“The cutest and the most honest” was what the teacher had described her with.
Maya’s adorable pair of big round eyes blinked twice, all the while rubbing her fingers with a hint of dilemma.
“Uncle Evan, you really won’t steal us from mommy? I don’t want to be separated from mommy! I don’t want to be taken away like Juan!”
Gazing at Maya’s timid look, Evan Seet leaned over and gave her a bear hug.
“I swear I won’t!” He soothingly promised.
Nodding her head, Maya pointed out, “You are our daddy!”
Evan was stunned. He did not anticipate that Maya would know since the beginning.
He remembered then that she had called him daddy once in the past. At that time, he thought Maya called him that because she was a glutton who would call anyone daddy for the sake of getting good food.
Thinking about it now, she had been wanting to call him “daddy” for the longest time, and she had let it slip that one time.
She had always liked to follow him around, and perhaps in her heart, she had already regarded him as her daddy ever since.
“If you’ve known I’m your daddy, why don’t you call me that from the beginning?”
Maya’s small pair of lips twitched, and as she reached out her tiny hands to touch Evan’s nose tip, he could see tears flickering in her eyes.
She dared not to say.
After all, if she had revealed everything, she might not see mommy ever again.
Nina who was beside her all this while raised her head and looked at him, and with a displeased tone said, “If we have told you everything, then you would have snatched us away from mommy’s side as well. After all, you have taken Juan away. Do you know how hard mommy has tirelessly worked to raise us all?”
“…”
Evan was speechless as he felt a sharp sting to his heart.
It’s all his fault!
He had always been prejudiced against her ever since she left Kyle behind. He had even considered her unworthy to be called a mother. Unbeknownst to him, she had single-handedly raised up three young children alone.
When Kyle had fallen ill, luckily, there were maids to take care of him. If taking care of even one child had been a great headache, how in the world Nicole could wholly raise three kids on her own?
It must have been a painstakingly difficult endeavor for her.
No wonder she had developed her stoic persona. Her perseverance amidst hardships had hardened her heart.
With that realization, sorrow and bitterness washed all over Evan.
As he exited the elevator, he handed over Nina and Maya to his secretary, John. Putting the two young girls in his good care, Evan immediately rushed off.
“Mr. Seet, where are you going?” John called after his boss.
“I have a score to settle!” Evan responded.
I’m going to find their mommy to square things up!
John was left puzzled. Did he just left his daughters like that to “settle some scores”? What’s going on?
Shaking the confusion out of his head, he turned towards Maya and Nina. As he was patiently discussing where to bring them to play, he suddenly heard someone calling for him.
Looking back, he saw that Sophia was the one who called him.
Quickly, he led the two adorable girls over to her.
“Madam, why did you come by to the company? Anything I can help you with?”
Sophia glanced back and forth at Maya and Nina.
“Having seen the broadcast, do you think I can sit tight and do nothing? That rascal Evan is causing us a lot of trouble…”
When Jonathan had seen the live stream, he was infuriated. He believed that Evan must have planned all these behind his back for the sake of Nicole.
Someone must have tampered with the result of the paternity test.
Sophia, on the other hand, was different from her husband. She was willing to believe in its authenticity and had dropped by to hopefully confirm the fact.
“Madam, the paternity test is true. These two adorable and lovely girls here really are your granddaughters.”
Hearing the affirmation from John, she was overjoyed.
Eagerly stepping forward, she grasped Maya’s chubby hand, and Nina’s as well.
“They’re really my granddaughters? Such grown-up girls! I have never dreamt that I would have granddaughters! That rascal Evan! Why did he deliberately keep this knowledge from us for so such a long time?”
Hearing this, John quickly defended Evan.
“Madam, Mr. Seet himself only found out about this today. He did not know about this at all beforehand. In fact, this discovery is purely a coincidence. Ms. Lane has been concealing this truth really well for far too long.”
Hearing John’s words, Nina quickly spoke up for her mommy’s sake, “My mommy is afraid that daddy will take us away from her side and she will never get the chance to see us again. That’s why she dares not to reveal the truth.”
Sophia sighed heavily upon listening to Nina’s honest outburst.
Between her son and Nicole, there had been a lot of missed opportunities, misunderstandings, and hardships. Their road to happiness had been one strewn with setbacks. Good things take time after all.
At least everything was crystal-clear now.
“Where’s Evan?” asked Sophia.
“Madam, Mr. Seet rushed off just now ‘to settle some scores’ as per what he had said. I myself don’t know the specifics.” John obediently explained.
Settle scores?
Sophia was silent for a while before looking tenderly at Nina and Maya. “Are you both willing to come home with grandma?”
The two children looked at one another. Both of them were worried that Nicole would not be able to find them later.
Sophia understood their worry just by observing them. She assured both of them that she would inform Nicole of their whereabouts and therefore they should follow her back home without worry. After all, Kyle and Juan missed them terribly and would like to hang out with them.
