Teresa said to Michael, “I’m not here to see Jonathan. Stay in the car and behave yourself, okay?”

Michael jumped out of the car when Teresa wasn’t looking. Gazing up at her miserably, he said, “Mommy, I just want to see Mr. Lime before leaving. I miss him so much.”

Hearing what Michael said, Teresa’s eyes welled up with tears. While she was trying to figure out what to do, footsteps suddenly sounded behind her.

“Hey,” someone called out. Teresa instinctively pulled Michael closer, her gaze snapping towards the one approaching them. It was Gary, who had just parked his car.

“Good thing Jonathan gave me this car. It makes everything so much easier,” Gary said. “You’re here to confess to Jonathan, right? Let’s go. Failure’s not an option this time.”

“Forget it,” Teresa said, “Irene’s up there too, and I don’t want Mike to meet her.”

“Don’t worry about her,” Gary said as he bent down and scooped Michael up in his arms. “With Hayden here, what could she do?”

“No,” said Teresa firmly. At the thought of the horrible faces Irene made at her, Teresa didn’t want to go in anymore. If Irene said something that might hurt Michael, she would go crazy. No one wanted her child to get hurt.

Despite the opposition from Teresa, Gary carried Michael upstairs.

“Gary, stop right there and put Michael down,” Teresa shouted as she caught up with Gary, who had already entered the elevator.

Gary sighed, “What are you afraid of? With all of us here, what could possibly go wrong?”

“But no,” Teresa said firmly. “You don’t know Irene like I do. No one knows if she would hurt Mike; I can’t take that risk.”

“Don’t be silly. Do you think Irene would harm her grandson? Oh, sorry. No offense. After all, you’re my sister-in-law,” said Gary.

Teresa retorted, “Who is your sister-in-law? I’m just your ex-sister-in-law.”

Gary changed the subject. “Before I came to the hospital, I asked Christian for the DNA test report. All I have to do is tell Jonathan the test is real, but the names were mixed up. There was no way Jonathan wouldn’t figure out whose child it was,” said Gary.

Teresa didn’t feel good about it. With Hayden and Irene here in the hospital, Teresa had an impending sense of doom.

The elevator doors slid open, and Gary walked out with Michael in his arms.

Snapping out of it, Teresa quickly followed after them.

In the ward, Jonathan was feeding Hayden, and Werner was there as well. Werner was with Hayden these days. Even though Hayden didn’t like him, he’d rather be here than return to his empty, lonely home.

“Grandpa, look who is here,” Gary called out as he set Michael down beside him.

Hayden looked over as Jonathan put down the bowl and turned around slowly. He looked from Gary to Teresa and rose to his feet.

“Mr. Lime!” Michael raced toward Jonathan.

With a beaming smile, Michael ran to Jonathan, clinging to one of his legs and looking up at him with anticipation. “Mr. Lime, I missed you so much! Tell me you feel the same!”

Whenever Jonathan faced Michael, his heart would soften. He gently ruffled Michael’s hair and nodded.

“Great. We had a real connection,” said Michael enthusiastically.

Michael nuzzled against Jonathan’s leg, his voice bubbling with excitement. “Mr. Lime, I really miss you a lot and love you a lot!”

Watching this scene, Gary was on the verge of tears, feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness.

He thought, “So this is what a tie of kinship feels like. I had craved it for so long as a child. And now, he alone could truly share what Michael left.”

Teresa also felt her heart aching, especially when she saw Hayden beckoning Michael over. Yet she didn’t stop him.

Hayden beckoned to Michael and said kindly, “Come here, kid. Let me look at you.”

Hayden gazed tenderly at Michael’s face, clasping his hand affectionately.

Hayden smiled kindly and said, “Dear, you’ve grown so much. Do you remember me? Last New Year’s Day, you came to my house and had dinner with me.”

Michael looked up at Hayden with his wide eyes and said, “Of course, I do. You’re Grandpa Hayden. But why are you wearing a hospital gown? Are you sick?”

“Oh, don’t worry; I will get better soon,” said Hayden softly.

Gary chimed in, “Grandpa, you’ve got it all wrong. How could Mike call you Grandpa?”

Hayden looked at Gary and said, “Then what should he call me?”

Gary was speechless. After a moment, he said, “I didn’t mean it. The kid…”

Gary was interrupted as the door suddenly swung open. Irene walked in with a woman in a green dress. Irene’s eyes swept over the crowd before locking on Teresa standing nearby.

“What are you doing here again?” said Irene defiantly.

The woman in the green dress asked Irene who she was. Upon learning it was Teresa, she smiled and greeted her, “Ms. Johnston, you’re prettier than I imagined. I’m Yalena Kelly.”

Hearing her name, Teresa remembered that Irene said Jonathan and Yalena were getting engaged.

Teresa was startled. She strode over to Jonathan and said calmly, “I’m taking Michael to Sherry’s.”

Michael looked up at Teresa miserably, his little face full of reluctance. He didn’t want to leave.

As Teresa picked Michael up, Michael kept glancing back at Jonathan with a longing gaze. Gary sighed and was about to chase after them, but Jonathan had already moved.

Irene grabbed Jonathan’s arm. “I forbid you to go. That woman has nothing to do with you now. And that child? The DNA test proved he’s not your son.”

Hayden nearly sprang up from bed. “Let go of him! Let him pursue Teresa. She’s my only granddaughter-in-law. No one else counts,” said Hayden.

Once Irene released his arm, Jonathan dashed out immediately.

Yalena’s eyes darkened as she realized Jonathan had barely looked at her. That child and Jonathan looked alike, yet Irene insisted the DNA test proved otherwise. She thought, “There must be something wrong; I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Teresa had already stepped out of the elevator by the time Jonathan arrived.

Teresa settled Michael safely in the car and shut the door. “I’m going back for my passport. I’ll be right back,” said Teresa to Michael.

Jonathan took the escalator down to the basement floor. Teresa stopped dialing his number and said quickly, “Perfect timing. Where’s my passport? Give it to me right now.”

If it weren’t for her passport, she wouldn’t have set foot in this hospital.

“Give it to you right now? Can’t wait to run away?” said Jonathan coldly.

Teresa said, “It’s none of your business.”

Jonathan smirked and thought, “One word from me, and she’s already growing a backbone.”

Noticing Teresa was kind of nervous, Jonathan hesitated before saying, “The woman in the ward just now…”

“Save it. I don’t care who she is,” interrupted Teresa.

“I won’t bother explaining,” Jonathan said, pulling her passport from his pocket. Teresa snatched it from him and immediately turned to leave.

Jonathan called out, “Wait!”

Teresa was startled, without turning around.