Chapter 1
“A five-year-old kid is so thin. Aurora Hayes, how exactly do you take care of her as a mother?”
“I thought you were so principled, not contacting me for five years. Turns out you’re just out here picking up trash with the kid, huh? Don’t tell me you knew I was coming for an inspection today and decided to put on this show for me?”
My little daughter was in my arms, and my mind went blank, being yelled at by the man who’d suddenly appeared.
It took me a while to realize who he was. It was Marcus Sterling, my ex-husband from five years ago.
And the woman clinging to his arm, dressed in designer clothes, was none other than Vanessa Bell, the young woman he’d sponsored back then.
Seeing them so intimate, I instinctively hugged my daughter tighter. My mind spun, memories dragging me back five years.
Back then, I’d just gotten pregnant. Marcus, who was always cold and distant, suddenly started sponsoring a high school girl from an orphanage and even let her move into our home.
The first time I saw Vanessa, pale and in worn-out clothes, my heart softened.
Even with my baby bump, I cooked her nutritious meals. I’d stay up late, helping her with her studies, tutoring her often.
Under my care, Vanessa brightened up significantly, smiling more often.
Her grades skyrocketed from last in class to first in her grade, and she eventually got into a prestigious university.
But I never imagined that the first thing she’d do after turning eighteen was to hook up with Marcus, betraying me!
Seeing that I hadn’t spoken, Marcus’s eyes fell on my daughter.
His brows furrowed, and he said with clear dissatisfaction, “Why is it a girl? My mother has been hoping for a grandson for years, and she was already unhappy with you. Now you have another daughter? How am I supposed to explain this to her?”
Only then did I realize he thought the child in my arms was his.
I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
He had the nerve to bring that up?
That child, our child, had died five years ago, suffocated to death inside me.
And the one responsible for the baby’s death was him, the biological father!
Anger churned in my chest. I took a deep breath and stepped back, hugging my daughter tightly.
“You’re mistaken. This child isn’t yours…”