Oliver felt quite bitter towards his own grandfather. And looking at Mia and Anna's current relationship, he couldn't help but be worried that if he let things progress like this, then they may end up falling out again.
Therefore, in order to avoid the worst-case scenario, Oliver made a decision and stood up from his seat.
Both Mia and Anna looked at him as soon as they noticed his sudden movements.
Oliver then kneeled down in front of Anna, making her blink in confusion.
"What are you doing, Oliver?" Anna asked while Mia also stared at him questioningly.
Oliver looked straight into Anna's eyes and gave her a gentle smile.
"Aunt Anna, I don't know what happened between the two of you in the past, but I hope you two can put all that behind and start anew. And also, I want you to know that I'm not trying to take over everything like some villains in movies."
"I just want to see everyone get along and be happy, that's all. So when Grandfather mentioned his will and Mom wanted me to inherit the whole business, I agreed. But if you have any objection to it, I promise you I'll side with you instead, Aunt Anna."
"Because unlike you, who have worked so hard and had to put up with everything, I'm just a high school student who only knows how to play around and has never worked a day in his life. Therefore, I don't deserve it as much as you, Aunt Anna."
When Oliver said this, Anna stared at him for a moment in silence before sighing helplessly.
"I really don't understand this boy at all. Did his mom teach him to be like this, or what?" Anna muttered in a low voice while shaking her head. "But since Mia is a manipulative bitch, I'm sure it's not her who taught him such things."
Mia, who heard Anna's comment, gave her an indignant look.
"Hey! What do you mean by that, Anna? Oliver is my precious son, and I raised him with all my heart! I would never teach him anything bad."
Anna glanced at Mia for a moment before looking back at Oliver.
"Oliver, what you said is nice and all. However, I'll be honest with you. I'm not interested in inheriting the Ashford Group anymore."
At the sound of Anna's words, Oliver couldn't help but become taken aback by them.
He thought that Anna was the type of person who would do anything to achieve what she wanted and would never let anyone get in the way of her ambitions.
And since William Ashford wanted him to succeed the group, there was no way she would sit down and let this happen without any complaints.
That was what Oliver thought. But instead, Anna just admitted that she didn't want anything.
As a result, he became really confused and didn't know how to react anymore.
"Huh? Then earlier, why did you look so unhappy? I thought—"
Before he could finish, Anna cut him off.
"It's not because of the reason you think of." Anna explained in a calm tone. "What I didn't like was the way Father treated me like some tool. He just pushed me into the managerial role so I could take care of everything while he waited for you to grow up."
"Father had this all planned from the start. And now, after all these years, I was just a piece in his schemes and a puppet who he could throw out and dispose of without a second thought."
"It was because of that reason that I couldn't help but feel resentful. But I don't really care about inheriting the business anymore. I've given up on that long ago and have just been enduring day by day for so long now."
Oliver stared at her as he fell silent while feeling complicated emotions rising within him. He then let out a bitter chuckle. "It turns out that Grandfather is even more awful than I expected."
"Yes, that's right," Anna agreed before shaking her head wearily. Then she reached out her hands and began combing through Oliver's hair with a gentle smile on her face. "But don't worry too much about it, Oliver. I'm fine."
As Anna stroked his head, Oliver leaned into her soft touch and enjoyed her motherly affection.
His lips curved up into a warm smile, causing Anna to return his smile with one of her own.
At this moment, the image of Anna Ashford, who was a strict and domineering during the work, disappeared. Instead, the Anna that sat before Oliver was a gentle and caring mother figure that he would like to spend more time with in the future.
"I understand. I just want us to get along well. After all, we're family, and family should be the ones who care for each other the most." Oliver said as he closed the distance between them and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
Anna smiled slightly but didn't stop him from doing what he wanted to.
After returning the kiss with a peck on his cheek as well, Anna pulled away with a content smile on her face. "Of course, dear. Now that I finally found myself a kind nephew, I won't let you go."
Oliver grinned sheepishly, "Glad to know that."
Mia, who had been watching their exchange, couldn't help but smile gently as well.
"I'm glad that things are turning out better than I hoped them to be," she commented. "If you had kept on being stubborn, Anna, I wouldn't have been able to handle this well."
Hearing Mia's words, Anna gave her a look and scoffed lightly. "Don't think that this will be that easy. I haven't fully forgiven you yet, so it's going to take a long time until you can win back my trust."
"Haha, no worries, dear sister. I'll win your trust back in no time! So be prepared to be doted on and have a loving relationship with me just like old times!"
After saying that, Mia jumped toward Anna and hugged her tight while giving her lots of kisses everywhere she could reach.
Anna struggled against her twin's attacks as she tried to break away from her grasp, but eventually, she ended up yielding to Mia's relentless assault.
"Ok, enough already! Mia, I don't want to lose face in front of my nephew." Anna shouted and pushed Mia away while wiping away the traces of kiss left by her older twin.
[ A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. If you can, please consider subscribing to support me. As a full-time author, everything I do depends on your kindness and support. I'm sure none of us want to see the day I suddenly have to stop writing because of financial problems — and I really don't want that either. So please, support me if you can. The amount doesn't matter; every bit means a lot. ]