Chapter 401: Do You Like Children?
Joel saw her grave expression and put down his fork. He stared at her. "What?"
His heart suddenly pounded violently.
He didn"t know what Tanya was going to say, much less what she was thinking… but he suddenly felt that what she was going to say next was very important.
Tanya looked at the man and said impulsively, "We had a…"
The word "child" hovered around her mouth for a moment, but she could not say it.
Joel was stunned. "What?"
He searched his memory hard. They had an agreement? An oath? Or what?
He was afraid that he would anger the girl in front of him if he did not remember.
Tanya opened her mouth.
She suddenly thought of the parents who had been searching for their children overseas.
Some mothers broke down, and some fathers were very calm. However, she had seen them turn around and cry secretly in a corner after comforting their wives.
She suddenly asked, "You love Mia very much, right?"
Joel did not know why she had suddenly changed the topic, but he still followed along and said, "Yes, I love her very much."
He suddenly reached out and held her hand. "I know that I will never let you down in this matter. Her existence is something I cannot control, but her existence makes me feel warm. Tanya, that is a kind of satisfaction from family ties. You understand me, right?"
How could Tanya not understand?
After all, she and Joel were both children who lacked love!
Even though Joel was born in the Smiths, his parents did not like him. There was even a time when they thought of abandoning him, making him feel very insecure.
As for Tanya…
After her mother remarried, she lost her home.
When the two of them walked together back then, didn"t it feel like they were hugging each other for warmth?
That was why she was so happy when she gave birth to that little angel and thought that she finally had a family in this world and someone with her blood.
That was why she had searched the entire world for her child like a madman without even having seen the child once.
When Joel saw that she was in a strange mood, he mistakenly thought that Tanya would mind if he mentioned Mia. He thought about it and said, "I know it"s very selfish of me to make you accept Mia, but Tanya, Mia is really a very obedient child. You"ll fall in love with her. Really…"
He was afraid that Tanya would suggest sending the child away.
No matter how much he loved Tanya, he could not do that.
After all, he was a father!
Seeing that he had misunderstood, Tanya waved her hand and said, "That"s not what I meant."
As soon as she said this, Joel heaved a sigh of relief. It was obvious how much he liked Mia.
Tanya asked again, "Do you like children?"
Joel nodded. "Of course. If it was our child, I would like it even more."
These words made Tanya"s heart ache again.
She lowered her head and took a bite of noodles.
The hot noodles slid into her mouth, but she took another bite as if she did not know it was hot.
She ate mouthful after mouthful. When she was done, she looked up.
Joel probed, "What did you say we have?"
Tanya took out a tissue and wiped her mouth before replying, "It"s nothing."
Joel immediately tried to recall any vow the two had made. However, after thinking for a while, he still could not remember it.
After he ate the noodles, Tanya took his bowl and washed it in the kitchen. Then, she said, "It"s getting late, you should go back."
Joel: "…"
He actually did not want to leave tonight, but since Tanya had said so, if he insisted on staying, it would only make Tanya feel annoyed.
At the thought of this, Joel decided that he had to take things slow and not get things done in one go.
He took out his car keys and walked slowly to the door. "Good night."
"Good night."
Tanya replied softly in the kitchen.
She heard Joel walk to the door and stand there for a long time. Finally, he pushed the door open. When she heard the door close with a bang, she turned off the tap.
She stood in the kitchen for a long time before walking out.
Looking at the neat ap.r.o.n hanging in the living room, she thought of Joel"s OCD personality and couldn"t help but lower her eyes.
She sighed heavily and went upstairs.
She lay on the sofa and quietly stared at the night sky.
She did not know where her child was in the world right now, if he was hungry, or if he had any clothes to wear. She did not know how long she was thinking when her phone suddenly rang.
She picked it up and took a look. It was a call from Hillary.
She picked up the call and Hillary"s calm voice was heard. "Are you two still together?"
Tanya sneered and said softly, "Yes, he"s taking a shower. Why?"
"You"re lying!"
Hillary suddenly smiled and said, "I just called Mia and she said Dad has come home! Tanya, I"m warning you. Stay away from Joel! Even if you seduced him now and he still likes you, Mia is the person he loves the most!"
Tanya clenched her fists.
She lowered her eyes. Before she could say anything, Hillary said, "Mia is everything to him! So what if you two still have feelings for each other? At the end of the night, won"t he still go home obediently and coax the child to sleep? Tanya, if you know what"s good for you, you better leave him!"
Tanya"s voice was very low. "What if I don"t?"
"You don"t? Do you know that everyone outside knows that he and I are engaged and that Mia is our daughter?! Mia"s sake, he won"t even announce our separation to the public. In front of outsiders, I will always be Madam Smith! And you, Tanya, are just one of his lovers! What makes you think your status is enough to make him give up his reputation?"
The Jones.
After Hillary shouted this in anger, she finally felt at ease. She sneered and said, "No matter what, I will always be the wife, and you are just a mistress! Just like it was back then, I"m the daughter of a wealthy family, and you"re just a fake daughter!"
With that, she hung up.
She had been chased out of the Smiths for so long. There were many guesses outside, but because of Mia, the Smiths had never spread the news that they had broken off the engagement.
She wanted to use this matter to agitate Tanya and let her know that she was nothing to Joel!
Any woman would mind this, right?
As she was thinking about this, the doorbell rang.
The servant went to open the door and exclaimed in surprise, "Mr. Smith?"
Hillary was stunned. She turned around and saw Joel walking in from the door!
It was already so late. Why was he at the Jones" residence?!