That was her daughter...

Oh well, it was only practical. For all she knew, her daughter had been taken away from her as soon as she was born. She didn't even get to hold her once...

That hateful man!

What did he take her for, a surrogate?

She would make him pay for it. So what if he had wealth and held some power? Did that mean he could simply take her baby away from her?

She was not scared of him!

Of course she wasn't. She was only trembling because she was angry. Not because she was afraid of him... or so she convinced herself.

Yun Xuan desperately wanted to pull her friend away. If Lu Aotian spotted them, it would be troublesome.

Back then, he had threatened to sue Wan Jia for child abduction if she got anywhere within her child's radius.

It was unreasonable, but heaven knew he would do it. That was how much he hated Wan Jia.

"Wanwan..." she called and nudged softly.

Wan Jia wasn't listening to her.

Her gaze was fixated on the little version of herself. She was chatting away happily with her father, it was obvious how much they loved each other.

She had thought that Lu Aotian might vent his hatred for her onto her daughter. Turned out she was wrong. She had never been this happy to be wrong.

At least her baby was happy.

"I will make her happier when I take her back." She pursed her lips.

Just when she was about to avert her gaze, she saw the man stop.

She knew he had found her out... but it was too late to hide.

The man turned and looked at her.

It was a brief look, but it was enough to send shivers down one's spine. It was as though his glare was threatening to gorge her eyes out if she stared at her daughter for too long.

That was a warning. He wouldn't let her go near the little girl. But that was her daughter too!

Lu Aotian had only brought his daughter to shop for new toys.

Never would he have expected that as soon as he stepped out of the car, he would come to face with the devil's incarnate.

He waited to see if she would make a stupid move. In the end, she just stood there blankly, but one couldn't tell whether she was scared or she was scheming something.

He glanced at her briefly in warning and averted his gaze. So she was really back.

It wasn't that he cared about her whereabouts so much that he pried into her life; he just wanted to make sure that she wouldn't bother him and his daughter.

That woman had trampled on his heart. She had played with his feelings like they meant nothing and then waltzed out of his life like he didn't matter.

Why was she back? She better not have any imaginations about disturbing their peace! He would squish her like an ant if she tried anything she shouldn't.

As soon as he thought of this, he had a sudden contradicting thought. She looked so sad... maybe he should let her meet his daughter once?

'No way!' He scolded himself for even thinking of that.

Ignoring her, he hugged his daughter close to his chest and proceeded to the mall.

Today was the little girl's third birthday. He had given her everything she needed ever since she was born and today, he was way more doting.

He let her take all the toys she found pleasing to the eye and wordlessly paid for all of them. They went to the clothes section and did the same.

In the end, they had bought so many items that the mall offered to deliver them at their home.

"Is that everything you like?" Lu Aotian asked the little girl gently before they left the mall.

"Yes daddy." The little girl answered cheerfully, her eyes forming cresents when she smiled.

"Okay. We should go home soon. Daddy has a birthday surprise for you." Lu Aotian scooped her into his arms and kissed her soft fair cheek.

As soon as he stepped out of the mall, he frowned.

Why was that woman still there?

Actually, Wan Jia had been dazed from suddenly seeing the daughter she had dreamt about every night for three years. She had waved Yun Xuan away so she could sneak one more peek at her baby.

No matter how she had imagined, she had not expected that her baby would be so pretty! And she looked so much like her...

She didn't know when tears started rolling against her cheeks. They were definitely tears of joy.

Which mother wouldn't be overjoyed to see her baby for the first time?

At this time, the little girl had noticed her for a while. She cocked her head curiously. Why was that beautiful aunty crying?

She wriggled out of her father's embrace and ran towards her.

Lu Aotian would have immediately stopped her, but he was frozen stiff by the sight of that woman's tears.

"Beautiful Aunty, are you alright?" The little girl asked. She was cautiously keeping some distance.

Wan Jia didn't know what to say. What could she say?

"Beautiful Aunty, are you sad? Daddy says hugs make girls happier. I'll hug you, okay?"

Wan Jia was too emotional to think straight. What a sweet child. She stretched her hand to touch the little girl's outstretched hand.

"Little Jia!" It was not sure when Lu Aotian arrived and scooped the little girl into his arms. "Little Jia, you cannot speak to strangers. Didn't I warn you against that?" He tried to sound as gentle as possible even when admonishing his daughter.

He let a bodyguard take Little Jia to the car before turning to Wan Jia. "Stay away from my daughter. Do you understand?"

That was the last thing Wan Jia heard before she slipped out of consciousness. She thought she vaguely heard someone shout her name anxiously.

She had a long dream... it was filled with memories of the past.

______

VERY IMPORTANT note:

I put this here because it's important and many readers don't read author's notes.

1> The book is undergoing editing. I just started. Please don't get shocked if you notice a difference in writing quality and grammar.

The main plot will not change but there might be noticeable changes... just in case there's anyone reading for the second time.

2>If you come across any typos and grammar mistakes, I would really appreciate it if you pointed them out. They would make it easier for me to edit since I'm doing it myself. The edit rate is random but I will try my best to finish it as soon as possible.

3> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy ❤