Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 45

Chapter 133: They Resemble Each Other A Little

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…”

Chapter 134: Her Son~

They resembled each other a little?

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

Only her small and pert nose resembled Tanya’s. But when one thought about it carefully, her nose was also very similar to Hillary’s—after all, Tanya and Hillary were half-sisters who shared the same mother!

Joel and Tanya both raised their heads again and subconsciously glanced at each other’s faces. Tanya hurriedly looked away when their eyes met.

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

“She’ll wake up soon.” The doctor said, “She didn’t eat that much mango, so she can be discharged after she’s done with the IV drip.”

“Okay..”

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

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

Tanya, “…”

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

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

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

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

But now, she was an outsider.

Tanya sighed. It was a pity to toss the sandwich anyway, and she was indeed hungry.

Besides, the doctor had once encouraged her to eat more pickles because they were good for gut health, especially since she was prone to digestive problems.

Therefore, Tanya put up with the pungent taste of the pickles and ate the whole sandwich.

Joel was seated on the sofa. Although his eyes were on his laptop while he worked, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Tanya and saw that she hadn’t tossed the sandwich but ate it instead. For some reason, he was actually relieved to see that.

Joel stared at his laptop.

Time had never passed so quickly during all these years. With a computer, a cup of coffee, Mia, and… her, it felt just like that was how life should be.

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

The principal and the school doctor hurried over to the hospital and also brought… the five-year-old Pete along the way?

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

Pete, who was pulling a long face, asked, “ You were supposed to pick me up from school this evening?”

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

Pete, “…”

No wonder he didn’t see Mommy coming over even after he waited for a long time after school was out. As it turned out, it was because God-mom hadn’t informed Mommy at all?

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

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

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

Joel, “?”

His attractive fox-like eyes narrowed and he looked Pete up and down hostilely a few times. At last, he let out a snort and said no more.

At this point, Mia finally woke up. She had held on to Tanya’s sleeve tightly with one hand the whole time. While she rubbed her sleepy eyes with the other, she called out hesitantly, “Daddy? Mom… Ms. Turner?”

Joel strode over to her. He looked at her and asked, “Do you feel unwell anywhere, Mia?”

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

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

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

It was at this moment that someone suddenly held her hand.

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

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

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

The principal of the kindergarten suddenly came over and spoke to Tanya.

Tanya nodded, followed the principal to one side, and reported to him what had happened earlier that day.

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

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

The tiny little Mia lying on the hospital bed felt just like a thin sheet of paper after she was covered with the quilt. She nodded and said, “Okay. You feel very different today, Cherry~”

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

“Why aren’t you saying ‘yeah’ anymore?”

Pete, “??”

He fell silent for a moment. Then, he said, “I am… yeah.”

Mia blinked.

She looked at him and asked, “What did you guys learn in school today?”

Pete replied, “We learned how to roller-skate, the ukulele, and dancing. If you fall behind, I can teach you tomorrow… yeah.”

Mia broke into a smile. “Okie!”

Next to them, Joel who had retracted his gaze: “??”

He looked at Pete again. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that the child was a little strange. He was clearly wearing the kindergarten dress, yet he didn’t feel like a girl.

Especially when he was even Tanya’s child.

He cast his eyes down.

His joy at meeting her again was totally gone. Boundless anger and a sense of powerlessness were the only things left in his heart.

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

Hah. It made it seem like he had only been flattering himself all this time during the past five years.

Tanya walked toward him and said, “Mr. Smith, the kindergarten will take care of the hospitalization fees and also provide some compensation. Is that okay with you?”

However, the expression of Joel, who had been pretty nice the whole afternoon, darkened and he replied, “That’s not necessary. But if this happens again, I won’t let the kindergarten off so easily!”

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

“Okie-Dokie, Daddy.”

Tanya was still stunned to the spot when the two of them left the ward. Why did that guy suddenly lose his temper? He was too much!

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

“Why? He’s Cheryl Smith! You know, Cherry! Daddy, you don’t like him?”

Joel nodded. “Yeah.”

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

Joel, “?”

He let out a cold laugh and scoffed, “Which part of him is better than Daddy?”

Mia replied softly, “He’s a girl, but he can also become a boy~ Daddy, can you become 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 went out, the secretary said, “Mr. Smith, you’re late for the meeting with Mr. Hunt.”

Joel, however, was distracted. “Yeah.”

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

The look in his eyes grew even colder. Soon, he arrived at the meeting room.

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

Justin had a cool look on his face. He said expressionlessly, “It’s fine. I brought my son here, though. You don’t mind, right, Mr. Smith?”

Upon hearing that, Joel looked at the child in his arms.

Chapter 135: They’re Getting Married?

Cherry, whose arms were around her father’s neck, stared at Joel with her big round eyes.

Mm, that young mister there was really handsome, too! But why was the way he looked at her a little strange?

Joel was utterly stunned.

He didn’t expect to meet that child again when they had only just separated… Also, he was Justin’s son?

Joel had known for a long time that Justin had a son. He kept him very well-protected and seldom gave outsiders a chance to see him. If it

weren’t because the two of them had a business deal to discuss today, he probably wouldn’t have seen what the Hunt's crown prince looked like for a long time to come!

But… Tanya had actually married Justin?

Joel’s position as the head of the Smiths was well-deserved. Even though he was extremely shocked, he quickly kept his emotions in check and started talking with Justin about their upcoming partnership.

Half an hour later, the two men finished the work discussion.

Justin was in a hurry to go home so that his daughter could hold her live-stream, but when he saw that Joel had remained seated, he frowned and asked, “Is there anything else you need, Mr. Smith?”

Joel glanced at him again.

