Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 44

Chapter 130: She’s My Son’s Mother, So You Don’t Have To Bother Yourself Taking Care of Her

The private room was in complete silence.

With a deep look in his eyes, Justin looked straight at Nora and asked, “What kind of difficulties?”

Nora couldn’t figure out what the man was thinking, so she felt that she couldn’t tell him everything at once. She had to take it slow. What if that domineering man took the two children away and refused to let her see them anymore after she told him the truth?

Nora had never been one to do things she wasn’t confident about, especially when her children were involved. She lowered her gaze and said, “All mothers love their children. Maybe someone took the child from her when she had only just given birth? Or maybe she has been looking for the child all these years?”

Justin’s jaw tightened. He asked, “Then can you tell me how she became pregnant with my child?”

How she became pregnant?

She shook her head. “Even you don’t know how the child came about.. Maybe she doesn’t know, either?”

Nora raised her head. Her almond-shaped eyes were very dark on her deathly pale countenance.

However, her eyes glinted with a dark light as she said, “Of course, I’m not trying to make excuses for her. Since she has brought the baby into the world, it is her negligence as a mother that she failed to foresee what came next and failed to protect her child.”

She had spent every day in pain and regret during the past five years.

Back then, she had immediately contacted her aunt abroad when she discovered that she was pregnant. Her aunt had wanted to come back to the States to take her right away, but because Nora was in the midst of developing a drug, she had been reluctant to leave. Thus, the two of them had agreed that her aunt would only come back for her during her ninth month of pregnancy.

Cold-hearted people like the Smith's would never help her to raise her children.

She had envisioned many different scenarios, but she had never expected that she would give birth prematurely.

Neither did she expect Henry to be so vicious! How exactly had he brought himself to bury his own grandchild with his own hands?

After that, she had blamed herself and regretted her actions countless times, but it was all useless and to no avail.

Justin looked at her. Even though she was expressionless, she gave off an air of pain. He wanted to ask what exactly had happened back then, but he suddenly couldn’t bring himself to ask any more.

From the way she doted on Pete so excessively, it was obvious that she wasn’t someone who would abandon her son.

Moreover, she was Anti.

Money was pretty much within easy reach for her. There was no way she would be interested in a mere 1.5 million dollars! Therefore, the woman who had called him anonymously that time wasn’t her at all!

Unfortunately, he had really dug up a baby at the location that the woman had given to him and seen that the baby was on the brink of death. After that, he had also had a DNA paternity test done and verified that the baby was indeed his child. He then tried to trace Pete’s mother’s phone number, but by then, she had already disappeared off the face of the earth. All traces of her had been erased.

At that time, he had thought that the woman must be afraid that he would seek revenge on her. Even though he had never stopped looking for her all these years, he didn’t put much effort into it anymore, either.

After all, she was Pete’s mother. Was he really supposed to kill her after he found her?

But now that he thought about it again, how would someone who had the ability to escape his tracking efforts and leave him clueless after calling him possibly lack those 1.5 million dollars?

Beep.

In the midst of his thoughts, his cell phone suddenly beeped. It was Lawrence sending him information on Caleb.

Justin glanced at Nora—she was looking straight ahead blankly as if she was still stuck in her memories. He didn’t bother her and opened the email instead.

The email contained all of Caleb’s information.

Name: Caleb Gray

Age: 29

Height/Weight: 6’1″, 154 lbs

Health: Frail and sickly

Justin frowned when he saw this.

No wonder he wasn’t married yet despite being 29 years old.

It was probably his ‘frail and sickly’ constitution that was holding him back.

He continued to read on. The further he read, the more grave his expression became.

Lawrence didn’t dare to give him any subjective assumptions, so everything he sent was information that he had found during his investigation.

The Gray's in California first made their fortune in Canada, but Caleb’s father had returned to the States with his eldest brother 25 years ago and settled down in California.

Afterward, the Gray's and Nora’s mother, Yvette Anderson, were in frequent contact, so they decided to let their children marry each other.

As far as the Gray's were concerned, as the second son, Caleb had never been involved with the Gray's domestic businesses and had grown up abroad the whole time as if he had been exiled.

He was very smart. He enrolled into college at the age of twelve, did his doctorate studies at fifteen, and became a pharmacist after that. However, he gave up being a pharmacist very quickly. One could say that he had left the industry to become a businessman.

His return to the States this time was because he had fallen out with the Gray's in California. He planned to open a pharmaceutical factory in New York.

There didn’t seem to be any problems with his life history, and he seemed very much like an unfavored second son of the family. The strange thing here, however, was that the Gray's made overseas phone calls almost every other day.

Lawrence actually couldn’t find out where they were calling.

However, ever since Caleb returned to the States, the Gray's had stopped making overseas phone calls.

