CHAPTER 5: CHAPTER 5: YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TEST RESULTS, DON’T YOU?

PM.

The night wind was raging.

A black sedan stopped in front of Tiana Linden and her daughter.

In the cold wind, Tiana held Daisy tightly in her arms.

Seeing Christopher Grant get out of the car, she rushed forward excitedly.

"Christopher, has the paternity test result come out?"

Aiden Grant sent Christopher to find her, perhaps the result was out.

And the person Aiden trusted most was Christopher, so he must know about this too.

Tiana seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

Her blood was boiling.

Once the result was out, it would prove that Daisy was Aiden Grant’s biological daughter.

Her little Daisy would finally have someone to care for her after she was gone, no longer left alone and dependent on no one.

Kissing Daisy’s forehead with relief, tears filled her eyes, overflowing complex emotions.

She couldn’t control them at all.

Warm tears fell on Daisy’s forehead.

Daisy looked up, her small hand wiping away Tiana’s tears.

The big eyes under her long lashes were full of concern.

"Mom, why are you crying? Are you very sad?"

"No." She shook her head and kissed Daisy’s forehead deeply again, "Mommy is happy, Mommy is happy!"

At this moment, Christopher Grant, who was opening the car door to let them in, paused noticeably.

Then he let go of the car door handle, looking at the mother and daughter whose hair was being blown about in the cold wind.

He suddenly felt that the pair of figures, one large and one small, were so pitiful and forlorn.

Christopher asked quickly, "Tiana, what paternity test result?"

Seeing the tears of mixed emotions in her eyes, he knew this matter was not simple.

His puzzled gaze fell on Daisy in her arms.

"Tiana, is Daisy really Aiden’s daughter?"

This issue had already been a source of conflict between Aiden and Tiana when Tiana was pregnant.

Back then, Aiden refused to acknowledge that the child was his.

Christopher had advised Aiden more than once, urging him not to rush to conclusions.

He had urged Aiden to believe in Tiana, even though all evidence of collusion with Hector Chaucer pointed to her.

Aiden simply didn’t listen.

Seeing Tiana nod with tears in her eyes, Christopher felt deeply moved.

The wind grew stronger, making the mother and daughter appear even more frail.

Christopher quickly tugged at the car door, shielding them from the wind as he said, "Let’s talk in the car."

Inside the car, Christopher didn’t know how to start the conversation.

He was a witness to all the stories between Tiana and Aiden.

If he asked, he feared touching on her painful past.

If he didn’t ask, he felt deeply worried about their situation, especially now that Aiden was about to marry Vivian Linden.

He stayed silent, and Tiana, sitting in the back seat, also remained silent.

At some point, Daisy had fallen asleep, and Tiana kept her held closely in her arms.

Looking at her sleeping little face, Tiana’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Would Aiden be kinder to her in the future?

When she no longer had her mother, Daisy would be very sad, but at least soon she would have her father with her.

Tiana didn’t know when the car had stopped beneath the Zenith Restaurant.

It wasn’t until Christopher in the driver’s seat turned back and asked:

"Tiana, you haven’t looked for Aiden all these years. Why are you suddenly coming to him now? Did something happen?"

Daisy was still sound asleep in her arms.

Only then did Tiana suppress her sorrow and pain and slowly respond:

"Christopher, I have cancer, it’s in the advanced stages."

"I have no choice but to entrust Daisy to Aiden."

Her tone was as lifeless as her face appeared.

Christopher’s mind exploded.

He felt utterly drained.

Tiana was only a year younger than him; he had watched her grow since she was young.

She was only twenty-nine.

So young!

No wonder she seemed much thinner than five years ago, and her complexion was so lifeless.

"How could this be?"

His voice quivered slightly.

Christopher couldn’t believe it.

He wanted to say more, but Aiden’s call came in at that moment.

Looking at the flashing call, Christopher’s hand was much slower to accept the call.

Aiden’s voice on the phone was cold, "Did you pick them up?"

Five minutes later.

Tiana led a half-awake Daisy to The Hibiscus Pavilion.

This was the private room for The Linden and Grant Families at the Zenith Restaurant.

Five years ago, Tiana was a regular here.

Back then, only significant celebrations would bring both families here for dinner.

Why did Aiden call her here?

At that moment, the door to the private room was pushed open.

The person opening the door was not a server, but Aiden, whose face turned cold immediately upon seeing her and Daisy.

His gaze lingered on her for a moment deliberately.

His eyes went from cold to deeply resentful.

So obvious!

Tiana couldn’t possibly fail to sense it.

She instantly grew uneasy!

Even the air around her became much heavier, pressing down on her until she found it hard to breathe.

She spoke slowly, "Mr. Grant..."

"Come in." Aiden didn’t even let her finish speaking, turning around and going inside.

