36 "Someone Is Searching For You."

Grace returned to her office looking very dejected as she walked up to Ann. "He said I have to go," She said, trying hard not to cry.

Ann looked at Grace briefly and decided that Grace needed a hug, so she shut the blinders in the office before walking over to Grace. She wrapped her in her embrace and held her close as she patted her back.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I don't know what went wrong, but I really wish we could find a way to fix it," Ann said sadly.

"Should I just tell them the truth?" Grace asked, looking at Ann.

"You can do that. I tried telling them several times at the hospital, but they assumed I was having a personality disorder. At least if you tell them the truth and even tell them about certain special memories, they would believe you," Ann suggested.

"Maybe dad will, but not my mother. She will think you told me all of this to keep me in the house," Grace said with slumped shoulders.

"How about you use this period to get a vacation and do everything you didn't do before but always wanted to do? You can live freely now without the fear of paparazzi. You can get drunk, go clubbing, travel to different places, and go on dates with random guys. Do lots of things you couldn't have done before now," Ann suggested.

"Change isn't always a bad thing. I can give you your credit cards, and you can still live comfortably," Ann said with a slight shrug making Grace look at her thoughtfully.

"I can't do all of that alone. I don't know if I will survive this. This is what I know how to do. This is my life," She said, swinging her hands around the office to indicate what she meant before rubbing the nape of her neck with her hand.

"Maybe this is why you have to try something else. I would rather not be living your life, but I decided to make the best of this opportunity and learn new things, develop myself, and become better. So far, you have taught me a great deal. Please allow me to do the same for you," Ann pleaded, reaching out to wipe the tear on Grace's face.

"Everything will be alright. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere until whatever happened is fixed. We are what we both have at the moment," Ann told Grace softly.

The sound of Ann's phone ringing suddenly interrupted their conversation, and they both glanced at the phone in Grace's hand. "It's Sara," Grace told Ann.

"Please put it on loudspeaker," Ann pleaded. Grace simply nodded before taking the call.

"Guess what?" Sara said in her usual excited voice.

"I'm not sure I can guess. What is it?" Grace said with a frown.

"Well, it's actually two things," Sara said, giggling, making Ann smile. She really missed Sara and her constant nagging.

"First of all, Chairman Jiang was here today asking about you. Mom says he seems like a really nice person," Sara told her in a whisper.

"Oh!" Ann exclaimed.

"Is someone else there?" Sara asked with a frown.

"Not at all. That was me. So how much did you tell him?" Grace asked.

"Well, not me. Mom decided to speak to him herself. But from the little snippets of the conversation which I overheard, mom told him about your family and stuff. And yes, she also told him about your feelings for CEO Wang Tae-Joon," Sara said in a low voice.

Grace thought about it for a moment and assumed that had to be the reason her father wanted her out. If he felt Ann was in love with her supposed fiance, he would definitely want her out so as not to complicate things. His decision made more sense to her now.

"Okay, so what is the second thing? Or did her mother visit too?" Grace asked sarcastically, making both Sara and Ann giggle.

"Oh! Yes!" Sara exclaimed.

"Yes? She did?" Grace asked with a frown, wondering what was wrong with her family and why they were so interested in Ann.

"No, I don't mean her mother visited. I mean, yes, like I just remembered there is something else. This is more important, though," Sara said quickly, making both Ann and Grace listen with interest.

"What is it?" Grace asked impatiently.

"Well, I told Mom she should have called to tell you first, but she insisted she wanted to surprise you," Sara said hesitantly.

"Well? Go on," Grace urged her.

"What are you doing here when there are customers to attend to? Drop the phone and go out," Mrs. Shu scolded Sara.

"I'll be out in a minute!" She called out after her mother.

"I have to go now. But the thing is, someone is searching for you. Like he is asking questions about you around our previous neighborhood, you know where we all lived when your parents were still alive," Sara said, pausing to make sure Ann was following.

"Go on," Grace said to her.

"She called to say someone named Brad Carter was searching for your mother and you. But then she told him your parents were dead, and you were the only one left, but she had no idea where you were. So he dropped his card, asking her to call him if she heard something about you, that it was urgent," Sara finished.

"Did he say who he was or something?" Ann asked.

"Who is there?" Sara asked, frowning.

Grace cleared her throat. "It's me. Go ahead. Did he say who he was or why he was searching for me?" Grace asked again.

"I think she said he mentioned something about being your cousin. Your mother's nephew. Look, I have to go now before Mom comes back to yell," Sara said and quickly hung up.

"Do you know any Brad Carter?" Grace asked Ann with a frown.

"Not at all. The name sounds really strange," Ann said with a frown of her own. Her mother's nephew? That was new to her.

"Well, let's just wait until he gets here then," Grace suggested.

"I think I've been able to figure out why my father wants me to leave. I guess my father wants me out because he thinks I'm in love with Tae-Joon and would ruin your chances with him," Grace explained.

"Nothing is going to change their mind. I'll be spending the night at a hotel. Can you get the driver to deliver my clothes and skin care products to the hotel?" Grace asked Ann.

She was just going to do as Ann had suggested and try something different. She was Grace Jiang, after all. There was nothing she couldn't do if she put her mind to it.

"Sure, that won't be a problem. You can have the black card and credit card," Ann said, opening her wallet and handing over the cards to Grace.