In addition, the Gray's very first business asset in California had also been a pharmaceutical factory. However, none of the other Gray's had ever done anything related to medicine!

Something was definitely wrong here.

Nora had recovered while Justin was thinking. She glanced at Cherry again and asked with a smile, “Cherry… Pit, you’ll be going to the Quinn School of Martial Arts tomorrow, right?”

She would be able to switch the children back once she was there.

After all, the little fellow had classes to attend!

Cherry’s big cute eyes blinked and she nodded. “Uh-huh!”

But as soon as she said that, Justin said, “We’re taking a day off tomorrow, so he won’t be going over.”

Cherry and Nora, “??”

Both of them looked at Justin, only to see him say without batting an eyelid, “I have to go to the main house tomorrow, so I’ll be taking Pete there.”

He hadn’t spent enough time with his daughter yet.How could he let them switch back?

Once he sent Cherry to the Quinn School of Martial Arts, she wouldn’t be coming back anymore!

Justin had already figured it out. He would take Cherry to the main house the next day and stay there for a few days. This way, Grandma and Mom would be able to spend some time with her. At the same time, he would also renovate the villa and set up a room for his daughter!

Nora’s lip corners spasmed. “When will Pete be going to the Quinn School of Martial Arts, then?”

Justin glanced at her and said with a smile, “Next month, I suppose.”

“…”

Nora gave Cherry a look that screamed “You’re on your own”.

Then, she stood and said, “Okay. In that case, that’s it for our chat today, Mr. Hunt!”

She walked to the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw Caleb standing nearby. His melancholic eyes looked over the moment the door opened.“Since the two of you are done with your talk, is it our turn now, Ms. Smith?”

Before Nora even said anything, Justin said, “You can just talk in this private room.”

It was just as well that Nora couldn’t be bothered to go somewhere else, either. Besides, the private room had likely already been paid for, so she nodded and said, “Okay, that works.”

However, when Caleb entered the private room, he saw that Justin was still seated inside.

Caleb was taken aback for a moment. Then, he took a seat gracefully. His thin and moist lips looked rather bewitching on his overly pale face. He was good-looking and his eyes looked terribly innocent. He said, “Ms. Smith, about the marriage agreement…”

Before he could finish, however, he was interrupted by Justin’s icy words.

“Mr. Gray, the marriage agreement has been voided. I won’t be troubling you to take care of the mother of my child.”

Nora, “???”

Chapter 131: Mother And Daughter Meet Each Other

Caleb was also stunned. He looked at Justin in disbelief and then at Nora before he asked hesitantly, “The mother of his child?”

Nora’s expression turned solemn.

Had Justin discovered the truth?

While she was wondering about it, Justin glanced at her and said casually, “Ms. Smith and Pete get along very well. Pete also considers her his Mommy.”

Nora breathed a sigh of relief. So, that was what he meant… That guy could totally scare someone to death with his words.

Caleb also heaved an obvious sigh of relief. He lowered his gaze and said with a smile, “Mr. Hunt is certainly fond of cracking jokes. Those who didn’t know any better would’ve thought that Ms. Smith’s child was yours…”

He was clearly trying to provoke Justin with his words.

Had Nora’s child not been Justin’s, he would definitely have pulled a long face. However, Justin instead said with a smile, “If I start a family with Ms. Smith, I will definitely treat her daughter like my own.”

Cherry, who was in his arms, pursed her lips in contempt when she heard what he said. Who was it that deleted her from his f*******: account?!

Cherry, who was in his arms, pursed her lips in contempt when she heard what he said. Who was it that deleted her from his f*******: account?!

Caleb, who didn’t seem to expect that he would say that, was a little stunned.

After a brief moment, he looked at Nora and asked, “What about you, Ms. Smith?”

Nora also wanted to reject Caleb. Now that she had a ready excuse, she might as well just use it.

Thus, she said, “Yes, I’ve been fond of Mr. Hunt for a long time now. Besides, my marriage agreement with the Gray's has already been canceled a long time ago in California.”

There was a melancholic look in Caleb’s eyes. He heaved a heavy sigh and said, “Alright, then. I originally only took out the marriage agreement to help you out of that situation anyway… It’s better to make friends than enemies. Your mother was also good friends with the Gray's back then, and I can’t just kick you while you’re down now, either.”

Then, he added, “But it is ultimately the Gray's who did something wrong first. How about this? Let’s take it that I owe you a favor. I will definitely repay it if I have a chance to in the future.”

Nora had originally thought that Caleb had come all the way to New York with the marriage agreement because of her. Little did she expect that he would let go so easily.

She immediately felt guilty for harboring such petty thoughts about him just now. She hastily waved and said, “It’s not the Gray's fault. I was the one who got pregnant before the marriage. It’s understandable that the Gray's would want to break off the engagement.”

