still young, Cyrus had already set his sights on her, planning to marry her when she grew up. Old Master Vaughn found Cyrus extremely unappealing no matter how he looked at him, finding fault and constantly creating obstacles, hoping to make him retreat in the face of difficulties. Cyrus was inherently tenacious and stubborn; the more Old Master Vaughn obstructed him, the less he conceded, never abandoning his idea of bringing Ann back to his family. As a result, Old Master Vaughn not only had to guard against Cyrus’s intentions towards Ann but also against him potentially taking Ann away and not returning her, which was utterly exhausting. Yet, in the end, Old Master Vaughn finally relented, agreeing to the engagement. — Because of the Chambers Family. Evan and Hugh Coleman were like two persistent nuisances that annoyed Old Master Vaughn tremendously, even attempting to arrange a marriage between Ann and Hugh. Old Master Vaughn knew that even if he refused the Chambers, with Evan’s personality, they wouldn’t give up easily. But if anything happened to him in the future, who could protect Ann, an orphaned girl? After much consideration, even though Old Master Vaughn was reluctant to admit it, he had to acknowledge that the Hawthorne Family and Cyrus were the best candidates. As long as Ann and Cyrus were engaged, the Chambers wouldn’t dare to act rashly. Ann’s heart warmed, and she couldn’t help but grip Cyrus’s hand, smiling as she turned to the photo on Old Master Vaughn’s tombstone, "Grandfather, can you see this? In the coming years, we will come to see you every year." Never again would there be empty passing by or the powerless feeling of meeting but never recognizing each other. Cyrus’s long fingers moved slightly, interlocking with hers. He bowed solemnly towards Old Master Vaughn’s tombstone, "Thank you for raising Annie and protecting her, loving her, nurturing her into such an outstanding and beautiful person." "From now on, I will take your place by Annie’s side, care for her, cherish her, and provide what you didn’t have the chance to give her." The man’s voice was consistently low and magnetic, carrying a slight oath-like solemnity at this moment, making his sharply contoured, handsome face look inviolable. The sunlight fell on his shoulders and dark hair, as if coated with an indelible glow. Like a carving knife, etching a deep impression in Annie’s heart. Even after returning to Bamboo Creek Villa, Ann was still unable to shake off the earlier tremor. She walked to the entrance dazedly to change her shoes, feeling a bit out of sorts. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Ah!! It hurts, it hurts, be gentle!" Suddenly, a cry of pain echoed from the living room. Ann quickly changed her shoes and headed to the living room. There she saw Bella Hawthorne and Susie Sommers sitting on the carpet in front of the glass table, Bella extending her bruised arms to make it easier for Susie to apply ointment. But Susie’s strength was like a wild horse off its reins, incapable of doing delicate tasks, causing Bella to cry in pain with tearful eyes from time to time. "Sister Susie, you might as well just kill me." Bella gasped in pain after being pressed on the wound for the eighth time. Susie laughed, "Where would I dare, your brother and sister-in-law would kill me to drink if I did?" Unable to control herself, Susie pressed down again, bringing another wail of pain. Ann couldn’t stand it any longer, so she took the ointment from Susie’s hand and pushed her aside to do it herself. "Applying a glob will absorb slowly; you need to apply it evenly and massage it in circles." Susie lay back on the sofa leisurely, "As long as one of us understands medicine, that’s enough. Anyway, I’m relying on you for life." Despite the pain, Bella didn’t forget to tease her: "No way, my sister-in-law belongs to my brother; you need to find someone else to depend on." "...We promised to walk together for life, whoever gets single first is a dog, but you left me and got yourself a dog first." As she spoke, Susie started singing. The awful tune made Ann wish she could stuff a rag in Susie’s mouth. "Bella, how did you get these injuries on your arm?" Finally, when Susie stopped, Ann looked up and asked Bella. Bella stammered for ages, unable to explain why. "How else did it happen? It was that black tea’s fault." Susie, sprawled on the sofa, looked at Ann, "If I hadn’t heard from Bella, I wouldn’t know you’re about to be edged out?" But... Ann was puzzled, "Who is black tea?" "The ultimate evolution of a green tea girl, who else could it be?" Susie covered her face, pretending to have a toothache, "I didn’t mean to push you, are you hurt? It’s all my fault, don’t blame others~" Even Susie herself almost couldn’t stand her act. Ann finally understood, and looking at the injuries on Bella’s delicate arms, her gaze turned cold, "Did she hit you too?" "You could say she did, it’s just..." Bella had to explain the sequence of events. Ever since that marriage contract emerged, Miyi Yates’ status in the Hawthorne family began to rise rapidly. Bella was just returning to get something from the family, and she happened to run into Miyi, unable to restrain herself from confronting her about her actions. But Miya Yates, who always put on a smiling face and fawning attitude in front of Bella, actually said to her, "Without your status as the Hawthorne heiress, you’d just be a nobody." Bella didn’t know how she found out about this; at that moment, all the blood in her body turned cold, and a damp, chilly sense of despair enveloped her. Without thinking, she slapped Miyi Yates! But Miyi Yates took advantage of the situation to push Bella onto the nearby stone path and then pretended, when the servants came, that Bella had fallen by accident and she was helping her up. Naturally, she received a bunch of praise again. After hearing Bella’s explanation, Ann nearly exploded with anger, wanting nothing more than to tear Miyi Yates’ mouth apart! The porcelain cup that Ann had recently bought was crushed, a piece caved in, and dust fell everywhere.