Chapter 618 Differentiation

Yancey shook his head and softly said, "It wasn't anyone who hit me. I accidentally scraped myself."

Anne frowned, "Do you think I’m an idiot? Scratches like that don’t happen by accident. Who hit you?"

Yancey’s gaze shifted to Bella, who was lying on the bed. He hadn’t expected Anne to bring Bella here.

“Is this Bella?”

Bella seemed to have grown a lot since the last time Yancey had seen her. He had only taken a quick glance at her in the operating room. Now, nearly two months later, Bella’s features were beginning to resemble Anne’s more and more. She was the perfect mix of Anne and Dante.

Anne grabbed Yancey’s arm. "Stop changing the subject. Who hit you on the face? Was it your gambler father?"

Yancey fell silent.

Anne immediately understood.

She turned around, picking Bella up in her arms. "Let’s go. Drive me to your home."

Vanery looked at her in shock, never expecting Anne to make such a request.

He had left without looking back, but now Anne had suddenly appeared in his small town, and everything felt surreal, like a dream.

Yancey lowered his head, "You should go back."

He turned to walk away.

Anne’s expression grew cold.

"I drove all the way here. It took me half a day to find this place, and now you want me to leave? Yancey, do you have any responsibility at all? Why did I come here? Am I just wasting my time? Tell me, is something going on with you?"

Yancey bit his lip tightly, his hands clenched, holding back. He refused to speak.

The two of them locked eyes, but neither spoke. Bella, sensing the tension in the room, started crying.

Seeing this, Anne hurried to calm the baby down. Bella woke up from her nap, grumbling as she seemed to want milk. After spending a few days with her daughter, Anne had gotten to know her little quirks.

Yancey closed the door behind him, stepped outside, and pulled out a cigarette. He crouched down and slowly took a drag.

When Anne came out after taking care of Bella, she found the entire hallway filled with smoke. A surge of anger filled her chest, and she snatched the cigarette from his hand, throwing it on the ground and stamping it out.

It had only been a few days, and Yancey had picked up smoking. This wasn’t like him. He wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Anne felt something must have happened that he couldn’t handle.

Anne asked, "Did your father gamble again?"

Yancey replied, "Yes."

"How much does he owe this time?"

Yancey remained silent.

Anne pressed on, "How much?"

"Two million dollars."

Anne paused for a moment. "Two million? Last time it was three hundred thousand dollars, and now it is two million?" she thought.

After a long silence, Anne finally said, "I’ll help you pay it off."

Upon hearing this, Yancey’s emotions suddenly flared. "No! I don’t want your money!"

Yancey had long stopped spending Anne’s money. After she had paid off his family’s debts last time, he had stored the money in a bank card. When he left, he had left the card in a drawer, not taking it with him.

At Bella’s first-month celebration, Dante’s words deeply hurt Yancey.

That was why he had worked odd jobs, using his earnings to buy Anne a bag, trying to prove that he wasn’t the useless man Dante had described, living off a woman.

But now, he truly didn’t have any way out. Two million dollars was an astronomical sum for Yancey.

He knew Anne could pay, but she had already helped him once and he could not ask her for help again. Yancey had come to terms with the fact that his family was a bottomless pit.

These past few days, his mind had been in turmoil. He thought about many things, and perhaps Dante was right that he and Anne weren’t suited for each other.

He had always lived in his ideal world, but when confronted with reality, the illusion would shatter. Even though he truly liked her and once dreamed of always having this beautiful life, Yancey suddenly woke up.

He was already deep in the mire, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t climb out. Continuing with Anne would only drag her down with him. He couldn’t do that.

Some people, perhaps from the beginning, were never meant to be in the same world, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t catch up.

"Anne, you should go back. Don’t get involved with my problems. This is it."

Tears welled up in Yancey’s eyes. His tone wasn’t like a discussion but more like announcing a final decision. "I’ve applied to drop out of school. I won’t go back to Kingsdom. The clothes I left at your place, please throw them away."

Anne furrowed her brows in disbelief. "I came here to help you solve your problems, but now you’re pushing me away. Yancey, did you ever consider me your girlfriend?"

After all, Yancey had stayed in her home for nearly a year, and she had feelings for him. Seeing him, once so calm, suddenly become like this was something Anne couldn’t accept.

She took out a card from her wallet. "The money on this card is enough to pay off your debt. After you pay it off, you can come back, and I’ll pretend nothing happened."

Yancey shook his head. "I told you, I don’t want it. Don’t you understand? Have you thought about next time? And the time after that? Last time it was three hundred thousand dollars, now it’s two million dollars, what if next time it’s twenty million? How many times can you help me?"

The card felt like a slap on his face, constantly reminding him that he was living off Anne. Yancey’s face turned red with embarrassment. He shoved the card back into Anne’s hand and ran off without looking back.

Anne watched his retreating figure with helplessness. She returned to the room, took a moment to calm down, and then gathered herself.

Having come all this way, she couldn’t just leave like this. It wasn’t her style.

Anne picked up Bella and got back into the car. She followed the same route Yancey had just taken, determined to find him again.

The town wasn’t large, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to find someone.

The car wound through the narrow roads, heading toward a dirt slope. She had heard that there were a few houses over that slope, and Yancey lived in one of them.

The car’s low chassis kicked up dirt and mud, splattering the body. Anne frowned, never imagining that people still lived in such a rural, unpaved area. Though she was a skilled driver, the slipping steering wheel irritated her.

A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of a farmhouse. Inside, there was noise everywhere, with chickens and ducks running around and even a pigsty nearby. Anne had never seen a scene like this before. When she opened the car door, she found the ground was covered in mud, making it impossible to step out.

Bella was sound asleep in her safety seat. Anne hesitated for a moment, deciding not to take her out. She stood by the car door, observing the surroundings. Then, she saw a few burly men inside the house, all with colorful tattoos on their arms.

Secret Admiration: Finding True Love After