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…”
2
My clarification was cut short.
Vanessa suddenly interrupted me, shaking Marcus’s arm as she purred, “Marcus, I can give you children! My illness is long gone. I can have as
many as you want.”
6
Marcus affectionately pinched her nose, smiling. “You’ve just recovered, sweetheart. I can’t bear for you to go through that right now. You just need to be my little princess.”
Then, he turned to me, looking utterly disdainful.
“Aurora Hayes, for the past five years, Vanessa has suffered so much abroad, endured so much pain. And you? All you know is to compete with her, throwing tantrums all day, not even a single word of comfort. Someone as cold and heartless as you truly doesn’t deserve her
kindness.”
I rolled my eyes at his words, completely speechless.
For the past five years, my email had been flooded with photos and videos Vanessa sent from all over the world.
In those pictures, she looked rosy–cheeked and full of life. Where was the
