Take Control of Yourself, Please novel (Anna and Liam)

Chloe smiled vibrantly at Bryan. The look in her eyes was charming and tantalizing which made Bryan heat up a little.

"Bryan, a toast to you, for loving my sister so much. Thank you."

Bryan had no choice but to lift his glass and take a small sip.

He knew Chloe's alcohol tolerance well. If she drank the entire glass, she would surely start acting recklessly. He shot a warning glance at Chloe, yet she continued to refill her glass and stood up to toast to Anna.

"Anna, your eyes still have not recovered, so you can't drink. I wish you a speedy recovery."

Chloe intentionally paused between the last three words. It was as if she was cursing Anna. Anna heard it loud and clear.

Nicole noticed something was wrong. She quickly said, "Chloe, I'm sure Bryan and Anna have heard your thanks and blessings. Come pour Bryan some wine."

"It's alright. I got it," Bryan declined.

At that moment, Byran was in no mood to deal with the mother-daughter duo's benevolence. "Anna, you must be tired these few days. You should eat more to regain some energy. Here, I'll feed you. Careful, it's hot."

Bryan brought a spoonful of vegetables to Anna's mouth.

Anna saw the warmth in his eyes that was seemingly trying to melt her away. Slowly, she opened her mouth.

Bryan needed to put on his best 'good husband' act to make sure Daniel could have full confidence in his feelings toward Anna.

"Anna, even if you don't regain your vision, don't be scared. I will feed you for the rest of your life."

Anna was thoroughly disgusted by his words. She spat all the food in her mouth.

"Anna, what happened?" Bryan was worried.

"It's... It's a little spicy!" Anna frantically felt for her glass of water and gulped it down.

Daniel glared at Nicole. "Nicole, you know that Anna should be avoiding spicy food for now, so why did you add spice anyway!"

Nicole glanced at him nervously. "Ah, I have such horrible memory! I forgot that her eyes haven't healed yet and that she can't eat anything spicy for now. I only thought about how much Anna loved spicy food before...

"Danny, I thought about how sad it must be for her to eat all those tasteless food in the hospital, so I thought I'd cook more when she comes home. I wanted to make her tasty food, but... I ended up overdoing it." Nicole's eyes were bloodshot. She put on an innocent expression and made it seem as though she was about to cry.

"Overdoing it? Didn't I just remind you a second ago? Anna can't eat spicy food!" Daniel scolded.

Even Nicole was confused as to why Daniel seemed to be extra hard on her and Chloe that day. Nicole suppressed her urge to lash out and continued to maintain her kind and well-tempered image. "Danny, I'm not young anymore. My memory is in decline. I'm sorry. Don't be mad. I'll make a new dish for Anna right now." Nicole quickly stood up.

"It's okay, Mom. I don't feel like eating anymore. I'm tired. I'd like to go to my room and rest." Anna slowly stood up.

Anna did not want to stay in the room for a second longer. Seeing Bryan, Chloe, and Nicole's fraudulent facades made her want to puke. No matter how tasty the food on the table looked, Anna had no appetite for any of it.

"Anna, your mother didn't do it on purpose. She was just trying to take of you," Daniel explained.

The flames of fury in Nicole's heart burnt even brighter. From the corner of her eyes, she glared resentfully at Anna.

"That's right, Anna. Mommy is not young anymore. Do you really have the heart to torment her after she's busied herself for you this entire day?" Chloe would not let her mother be bullied like that. "You're talking as if I'm intentionally causing problems for Mom," Anna said coldly.

Nicole quickly grabbed Chloe and tried her best to squeeze out a smile. "Anna, don't listen to her. She doesn't know any better! I'm not tired at all. I'll make a new batch for you right now."

"You think Mom's food is spicy? Then why didn't you complain when you were eating that spicy fried chicken?" Chloe's gaze was immediately shot toward Anna.

"That's why I lost my vision! I have to be more careful from now on and not go around eating food I should be avoiding! I hate myself so much for giving into gluttony that day!" Anna sighed and shook her head.

She continued right after, "I'm seriously tired. I'd like to go lie down in my room."

Bryan quickly offered, "Anna, I'll help you to your room."

Nicole still had not given up on the caring act. "Anna, you have to eat something. Your body won't be able to take it."

Anna did not reply. Her chest felt tight.

All the concern expressed in this house was nothing but lies. The family could never return to the happy times when her mother was still alive!

Bryan brought her back to her room. Anna told him that she wanted to sleep so he would leave.

Bryan watched as she rolled herself up in her blanket and closed her eyes as if trying to ignore him. He was a little annoyed by that.

"Alright, rest well." Bryan stood up and left.

There was nothing but gloom outside the window. Eventually, it started to drizzle.

Anna's mood was just as glum. She turned over with her blanket still wrapped around her and gazed at the rain outside the window. She had no way of lifting her spirits.

She took out her phone and saw that her notification center was brimming with Nina's messages.

Nina has always been worried about her and was asking about her eyes. However, Anna had no idea how to explain all this to her, so she did not reply.

Just then, a Facebook friend named Charles sent her a message on Messenger.

[What are you doing?]

Anna was confused. She did not remember adding a friend named Charles. How did he suddenly become her Facebook friend?

She did not reply. Then, Charles sent her a symbol.

[?]

She still did not reply. Charles messaged her again.

[?]

In his Bio, it was written, 'Charles, strong and virtuous male, owner of a noble heart.'

It seemed like this 'Charles' was an arrogant narcissist.

Anna clicked into his profile and saw that it was completely empty. He did not even have any posts on his wall.

Anna pressed her lips together. 'This man is quite a mystery.'

She set her phone aside and ignored him.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding...

Her phone would not stop ringing. Annoyed, Anna picked up her phone again, wondering who that' Charles' person was. That was when she saw a string of messages with only symbols in them.

[?]

凹

[.]

[!!!]

[???]

The last message was an angry face emoji.

"What's his problem!"

Anna blocked him. Finally, the silence she needed returned to the earth.

Anna gazed outside the window, daydreaming. Unexpectedly, her phone started to ring again...

She unlocked her phone and saw that 'Charles' was making a ruckus in her university's group chat!

Charles sent thousands of angry face emojis in the group chat and tagged her in every single message. Everyone in the chat could feel his wrath, and the target of his wrath was none other than the famed school nerd, Geeky Anna.

The group chat blown up in an instant.

Many female students started gossiping.

[What happened?]

[What's going on?]

[What's happened? Quick, someone tell me!]

[Did someone toy with his heart?]

[You dare to anger Geeky Anna? Don't you know you know she has a protector?]

'A protector?

'Who?'

Anna was thrown into a daze by the sudden whirlwind of messages in the group.

'What in the world is going on!'