CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 73: HE WANTS TO HAVE A CHILD WITH ME IN THE BATHROOM

I don’t know what Timothy Xavier’s heart is made of.

He separated me from my daughter for so many years, he watched me in unbearable pain back then, yet he continued with this lie.

I swiftly walked out of the hospital room, leaning against the cold wall in the corridor, gasping for air, with a heavy stone on my chest, each breath carrying a dull ache.

Jenna Sutton quickly caught up, asking worriedly, "Zoe, why do you look so unwell?"

I turned back to glance at the hospital room behind me, my throat tightening, "My child... my child may not have died at all. Doris is my daughter!"

Jenna was shocked too, looking at me incredulously, "Zoe, do you know what you’re saying?"

My voice trembled but was exceptionally clear, "She’s allergic to pineapples..."

Jenna patiently said, "Zoe, I know, losing both of your children with Timothy Xavier hit you hard. But being allergic to pineapples doesn’t mean anything, there are many people allergic to pineapples!"

"But a child with a rare blood type like mine and with an age that matches perfectly, it’s only Doris."

My gaze was steadfast and certain.

Then I told Jenna about the time Doris needed a blood donation due to malaria.

After hearing it, she suddenly realized and looked at me with heartache, "I couldn’t reach you at that time, worried that Timothy Xavier would bully you. I asked Ezra Payne to check on you, he told me you were doing well."

I said, "Don’t blame Dr. Payne, I didn’t let him tell you."

Jenna’s eyes turned red, gritting her teeth, she said, "Timothy Xavier, that bastard! Let’s go! We’ll confront him now, why did he give the daughter you carried for ten months to that little vixen Serena Sawyer, and deceive you all these years! It’s so hateful!"

She turned to leave, but I immediately stopped her.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, "If we confront him now, he will still stand by Serena Sawyer’s side, maybe even not let me see the child in the future. We need evidence, irrefutable proof."

Jenna nodded, gritting her teeth, "Yes, we can’t let him off this easily! The paternity test center is still open, let’s deliver the samples now."

"Okay."

Jenna accompanied me to the testing center to draw blood.

Coincidentally, her boyfriend, Ezra Payne, is a doctor here, so we asked Ezra Payne for help and also drew a sample of Doris’ blood.

The lie Timothy Xavier carefully crafted for so many years is soon to be torn apart!

...

When I returned to the hospital room, Doris was speaking on the phone with Timothy Xavier.

"Daddy, I want to go to you tonight to learn baking from Auntie Ellison, can you tell Grandma not to come and pick me up?"

The little girl was calm, articulate.

Timothy Xavier apparently didn’t suspect anything, probably agreed.

Doris kissed the phone receiver, "Daddy, then you let Auntie Ellison come and pick me up!"

I don’t know what Timothy asked, the little girl suddenly panicked, hurriedly said, "Yeah... yeah, although I used to quite dislike her, but Daddy you said before, Auntie is not a bad person! So, I trust Daddy!"

I stood quietly at the door, my gaze fell on the small face on the hospital bed, my eyes sore and swollen.

Although I feel angry at Timothy Xavier’s deception, now, a more surging, more unfamiliar emotion is emerging from the softest place in my heart.

It’s the instinctive flutter of seeing my own flesh and blood.

I quietly took a few steps closer, my gaze greedily tracing her features, as if to make up for the absent years.

Doris saw me coming over, hung up the phone, proudly showed off to me, "My daddy agreed! And I didn’t tell him about the allergy thing! I stick to my word, right!"

"Mm."

I choked slightly and responded, reaching out to gently stroke her soft curls, "Doris is so good."

Doris was stunned for a moment, although the child doesn’t understand anything, she can sense the change in my emotions.

Her big black eyes filled with confusion, "What’s wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

I tried to muster a smile, "I was thinking, on Doris’ birthday, to make a big cake for Doris. But, I don’t know when Doris’ birthday actually is?"

Doris was particularly happy to hear that, "Wow, can you really? My birthday is December 12th! It’s just over a month away!"

This date left me somewhat disappointed.

Because the day I gave birth to my daughter was December 8th.

