"Hey? Hey!"

The kindergarten fell into chaos. Tanya picked up Mia and ran straight to the school doctor's office. She called out to Mia as she ran, but the girl didn't react.

Tanya felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

For some reason, the little life in her arms made her feel like crying, but she didn't dare to think too much about it. When she reached the school doctor's office, upon examining Mia, the school doctor found out that she was having an allergic reaction, so they rushed her to the hospital immediately.

As Tanya was the first to find out that she had fainted, she had to follow them to the hospital so that she could explain the situation to the doctor. Thus, she went along with them.

They went to the A&E department. The doctor turned to Tanya with a frown after he examined Mia and reprimanded her. He said, "This child has a mango allergy.. As her mother, how can you be so negligent?"

Tanya was taken aback.

Her colleague, the school doctor, standing next to her wanted to explain, but the doctor was too busy. He snapped, "Why are you still prattling on here? Hurry and put her on an IV drip! Mango allergies are no joke!"

The school doctor panicked when he heard that it was a serious condition.

Mia was the very life of the head of the Smiths. Should anything happen to her in school, they would be in trouble!

After the doctor prescribed Mia some medicine, the nurse took them to the room next door and hooked the girl up on an IV drip. As the hospital was overloaded, there weren't any beds available. Tanya had no choice but to put her on her lap and hold her while they sat in the room.

It was relatively cold in New York at the moment. On top of that, little Mia was also very weak right now. The IV fluids entered her body through the needle in her hand, making her little hands icy-cold.

Tanya held her little hands and warmed her with her own.

Ms. Lynn, who had also come with them, paced back and forth with her eyes red. She kept blaming herself as she paced about.

"It's all my fault for not keeping an eye on Mia. But there really aren't any mangoes in our school. Where exactly did Mia get it from?"

The school doctor also had a very troubled look on his face while Ms. Lynn was talking to herself.

Tanya looked down at the girl.

She was also allergic to mangoes. She didn't expect the two of them to be connected in such a way...

Urgent footsteps suddenly came toward them at this point. From the sound of it, there were two people walking over. The next moment, a man and a woman appeared at the door.

Tanya looked up. She hadn't even seen anyone when Ms. Lynn said, "I'm really very sorry, Mr. Smith. It's all because we didn't take care of Mia well enough. She ate some mangoes..."

Mr. Smith?

Tanya was taken aback. Then, she heard a mellow and gentle voice that sounded a little cold at the moment.

"How is Mia?"

Tanya felt as if her heart had stopped beating. Her head whipped to the side, and a familiar figure that had appeared in her dreams countless times over the years entered her sight.

Joel didn't seem to have changed at all during these last few years.

He merely looked a little more mature and steady than the young lad he had been back then. His attractive upturned eyes were fixed on Mia right after he entered the room. Seemingly because he finally saw that she was breathing evenly, he let out a sigh of relief.

A moment later, he finally noticed something and his gaze slowly shifted to Tanya.

Tanya held her breath when he looked at her. She felt as if all the air in her lungs had disappeared and her chest felt awfully tight.

She looked away at once, not daring to meet his eyes.

Joel, who had originally been walking over anxiously, finally stopped in his tracks at the door. His eyes widened in shock and a layer of frost suddenly formed over his usually mild countenance.

A cold and heavy atmosphere filled the room.

This continued until the doctor came over to take a look at Mia. He stood at the door and said, "Are you the child's father? What's wrong with you and your wife? Don't you know that your daughter is allergic to mangoes? Besides, mangoes aren't something that's readily available, either. How can you be so careless?"

'Child'...

Was the child that she was holding actually Joel's?

Tanya felt as if her mind had gone totally blank.

She had lost her own child... In fact, she hadn't even seen her child before.

Yet he already had a daughter...

While she was lost in thought, a sharp voice suddenly came from the door.

"Tanya?! Why are you here? And why are you carrying my daughter?"

Tanya looked at Hillary and the look on her face turned cold.

Her daughter...

So, this meant that the child in her arms was Joel and Hillary's daughter!

She lowered her gaze. Just as she was about to speak...

Hillary rushed in and said, "What are you doing? Why did you tell the doctor that you're her mother? I'm obviously her mother! Tell me, was it you who fed Mia mangoes?!"

After speaking, she raised her hand and sent it flying toward Tanya's cheek!

Tanya was currently holding Mia. If she let go of her to block the attack, the needle in the girl's hand would definitely come off. Yet if she didn't, the slap would land on her cheek!

Even though she knew that Mia was Hillary's daughter, Tanya's first reaction wasn't to let go of the child but to protect her and keep her safe.

Smack!

Tanya closed her eyes. However, the slap that she was expecting didn't hit her.

Surprised, she opened her eyes. Joel was standing in front of her and holding Hillary by her wrist. His brows drew together and he said, "What are you doing?"

It was then that Hillary realized that she had lost control of herself for a moment there.

Her eyes reddened and she immediately hung her head sadly. She said, "Joel, I was just too anxious just now... You should also know that Tanya was misunderstood about me in the past. When I saw that Mia had fallen ill, yet she was holding her... Mia was in kindergarten the whole time. How did Tanya even get near her..."

Joel let go of Hillary and she took a step back.

In an extremely cold voice and with an even colder attitude, Tanya said, "Hillary Jones, I was in the kindergarten because I am the dance teacher that they specially hired at short notice!"

"The dance teacher?" Hillary sneered, "Why did you just have to go to the Golden Sunshine Kindergarten when there are so many other kindergartens in the country? Are you trying to get close to Mia on purpose? What are you trying to do to Joel's and my daughter?"

"Joel's and my daughter"...

The four words were just like a knife twisting in Tanya's heart.

Someone she had considered her sister in the past was now with the man she loved the most...

She took a deep breath and said, "Believe it or not, when I joined the kindergarten—and even just a moment ago—I was completely unaware that Mia is your daughter!"

"Is that so?"

Hillary found her claim dubious. However, Joel's expression darkened even further the moment she said that. She immediately took a step forward and let out a sigh. She said, "Sorry about that, Tanya. I was just too concerned about Mia... But now that we're here, you don't have to stay here anymore."

She went on and said, "Joel has already transferred Mia to a VIP ward in the hospital, so we won't be staying here anymore. Please return my daughter to me!"

She deliberately emphasized the words 'my daughter', causing Tanya's fingers to tighten a little.

She was right. This was her and Joel's daughter...

Tanya stood up carefully. Perhaps because she was reminded of her own child who had gone missing at birth, she actually developed an unwillingness to part with Mia.

As if she had sensed Tanya's pain, Hillary's lip corners curled upward. She reached out, took Mia into her arms, and said, "Thanks for taking care of our daughter, Tanya."

But as soon as she said that, Mia's little hands clutched Tanya's clothes tightly and she whispered, "Mommy, don't leave me..."