It'll Come Naturally novel Chapter 1697

"Miss, there's a saying that barkers are not biters. If you're done talking nonsense, can you please get out of our way?" Fred said sternly. Eleanor stood there, dumbfounded. Fred eyed Eleanor with resentment when he saw that Annie was starting to get uncomfortable.

"Mommy..." Joyce called out as she tugged on Annie, clinging to her closer out of fear.

"Let's go, Joyce," Annie said softly, patting her lightly on the head. She took her daughter's hand and walked past Eleanor while she was still distracted.

As Annie brushed past her shoulder, Eleanor finally came to her senses. "Wait! So, does this child have anything to do with Rain?" she said, calling grumpily after Annie.

"Sorry, but I have nothing to say about that," Annie answered, not even bothering to look back. Eleanor took a step to follow Annie, but was stopped by Fred who already had his hand firmly on her shoulder. He shook his head, implying that she should just leave them alone. He then turned and caught up with Annie.

"Damn it!" Eleanor said through clenched teeth. She frowned as she looked at them walking farther away -- her suspicions grew along with Annie's denial and evasion.

"Miss Xiao, I'll... get along now. Excuse me," Tiana said. She, too, was in shock. There was a strong, undeniable resemblance between Annie's son and Rain. Her thoughts raced as she tried to take everything in. She needed to calm down and think about the explanation, one that was reasonable enough to explain the relationship between them.

"Alright..." Eleanor mumbled. Tiana went on her way. When she was out of sight, Eleanor slumped down on the seat. It was a real blow to the chest for her -- like she had already lost the game before it even started. She could barely deny it to herself anymore; just moments before, she had thought Fred was Annie's husband, and that Huey was their son. Why the boy would take after Rain? Her brows furrowed, and even if the facts were laid before her, she still couldn't piece it together. Or perhaps she just couldn't bring herself to accept it. This was odd enough!

Somewhere along the road, not too far from the scene, Rain had been silently watching. Although he had excused himself from the table, he didn't leave at once. He sat in his car, watching all of them argue with one another. He was not able to hear what they all talked about, but he did notice, however, the way Fred acted towards Annie.

Rain saw how protective Fred was of her. More importantly, she seemed to appreciate it very much. Besides, it looked like that his own son and daughter preferred that man to their own father. 'So maybe that's why they didn't want to come live with me, ' Rain thought bitterly. They already had someone else to take his place, and be the father he wasn't able to be. Why should they need Rain now?