Chapter 212 Recognizing Each Other

Chapter 212 Recognizing Each Other

First Floor of the Mall

The milky white ice cream gradually melted on the glossy tiles.

Ethan stood frozen in place, his gaze moving from Olivia's little face before finally locking onto Diana's pale face.

People were coming and going around them, the noise level high.

But he couldn't hear anything anymore.

"Diana."

He spoke, his voice hoarse beyond recognition, each word seeming to be forcefully squeezed out from between his teeth.

"This is your child?"

Diana snapped back to reality.

She pulled Olivia behind her in one swift motion, shielding her completely with her body.

Her fingertips dug hard into her palm.

"Yes."

She clenched her jaw tight, her voice cold as ice.

"But this child has nothing to do with you, Ethan."

Ethan's body swayed.

His hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists.

But he quickly realized something was off.

This girl was four years old.

The timeline rewound frantically in his mind.

Four years ago, Diana had a car accident, so this child could only mean one thing...

Ethan's chest heaved violently.

He took a big step forward, moving toward the mother and daughter uncontrollably.

"Stop right there!" Diana shouted sharply, pulling Olivia back two steps.

Ethan stopped dead in his tracks.

He stared hard at the tiny figure behind Diana.

His Adam's apple rolled with difficulty.

"That car accident back then..." His voice shook badly, his whole shoulders trembling along with it. "The child... survived?"

Diana bit down hard, staring at him defensively.

"I told you, she has nothing to do with you!"

"If you dare go after her, I'll fight you to the death. Ethan, don't even think about taking her away!"

Ethan's eyes turned red.

Take her away?

How could he bear to do that.

His heart was gripped tight by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.

Four years, over fourteen hundred days and nights.

He thought she was dead, thought their unborn child was gone.

So he got through each day with alcohol and sleeping pills.

But now, she was standing right here, alive, and had raised their daughter to four years old.

Ethan's knees went weak, almost dropping to the ground.

He forced himself to stand straight.

"I'm sorry..."

His voice choked up, reaching his hand forward, but afraid of scaring them, it froze in mid-air.

"I'm sorry, I took too long to find you..."

"Making you raise the child alone, suffering for four years."

Diana turned her face away, not wanting to hear these belated empty words.

Just then, the little girl who had been hiding behind Diana poked out half her head.

Olivia let go of Diana's clothes and stepped forward, hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Deadbeat dad!"

The little girl's voice was clear and crisp, heard loud and clear in the noisy mall.

"Stay away from my mom!"

Ethan froze.

Diana froze too.

Olivia lifted her chin, her little face tense.

"I'm warning you, as long as I'm here, don't even think about getting close to my mom! I won't let you be with my mom!"

Ethan looked at this miniature face that was seventy percent similar to Diana's, and fragments suddenly flashed through his mind.

The little girl who came to the company on her own initiative, the little girl he ran into at the art exhibition.

And last night, that IP address located at Rosewood City Peninsula Manor.

Those photos in his phone that had been replaced with black screens, and that ugly toad wallpaper.

And that line: Stay away from my mom!

The corner of Ethan's mouth twitched.

It was her.

One of the top hackers who had completely messed up his phone system and left Grant Corporation's entire IT department helpless.

Was actually his four-year-old biological daughter.

Ethan didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

His own kid was a genius with off-the-charts intelligence.

But now wasn't the time to feel proud.

He crouched down, trying to make himself look more friendly.

"Liv..." He tentatively called out the name.

"Don't call me that!" Olivia stepped back, her face full of disgust.

"You got another woman pregnant back then and didn't want my mom anymore. You're a bad guy!"

The little girl got more and more worked up, her cheeks puffing out.

"You don't deserve to be my dad, and you definitely don't deserve to be with my mom!"

As soon as those words came out, the temperature around them instantly dropped to freezing.

Diana pulled Olivia back.

"Liv, shut up."

Ethan felt like he'd been struck by lightning.

The words he had casually said to her back then had now become a boomerang shooting back at him.

He quickly explained: "Liv, listen to me, I didn't get another woman pregnant!"

"When I said those things to you, I didn't know the truth yet."

Diana frowned. Back then? Had they met before?

Olivia looked at him with suspicion: "I don't believe your lies. Then who was that woman you were involved with before?"

Ethan's Adam's apple moved: "That person was indeed my mistake. I always thought she was my savior, which is why I kept tolerating her bullying your mom. I'll make her apologize to your mom."

"But I never liked that woman, never touched her. From beginning to end, I've only had your mom."

Olivia, being just a child after all, was quickly convinced by Ethan's explanation.

Looking at it this way, the deadbeat dad wasn't really a deadbeat, just a bit stupid.

Diana grabbed Olivia's hand and turned to leave.

"Why waste words on him? Let's go home!"

"Mom, the ice cream..." Olivia pointed at the ground.

"Forget it!"

Diana walked extremely fast, almost fleeing in panic.

Ethan stood in place, watching the mother and daughter's backs disappear outside the mall entrance.

He didn't chase after them.

There was too much information today, he needed time to process it.

More importantly, Diana's guard was too high right now. The harder he pushed, the further she'd run.

Ethan took several deep breaths, calming his wildly beating heart.

Peninsula Manor.

Diana pulled Olivia through the door.

She leaned against the door panel, gasping for air.

Her mind was full of the scene when she saw Ethan just now.

Olivia ran to the kitchen to pour a glass of water and brought it out to Diana.

"Mom, don't be angry anymore."

The little girl's soft voice pulled Diana back from her thoughts.

She took the glass and crouched down to look at her daughter.

"Liv, why did you call him deadbeat dad just now? You've seen him before?"

Olivia shrank her neck guiltily, putting her little hands behind her back.

"I..."

"Tell the truth." Diana put on a stern face.

Olivia knew she couldn't hide it anymore and had to confess honestly.

"Well... last time when I went to River City with Uncle Sebastian, I secretly ran to his company."

Diana gasped.

"Why did you go looking for him!"

"I wanted to see what the bad guy who abandoned mom looked like." Olivia pouted. "Later I ran into him again at an art exhibition, and he even added my contact info."

Diana felt dizzy.

This girl was way too bold!

"What else?" Diana's intuition told her the girl hadn't told the whole truth.

Olivia lowered her head, her toes rubbing on the floor.

"Also, I hacked the photos on his phone and changed his wallpaper to a toad."

Diana was completely speechless.

No wonder Ethan could recognize Olivia so quickly today.

This father and daughter, how much had they done behind her back!

Just then, Diana's phone in her pocket vibrated.

She took it out and looked - an unknown number flashing on the screen.

Location: River City.

Diana stared at the screen without answering.

The phone rang for a long time before automatically hanging up.

Immediately after, a text message popped up.

[8 PM tonight, top floor restaurant at Peninsula Hotel. If you don't come, I'll pick you up at your door.]

The sender was Ethan.