14 Friends.

Marriage? Ann asked herself as she paced about the room. No way! She wasn't going to do that. Marrying him this way also meant that she was losing him.

"Your parents are pushing the marriage plans forward. What should I do?" She texted Grace.

"Why should I tell you what to do when you haven't done what I asked you to?" Grace replied a few minutes later.

Ann saw the message from Grace and stood still for a while, not knowing the next step to take.

Since Zoe had told her about the details of the meeting last night, she had been restless since then. Maybe she needed to call Tae-Joon. She had to know his stand in all of this.

That way, she would be able to decide on what to do. She brought out her phone and dialed his number.

"Good morning. CEO Tae-Joon is not on seat at the moment, as he's in a board meeting. Kindly call back or leave a message," His PA answered.

"Oh, it's An.., sorry Jiang Grace. Please ask him to call me the moment he's free," She said before hanging up the call.

She had to speak to chairman Jiang about hiring a personal assistant, and she needed to speak with Zoe. So, she stepped out of her room and headed for Zoe's room first.

She saw a maid walking down the hallway with a stack of freshly washed white bedsheets. "Where is Zoe's room?" She asked with a smile making the maid frown.

What was the meaning of the question? Was Miss Grace looking for an excuse to fire or insult her? She didn't want to fall into Miss Grace's trap today.

She simply pointed in that direction without saying a word as she hurried away.

"Thank you," She called after the maid, who stopped in her track to stare back at her in shock. Had Miss Grace just said, "thank you"?When the other maids had told her Miss Grace assisted them with breakfast yesterday morning, she had thought they were joking, but hearing this now was something else...

'Maybe miracles still happened,' The maid said to herself as she went about her duties.

"Hey, Zee," Ann called out when she entered the room, but Zoe couldn't hear her. She was playing music from a headset and dancing away happily. The music was so loud Ann could hear the lyrics clearly.

She sat on the bed, deciding not to interrupt her and just watch her enjoy herself.

After dancing for some minutes while dripping with sweat, she decided to pause for a minute. She turned and jumped in surprise when she saw Grace sitting by her bedside. 

"Sis, wha--at, whe-n, I mean, how long have you been here?" She asked when she finally found her voice.

Both Grace and their mother had told her to give up her dreams of dancing. Hence she could only do it in her room. They never came down to her room anyway.

"Long enough to know you're a beautiful dancer. I guess you'll want to pursue a career in dancing?" She asked, smiling at Zoe, who blinked at her in surprise.

"This your accident seems to have its own perks," Zoe said, grinning broadly. Never had she thought the day would come when she would hear this kind of statement from her big sister.

"Why do you say that?" Ann asked with a frown.

"You would have been very angry seeing me dance after you've warned me off it severally. I guess the accident made you forget that dancing is not meant for people like us," Zoe said, dabbing at her sweat with a towel as she sipped water from a glass on her dressing table.

"Really? Who is dancing meant for, then?" Ann asked curiously. The more she learned about Grace, the more she couldn't seem to understand what went on in her head.

"We are meant to be entertained and not to entertain. That's the best way I can sum it up," Zoe said as she sat on the bed.

"Are you bored? What brought you to my room?" Zoe asked.

"I want to ask dad about employing a personal assistant. How do you think I should go about it?" She asked, suddenly feeling nervous at the thought.

"Same way, every daughter asks her father for something. He would even listen more because of your condition and because he has been wanting you to get one for a long time now," Zoe said with a smile.

"You think so?" She asked with uncertainty.

"Yea, but you would have to go through the tiresome process of interviewing so many applicants," Zoe warned.

"No, I don't need to interview anyone. I have someone in mind for the job already. I only need his approval to hire the person," Ann said.

"Really? I'm curious to meet this person. If you want to talk to Dad, you better head out now before he gets too busy," Zoe said as Ann stood up.

"You dance really well. I think you should consider a career in dancing," Ann said against her better judgment as she walked away.

Immediately she walked into the sitting room; she was surrounded by three beautifully dressed young ladies who swamped her in their embrace. She later knew them as Jin, Ki, and Yon... Grace's best friends forever.

"While we were waiting for you at the clubhouse, we heard someone had collapsed outside. We had no idea it was you," Ki said, holding her hands.

"We are so so sorry. That stupid guy should be locked up for life," Jin added, leading her upstairs.

"What really happened? We were so excited, waiting to hear about your horrible date experience," Yon added, not wanting to be left out.

Ann closed her eyes in agony. Their chattering was causing her a headache. How was she to answer them if they kept talking?

"Hold on, why is your face bare?" Jin asked, eyeing her up and down.

"And what is this horrible outfit you're wearing?" Ki asked, drawing back from her as though she was infected with chicken pox.