When Love Is Fated

Meant To Be

Anson gestured for Ang to sit. He then walked in front of his family and announced, “I am the CEO of Anko Enterprise,” he watched the expression of surprise on his father, brother, and grandfather’s faces. Of course, they knew about Anko Enterprise. The three of them had tried to partner with Anko in the last two years but without success. “Anson, are you telling me that it was because of you that we could never gain cooperation with Anko?” his father asked. Anson expected this response and explained, “The venture that you presented would not work at the time. I had my assistant complete a portfolio to make it successful. This is what I did within the company in Ang’s absence. I am bringing Anko headquarters here. I planned to sit with the three of you once Ang was better to discuss a merger of sorts. Niko wants to go in a different direction in hospitality and open high-scale hotel and clubs. He will remain a shareholder with 30% of the shares and relinquish control of the company to me. The elder Wen men were shocked to know that Anson had managed in his young years to develop a billion-dollar company in such a short time. His grandfather knew that Anson was of high intelligence but he exceeded his expectation. Ang beamed with pride, "I knew you would excel in whatever you decided to do. Now I understand how you were able to turn the company around so quickly," Ang could hardly contain his excitement. "I also have another matter to discuss with you as well," taking a deep breath, Anson explained the details of the night he was drugged which resulted in Annie being pregnant. He waited to see their responses. His father, Shuang Wen stood and walked towards Anson, "Did you say Annie Hu? What's her father's name?" he asked while his heartbeat wildly in his chest. Anson noticed the surprised expression on his father's face and looked at his grandfather who also looked shocked. "Her father is Charles Hu of the Hu Group. Do you know him father?" he asked. Shuang Wen burst into laughter while turning to look at his father. Andrew Wen also looked extremely happy at hearing Anson confirm Annie's identity. 

"Will one of you please tell me what's going on," he asked starting to feel apprehensive. Andrew Wen pointed to the chair in front of him indicating that Anson needed to sit down. "Anson, when you were little, your mom and dad were great friends with Charles and Caroline Hu. They had a beautiful little girl named Annie. The first time you met her, you followed her around. You asked Charles Hu if you could marry Annie when you were three years old. Both families were very fond of each other so we made an agreement. However, tragedy struck when Annie's mother and your mother were in the accident. Annie's mother did not make it and you already know how long your mother suffered before she finally passed away. Annie was sent to live with her grandparents in the states. Your father and I discussed whether we would enforce this contract marriage but decided to allow you to make that decision on your own. Charles Hu remarried and he and your father haven't been in contact. It's too painful for both of them." Anson took all of this in and looked at his grandfather, "When I first saw her at the Gala in New York, I became entranced by her. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get her out of my mind," he told them. "It was fated for the two of you to meet again, "Shuang Wen explained while smiling. Ang Wen laughed and reminded Anson, "Anson do you not remember when you were five years old you decided that you would start your own company so that you would be able to take care of her. Back then, you called her, Angel." Anson was shocked when he heard what Ang said, "Do you know that she named her company Angel Designs. Her design name is Angel Tang." Shuang and Andrew were equally shocked when they heard this. Shuang knew if his wife was alive she would be crying tears of joy upon hearing the two kids found each other after all this time. "When do you plan to wed?" Anson was about to answer when his phone dinged indicating he had a message. He looked at his phone and smiled, "As soon as possible. Annie just agreed to meet me at the registration bureau tomorrow morning. Ang, I will have to trouble you to go into the office tomorrow. It seems I'm getting married," he beamed. 

Annie was nervous waiting for a reply from Anson. A few minutes after sending her text, she received a response. "I'll pick you up at 9:00 AM. Send me your address." Annie felt butterflies in her stomach. She sent him the address to the villa and laughed while spinning around. She stopped and placed her hand on her stomach, "Well little one, mommy and daddy are getting married." Annie was so excited that she almost forgot she needed to tell her father. She sat on the sofa and called him, "Hello father, how are you? she asked. "Annie my dear, I'm doing well. Are you going to have time to come for a visit soon?" He asked. "Well father, I have something I need to talk to you about, if you haven't had dinner, can you meet me outside?" she nervously asked him. "Of course, Charlotte and Amber are out for the evening so I'm free. Where would you like to eat?" he explained. "The Western restaurant close to you. I can be there in 20 minutes." She told him. "Okay, I'll meet you there." Annie walked down to her car and drove to the restaurant. She saw her father just as she started walking across the parking lot. 

