"Huh? You're Meredith Leighton?" The nurse exclaimed as she studied Meredith all over. "You are really Meredith Leighton?""Yes.""Are you even hearing yourself? How is it possible for Mister Josiah's ex-wife to look so hideous?"Meredith instinctively adjusted the mask on her face."I am not lying. You can call him and check with him," In desperation, Meredith added, "I'll give you his number. Tell him that my mom's life is in danger and she's dying soon. She needs to be treated right away."The doctor was still feeling skeptical, yet at the same time, he was worried that he would miss the golden timing to save Mister Josiah's mother-in-law.After a moment of hesitation, the doctor called Josiah.Meredith, on the other hand, held her breath, waiting for Josiah to pick up.When the call was picked up, the doctor glanced at Meredith before walking away and said into the phone, "My apologies, Sir. I'm one of the surgeons from the E.R. department…""What's wrong?" Josiah cut him
"Mom-" Grabbing tightly onto her mother's hand, Meredith cried, "Mom! Didn't you say you were only going to take a nap? How could you lie to me? Hurry up and wake up now -""I'm really going to get mad at you if you don't wake up! I'm not going to talk to you anymore! Mom…please wake up, hmm? Please don't leave…"No matter how much she cried, Alayna did not wake up.Seeing how Meredith was crying her heart out, one of the nurses could not help but try to comfort her, "Miss, my deepest sympathies but your mom is already gone.""No! She will never abandon me like that, she will wake up!" Meredith tried to stop the nurses from pushing her mom away. Shaking her head frantically as tears rolled down her cheeks, she said, "Give me a moment, I'll ask Josiah for help! I'll go beg him! I'm willing to give him my life!"The nurses exchanged a look with each other and could only shake their heads.They simply assumed that Meredith had lost her mind from the shock of her mother's sudden pass
Biting down on her lips, Ysabelle went on, "Oh, and one more thing, Josiah. Meredith's mom just passed away and I don't think she'd be able to come home for the time being. Please be understanding of her situation."Josiah who was about to go through some of his work felt his heart sink at Ysabelle’s words. Looking up at her, he asked, "What did you say?""I just heard from my dad earlier. He received a call from the hospital saying that Meredith's mom is dead and my dad is required to be present at the hospital for some after-procedures. I'm guessing that Meredith won't be coming back here to serve you. I came here to tell you that."Meredith's mother was dead? But there were no signs at all.Josiah could somewhat imagine how devastated and heartbroken Meredith was.Of course, he was not entirely concerned about Alayna. What made him uncomfortable were Ysabelle's words - that Meredith would not be coming back to the Shelby residence.Ysabelle added carefully, "So Josiah, let me
"Yeah, because I wronged Josiah, you snatched everything away from mom, and went on to stay together with that new lover of yours," Smiling through her tears, she added, "but why are you the one who gets to stay?""I was the one who managed the company for so many years, of course, it shouldn't be me who is supposed to leave!""Indeed. You've been trying to turn the company to yours little by little, and Josiah simply gave you a reason to abandon your wife and your daughter. Listen, Marvin Leighton, you are the one who killed mom…"Ysabelle and Josiah too.Each of them was more wicked, crueler, and more ruthless than the other.Meredith had kept tabs on each of them.Feeling guilty, Marvin turned his head away to avoid looking at her eyes which were filled with tears. "I don't have the time to be arguing with you over this. Do yourself a favor and go."Watching him as he left, Meredith said coldly, "Marvin Leighton, you and my mom are not related anymore. You don't have to colle
"Meredith Leighton, what is this? Why are you avoiding me?" Josiah demanded with a gloomy look on his face.Finally lifting up her head to look at him, Meredith stared right into his eyes. "Josiah Shelby, I am not running away from you. I'm just utterly disgusted by you, hate you, and I don't want to see you."Pulling her wrist from his grasp, she added, "Oh, and let me tell you a piece of good news. My mom has finally died because of you. You must be exhilarated, huh."And one last thing. Now that you managed to force my mom to death, you can forget about using my mom as an excuse and threaten me to take care of that lover of yours, to be your maid, to be tortured by you, or to be forced to sleep with you."For some reason, her words did not sit well with Josiah. He felt somewhat suffocated.Josiah closed into her until her back was against the wall. Looking down at her, he corrected Meredith, "I'm not the one who's responsible for your mother's death. This is simply what you get
Meredith nodded her head. "Mm, I know. Nia is the best!""Well, why are you still crying, Mommy?""Because I'm really happy to see you. That's why I started crying.""Ahh, so you're crying because you're happy!" chuckled Nia.Meredith nodded her head and forced a smile on her face."How are you feeling these days honey? Have you been a good girl?" asked Meredith.Nodding her head, Nia replied, "I've been taking my medicine and taking my injections. You can ask Aunt Wren if you don't believe me."Aunt Wren who was standing next to them quickly nodded her head. "Nia has been a really good girl."Meredith turned to look at Wren and thanked her. "Thank you so much for your help, Wren. I really appreciate it.""Not a problem, Miss Meredith. I am simply doing my job," replied Wren, smiling.After Nia got an injection, Meredith kept her accompanied while she ate. Nia took a nap after that.The past few days have exhausted Meredith too. She finally got a chance to take a rest. Holdi
