Chapter 2

The woman, Amanda, was surprised. Henry's name formed silently on her lips.

"Manda, why are you here?" he asked, glancing back and forth between Alana and Amanda—two women of different ages with strikingly similar faces.

Amanda rushed into the emergency room. Tears streamed down her face when she saw her daughter lying still, her head wrapped in bandages.

"You're the one who hit my girl?" Amanda asked Henry. Despite her annoyance, she kept her voice low to avoid disturbing the other patients.

"Child?" Henry couldn't hide his shock at Amanda's claim that she was the mother of the child he had run into. "Is she your daughter?"

Amanda didn't answer. She continued to look at her daughter with pity, weak in the hospital bed.

"Manda, tell me the truth, is she my girl?" Henry demanded, forcing Amanda to face him. However, the young mother shook off the hand of the man who had injured her child.

"Don't mock me!" Amanda was furious but kept her voice down for fear of disturbing the other patients. "You better get out!"

Henry finally left the room, not wanting to cause a scene at the hospital. He sat on a waiting chair at the front, holding his head.

William approached his boss after completing Alana's admission paperwork.

"Boss, what's wrong?" William sounded slightly panicked, seeing his boss looking so frustrated.

It wasn't Henry he was worried about, but the little girl in the emergency room.

"How is the girl?" William was clearly worried, anxious that something might happen to Alana. "She's fine, right?"

"I can't say she's fine, but..."

"But what, Boss?" William sat beside him.

"Alana is Amanda's daughter... my ex-wife." Henry straightened up and turned to his assistant. "Is there any chance Alana is my daughter?"

"Sorry, Boss, I can't answer that. You'd better ask Ms. Amanda directly."

"I did, but she said she wasn't mine. Alana is about five years old, and we divorced six years ago. There is a chance she could be mine."

"Do you want me to investigate?"

"No need, William. I will investigate it myself. Maybe the child was conceived with one of her lovers when she was still my wife."

William remained silent, not replying to his boss. If assigned to find out about the child, William would follow orders, even though he already knew everything. He would pretend he didn't know anything.

Alana had been moved to the ward while waiting for blood donors. The little girl looked to be in a sound sleep, as if reluctant to wake up. Amanda was heartbroken. She repeatedly stroked Alana's cheek, hoping her daughter would open her eyes.

The blood bank at the hospital was empty, sending Amanda into a frantic rush to call friends who had AB blood type. Amanda's blood type was incompatible with her daughter's. That made her nervous. Her daughter urgently needed blood, and she still hadn't found a donor.

Amanda's tears continued to fall. She felt like a failed mother if she couldn't save her child.

She only had Alana and Alan. They were the ones who gave Amanda the strength to keep fighting for her life. But now, one of her children was lying helpless with an IV needle in her left arm.

Henry watched Amanda crying in the corner of the room. He couldn't bear to see his ex-wife so sad. Even though he still held hatred from her past betrayal, his love for her was still significant.

However, things were different now. Henry was the one who had hurt Amanda. He felt her pain as he watched Alana lying weak and helpless.

"Manda, I will donate blood for Alana," Henry said, standing up.

Amanda stared intently at her ex-husband. It had been nearly six years since they separated, but Henry was still the same—as handsome as ever.

However, none of that mattered to Amanda anymore. The painful separation had left her unable to act normally.

The pain returned when she recalled how the man she loved had betrayed and even slandered her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She suddenly realised that Henry was the biological father of her two children. Of course, their blood type was most likely the same.

"My blood type is AB, just like your daughter's. Let me donate blood for Alana," Henry asked, a little forcefully.

"But—"

"Alana needs blood urgently. If we don't act quickly, I'm afraid something bad will happen to her," Henry warned.

"Nothing will happen to my daughter!" Amanda said firmly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, but please consider this offer carefully. Forget about us for now. Remember, Alana needs the blood ASAP. Take it as a form of my responsibility for putting her in this condition," Henry insisted. "Don't be selfish, Manda! Alana needs blood urgently."

"Okay," Amanda finally agreed.

Amanda had wanted to avoid involving Henry in her children's lives, but Alana needed that blood. For the sake of her child, Amanda suppressed her ego.

Amanda and Henry immediately consulted a doctor and checked Henry's health so he could quickly donate blood.

Henry underwent a series of tests to ensure his blood was compatible with Alana's. Fortunately, Henry was perfectly healthy, allowing him to donate blood to the little girl he had bumped into.

Many questions flooded Henry's mind, especially the fact that Alana's blood type matched his. It had been nearly six years since he and Manda separated, but he was becoming sure Alana was his child.

Everything happening couldn't be a coincidence. Destiny must have drawn this path. After a long time apart from Amanda, this was the first time he had truly met the woman he still loved.

After the blood donation, Henry returned to Alana's ward. The doctor had advised him to rest briefly, but Henry insisted on seeing Alana.

The donated blood was immediately given to Alana through the IV tube. The poor little girl had to endure the pain because of her mother's ex-husband's accident.

Henry sat on the sofa not far from Alana's bed, his eyes fixed on the little girl, who was fast asleep.

Amanda, relieved that her child had received the blood transfusion, breathed a sigh of relief. She sat beside the bed, gently caressing and affectionately kissing her daughter's forehead.

"Lana, you must be okay," her mother whispered.

Amanda pressed a kiss right on her daughter's head. Henry noted everything the woman did. His ex-wife was still the same as before: beautiful and full of affection.

Henry couldn't understand why a woman as gentle as Amanda could have an affair. He recalled memories of the past. Then Henry exhaled roughly and ventured closer to his ex-wife.

"Amanda," Henry called softly.

Amanda turned her head. She looked at her ex-husband. Tears welled up, but she did her best to hold them back. She didn't deserve to cry over the man who had hurt her.

"Yes," Amanda answered in a very hoarse voice.

"I want to have a serious talk with you."