Is it possible Timothy Xavier fabricated a new birthday for her to cover it up?

After all, he can give my child to someone else to raise, what else is he incapable of?

Even if the birth dates don’t match, I still firmly believe, Doris must be my daughter!

I looked at her deeply, couldn’t resist wanting to touch her soft cheek again, but her children’s phone rang.

I immediately withdrew my hand, the little girl saw it was Serena Sawyer’s call, immediately showed a happy smile.

"Mom! Aren’t you working?"

Doris’ clear ’Mom’, like an invisible knife, made my heart bleed.

Doris put the phone to her ear and said coquettishly, "Mom, did Grandma tell on me again? I really just want to learn how to make cookies from Auntie Ellison so I can make them for you to eat! Don’t be angry, okay! A jealous mom isn’t pretty!"

Complex emotions collided and tore inside my chest, I held back my sour eyes, even envied Serena Sawyer on the other end of the line.

I don’t know when Doris hung up the phone.

The little girl looked gloomy, the previous smile gone.

"What’s wrong?"

I gently asked her.

Doris sighed, "Mom seemed a bit upset knowing I was learning to make cookies with you. Grandma is really annoying, always telling on me! It’s either telling on me to Mom or to Dad!"

I feared she might change her mind and not see me again, I catered to her taste, "How about I teach you how to make cookies with Labrador patterns tonight?"

Doris forgot her previous unhappiness, said to me, "That’s really hard to make, none of my classmates’ mothers have managed. If I bring it tomorrow, they will definitely worship me!"

I’m affected by her smile, nodded, "Whatever Doris likes, I will learn to make."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

One ’Auntie’ brought me back to reality.

At this moment, Timothy Xavier’s call came to me.

Seeing this name, I really had the urge to tear him apart.

I took a deep breath, suppressed my anger, and tried to speak calmly, "What’s up?"

"Where are you?" he asked.

I said, "Outside, what’s up?"

Timothy Xavier said, "Pick up Doris at half past five tonight and bring her over. She said she wanted you to teach her how to make cookies, I’ve already asked Nanny Lowell to bring the cookie making materials over."

"Okay, got it."

After I agreed, I immediately hung up the phone.

Afraid of speaking for another minute, I couldn’t help but confront him!

After Doris finished her infusion, she almost returned to normal.

I didn’t feel reassured, confirmed with the doctor several times before taking her out of the hospital.

On the way, I reminded her, "Do you remember our secret?"

"I remember!"

Doris said sweetly, "I can’t tell anybody about my allergy today, right!"

I couldn’t help but smile, "Doris is really smart."

...

Hospital.

As soon as Doris entered, she ran over to her dad and hugged Timothy Xavier’s neck, giving him a kiss.

Watching this scene, my heart felt like it was being repeatedly squeezed.

All these years, he has never lost the joy of being a father, yet he forcibly deprived me of my right to be a mother!

Timothy Xavier, you’re truly cruel!

I don’t know how long it took to calm my emotions before I walked over pretending nothing was wrong.

Timothy Xavier routinely transferred ten million to me, as an exchange for me making things for his daughter.

I stared at the glaring numbers on the phone screen, my fingertips cold.

I put the phone back in my pocket, saying coldly, "You don’t have to transfer money to me from now on."

Timothy raised his eyebrows at me, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Then, he said, "Taking care of a child isn’t easy. I don’t like owing people favors. Take the money."

I smiled, but there was no warmth in it, "Timothy Xavier, can these money repay what you owe me?"

Something odd passed over Timothy’s handsome face, even a hint of panic.

I laughed coldly inside.

How arrogant do you have to be to let the other woman live with my biological daughter in the same house, flaunting it in front of me every day!

Is it just now that you start to panic?

Timothy Xavier, this is only the beginning!

Doris, completely unaware of the subtle atmosphere, urged me to teach her to make cookies.

Before long, I had already finished making the first batch of Labrador cookies.

Doris clapped excitedly, "Dad, look, Auntie Ellison is amazing!"

Timothy’s lips curled slightly upward, "Yes, she is quite amazing."

I didn’t reply, just focused on the task at hand.

My fingertips touched the warm butter, but my heart felt ice-cold.