"That is hard to say," Doctor Sean continued, "like I said the last time. She could leave us anytime and it is also possible that she'd be in pain like now and last another year or two.""Being in pain like this…" Meredith murmured under her breath, "Yeah, every day is torture for Nia."Nodding his head, Doctor Sean replied, "That is why I've tried to persuade you to bring Nia home, to stop her from having to suffer all this pain."In other words, the doctor was telling her to give up.Meredith knew better that Nia would not make it through more than a few days as soon as she left the hospital grounds.Walking out of the doctor's office, Meredith felt as if her soul had left her body, and all that was left was an empty shell.Just the thought that Nia would get weaker by day, and the pain that she had to suffer would grow by the day, Meredith desperately wished that she could suffer all the pain for Nia instead.But she still could not bring herself to just sit around and count
The person on the other end of the call was startled. "Oh, you're looking to promote yourself, yeah? But it's just a small business and we don't have a lot of customers. I'm afraid that you'd be just wasting your time.""Oh no, it's not to promote me. I just want to let my child have some experience.""How old is your child?""Three…I mean, four years old. She plays really well even at her age. Her piano skills are almost in the seventh and eighth grade.""A four-year-old child has skills in seventh and eighth grade? Who do you think you're fooling?" The person then went on, "Alright now, I still have work to do. Please look somewhere else instead.""My daughter is really talented…" Before Meredith could even finish her sentence, the person had ended the call.Looking at Nia who was sleeping soundly in the room, Meredith could only sigh helplessly.It looked like she would have to hire an audience.Just when Meredith was racking her brain, she received a call from Zya.On the
Back in the bedroom on the second floor, Liam pulled Ivy into the bathroom to take a bath together.Ivy allowed him to take off her clothes and pulled her to stand under the water.Liam helped her take a bath and asked, "How is it? Is everything okay?""It's not bad." Ivy said, "I didn't expect your parents to welcome me so warmly."Liam looked at her proudly, with the water still flowing down from his head. "Of course! You should thank the guy that has good taste. How can they dislike a girl of my choosing?"Ivy smiled and said, "Okay, previously...""Don't mention the previous things, let them pass." Liam interrupted her.Ivy was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, it's all over.""Yes. From now on, there is only happiness." Liam lowered his head and whispered in her ear, and kissed her lips……Meredith and Josiah listened in shock to Liam and Ivy's story, while watching the three children chasing and making trouble outside the floor-to-ceiling window.They were all
Ivy raised her hand and touched the top of Siena's hair. "God treated me well, and gave me back my daughter, and also gave me the child's father.""No, you're wrong." Liam smiled and said, "God treated me well and sent the child and the child's mother back to my arms.""Oh, spare me." Madam Sheldon shook her head unbearably.Madam Sheldon finally believed that Siena was her own granddaughter.She excitedly hugged Siena into her arms, and she burst into tears with joy. "Great, our Sheldon family finally has a granddaughter! Great!""Grandma, you like Siena, right?" Siena asked sweetly."Nonsense! Of course, Grandma likes Siena. Grandma has always dreamed about a little grandson or a little granddaughter." Madam Sheldon choked as she said.Liam and Ivy looked at each other and smiled.After hugging Siena excitedly for a while, Madam Sheldon released her, and looked at her again. "Now that you mentioned it, she looks a lot like Liam. Look at her nose, her ears...right? Am I righ
"You even helped me get dressed before you left!" Liam pinched her chin. "Ivy, aren't you embarrassed saying these things?""You asked me.""...""If I didn't help you get dressed, you might be so stupid that you don't even know that you slept with someone, right?""Ivy!" Liam gritted his teeth. "You stole my seed, and you dare to laugh at me for being stupid?""Isn't it stupid?" Ivy was not afraid of him. She raised an eyebrow at him deliberately. "Liam, think about it. Were you being stupid that night?"Liam was silent.Yes, he was really stupid.He was so stupid that he was too embarrassed to admit it. He did not even have the face to mention it in front of Josiah.Looking at the woman in front of him, he wanted to laugh and be mad at the same time.He did not want to say anything. He just wanted to use actions to prove how angry he was, how excited, happy, and...Countless emotions were intertwined in his body, causing him to bow his head and kiss her lips fiercely.Ivy
"Okay, I'm sorry." Ivy got up and walked around in front of him, sitting on his lap and hugging his neck with a smile. "Do I need to make up for you as well? Say sorry to you?""Yes, of course.""I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have kept it from you for so long. I shouldn't have kept the news about Siena's from you until now, okay?""Do you think I'll let you off with just that?" Liam was not satisfied."Then what do you want?""The rest will be paid in the evening.""Okay, double compensation," Ivy responded generously.Hearing her say that, Liam was extremely satisfied.He did not mind his daughter's presence at all. He instructed her, "Siena, turn around, I'm going to kiss Mommy.""Why can't I see you kiss Mommy?" Siena was puzzled."Because your Mommy will be shy.""Oh, okay then." Siena turned around wisely."I'm not shy, it's you who is shy." Ivy held Liam's handsome face and kissed him on the lips.Liam was moved for a second, and when he tried to dee
The adoptive parents expressed their understanding. They waved their hands and said, "It's alright. If it were me, I'd be crying happy tears too.""Anyway, thank you very much," Liam said."Mister Liam, you don't have to be so polite. Otherwise, we will be even more embarrassed," the adoptive father said.The adoptive mother held Siena, who seemed a little lost. She pulled Siena in front of Ivy and said softly, "Siena, I'm sorry, Mommy never told you that Ivy is your biological mommy."Siena looked at her in shock. "Really? Is Mommy Ivy my biological mother? Did she give birth to me?""Yes. Mommy wouldn't just pass you to a random stranger, right?" The adoptive mother smiled and said, "Siena, you will be able to spend time with your biological mommy in the future. Isn't that great?"Siena nodded, then stretched out her palm and gently stroked Ivy's face. "Mommy, why are you crying? Don't you want to be my biological mommy?""Siena!" Ivy suddenly pulled Siena into her embrace."
