Chapter 419: Our Family of Three~
Her words couldn"t get any more hurtful.
Joel paused and looked at her in astonishment.
Hillary looked like she had lost her mind. The savage look on her face made her look just like a beast in captivity putting up one last fight. She said, "How about this? Give me Mia, the two of you can have your own children instead. Isn"t that a good idea? This way, I won"t pester you ever again in the future!"
Joel looked at Tanya hastily.
By asking her to be Mia"s stepmother, he was actually letting Tanya down.
Tanya had also been resistant to the idea.
Just two days ago, she had even driven him away because of it.
Joel thought that this was something that Tanya couldn"t get over.
Tanya"s gaze, however, landed on Mia when she heard what Hillary said.
The words "have your own children" was a blow that made her heart ache.
Nevertheless, she had noticed Mia reaching out with her little hand and grasping Joel"s sleeve tightly upon hearing what Hillary said. In addition, her timid eyes also looked at her as though she was asking her for help—or begging her for mercy.
Mia didn"t want to go with Hillary.
She was very resistant to the idea.
Seeing that neither she nor Joel was speaking, Hillary stretched out her hand to Mia and said, "Come here, Mia. Come with Mommy. They are all bad people. Do you know? They are all bad people! Once your teacher and your father have their own children in the future, they will abuse and bully you. Come with Mommy. Mommy will never bully you, right?"
Mia shrank back further into Joel"s arms.
Joel"s gaze, however, was on Tanya the whole time.
He would never give Mia to Hillary, no matter what.
But he wanted Tanya to say something right now…
However, Tanya merely stared at Mia. The emotions in her eyes were so complicated that even Joel couldn"t read them at all.
Joel"s heart slowly sank.
Tanya probably couldn"t bring herself to accept Mia yet.
Well, that made sense.
What made him think that he could ask her to treat the child born to the man she loved the most and the sister she hated the most as her own?!
Besides, Tanya was someone with a straightforward and decisive character. She had never been one to do such saintly things…
However, Joel had no choice but to be selfish this once.
He would never let go of Mia, nor would he let go of Tanya.
They were the two most important women in his life.
With that in mind, the look in Joel"s eyes became cold and unfathomable. He looked at Hillary and held Mia further away from her.
Just as he was about to speak, Tanya, who was behind him, said, "If I say that I don"t mind, will you believe me?"
Her words stunned everyone.
Hillary looked at her incredulously.
Even Joel was shocked.
Tanya looked at Mia and slowly stretched out her arms to her. "I like Mia. Although she is your daughter, she is not like you at all. The two of you are completely different!"
Tanya lowered her head.
She couldn"t even make herself dislike Mia, because the sight of her made her think of her own child.
Any woman who had had children before would be somewhat accommodating toward and forgiving of children. She wanted to make Mia happy.
When Mia saw Tanya stretching her arms out to her, for some reason, she suddenly felt warmth in the icy-cold world.
She reached out her own short little arms and went into Tanya"s arms.
When Tanya said what she did, she had let go of her negative feelings.
She believed that her child would be like her, and also hoped that all the children in the world could live happy and worry-free.
Tanya, who had let go of her negative feelings toward Mia, suddenly lifted her head. Her lips curled into a smile as she turned to Hillary. She said shamelessly, "Also, Mia is Joel"s daughter. Considering how much I love him, I would also love his daughter, so why wouldn"t I like Mia? You"re worrying too much about it.
"Oh, by the way, you don"t have to worry too much about Mia after you go abroad, because I will take good care of her. After all, we are a family of three. We are going to live happily together!"
Sure enough, Hillary became so furious that she started shaking all over.
For some reason, though, Tanya felt that Hillary"s emotions were a little odd. It was as if she was furious, yet also afraid of something. "You…! That"s utter nonsense! I am Mia"s mother!"
Tanya didn"t understand why she was emphasizing that over and over, but she nevertheless asked, "Mia, do you want me to be your mom?"
Mia"s eyes lit up and she nodded. "Yes!"
Tanya then looked at Hillary. "Mia is only five now. Say, five—or even ten—years later, will she still remember you, her biological mother?"
She let out an icy laugh after she spoke.
Immediately after, as if she were one of those bad-natured women who flaunted their power after doing bad things, amidst everyone gesturing at her and talking about her, and without any regard for anything, Tanya walked toward the exit with Mia in her arms. "Alright, Mia, your fever is gone. Shall we go home?"
"…"
Hillary was still shaking even after Tanya had left. Mrs. Jones, who was frowning, looked as if she didn"t know what she should do.
A short while later, Joel"s a.s.sistant walked up to Hillary. "Ms. Jones, your air ticket has been booked. Your flight is in an hour. You may come with me now."
Hillary clenched her fists.
Yet she was at a loss for words as she stared at the a.s.sistant in front of her.
—
With a mighty momentum around her, Tanya went to the car park with Mia in her arms.
Joel followed behind her. As he watched the woman in front of him take firm and determined steps, a dazzling smile formed at the corners of his lips.
When they reached the car, he took two quick steps forward to Tanya"s side.
Tanya turned to him and smiled triumphantly. "Did you see how Hillary looked just now? Hahaha! That felt so good! I haven"t been this happy in so many years!"
Joel: "…"
A very self-aware Tanya sat in the backseat with Mia and left the driver"s seat to Joel. She had a smile on her lips the whole time. "Mia, I made your Mommy really angry just now. Do you mind?"
Mia blinked at once. "No, I don"t, Mommy!"
Tanya: "?!"
She suddenly choked on her saliva. After a few violent coughs, the astounded woman looked at Mia. "Y-you… What did you just call me?"
Even though Mia was looking at her timidly, she spoke very firmly. "You were the one who asked me to call you Mommy…"
Tanya: "…"
The corners of her lips spasmed in embarra.s.sment. "No, I said that just now just to make Hillary angry. You… you… Don"t take it seriously."
"Okay, Mommy," said Mia.
Tanya: "…"
She immediately looked at Joel, who was in the driver"s seat. "What are you laughing at?! Aren"t you going to do something about the little fellow?!"
The extremely thick-skinned Joel said, "We already agreed back then that when we have a daughter in the future, I"d be in charge of spoiling her while you"re in charge of disciplining her."
Tanya: "!!"
It was only when the car started that she finally asked, "Where are we going?"
"The Smith manor." Tanya flushed crimson after he spoke. Joel, who saw that she was about to refuse, immediately added, "Nora is injured. Before she fainted, she was talking about some email…"