Annie greeted her father and followed him as they were seated in a private booth. "Well my dear, what do you want to talk with me about," he asked as soon as they gave their waitress their orders. Annie decided it would be best to tell him everything. After explaining everything to him, Charles Hu looked at Annie and asked, "What did you say his name is, Anson Wen? Is his father Shuang Wen?" Annie had already done a background check on Anson and knew this was his father's name, "Yes it is. His grandfather is Andrew Wen," Charles Hu laughed out loud. "Father do you know them?" Annie asked him. Charles Hu looked at his daughter and proceeded to explain to her who Anson and the Wen family were to their family. Annie stared at her father and could not help but laugh as well, "Did he really ask you if he could marry me when I was only 2 years old?" Her father gave her the same explanation that Andrew Wen gave Anson. "It was him who started calling you Angel. Your mother loved it and started calling you that as well. Anson treated you the way he saw his father treat his mother every time we would meet. Everyone was so happy with the way you got along with each other," He smiled while remembering the happier times in his life. He looked at Annie's smiling face and decided to tell her what had been on his heart all these years, "Annie, I felt so guilty after your mother and Anson's mother passed away, I couldn't bear to face Shuang. Annie, you were too young to know this but it was my fault the accident happened. I was supposed to meet your mother and Shuang's wife and bring them home. I was delayed in a meeting and sent a car for them instead. If I had just gone to pick them up, they would not have been going mall but home instead. If they had gone home, they wouldn't have gotten into the accident." Annie saw the misery in her father's eyes and understood finally why he allowed her to go live with her grandparents. He blamed himself and couldn't look her in her face. Annie reached across the table and grasped her father's hand, "Father, you should not shoulder the blame. Mother would not want you to blame yourself. She knew how much you loved her and how hard you worked to take care of our family. If you had been in that car, you could have been killed as well and I wouldn't have you either," she explained with tears running down her face. Charles Hu looked at his daughter and cried feeling a sense of relief after so many years. "Annie, I'm so sorry that I sent you away. It was so hard for me to look at you and not see your mother. I knew Charlotte from long before I met your mother, she was always interested in me but I loved your mother. Her husband died of an illness a few months before your mother passed away. I was at the cemetery begging your mom for forgiveness for not being there when I saw her crying at her husband's grave with her daughter. We comforted each other and decided to finally be together since we were both alone. I hoped that marrying Charlotte would keep me from going insane with grief. Charlotte understands that I can't love her but I treat her well. I know she does not love me either but we have an understanding of each other." Annie felt relieved to know that her father never replaced her mother in his heart. She understood his reason for marrying Charlotte and told him so. She and her father enjoyed their meal and talked. They parted in the parking lot and she went home to prepare for tomorrow.

The morning appeared to come quickly. Annie carefully dressed in a simple casual pantsuit and applied a minimal amount of makeup. She looked at her appearance in the mirror and smiled. She was so happy that she could hardly sleep last night. "Ding." Annie walked to her purse and took out her phone and read the message from Anson, "Angel, I'm here." Reading his words, a huge smile appeared on her face. Grabbing her purse, Annie walked out of the door and greeted Anson with a smile. She knew that he was handsome but the smile on his face made him look like a God. "You look absolutely beautiful," Anson told her as she walked towards him. "Thank you Antsy," she replied. Last night when her father told her how she pronounced his name, she knew she had to call him that. Anson burst into laughter as he opened the door for her to enter the car. After helping her inside, he walked around to the driver's seat. He looked at her and couldn't help himself. He leaned over and kissed her softly on her lips. Annie blushed and turned her head to hide the redness that covered her face. 

Arriving at the registration bureau, Anson helped Annie out of the car. As they walked inside, Anson saw his family standing to the side. Annie also noticed her father standing there as well. "What are you all doing here," Anson asked clearly shocked. His grandfather walked over and slapped him on the shoulder, "We wouldn't have missed this for the world." Looking at Annie, he beamed, "Little Annie has grown up to be as beautiful as her mother," he said as he marveled at just how much she resembled her mother. "I know you don't remember me but I'm so glad Anson found you," He said with tears breaming in his eyes. Annie blushed and saw the tears in his eyes. She was overcome with emotion as she tried to hold back tears of her own. Charles Hu walked up to Anson and shook his hand, "Anson, you've grown into a fine young man. When you asked for Annie's hand in marriage all those years ago, I told you I agreed. So today, I just want to tell you that I am proud to have you as my son-in-law. Shuang Wen walked up to Annie and gave her a hug, "Annie I am so happy to see the beautiful and talented woman you've grown into. Your mother and Anson's mother would be so happy to see the two of you getting married and starting your own family." He became overwhelmed with emotion as he turned quickly and walked off to the side. Ang Wen, waved Anson off as he limped off to console his dad. "Okay okay everyone, let's get these two registered already," Andrew Wen stated. 

