"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 p

  er 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 find 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.