Offer To The CEO

Wednesday

Since their arrival to Phillipa's maternal ancestral home, where she and Hou Yi were the only people other than extended family members were staying Anna had been feeling that they had been stretching the friendship. Coming up the drive, Anna was shocked to see that they were arriving at what she expected from an English Castle.

While she remembered that Phillipa's maternal grandfather was a marquess the reality of Phillipa's unique family had not sunk in. From her background she was use to the idea of male primogeniture, Phillipa's maternal title was one of the rare titles that if there was not a male direct heir, a female could inherit over extended male relatives.

On the trip, Hou Yi had to remind Anna, that Phillipa's mother, when her younger brother died as a child, became her father's heir, and as her parents only had girls, Phillipa now became the heir to the title, and the properties including the main estate. When they arrived, Phillipa had been standing on the stairs to escort them inside, and she whispered "Thank god I have some friends here. The extended family are already pushing too far, and mum and I are ready to kill them."

Anna remembered Hou Yi's comment "The leeches have arrived, and are trying to get everything they can,"

Phillipa laughed at that and said "Yi you know my maternal family so well. Grandfather wanted to give each of them something, but almost everything he had is tied with the entail. Mum and Dad gave him the cash to allow him to do that, so the reading of his Will will be a fun event."

Phillipa provided Anna with reassurance that while Hou YiI was jetting to Hou Enterprises European business locations she was able to stay with her. But Anna knew, despite Phillipa telling her that she was not using her, that she had and in all the circumstances she felt guilty about it.

Just yesterday she had broken down in tears in Phillipa's arms, not only being separated from Yi but given the ongoing stress from the court cases. As Phillipa told her yesterday, which Anna realised after thinking about it was from a mix of Phillipa's own background, her friendship and her professional standpoint were sticking with her "He will always, simply by being who he is mess with you, but you need to rise above it and realise the good in your life. You have a loving husband, a child on the way, and a life that is yours and yours alone. No one will take that from you.

"Despite my family, friends, and even Yi telling me that while I could not change the past, the future would be bright for me, I did not accept that reality until my grandfather became ill and I started to take over part of the estate management. The estate made me realise that simple thing, and while my family history has shaped it, I have my chance to shape it for the future, and that is something I will do, even though there is always going t be sadness attached to it."

"Now promise me, you will try as much as you can to forget about him, and focus on the important things, in particular my god-child that you are carrying. I am going to ensure that they are spoilt and when I have had enough, I will hand them back for you and Yi to deal with."

As Anna realised the last comment was designed to make her laugh, and that was how she could only respond. "Well remember Phillipa, what goes around will come around."

Pausing, walking into the church with Yi beside her, Anna was grateful that they had refused Phillipa and Lady Amelia's request to sit with them as they wanted friends to support them with them. Anna however was shocked at the people there.

As Lady Amelia was a government minister, and the Chen family business, seeing high powered members of the business community and politicians was expected. Anna, while expecting members of the British aristocracy, the last thing she expected was members of the British Royal Family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be present. Who would have thought a simple family funeral would have drawn royalty.