An hour later, Annie and Anson walked into the Wen Villa to the sound of laughter. As they entered, Annie saw her father and father-in-law talking and laughing. Andrew Wen sat in his chair watching his son who hadn't laughed so much in years. Shuang Wen turned upon hearing Annie and Anson approaching. "Hey kids, come over here," waving his hand to call them over. As they walked up to the sofa, Annie saw a picture of her mother and another strikingly beautiful woman who she assumed was Anson's mother. "Dad where did you get these pictures?" Anson asked. He hadn't seen a picture of his mother since she passed away. "Charles brought them with him. I had forgotten all about these," Shuang stated happily. Picking up the pictures one by one, Annie became emotional looking at her mother smiling and looking so happy. Just as she was about to pick up another picture, she saw someone familiar in the background. Annie looked at the picture closely, there was no mistaking it, it was Charlotte.

Annie started looking at the photos again. The pictures appeared to be taken at various times and places. How could Charlotte be in the background in over half the pictures? Noticing her intently staring at the pictures, Anson whispered to her, "What's wrong Angel?' Slightly startled, Annie looked at her father and father-in-law before turning to Anson and replied in a hushed tone, "This is my father's wife. Why does it seem that she is in most of the pictures in the background?" Taking a few of the pictures, Anson noticed the woman in the background. He picked up each picture and set aside all the pictures that Charlotte appeared in. He turned to Charles Wen and asked, "Dad, may I hold onto these pictures? I don't have any with my mother in them and would like to have them copied." "Of course, you and Annie should have a copy of all of them. Take them all and copy them," Charles replied. Annie looked at her father and wondered, "Um, Dad, has Charlotte ever seen these photos?" Charles shook his head in an affirmative manner, "No. I had these in my safe all these years. I only pull them out on her birthday and on that day. I would lock myself in my office and look at them while drinking to ease the pain," he said with conviction. Using the excuse that they wanted to be alone for a while, Annie and Anson excused themselves. 

Closing his bedroom door, Anson dragged Annie into his arms, "Tell me what you're thinking?" Annie felt something was wrong the day she visited with her father the first day she returned. "Anson, the first day I visited my father when I returned when Charlotte saw me, she looked like she had seen a ghost. She recovered very quickly but I didn't miss it. She talked to me with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. After she found out I was a designer, her attitude changed. She became friendly. After I created a line for her, I haven't heard anything from her. It's as if she is trying to avoid me," Annie explained. Anson laid all the pictures in a row and he and Annie looked at each one. Grabbing a magnifying glass from his desk, he loomed over a picture of Charlotte. In the photo, she was making a face of disgust looking in the direction of Caroline Hu and his mother. "What do you remember about her when your father first married her? " he asked while still looking at the pictures. Annie remembered what her father told her about the meeting in the graveyard before they married. Anson picked up his phone and called his assistant Lei Huang. "Lei, I need you to come to my home now." "On the way sir," Lei replied. He put away the documents he was working on and hurried out of the office.

Lei arrived and was taken upstairs to Anson's room. Knocking on the door, he entered upon hearing Anson's voice command to enter. "Mr. Wen, you need me?" He asked while seeing the pictures spread out on the desk. "Look at these pictures and tell me what you see?" Anson directed. Lei glanced at each picture and said to Anson, "Boss, aside from the two beautiful women posing in the pictures, there seems to be the same lady in each picture. Was she following them? He asked. Anson was wondering the same thing. "It appears so. Investigate her thoroughly and find out how her first husband died. Her name is now Charlotte Hu. Annie do you know what her surname was before marrying your father?" Annie thought about it and then responded, "Her daughter's name is Amber Zhao. That would mean that her deceased husband's last name was Zhao." Lei pulled out his laptop and set out to research. After ten minutes, he had already gathered information on Charlotte's deceased husband and Charlotte before she married him. What Lei found interesting was that the husband all of a sudden fell ill. He died after being in the hospital for a week. Lei informed them of the information he found. He informed them that he would go to the hospital to speak with the doctor that treated him. Lei made a few calls to assign tasks to his investigators. He excused himself and went straight to the hospital. 

