Chapter 418



Tanya was still groggy when Hillary’s scream woke her up.

She hadn’t slept all night because she was watching Mia. She had barely started to sleep a little in the morning when they woke her up. After that, she was pushed out of the room.

It wasn’t until she was out of the room – and when the doctors and nurses, both inside and outside, as well as the patients’ families, looked at her strangely – that she finally reacted.

Hillary didn’t address Mia right away. Instead, she continued to insult Tanya.

“Are you also going to steal my daughter when you’ve already stolen my man? Tanya, why are you being so shameless?

“Don’t you dare take my daughter from me!”

“She’s my daughter! Mine!”

Her words made people who didn’t know the whole story look at them. They all looked at Tanya reproachfully.

Some even pointed at her as they spoke.

“She must be someone’s mistress, right?”

“Ugh, people who destroy someone else’s family are so shameless!”

Of course, there were also some reasonable people who spoke in Tanya’s favor.

“…It’s not easy being someone’s stepmother these days!”

“Yeah, she babysat that little girl all night. I thought they were mother and daughter, but it turns out she’s actually her stepmom…”

“… It’s really nice that a stepmom can do as much as she does!”

“…”

Whether positive or negative, all the comments made Tanya feel as if her cheeks were burning, and she unconsciously wanted to run away.

But she couldn’t.

Mia was still here. Joel had confided in Mia. She didn’t know what exactly had happened between Joel and Hillary, but she knew that Mia didn’t like Hillary and wanted to stay with Joel.

She looked out into the living room.

Hillary’s loud screams had awakened Mia. The girl rubbed her eyes and sat up. When she saw Hillary, she tensed.

She was so frightened that she turned pale as a sheet. She shouted faintly, “Mommy, don’t be mad…. My teacher is not a bad person…”.

Her eyes were red. She wanted to explain the situation on Tanya’s behalf, but she looked terrified.

However, Hillary ignored her and continued to yell at Tanya. “Do you have a great sense of accomplishment because you stole someone else’s man? Why are you so shameless? You will die a terrible death! Your whole family will die a terrible death!”

Her whole family?

Tanya’s gaze sharpened. “Don’t forget that the person next to you is also part of my whole family.”

That’s right, the person standing next to Hillary was none other than Tanya and Hillary’s mother, Mrs. Jones.

Mrs. Jones, who was holding Hillary, was also looking at Tanya. Hearing what she was saying, she snapped, “I don’t have a daughter like you!”

Hillary scoffed, “Look at the abominable things you’ve done, Tanya! Even your mother doesn’t recognize you anymore! If you have the slightest morals and ethics, get out of here and leave Joel alone! Give him back to me!”

Tanya looked at the terribly anxious Mia on the bed. She didn’t want to argue with Hillary here, so she said, “If there’s something you want to say, say it at home. Let’s leave it for now.”

However, this only made Hillary think she was scared. She shouted angrily, “Why should we talk about it at home? I haven’t done anything shameful that I need to hide. Is it because you find your own actions shameful too? Why didn’t you think about how shameful your actions were when you did it? Why didn’t you think about your actions not being worthy of public exposure when you stole my husband from me?”

Tanya clenched her fists. “Hillary, who exactly took him from who!”

Her words made Hillary gag.

However, Mrs. Jones took the floor at that point. “Tanya, how can you make up such lies? It’s obvious that Hillary was also in a relationship with Joel back then. Our families were already planning to let them join each other! Who do you think you are? Hillary is the eldest daughter of the Joneses while your father is a scumbag! He’s a bastard! You and Mr. Smith were from two different worlds from the beginning!”

“…”

Tanya stared at the woman in front of her.

It had been five or six years since she had last seen her. She looked as charming as ever and didn’t seem to have changed much. Even the way she defended and protected Hillary so indiscriminately was still the same as before.

He smiled wryly and lowered his head.

He had never understood why a mother like her existed.

It was almost as if she found pleasure in belittling her own daughter.

In fact, she even doubted whether or not she was really her daughter.

Tanya clenched her fists. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at her again. Just as she was about to say something, Joel’s sharp, cold voice cut through her. “Is that so, how come you didn’t know there was a marriage settlement between the Smiths and the Joneses?”

When his voice is heard, she finally rushed over and stood beside Tanya.

She had waited anxiously outside the operating room during Quentin’s operation earlier in the day, and had also accompanied Nora when she went to get revenge the night before. As a result, he had been unable to sleep for thirty hours. The whites of his eyes were reddened at the time.

The violent aura surrounding him because of Quentin’s accident had not yet dissipated. Therefore, despite simply standing, there was a bloodthirsty, murderous aura around him, which caused everyone around him to fall silent and not dare to speak.

His appearance frightened Mrs. Jones, who went blank for a moment. Then she stammered, “M-Mr. Smith, why are you here?”

Joel looked at Hillary and glared at her. “He should be overseas by now, shouldn’t he?”.

Mrs. Jones hastened to explain, “Hillary wasn’t feeling well, so I brought her to the hospital to have her in for a consultation. We’re thinking of sending her overseas once she recovers.”

Joel scoffed, “There are hospitals overseas, too. Of course, if the Joneses don’t have those overseas connections, the Smiths are very willing to help.”

After he spoke, he looked at Tanya, who was standing next to him. Her eyes were red. Then, he looked at Mia, who was watching him from the bed some distance away with Hillary standing between them.

The girl’s eyes had turned red with fear. The way she looked so helpless and lost as she sat on the bed made his heart ache.

Even Tanya knew they shouldn’t disturb Mia’s rest at that moment.

That was why she had said they should talk at home.

However, Hillary, Mia’s mother, had not noticed Mia’s emotions and reactions, because her attention was completely on Tanya!

A mother like her… Joel’s gaze turned even colder.

He turned to his secretary and his assistant, who were standing next to him, and said, “Since the Joneses have been so late in this matter, you can help Miss Jones. She should be out of the country in an hour. I don’t want to see her in New York again.”

His assistant nodded immediately. “Yes, sir.”

Joel then headed straight for the living room.

Hillary and Mrs. Jones dared to get physical with Tanya, but they didn’t dare stop Joel. They both quietly gave way to him.

Hillary watched as Joel lifted Mia up and carried her in his arms. She stared at how determined the man was and how handsome he still looked, just as he had then. She watched as he didn’t give her a single glance….

Despair suddenly welled up from deep in her heart.

Yes.

Despair.

From beginning to end, the man had never loved her.

Realization made fury overwhelm her rationality. Hillary suddenly cried out, “Tanya, haven’t you always disliked me ever since we were children? You hate me, don’t you, are you willing to raise my daughter for me now? Hahahaha! You’re just a joke.”

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