Her soft whispers caused a jolt to go through Tanya.

For how many days and nights had those words appeared in her dreams...

Tanya's eyes widened and she looked down at Mia. Just as she was about to take a closer look at her face, Hillary stepped forward in a panic. She took Mia's hand and said, "Mommy's here, Mia. Here, let Mommy carry you..."

Tanya froze again, feeling as though her heart had been pricked by something.

What was she thinking? Mia's mother was Hillary. She didn't have anything to do with her.

Yet, because Mia had fainted, in her daze, she seemed to be convinced that Tanya was her mother. Her little hands clutched the corners of her clothes tightly and refused to let go, seemingly afraid that she would leave.

A piercing look appeared in Hillary's eyes at the sight.. She immediately broke into a frown and forcefully unfurled the girl's fingers straightaway. This made Tanya's heart ache, and she couldn't help but grab her wrist.

"Don't be so rough..."

Hillary paused and emphasized once more, "Tanya, she's my daughter. Please let go."

Tanya slowly loosened her grip...

The way Hillary kept repeating 'my daughter' over and over made her feel as if there were thorns stabbing into her heart.

Indeed, what right did she have to question the girl's mother? Despite her heart aching terribly for the little girl because the pain was causing her to frown even while she was comatose, she couldn't say a word.

At this point, Joel stepped forward and grabbed Hillary's hand forcefully. The usually mild-mannered man commanded sharply, "Let go!"

Hillary was taken aback.

Joel pushed her away and looked at Tanya. His lips moved a little. After a long moment of hesitation, he said, "Ms. Turner, Mia has become confused in her sleep. In order to avoid injuring her, can I trouble you to carry her to the VIP ward?"

'Ms. Turner'...

He had called her Ms. Turner.

Tanya felt like the man was using a voice and a face so familiar to her to say things that sounded so foreign to her... The acerbic and unbearable pain made the look on her face change again and again. At last, she smiled and said, "Sure."

After Tanya carried Mia upstairs and left the ward with Joel following nervously behind her, Hillary clenched her fists tightly. A vicious look shot out of her eyes.

Mia was her only hope of holding Joel down!

She would never allow anyone to take her away!

With that in mind, she hurriedly went after them.

In the VIP ward.

Mia continued to clutch Tanya's sleeve even after she placed her on the bed. Ms. Lynn and the school doctor softly reminded her, "Remember not to offend Mr. Smith, lest he holds the kindergarten accountable... It's going to be a little tough on you, but please try your best, Ms. Turner!"

Since the accident had happened in the kindergarten, it went without saying that the kindergarten had to be held accountable.

As a substitute teacher, Tanya was also accountable to the kindergarten.

Therefore, Tanya took a seat by the bed and said, "I'll wait for Mia to calm down before I leave."

Both Ms. Lynn and the school doctor breathed sighs of relief. After that, they made up an excuse and left. After all, the school needed them there.

After the two of them left, apart from Mia who was on the bed, only three people remained in the ward—Joel, Tanya, and Hillary.

Tanya stared at Mia in silence.

Her face was very small and her upturned eyes were closed. Her frail and delicate physique made those who saw her wish only to care for her. She resembled Joel very much, yet had an aura around her that was different from her father's.

Tanya had once thought that Joel was so good-looking that were he a woman, he would definitely be a stunning beauty. She had wanted to have a daughter with him.

... He did have a daughter now, but she wasn't the one who gave birth to her.

A lump formed in Tanya's throat and she lowered her head.

Mia stayed in deep sleep for more than two hours.

Tanya pressed her hand against her stomach in discomfort.

She had been in the hospital since the morning and hadn't had anything to eat yet... Originally, going hungry for a meal or two shouldn't have been a big deal, but because she had been dancing since she was a child, in order to maintain her figure, she didn't eat much at each meal. As a result, she was prone to suffering from gastritis and needed to eat on time.

Joel suddenly stood up and went out without saying anything.

Hillary suddenly said, "I misunderstood you, Tanya. I'm really sorry."

Tanya, who had always been a lively and feisty woman, stared out the window.

"It's okay."

Hillary breathed a sigh of relief. She said, "Mia is the daughter I had with Joel. She has always been in poor health ever since she was a baby, so Joel dotes on her very much. I don't even know if she can be discharged today. She loves sleeping together with her dad and me the most... Sigh!"

'Sleeping together'... So, they are already living together...

Well, that made sense. They've already had a child together, and five years had also passed in the blink of an eye. The two of them should be married by now, right?

She suddenly thought of how Joel barely moved whenever he was asleep, whereas her limbs were everywhere when she was asleep. Every time she woke up, she would see Joel looking at her with a look of resignation on his face. She remembered that one time when she had opened her eyes and seen Joel with a black eye. She had received a huge shock at that time. Later, she learned that it was because she had hit him in her sleep.

At that time, Tanya had said jokingly, "Let's buy a bed that's ten feet by ten feet in the future. This way, it'll be fine no matter how we roll about on the bed!"

However, Joel had hugged her tightly and said, "No, it's fine. I'll hold your arms and legs down instead, lest you accidentally hurt our future children..."

Tanya lowered her eyes and forcibly suppressed all the memories buried deep inside her.

The door opened at this point.

Joel walked in. In his hands were two roast beef sandwiches, Tanya's favorite.

Waves rippled through the depths of Tanya's heart when she noticed the sandwiches.

Were they for her?

But when Joel slowly walked toward the two women, Hillary suddenly reached out and took one. She said, "Thanks, Joel! We haven't had lunch yet, so I was indeed hungry!"

Joel was taken aback.

However, Hillary had already grabbed the sandwich and opened the packaging on the sofa next to him. Then, she looked at Tanya apologetically and said, "Sorry, Ms. Turner. Joel only bought two, so he didn't buy you any..."

Joel looked at Tanya subconsciously—the woman's head was lowered and she had a calm expression on her face. Her hand, that Mia wasn't holding, was pressed against her stomach, but she instead said, "I'm not hungry."

Joel cast his eyes down. Suddenly, he walked over to Hillary, took the sandwich from her, and said coldly, "I made a mistake. There are pickles in this, but you don't eat them. Since Mia doesn't need you here, you can go back home for now."

Hillary, "?"

She raised her head. She was about to say 'But I love pickles' when she made eye contact with Joel's dark eyes, which frightened her so badly that she swallowed the words back down.

Even though she was reluctant to, she didn't dare to disobey Joel. She stood up and said, "Okay. I'll come back tonight, then."

After she left, Joel handed Tanya a sandwich.

Tanya stared at the sandwich and said, "I don't eat pickles."

Although Joel had a mild expression on his face, the look in his eyes was cold. He placed the sandwich on the cabinet next to her and said, "You can toss it if you don't want to eat it."

Tanya, "..."

At this point, a doctor making the rounds entered the ward. He apologized and said, "My apologies, Mr. Smith. I heard that one of our doctors mistook someone else for the child's mother... We didn't mean it. It's just that your daughter somewhat resembles Ms. Turner, so..."