"I'm glad to hear that. Now, eat," Rain said, sliding a bowl of food towards her. He sighed. Seeing her being so understanding and calm made Rain think that he might have worried too much earlier.

  "Rain, can I ask you something?"

  "Sure, fire away."

  "What did you give them to make them agree to let me go?"

  Tiana's heart ached a bit still. She had lived with them for more than twenty years after all. Her feelings and attachment towards them wouldn't disappear overnight.

  "That's a thing of the past. Don't think about it anymore. Just relax. You're always welcome here," he replied, averting his gaze.

  "I don't want to be a bother," she said faintly. Tiana heard that Rain and Annie were going to have a wedding. It would be inevitable that they would want to get some time alone. On top of that, she didn't want to get in the way as they started their family

  "What are you talking about? You won't be. This house is big enough for all of us. It would be a waste if no one occupies any of these empty rooms," he reassured her. Just then, a car was pulling up in front of the driveway. 'That must be Annie, ' Rain thought. He stood up from his seat to meet her and the kids.

  "Thank you, Rain," Tiana said politely. The usual spoiled and haughty tone of hers was gone. It was as if she had matured overnight.

  "Don't mention it," he replied. "Annie and the kids are back. I'll just go meet them." He walked up to the front door with long, quick strides. He gave the knob a turn; Joyce and Huey were already there, waiting with big smiles on their faces.

  "Daddy!"

  "Hi dad!"

  The kids ran straight into Rain's arms as soon as they saw him. An overwhelming warmth flooded through Rain. He beamed back at them, kneeling down to give them a tight hug.

  "Hey there! Did you miss daddy?" Rain gave them both a big kiss on the cheek.

  "We did. And daddy, Huey made a girl cry today," Joyce said, suppressing her giggles.

  "Oh, really now? Huey, why did you do that?" Rain asked seriously. He had high regard for the children's education —— not only at school; it was important for him that they were taught the right value.

  "I didn't! She wanted to play with me and I didn't want to play with her, so she cried," Huey answered defensively.

  "Oh, I see…… But she is your classmate. Why didn't you want to play with her?" Rain asked, his voice lighter. He suddenly understood Huey better after thinking it over. Huey rarely even talked with his sister, let alone other girls. In spite of that, Rain s

  n so, we could only help her for a while. What about next time? She's still a member of the family after all," Annie was worried. 'The Kes are really horrible!' she thought to herself.

  "Oh, speaking of which, I need to apologize to you —— I traded the evidence of the scheme against you for Tiana's freedom," Rain said slowly. He looked at Annie, wondering how she would react.

  "What? You found evidence? Was it really the Ke family who did it?" Annie had always had doubts about that car accident. It couldn't have been that simple and ordinary.

  "Yes. Sorry that I made the decision without counseling you." Rain felt bad. Since Annie was the victim, it just seemed wrong that he chose what to do with the evidence and not Annie.

  "Why are you apologizing?" Annie said with a smile. "I wasn't badly injured in the accident anyway. Since the evidence could be traded for Tiana's freedom, I think you made the right decision." Rain smiled back, sighing in relief. Either way, the car accident case had already been reported to the police. Right now, they just had to wait for the result.

  "Thank you for understanding." Rain wrapped his arms around Annie and hugged her tightly. "But……" he continued, "there's one more thing."

  "What is it?" Annie asked anxiously.

  "Tiana is not daughter of the Ke family." Annie pulled away from Rain. She was more shocked by the news than Tiana had been.

  "What? No way! Are you serious?" Annie's eyes widened, looking at Rain in disbelief.

  "It's true. I have just found out about it," Rain didn't tell her, however, that it was the Mayfly that had confirmed the information. The Mayfly's existence was supposed to be confidential.