Dressed in a black suit, the man in front of him was big and tall, lean but strong. His visage was a perfect blend of harsh coldness and temptation. Together with the beauty mark at the corner of his eye, he was like Adonis on Earth.

It didn’t seem strange that Tanya would fall in love with him.

But he had never heard of Justin having any plans to get married…

Joel neatened his suit and suddenly stood up. He said, “Your son is very cute, Mr. Hunt.”

Justin cast a puzzled glance at him and politely replied, “Thank you.”

Joel casually asked, “Do you know who the child’s mother is?”

Upon his question, a picture of that lazy woman seemed to appear in front of Justin. The corners of his lips curled upward a little and he replied, “Yeah.”

Joel continued and asked, “What are you intending to do about her, then?”

‘Do about her’?

His choice of words made Justin very uncomfortable.

How could anyone use a phrase like that to talk about a woman like Nora?

He lowered his gaze and suddenly said, “Maybe we’ll get married.”

Married…

Joel’s heart sank.

If she really married Justin…

The thought alone made his chest tighten uncomfortably.

He balled up his fists and suddenly said, “Treat her well, Mr. Hunt.”

He turned and left after saying that.

Justin, “?”

Was there something wrong with Joel Smith today?

For whom was he putting on that devoted act?

He suddenly thought of how Nora had kept staring at Joel during the medical conference the other time. Had the two of them formed some kind of connection without him knowing?

His brows drew together and he suddenly looked down at Cherry. In a deep and solemn voice, he asked, “Cherry… Pit, does your Mommy know him?”

Cherry shook her head. “No, she doesn’t. I’ve never heard Mommy mention him before, yeah!”

The little fellow completely didn’t realize that she had been sounded out.

Justin smiled and left with peace of mind. They’d already had dinner, so when they returned home, Cherry dived straight into her bedroom for her live-stream.

_

At the Andersons.

Tanya went upstairs to the guest room unhappily and closed the door after she returned home with Pete.

Pete entered the bedroom and unsurprisingly saw Mommy lying on the bed again. However, what was unusual was that she wasn’t sleeping but handling something on her cell phone instead.

When she noticed him, she even asked, “Why are you back so late?”

Pete briefly explained Mia’s hospitalization situation. Then, he said, “Mommy, I think you should go and take a look at God-mom.”

Nora raised her eyebrows and let out a lazy ‘Oh’. After stretching, she sighed and said as she walked out, “People mustn’t let themselves sink into such depravity. I can’t lie down like this anymore. I’ll go out for a walk and switch to another room…”

Thinking that Mommy had finally made up her mind to stop being so lazy, Pete was about to praise her when he heard what she said next: “… and lie down there instead.”

“…”

Aren’t you still lying down even if you switch to another room to lie down there?!

Pete’s lip corners spasmed and he decided to go and do his homework instead.

When Nora entered Tanya’s room, Tanya was crying in silence.

Seemingly because she heard the door opening, Tanya wiped her tears away and sat up. She asked nonchalantly, “Why are you here?”

“Are you okay?” asked Nora.

“No.”

Nora asked seriously, “Then what do you want to do?”

“If we’re friends, then go out with me for a drink! We’ll drink till we drop tonight!”

Nora fell silent for a moment at the drinking suggestion. Her eyebrows raised slightly and she suddenly asked, “What did you say before that?”

“No.”

“The one before that.”

“Why are you here?”

Nora stood up. “I came to check on you. Okay, I’m leaving.”

Tanya, “!!!”

It was only after Nora left that she realized that her moodiness had dissipated by half before she even knew it. That woman was so lazy and unprofessional even when she was trying to comfort someone!

While thinking about it, her cell phone suddenly rang.

She looked down—the caller ID showed ‘Mom’.

She waited for a while before she picked up. A woman’s voice reached her through the phone. “Tanya, why are you pestering Joel from the moment you returned? The two of you have already broken up! You’re not allowed to disturb my daughter in the future, you hear me?!”

‘My daughter’…

Heh.

Tanya let out an icy laugh. She suddenly retorted, “Why should I listen to you?”

“Because I’m your mother!”

“Really?”

Tanya mocked, “Isn’t your daughter Hillary?”

“… What do you mean by that, Tanya?!”

Tanya stared straight ahead of her as she said, “It means—if you don’t think of me as your daughter, then don’t tell me what I can or cannot do!”

She hung up on her straightaway.

The next day, Tanya got up early in the morning and went to the kindergarten with Pete. On the way there, she asked, “When are your parents switching you guys back?”

Pete replied, “I don’t know.”

Tanya glanced at him. He quietly added, “… Yeah.”

Tanya, “…”

She found it hilarious.

After she reached the kindergarten and parked the car, just as she was about to enter with Pete, someone suddenly called out to her.

“Ms. Turner.”

Tanya turned and saw Hillary walking toward her.

She came up to Tanya with a smile. Then, she suddenly took out a wad of cash from her bag and offered it to her.

Tanya’s eyes widened in shock. “What is the meaning of this?”

A smiling Hillary replied, “This is to thank you for discovering Mia the moment she fainted and staying with her in the hospital for the whole afternoon. I’ve asked around—top-class nurses are paid $150 per day. However, you’re different because you’re a teacher from the kindergarten, after all. There’s $3,000 here. You can think of it as a reward from the Smith's. It’s quite a lot, right?”

A reward from the Smith's…

What did they take her for?

A humiliated Tanya clenched her fists.

However, she suddenly reached out and took the money from her.

Hillary scoffed inwardly. It sure felt good to humiliate others with money…

But just as she thought so, the corners of Tanya’s lips suddenly curled upward!