The sincerity of his current warmth matched the cruelty of his lies back then.

Just then, a message came from Timothy’s WeChat, it was from Doris’s class group.

The teacher announced there would be a parent-child sports day tomorrow and hoped parents could participate as much as possible.

Timothy asked Doris, and it was then she remembered, "Oh, I forgot. It seems the teacher mentioned the sports day this morning."

After speaking, she hesitated a bit and looked at Timothy, "But dad, you’re injured, how can you participate?"

Usually, Timothy seemed capable of anything, but now he was stumped.

After all, he’s indeed hurt, and Serena Sawyer, being a celebrity, never shows up at kindergarten.

The air was quiet for a few seconds before I suddenly offered, "I can accompany her."

Doris looked up sharply, her eyes instantly brightened, "Really? Auntie Ellison, can you run fast? There’ll be running and jumping rope tomorrow, you can’t hold us back, okay."

I smiled and patted her head, "Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you."

But Timothy didn’t seem to agree, saying, "This isn’t good, it might lead to misunderstandings with Doris’s teachers and classmates."

I couldn’t help but clench my fingertips; he watched me suffer from the ’grief of losing a daughter’ for three years, and now he deliberately stops me from getting close to my daughter.

I asked with a half-smile, "What misunderstanding does President Xavier mean? Afraid her classmates will mistake me for Doris’s mother?"

Timothy’s face changed imperceptibly, even avoiding my gaze, saying, "You’ve never taken care of a child before, I’m afraid you won’t do well with her."

My throat felt dry. I nodded, "Yeah, I’ve never taken care of a child, thanks to you!"

Timothy furrowed his brows tightly, speaking deeply, "What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

I held back and nearly confronted him just now.

I didn’t want to keep arguing because the questions were almost out of my mouth.

To hide my anger and sadness, I deliberately lowered my head, continuing to make the cookies.

But Doris ran to her dad, shaking his hand, saying, "Dad, just let Auntie Ellison go with me! I’ll explain to my classmates clearly, she isn’t my mom, nobody will misunderstand."

Though Doris usually gets her way by acting cute.

But today, Timothy seemed particularly insistent.

He indeed didn’t want me getting too close to Doris, knowing he was guilty.

Seeing her father’s refusal, Doris’s mood gradually sank, saying, "Every kindergarten event, other kids have both parents, only I have just dad. Now, not even dad can go with me..."

Timothy was probably pained by his daughter’s expression, silent for a moment, and finally relented, "Alright, Dad agrees."

Doris’s eyes instantly sparkled like stars, running to me and saying, "Auntie Ellison, did you hear? Dad agreed!"

Her soft little body pressed against mine, carrying a faint milky scent.

My heart felt like it had been soaked in warm water, both sour and tender.

If my child hadn’t been corrupted by Serena Sawyer, she could always be this cute and well-behaved.

At night, we packed the baked cookies into 20 bags and sealed them well, getting ready to distribute them to each child at kindergarten tomorrow.

I went to the bathroom to bathe Doris, then prepared to take a bath myself.

But just at that moment, Timothy suddenly followed me.

Seeing him close the door, I was startled, nervously asking, "What are you doing?"

His eyes were dark and deep, asking, "I should be asking you. What are you doing? Why are you suddenly so attentive to Doris?"

I restrained my chaotic heartbeat, calmly saying, "Isn’t it good to have one more person caring for your daughter? I find it odd that you wish I treated her coldly. You feel comfortable that way, don’t you?"

Timothy was choked by my words, sharp eyes falling on my face, saying, "You’ve already taken Naomi’s life. I’ve spared you once! If you dare hurt Doris, I’ll make you pay with your life!"

I just found it incredibly ironic, feeling an overwhelming urge to cry.

He’s warning me not to harm my biological daughter.

Timothy Xavier!

Have you deceived yourself until the end?

I choked, saying, "I won’t harm Doris. Rest assured!"

Warm liquid inexplicably spilled from my eyes, turning my face away, unwilling to show vulnerability before him.

But to my surprise, he reached out to wipe my tears, speaking hoarsely, "If you truly like children so much, we can have another."