Siena's adoptive parents expressed that they understood. They waved their hands and said, "It's fine. If it were me, we would cry happy tears too." "Anyway, thank you very much," Liam said."Mister Liam, don't say such a thing. If not, we will be even more embarrassed," Siena's adoptive father said.Siena's adoptive mother pulled Siena, who did not know much about what was happening, over to Ivy's side and gently said, "Siena, I'm sorry. I have never told you that Ivy is your real Mommy."Siena looked at her in shock. "Are you serious? Mommy Ivy is my real Mommy? The one that gave birth to me?""Yes, if not, how could I simply give you to any other person?" Siena's adoptive mother said with a smile, "In the future, you will be living with your real Mommy. Are you happy?"Siena nodded before reaching her hand out and touching Ivy's face. "Mommy, why are you crying? Don't you want to be my real Mommy?""Siena!" Ivy suddenly hugged her."Darling, I have been looking for you for s
Siena's adoptive parents looked at each other and smiled.The kitchen was calling them to take their seats.Liam got up and said, "Come, let's eat and talk."Then, he said to Siena, "Siena, go get Daddy and Mommy to eat. They must be hungry."Siena happily brought her adoptive parents to take their seats. The dinner was in the garden. They ate and talked at the same time. The entire process was pleasant.Toward the end, Siena's adoptive mover suddenly got up and walked over to Ivy. She looked at her deeply and said after a while, "Ivy, there is a secret I have been hiding from you for a very long time.""What is it?" Ivy saw how serious she was. She could not help but feel the severity of it."Siena…" Siena's adoptive mother paused for a while before saying, "Siena is the baby that you have been looking for all these years."Ivy was stunned. Liam was stunned too.Ivy was feeling uneasy. Blood was rushing to her head. Shock, delight, surprise, excitement, all of the emotions ga
Ivy heard what Liam said and looked out at the door.When she saw that it was Siena's adoptive parents, she was instantly stunned."They are the guests that you mentioned?""Yes." Liam stood next to her and smiled. He said, "They said they hoped that they could see Siena one more time.""Is that so? That's great." Ivy held Siena's hand and walked out.Outside the door, Siena's adoptive parents were extremely friendly. "Hello! Ivy! Haven't seen you in a while!""Hello." Ivy welcomed them. "Welcome."They looked at Siena behind Ivy. "Hello, Siena. It's been a while."Siena was so anxious she was almost in tears. She said with reddened eyes, "I don't want to go back! I don't want to!"Seeing how Siena was against them, they looked awkward. From there, one could infer how irresponsible they were of their adopted daughter previously.Ivy ruffled Siena's head and said softly in her ears, "Siena, don't be afraid. Your adoptive parents are here to send you off because you're about to
Ivy cleared her throat. She ruffled Siena's head. "Don't listen to your Daddy. How could I be tired? Furthermore, taking care of you is the happiest and proudest thing I have ever done.""Really? Mommy, you really like me that much?""I do."Siena laughed happily."Let's go. We'll head home." Ivy held Siena's hand and they walked under the sycamore tree."Mommy, has Daddy gone back?""Not yet," Ivy said, "Daddy said he wants to give us a surprise.""Oh, that's great. I don't want Daddy to leave us.""Why? Do you like Daddy?""I do." Siena nodded. "Also, with Daddy here, you will be much happier. I like to see you being happy."Ivy saw Siena's face under the sun. She could not help but be moved. Siena was too understanding and caring.She suddenly thought of her own daughter. If she was still around, she would be Siena's age. She wondered whether she was as caring as Siena.At that thought, the smile on her face faded a little."Mommy, look! There are two birds!" Siena sudd