Chapter 5

I stared blankly at Ryan.

There was so much I wanted to say, but when the words reached my lips, all that came out was a bitter laugh. "Ryan, do you really think of her as your daughter?"

"Do you even care about her?"

Ryan had developed anemia caused by bone marrow failure, and every six months he needed a stem cell transplant from our daughter. That kind of pain, worse than death, had already been endured by our daughter several times.

Yet she had never once complained.

What she got in return was Ryan’s deception, and him not caring at all!

In the first month after she started working, our daughter was bullied by customers and cried so hard she nearly broke down.

The restaurant owner didn’t care.

I couldn’t get out of bed.

When I called Ryan, he only gave a perfunctory reply that he was busy.

But when Ava had hit me and was unharmed herself, Ryan rushed over in a panic at the very first moment.

Facing my question now, there wasn’t even a trace of guilt in his eyes, and his voice was flat. "Of course I care about her. From now on, I’ll cover her tuition. Whatever Mia has, she’ll have too."

"Of course, the premise is that you need to behave."

"You know what should be told to her and what shouldn’t."

With that, he turned and went upstairs.

I was left standing there, nearly numb, unable even to move my feet.

I didn’t know what I should do anymore.

I had nothing now, and my foot was injured. How was I supposed to make money and take care of Lily?

I could get a divorce. I could endure a hard life.

But Lily could have a better life. What right did I have to drag her through suffering with me?

I couldn’t breathe again.

In my despair, my best friend called again.

"Grace, everything’s been checked."

"That bastard Ryan got together with Summer when they were freshmen! But that daughter of his doesn’t seem to be their biological child."

"I found some of Ava’s hospital records, and her blood type doesn’t match that pair of scum........"

My best friend had known me since childhood. She came from a very good family, and she was the only person I could trust right now.

She would never lie to me.

Which meant Ava was not Ryan’s biological daughter?

Just as that thought surfaced, I saw my daughter’s tired figure.

She was still wearing her restaurant uniform, too exhausted to even stand up straight.

But after seeing me, she forced herself to perk up because she was afraid I would worry.

Then when she noticed the injury on my foot, her eyes went red with panic. "Mom, why is there so much blood on your shoe?"

I didn’t even have time to care about my own injury. I forced myself to stay strong and took my daughter’s hand as we went upstairs.

"Lily, I have something very important to tell you."

"Let’s go home first and see your dad."

I couldn’t pretend to know nothing and keep staying with Ryan.

I had to tell Ryan that Lily was his only daughter.

That way, even if I divorced him, he wouldn’t abandon Lily and would give her a better life.

That was the best solution I could think of.

But when we got home, before I could even say anything, Ryan was already going to take our daughter to the hospital.

"Lily, my bone marrow problem is getting worse. In the future, I may need a stem cell transplant every three months, so you need to be mentally prepared."

My daughter didn’t refuse, but she said somewhat awkwardly, "Dad, can we go to the hospital in a few days? I’m sick lately. I feel awful, and I’m a little too weak."

Ryan was still smiling, but his brows had already begun to knit together slightly. "Be good, Lily. Dad has to keep traveling tomorrow, and I might not be back for a month. We can’t delay it."

I could not bear to listen any longer, so I grabbed Ryan and took him back into the bedroom, locking the door behind us.

"Do you even have a heart?"

"You’re not going on a business trip. You’re taking Summer and her daughter to Hawaii! Can’t this wait a few days?"

"Lily said she’s sick. Don’t you know how painful stem cell transplants are?"

Ryan’s face was full of impatience.

"She’s my daughter. What’s the big deal if she suffers a little for me?"

"Mia’s body is weak. Only Lily can help me."

"I’ll give her enough compensation."

At that, my whole body began shaking violently on its own, and my mind buzzed.

So Ryan wanted to keep Lily not out of fatherly love, but simply because he needed her stem cells!

He had no feelings for us at all, and even the fact that Lily was his only daughter would not change that!

Hatred surged to the extreme in my heart, and instead I calmed down.

"Okay, Lily can go with you to the hospital."

"But it’s too late today. We’ll talk about it tomorrow."

After Ryan reluctantly agreed, he went to bed and rest.

I couldn’t lie down next to him, so I went to my daughter’s room.

Then I explained everything to her through the night, packed our things, and took her away from this house.

The next morning, Ryan called.

"Grace, did you take Lily away?"

"If you keep causing trouble like this, aren’t you afraid you’ll use up all my patience and end up with nothing?"

Looking at my daughter beside me, who had cried until her eyes were swollen and still had not come out of the grief, my voice was left with only bone-deep coldness.

"Ryan, from now on, my daughter and I have nothing to do with you anymore, and we won’t do anything for you ever again."

He let out a cold laugh on the other end. "You’re threatening me?"

"Grace, you know Lily isn’t my only daughter."

"I don’t need her to ease my bone marrow disease, but without me, you two won’t even have a place to live!"

Is that so?

Then we’ll see.

I looked at the bright morning sun on the horizon and hung up decisively.