Chapter 30 As Long as You Live

"Joseph, do you know that I thought I would never see you again?" Anna cried like a baby in his arms.

Kate felt like an outsider standing next to them. Joseph was her husband, but there was nothing she could do, she didn't dare to push Anna away. After all, Anna was the one he loved, not her. Seeing the look on Kate's face as she watched Anna in Joseph's arms, Dora was overjoyed. She smiled at Kate as if she was mocking her.

"You…You really are my Anna?" Joseph questioned, he thought he might have been dreaming.

Anna stood straight and pointed to the birthmark on her neck, saying, "Do you remember this mark? I always said it was special because nobody else has one the same."

Joseph looked at her neck, and then hugged her again, "You are Anna! You are Anna!"

He held on to her tightly, fearing that if he let go, she would disappear again. They were celebrating a joyous moment, but Kate's heart was breaking. She had never felt so hurt by Joseph before.

"Sorry, Kate. I was just so excited that I hugged him without thinking. I will do it again," Anna apologized, but Kate knew it she wasn't sincere.

Kate clenched her fists, and calmly said, "Are you sure you will not do it again?"

Though Kate knew Joseph and Anna still loved each other, she would not say it out loud. If she did, she would have to deal with Joseph bullying her, Dora swearing, and Leo acting cold. She was only human and didn't want to be hurt anymore by those around her.

Anna awkwardly replied, "Yes…I will not…"

Joseph jumped in to defend Anna, "No need to explain to her."

"How can you say that? I know you love her and want to be with her. But don't forget that you are technically my husband. So, please remember to behave yourself."

"And you should keep your distance from married men," Kate turned to Anna to warn her.

You'd better keep a distance from a married man." Kate turned to Anna and warned.

"I…" Anna bit her lips and wanted to explain to Kate, but she didn't know what to say.

Kate could feel Joseph's angry glare without looking at him. She ignored him, not giving in to his attitude any longer.

"You are so shameful!" Dora stepped forward to help her daughter, "You took my daughter's love, but now you are warning her to stay away from him. You should leave now!"

Instead of shouting back, Kate politely said, "You have blamed me for your daughter's death for the last two years. Yet, she is standing in front of us now? I think she needs to tell us what happened and where she has been all of this time."

"I…I don't know what you are talking about," Dora's mumbled incoherently.

She tried to change the topic and continued to scold Kate, "You are a shameful woman. You must return everything that belongs to my daughter,"

Joseph turned around to Anna and asked, "Anna, what has happened since the accident? Where have you been for the last two years? Why didn't you contact us?"

Both Joseph and Kate were confused; they wanted to know where Anna had been but probably for different reasons.

"Joseph, I…"

"My dear, you must be exhausted. The doctor said that you need to have a rest. Don't overthink, or you may get sick," Dora pulled Anna closer to her and said to Joseph, "I think Anna needs to have a nap now. You can ask her more when she feels better."

"By the way, now that Anna is alive, if you love her, you need to take some action. I don't think we need to get into the details of what I think you should do," Dora added.

Everyone in the room knew what she meant; she wanted Joseph to divorce Kate and marry her daughter. In fact, it was the same trick that Dora used to marry Leo.

"Mom, Joseph, and Kate have a happy life. I don't want to break them up!" Anna persuaded.

"You are a great actress," Kate turned around to leave. She knew that Anna would not explain what had happened the night of the accident; she would come up with any excuse, not answer. Kate always believed that is was extremely difficult to have a liar tell the truth.

Dora sighed with relief after Kate left. She turned to Anna, "You and Joseph haven't seen each other for two years. You must have a lot to catch up on!"

Anna lowered her head shyly and said, "Mom, Joseph is married now. I don't want to make him feel awkward." Turning to look at Joseph, Anna commented, "Joseph, Kate is unhappy. Please take care of her, not me. I am still not in the best of health and cannot move too far."

"You are still so considerate," Joseph stroked her face and said, "You must have had many hardships over the last two years."

Anna sobbed, "I fell down the mountain, and when I hit my head, I lost my memory. For the last two years, I have spent most of my time in the hospital, but I am slowly recovering. I saw your picture on a commercial; I immediately told myself that I knew you, but I could not figure out who you were. Since then, I have been dreaming of you."

"I tried my best to remember my past and everything that happened between us. However, I would get a headache whenever I thought about it. Then one day, I fell down the stairs and hit my head again. Suddenly, I remembered everything…" Anna cried out, "But now you are married. My heart broke when I heard that. I know I should have contacted you, but I didn't think it would be appropriate, so I contacted my parents."

After hearing Anna tell her story, Joseph felt horrible for what she had gone through. He wasn't sure what to say or do so, he wrapped his arms around her and softly whispered, "Everything is okay now. The most important thing is that you are alive!"