Leaving her and Christopher to exchange a glance.

She had a strong feeling that Aiden was definitely dissatisfied with the paternity test results.

Was it because she suddenly showed up with Daisy, disrupting his previous happiness with Vivian?

But five days ago he had said that if Daisy was his daughter, he owed her an apology.

What was going on?

Tiana entered the private room with Daisy, anxious and uneasy.

Inside, a dozen pairs of eyes all turned to look at them in unison.

Seeing Tiana and her daughter, apart from Vivian, everyone else seemed somewhat shocked.

"Tiana?"

"Tiana?"

Among the Linden and Grant Families, there was Mr. Linden, James Linden, and brother Daniel Linden, as well as Vivian’s mother, Sharon Sullivan.

Tiana greeted politely, "Uncle Linden, Mr. Linden."

As for Sharon, she pretended not to see her.

She always remembered James Linden’s kindness in raising her.

But this Sharon, her mother’s best friend, got involved with James Linden during her mother’s pregnancy and even had Vivian, who was born just months after her.

Clearly it was James Linden who wronged mom.

But under Sharon’s instigation, James Linden firmly believed mom had betrayed him back then.

Her hatred for James Linden wasn’t because he held the paternity test results, claiming she wasn’t biologically his.

It’s because he had betrayed mom.

At this moment, seeing the crowd, Daisy’s long eyelashes cast a timid shadow.

"Mom, who are these people?"

"Don’t be afraid, with mom here, I’ll tell you who these grandparents, uncles, and aunts are once we’re home. For now, look at them openly and greet them."

She crouched down and stroked Daisy’s head, giving her gentle but courageous strength.

Daisy nodded, then looked at everyone present.

"Hello, grandparents, uncles, and aunts, my name is Daisy."

Her voice was polite and clear.

Her sweet little mouth softened James Linden’s heart.

After all, Tiana was the daughter he had raised for twenty-one years!

Even when he found out years ago that Tiana wasn’t biologically his, after pain and torment, he was still willing to treat her as his own daughter.

This adorable little girl, though technically born out of wedlock, was still their Linden family’s granddaughter.

James Linden sized up Daisy, who looked exactly like a young Tiana, recalling many things from Tiana’s childhood, his heart softened even more.

Then he beckoned kindly, "Sweet Daisy, come to Grandpa."

Grandpa?

Daisy looked up, puzzled, at Tiana.

Did she have a grandpa?

James Linden then looked at Tiana with complex emotions, "Tiana, after getting out of prison, why haven’t you come home?"

It wasn’t about her not returning home.

It was clearly after she was sent to prison due to the medical confidentiality incident, James Linden said he was severing ties.

She remembered clearly how harsh and sharp James Linden’s words were then.

"Tiana, you’re a bastard child from your mother, an ungrateful wretch."

"From now on, even if you die out there, you have no relation to our Linden family."

She didn’t resent James Linden for severing ties.

She only resented that James Linden, who posed as a loving husband and father, had been fake all along. He had been sleeping with Vivian’s mother before mom had a difficult childbirth.

Suppressing a myriad of resentments, she said calmly:

"Uncle, back then, you told me, even if I die out there, I have no relation to the Linden family."

The nearby Sharon interjected angrily, "Tiana, are you still holding a grudge against your dad? Back then, your dad was furious with you, those were just words spoken in anger. You don’t realize how worried he has been about your life all these years."

James Linden endured the heartache of being neglected by his beloved daughter and sighed deeply, "Sharon, forget it. Even if you talk to her, she won’t understand."

Tiana no longer responded.

The past grievances were no longer important.

Whether it was grievances or pain, it was all past.

Now, she only cared about whether someone would properly care for Daisy after she died.

So, she looked toward Aiden next to Vivian, "Mr. Grant, you called me here today, there should be something important, right?"

At this moment, Aiden held a folder, rose from the table, and fixed his gaze on her.

Though she appeared frail, thin, and pitiful, it made veins of anger and hatred bulge on Aiden’s forehead.

Then he curved his lip, coldly sneering:

"Tiana, do you want to know the paternity test results?"

"I’ll let you know now."

He pulled out the results from the file bag, violently hitting Tiana’s face with them.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The papers fell one by one.

The thin edge of the paper cut into Tiana’s face.

It also hit innocent Daisy beside her, scaring Daisy, who shrank closer to mom.

Ignoring the pain on her cheek, Tiana hurriedly crouched down to protect the frightened Daisy.

Seeing Tiana’s cheek wound, Daisy helped wipe the blood.

Tiana felt no pain at all.

The paternity test results lay on the ground.

The last line fiercely hit her brain:

[Based on gene loci analysis results, exclude the possibility of Aiden Grant being Ginny Linden’s biological father.]