Lei arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later. He arranged to meet with the doctor while on his way. Informing the doctor that he represented the Wen family caused the doctor to quickly agree. The Wen family was a huge donor to the hospital. Lei asked the nurse to inform the doctor that he was there. Five minutes later, Dr. Xu greeted him eagerly, "Come in Mr. Huang. Tell me how I can assist you? He gestured for Lei to come inside and have a seat. "Twelve years ago you treated a man named Yichen Zhao. He died a week after he was admitted. Can you tell me what happened to him?" Lei asked while observing the expression on Dr. Xu's face. "Well you see Mr. Huang, I can't give out patient information." Lei picked up his phone and sent a message to Anson informing him of what the doctor said. The phone on the doctor's desk rang. "Excuse me for one moment," Dr. Xu said as he picked up the phone. "Hello Director Wei," he managed to say before Director Wei interrupted him. Seeing his expression change, Lei crossed his leg and waited for the call to end. Dr. Xu hung up the phone and quickly excused himself. He returned holding a file in his hand. "Mr. Huang, here is the information you requested. Let me warn you, the wife is very vicious. Please don't tell her you got this information from me. The last time I told a doctor what she wanted to be done, he ended up dead." Lei stood to leave but stopped at the door, "Don't worry, you will be safe." He left and headed straight back to report to Anson. 

Lei arrived at the villa with the file. He walked in and nodded to Anson who directed him to go up to the office. Anson went to the bedroom and invited Annie to come with him. In the office, Lei opened the file and handed the information to Anson. Anson read the information and looked at Lei. "Dr. Xu needs to be protected. I know she has probably been tipped off that you requested this file." "I have already put protection in place for him. If anyone tries to get close to him, they will be stopped," Lei replied. Lei assigned two of his best operatives to protect Dr. Xu. He also assigned his best hackers to track incoming calls and text messages to Charlotte and Amber's phones. He received a message informing him that the hospital file clerk sent Charlotte a message to inform her of the file request. "A file clerk named Susie Wang just sent Charlotte a message to let her know I requested the file. She wasn't able to tell her who requested it. Charlotte told her she was on the way to the hospital." Anson thought for a minute and then decided to bring in an old friend. "Contact Jin Ouyang and have him intercept," he instructed Lei. Lei sent the message and a minute later received a response from Jin accepting the request. Anson smiled knowing that Charlotte would be in for a surprise.

Lei sent Jin information regarding the matter with Charlotte. Jin lost his mother because another woman wanted to marry his father. What she hadn't counted on was that his father was so in love with his mother that he would take his own life rather than live without his one true love. Jin hated women who resulted to this level more than anything. He arrived at the hospital and went to Dr. Xu's office. Dr. Xu was shocked to see this man just walk into his office. "Why are you here, you can't just walk into my office." Dr. Xu stopped talking as Jin sat in the chair opposite him, "if you want to continue to live, shut up and wait." Two minutes later, Charlotte burst into the office. She looked at Jin sitting there and told him to leave. Charlotte was so angry that the temperature in the room appeared to drop. Jin appeared to not hear her. Charlotte was incensed with being ignored, "Did you not hear me, get out! I need to speak with Dr. Xu alone!" She screamed. Jin looked up at her and Charlotte froze. He emitted a strong aura that made Charlotte shiver. Jin slowly stood, "Are you here because I requested to see my uncle's file? Is there something in that file I'm not supposed to see?" Charlotte looked up at Jin and tried to remember ever meeting him. She was sure she had not but Yichen's family disowned him when he married her. They warned him that she was only after him for his money. They were married for 11 years before he died. "How can you be related to Yichen? I've never met you," she said staring at him curiously. "Didn't my grandfather cut Yichen off because of you? Have you ever come to our home to meet me?" He asked her to see her reaction. Charlotte was shocked that he knew this. No one from the Zhao family came to the funeral or ever reached out to her since he died. Lei sent him all the information he needed and he read it while riding the elevator up to Dr. Xu's office. "Why are you here bringing up this pain again?" She shouted. Jin laughed while shaking his head, "you really are something aren't you? Tell me something, if you loved him so much, why did you deny him treatment?" Charlotte leered at Dr. Xu before yelling at Jin, "We had no money to pay the bill. If Zhao's family cared so much, why didn't they come to see him before he died or come to the funeral." Jin smiled and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number and put the phone on speaker, "Hello grandfather, I am standing here with Charlotte Zhao, oh I'm sorry, Hu. She wants to know why no one showed for Uncle Yichen's funeral." Xi-wang Zhao sat up in his chair. He was told that he would get a call regarding Charlotte and to play along. "That woman has the nerve to question me? Who had my son cremated an hour after he died? Who had a one-day funeral and did not tell the family he died. I had to find out seven months after he died and she was already remarried. I told him you were no good. How dare you question me. I sent my grandson to investigate what happened to him. I will tell you now if I find out you had anything to do with his death, I will bring you down," he screamed into the phone before hanging up. Jin looked at her with a stern gaze, "Any more questions Mrs. Hu? Let me tell you, I will get to the bottom of this." Turning to Dr. Xu she said, "Dr. Xu I will come back another day." Looking at Charlotte he warned her, "Should Dr. Xu or any of his family meet an unexpected accident, my grandfather will not be happy." He walked out of Dr. Xu's office. He contacted Lei and reported the details. He found something interesting in this case. He decided to go and meet Mr. Zhao himself.

