Chapter 134



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Did they look a little alike?

Both Joel and Tanya looked unconsciously at Mia. She had completely inherited her looks from Joel. Whether it was the shape of her face, her eyes or her mouth, they were exactly the same as Joel’s.

Only her small, sharp nose resembled Tanya’s. But if we think about it carefully, his nose was also very similar to Hillary’s; after all, Tanya and Hillary were half-sisters who shared the same mother!

Joel and Tanya raised their heads again and unconsciously looked at each other’s faces. Tanya was quick to look away when their eyes met.

Joel turned to the doctor and asked, “When is Mia going to wake up?”

“She’ll wake up soon.” The doctor said, “She didn’t eat that much mango, so she can be discharged when the IV drip is finished.”

“Okay…”

After the doctor left, the room fell into total silence again.

After some time, Joel suddenly said, “The sandwich is getting cold.”

Tanya, “…”

So Hillary could skip the pickles just because she didn’t like them, but if she was the one who didn’t like pickles, she had to stay hungry or eat it anyway?

The man’s personality hadn’t changed one iota even after so many years had passed.

He was very protective of the people and things he considered his own, but he was always cold and indifferent to outsiders.

In the past, she had been part of what he considered his.

But now, she was a stranger.

Tanya sighed. It was a shame to throw away the sandwich anyway, and she was indeed hungry. Besides, the doctor had once encouraged her to eat more pickles because they were good for her gut health, especially since she was prone to digestive problems.

Therefore, Tanya endured the pungent taste of the pickles and ate the whole sandwich.

Joel was sitting on the couch. Although he had his eyes on his laptop as he worked, out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Tanya and saw that she hadn’t thrown the sandwich away, but had eaten it. For some reason, he was actually relieved to see that.

Joel stared at his laptop.

Time had never gone by so fast during all these years. With a computer, a cup of coffee, Mia, and . her, it seemed like life was supposed to be like that.

At five o’clock in the afternoon, classes ended at the kindergarten.

The director and the kindergarten doctor rushed to the hospital and also brought… Five-year-old Pete down the road?

Tanya was surprised to see him. She asked, “Why are you here?”

Pete, who was making a long face, asked, “Were you supposed to pick me up from the garden this afternoon?”.

Tanya suddenly smacked her forehead and exclaimed, “Ah, yes, you’re right!”.

Pete, “…”

Not surprisingly, she didn’t see Mom coming even after waiting for quite a while after leaving the garden. It turned out that it was because his Godmother hadn’t informed Mom at all….

The garden doctor said, “No one came to pick him up, so the boy said he would come to the hospital and go home with you instead.”

Tanya smiled guiltily at Pete. She was about to speak when Joel suddenly asked, “Is that your daughter?”

Tanya looked at him. When she thought about how that guy had forced her to eat the pickle sandwich today and excluded her from the group of people he considered his own, she felt rather crestfallen and rebutted, “What’s it got to do with you?”

Joel, “?”

Her attractive foxy eyes narrowed and she looked Pete up and down with hostility a few times. In the end, he let out a snort and said nothing more.

At that moment, Mia finally woke up. She had been clinging tightly to Tanya’s sleeve with one hand the whole time. As she rubbed her sleepy eyes with the other, she hesitantly cried out, “Daddy? Mom… Miss Turner?”

Joel walked over to her. He looked at her and asked, “Are you feeling sick somewhere, Mia?”

Mia shook her head and replied softly, “No…”.

Joel let out a sigh of relief and gently stroked her cheek. His voice was sincere and tender as he said, “That’s good.”

On the other side, Tanya, whose sleeve had finally been released, stepped back. As she watched the interaction between father and daughter, a tinge of envy suddenly arose in her.

It was at that moment that someone suddenly grabbed her by the hand.

She lowered her head to see Mia looking at her. She said, “Thank you, Miss Turner…”.

Tanya smiled unconsciously at her and replied, “No problem.”

“Miss Turner, can you fill me in on what happened to Mia today?”.

The garden manager suddenly approached and addressed Tanya.

Tanya nodded, followed the director aside and filled him in on what had happened earlier in the day.

Joel turned his head and looked at her, his expression unreadable.

He didn’t notice Pete suddenly approaching the hospital bed. He looked at Mia, pursed his lips and said, “Your body is too weak. You need to exercise.”

Little Mia lying on the hospital bed felt like a thin sheet of paper after being covered with the quilt. She nodded her head and said, “Good. You feel very different today, Cherry~”.

Pete, who had a stern look on his face, asked, “How so?”

“Why don’t you say ‘yes’ anymore?”

Pete, “???”

He was silent for a moment. Then, he said, “I…yes.”

Mia blinked. She looked at him and asked, “What have you learned today in the garden?”

Pete replied, “We learned how to skateboard, play the ukulele, and dance. If you stay behind, I can teach you tomorrow…yeah.”

Mia broke into a smile. “Good!”

Beside her, Joel who had retracted his gaze: “???”

He looked back at Pete. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the girl was a little strange. She was clearly wearing the kindergarten dress, but she didn’t feel like a child.

… Especially when she was even Tanya’s daughter.

She looked down. Her joy at being reunited with her was completely gone. Boundless anger and a sense of helplessness were all that remained in her heart.

She had remarried and even had a daughter with someone else.

Aha. It seemed he had only been fooling himself all this time for the past five years.

Tanya came up to him and said, “Mr. Smith, the kindergarten will take care of the hospitalization expenses and also provide some compensation. Is that okay with you?”

However, Joel’s expression, which had been quite kind all afternoon, darkened and he replied, “It’s not necessary. But if this happens again, I won’t let the kindergarten off the hook easily!”.

Then, he said, “We’re going home, Mia.”

“Okie-Dokie, Daddy.”

Tanya was still stunned when the two of them left the room. Why had that guy suddenly lost his temper? It was too much!

On the way home, Joel suddenly said to Mia, “Stay away from that partner of yours in the future.”

“Why, it’s Cheryl Smith! You know, Cherry! Dad, don’t you like her?”

Joel nodded. “Yes.”

Mia hesitated for a moment. Then she hesitantly asked, “Is it because she’s better than you?”

Joel, “?”

He let out a cold laugh and scoffed, “What part of her is better than Dad?”

Mia softly replied, “She’s a girl, but she can also turn into a boy~ Dad, can you turn into a girl?”

Joel, “!!!”

After they got home and he settled Mia’s affairs, he finally looked at the time and went out.

As soon as he left, the secretary said, “Mr. Smith, you are late for the meeting with Mr. Hunt.”

Joel, however, was distracted. “Yes.”

Thoughts of the girl…no, the boy, occupied his mind while he was in the car. He didn’t know who Tanya had married. She used to say she wanted a daughter, but unexpectedly, she had given birth to a son instead.

The look in her eyes became even colder. Soon she reached the meeting room.

She straightened her clothes and adjusted her emotions before entering the meeting room. He said, “My apologies for being late, Mr. Hunt.”

Justin had a cold look on his face. He said expressionlessly, “That’s okay. But I brought my son. You don’t mind, do you, Mr. Smith?”

Hearing that, Joel looked down at the child in his arms…..

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