Caleb, however, shook his head and said, “You didn’t know how you became pregnant, either. It wasn’t right of the Grays to abandon you under those circumstances. You don’t have to say any more, Ms.

Smith. If there’s anything you need my help with in the future, just let me know.”

“Okay.”

Caleb smiled again and said, “I’ll head off first, then.”

Seeing him turn to leave, Nora called out to him, “Please wait a moment, Mr. Gray.”

Caleb looked back at her with his clear and gentle eyes.

The way he looked was as if she was a scumbag.

Nora coughed and said, “Can you rip up the marriage agreement?”

Caleb smiled and said, “I was originally intending to keep it, but since you’ve asked, I’ll just return it to you.”

He took out the marriage agreement again and handed it to Nora. “I went to California once when I came back to the States this time. My father had taken out the marriage agreement to burn it up, but I happened to see it, so I kept it instead.”

Nora examined the marriage agreement—it was identical to the one she had torn up. She balled up the marriage agreement and placed it in her pocket.

Justin narrowed his eyes when he saw what she did.

As expected, Anti really was a careful person. She knew that she mustn’t leave any traces of it behind, so she must be planning to destroy it completely at home instead.

Caleb smiled.

He had actually arrived at the same conclusion as Justin’s and thought that she was intending to bring it home and destroy it there.

Cherry, who was in Justin’s arms, was the only one who couldn’t help but face-palm. Mommy was simply too lazy. She wasn’t even willing to spend the energy to tear up the marriage agreement, let alone having to take a few steps to toss it into the trash?

If she was that free, she would definitely rather sleep for a few more seconds instead.

_

Elsewhere.

At the kindergarten.

Pete went to school in a dress. The other children surrounded him as soon as he entered the classroom.

“Cherry, your live-stream yesterday was so exciting!”

“Boss, did you see the virtual gift I sent you? It’s a whole $150,000, you know! I took really long to save that amount of money!”

“Me too! Me too! I also sent you $15,000!”

“And me! And me! I also sent you $15,000!”

“…”

While everyone was talking, tiny little Mia whispered, “Cherry, I also sent you $150,000!”

Pete found the others awfully noisy and annoying, but Mia spoke in a timid manner. Her voice was melodious and pleasant to the ear, so he was a little more patient toward her than toward the others.

He nodded at Mia. Then, he walked toward his seat expressionlessly and coolly, took out his Mathematical Olympiad worksheets, and started working on it.

Seth was about to come over and talk to Cherry, but as soon as he approached, he noticed that Pete was doing his Mathematical Olympiad assignments. He glanced at it silently and was shocked.

The problems that Cherry was solving were much more complex than his. On top of that, they were two grades higher!

He looked at Cherry with a complicated look on his face and silently moved away.

The teachers had also noticed Cherry’s unusual behavior, but given how Mrs. Lowe had abused her the day before, it was normal that she would be down in the dumps today.

Thus, they sympathized with her very much and gave her extra meat during mealtime! They also removed all the vegetables that she didn’t like.

Pete, who had never experienced such warmth from others, fell silent.

He looked at the kindergarten with his cool and distant eyes, feeling as if something had been set free in his heart.

A small hand grabbed his at this point. Right after that, Mia’s timid voice reached him. “Are you a boy today, Cherry?”

Pete was taken aback.He asked, “How did you know that?”

Mia, who was a little embarrassed, replied, “It’s because you’re always very lively and never quiet when you’re a girl. But when you’re a boy, that’s when I can get an opportunity to talk to you~”

Pete, “…”

While he was in a daze, Mia suddenly came near, leaned into his ear, and said, “Don’t be scared, Cherry. Daddy told me that they’re gonna change our dance teacher. It seems like something has happened to the Lowes. Did you notice? Sinead the Doggy isn’t even in school today.”

Pete, “?”

Was Cherry very scared of the dance teacher?

It was really ticklish how the girl was leaning into his ear to speak, though.

While the two were talking, Ms. Lynn came in with a woman. She said, “This is our new dance teacher~ Her name is Tanya Turner, and she’s even more famous than Mrs. Lowe. She’ll be teaching everyone how to dance in the future! Please clap for her, everyone!”

Pete applauded with the rest of the children.

Soon, it was time for dance lessons.

When Tanya was teaching the children how to dance, she noticed a small and petite child who had a look of envy on her face outside the classroom.

For some reason, even though there were so many children in the kindergarten, Tanya found this child especially heartwarming at first sight.

She walked over to her and squatted down. Just as she was about to speak, Mia suddenly closed her eyes and fainted!

Chapter 132: Mommy, Don’t Leave Me

“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 Smith's.

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 atthe 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.”