Lei told Anson what Jin reported to him. Anson thought his plan was going great. Charlotte would get nervous and slip and give them all the evidence they needed. He turned and saw Annie sleeping on the couch. He watched her smiling and lightly kissed her on her head. He motioned for Lei to leave. Anson sat at the desk and decided to get some work done while she slept. Hearing his phone ring, Anson stepped out onto the balcony to take the call. "Niko, you finally want to talk to me?" he joked. "I wanted you to miss me, did it work," Niko said while laughing. "Not at all. Where is Brian and William?" he asked. "William is preparing to return to China and Brian is downstairs in the club. So how's everything going" Niko asked. "Go downstairs where Brian is and call me on facetime," Anson said and hung up. Niko called back five minutes later with Brian sitting next to him with a girl in his lap. "Get rid of the girl, I need to tell you guys something," Anson told them. Brian whispered in the girl's ear and she stood up and walked away. "Alright, she's gone, What do you need to tell us?" Brian asked. "I'm married," he told them holding up his registry book. Brian and Niko's eyes were wide and their mouths formed an O shape. "Anson, who....how...WHAT!" Niko screamed. Pleased with their response, Anson turned the camera to show Annie sleeping on the sofa. Niko and Brian looked at each other and back at the screen. "Anson, what the hell is going on? How can you go from wanting to meet her, sleep with her, lose her again, and then find and marry her in two months? What the hell is going on?" Niko asked. Anson was amused by their reaction and said, "Brace yourself, Annie's pregnant." He watched carefully and waited for their response. Brian recovered first from the shock, "Bravo Anson, you went from a virgin to a father in only two months. He fell over laughing. Anson hadn't felt this amused in a long time. He then explained everything to them and told them the date of the wedding. "This is one wedding I will not miss" Brian stated. Niko agreed. Anson decided to tell William in person since he would be arriving in China in a few days. 

The day of the wedding finally arrived. Niko, Brian, and William arrived two days ago. They had hung out and were able to catch up on everything that was going on. Niko and Brian decided to extend their stay to help with the investigation. Anson and Annie decided to dress in western formal wear rather than traditional Chinese wedding attire. Respecting Annie's request that the wedding remains small and intimate, there were less than fifty guests in attendance. Annie teared up when she arrived and saw the beautiful decorations. She waited in the bridal suite with Kelly while the stylist touched up her makeup. A knock on the door alerted Annie that Anson was here. She nervously nodded her head to let Kelly know to open the door. Opening the door, Anson stopped two steps into the room and just stared at Annie. She was always beautiful but today she was breathtaking. Brian pushed past Anson and stopped beside him, "Are you going to get married or just look at her" he joked. Anson glared at Brian and turned back to Annie, "Are you ready Angel, he asked. Annie blushed and lowered her head before nodding she was ready. Taking her hand, Anson led Annie out to the ballroom. Annie saw her father and noticed Charlotte was not sitting next to him. She looked up at Anson and with her eyes, she gestured towards her father. Anson looked and realized she noticed Charlotte wasn't there. He nodded to indicate he understood. He would explain later. When the ceremony was over, Anson drank with his friends to celebrate. Noticing he was slightly drunk, Annie made up the excuse that she was tired and needed to lie down. Anson led Annie upstairs to the wedding room he had prepared. He knew they would not be able to consummate the wedding because she was pregnant. After showering, they fell into bed. Anson held her in his arms. Annie turned to tell him her secret, "Um... I have a confession to make."