Twenty-six-year-old Lila had already been a single mother for five years.
All these years, she had been busy earning money like a spinning top.
During the day, she was the owner of a tattoo shop; at night, she worked part-time playing the piano at a Western restaurant.
Even so, their life remained financially strained.
Her daughter's and stepfather's medical expenses loomed over her like two massive mountains—she didn't dare rest for a single day.
In late December, Shanghai was piercingly cold.
As soon as she stepped out of the restaurant, a chilly wind blew, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Before she could reach the subway entrance, her mother Helen called.
"Lila, how much longer until you get back? Someone from Willy's family is here."
Lila froze for a moment, not quite understanding what she meant. "What did you say?"
When Helen spoke again, her voice was softer. "I found out who Lyra's biological father is. Last month, when I took her to Beijing for fun, it was actually to have a paternity test with Willy."
"Willy's grandmother really likes Lyra. She said that if the child is her grandson's, she will make sure he marries you."
"Lila, I couldn't bear to see you struggling so much."
After all these years, Lila never expected to hear that man's name again—and from her own mother, no less.
Moreover, in such a manner.
Memories from the past flooded her mind like a tidal wave.
Her fingers turned white from how tightly she was clenching them, and her gaze gradually cooled.
Usually gentle-natured, she yelled at Helen for the first time, "Are you even human? To save Uncle William, you'd actually sell my daughter?"
Helen offered no explanation and simply hung up.
A little over twenty minutes later, Lila rushed home.
As soon as she entered, Lyra, who had been hiding behind Helen, dashed toward her and held her tightly.
"Mommy…" The little girl buried her face in Lila's body, her soft voice tinged with a sob.
She was clearly frightened.
Lila lowered her head, gently ruffled Lyra's hair, and comforted her in a soft voice, "Sweetie, it's okay. Mommy's back."
Lyra continued to hold her tightly, unwilling to let go.
Lila lifted her eyes and looked inside.
Besides Helen, there were three other men in the house.
Her eyes finally settled on the tall figure standing by the window.
Her tea-brown eyes were unusually calm. She pressed her lips together before saying to Helen, "Take Lyra back to her room."
Helen had achieved her goal and complied.
"Lyra, Mommy still has some matters to attend to. Come, go back to the room with Grandma first."
Upon hearing this, Lyra lifted her small face, looking particularly stubborn. "No, I don't want to. They are bad people. I want to stay with Mommy."
Having grown up in a tattoo shop, she had been exceptionally well-behaved and sensible since childhood.
Before starting kindergarten, she spent her days with Lila at the shop.
When her mother was busy, she would play quietly with her toys nearby.
At night, when Lila went out for her part-time job, she would wait at home with her grandmother for her mother to return, rarely making a fuss.
Over the past two years, Helen had begun urging Lila to go on blind dates and even asked others to introduce several potential partners.
But nothing ever came of it.
She then tried to use Lyra to persuade Lila, telling her, "Grandma will find you a new dad, so Mommy won't have to work so hard, and you won't be laughed at in kindergarten."
The little girl never repeated this to Lila, but she kept it hidden in her heart.
The word "dad" felt vague and unfamiliar to her.
Occasionally, she felt curious and even yearned for one, but most of the time, she was resistant.
After all, Grandma had also said that Dad was a bad person who didn't want Mommy.
Lila coaxed Lyra softly for a while until the little girl finally "reluctantly" agreed to go back to the room with Helen.
Before leaving, she said to Lila, "Mommy, if they dare bully you, remember to call me. I'll call the police to catch the bad guys."
Lila smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. "Okay, our Lyra is so brave."
Once the grandmother and granddaughter left, the room suddenly fell extremely quiet.
The man who had been standing with his back to them finally turned around slowly.
Six years was not a short time, so he looked somewhat different from before.
Back then, although he was also quiet and reserved, the youthful sunshine in him was still unmistakable.
Now, he had matured, becoming sharper and more austere, with deep and piercing eyes.
Perhaps she had already processed most of her emotions on the way over, because even when facing the man's clearly hostile gaze, Lila showed not a trace of fear.
She stared straight at him without blinking.
And she was the first to speak. "You've come a long way, and it must have been quite a journey. I apologize for my mother's unexpected visit. Let's end things here."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lila heard a disdainful sneer.
What met her eyes next was the man's deepening gaze and the mockery between his brows.
His voice was utterly cold. "After all these years, Miss Lila, your acting skills have improved remarkably."
Lila understood exactly what he meant the moment he spoke.
After a moment's thought, she still explained, "Before tonight, I had no idea what my mother had done."
In Willy's eyes, Lila was the mastermind behind it all.
Therefore, her words not only lacked persuasiveness but also made her seem scheming and adept at playing innocent.
Her composure, in particular, stirred a rare anger in him, a man who seldom showed his emotions.
Gradually, his gaze at Lila filled with disgust.
"You've endured all these years just for this moment, haven't you? Lila, to become Mrs. Willy, you've even resorted to such cheap tricks. It's disgusting."
Hearing this, Lila's face instantly turned pale.
Her lips moved slightly as if she wanted to explain further, but the words stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
Her speechless silence, in Willy's view, was an admission of guilt.
His cold and detached expression grew increasingly contemptuous as he stared at her.
"Whether it was in the past, now, or in the future, my wife will never be you. A scheming woman like you isn't even fit to step into the Willy family's door."
Such blunt words made Lila feel a moment of acute embarrassment.
She clenched her fists, her chest tight and breathless.
It took her a great effort to say, "After we broke up, I never had that intention again."
Upon hearing this, Willy didn't hesitate to mock her directly. "Broke up? Did we ever even date?"
His anger, condescending and filled with indifference, was ruthless.
Lila's heart, which she thought had long become impenetrable, uncontrollably ached.
She pressed her pale lips together and then said, "I already have someone I'm engaged to, and I love him very much. So, the idea of wanting to be your wife doesn't exist—I said, everything…"
Willy had already lost all patience.
Before Lila could finish speaking, he interrupted her. "Who you love or marry has nothing to do with me."
With that, he threw a card toward her.
Then he added, "Five million. I'll take the child. You take the money and leave. Disappear completely and never appear in front of me again."