Seeing that her mom was unhappy, the little girl felt wronged and pouted. "But Daddy...won't get up..."
"Daddy is sick. He will get up, but not just yet. Do you understand?"
"Hit him, he will get up," the little girl blurted out to Evelyn's surprise. Uncle Joshua had told her so. With the good uncle's words in mind, she lifted her little hand and patted on Sheffield's face again and again. Evelyn put the towel aside and walked towards Gwyn with a sigh.
Seeing that her mom was unhappy, the little girl felt wronged and pouted. "But Daddy...won't get up..."
"Daddy is sick. He will get up, but not just yet. Do you understand?"
"Hit him, he will get up," the little girl blurted out to Evelyn's surprise. Uncle Joshua had told her so. With the good uncle's words in mind, she lifted her little hand and patted on Sheffield's face again and again.
Evelyn put the towel aside and walked towards Gwyn with a sigh.
At that moment, Sheffield was having a dream. There were many people in it, surrounding him and calling out to him. One of them was a little cutie. She glared at him angrily and asked him why he was still sleeping.
When he didn't respond to her, the little girl slapped him a few times across the face.
"Gwyn..." he mumbled in his sleep.
Evelyn froze as she was about to scoop her daughter up. Was she hearing things? She wasn't sure.
In his dream, Gwyn just stood there and stared at him angrily, pouting her lips.
"Gwyn..." Sheffield said her name again.
This time, Evelyn was sure that she didn't mishear. The man was in the hospital bed, his face as pale as a sheet, and he was still calling out their daughter's name.
She was excited, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. He was calling out Gwyn's name even in a coma. She was thrilled, yet a little upset. 'What about me?' she thought. Could it be that she was less important to him than their daughter now?
Of course, the unconscious Sheffield had no idea of Evelyn's growing jealousy. In his dream, he focused all his attention on the little girl. This time, Gwyn finally reacted to him. Unlike her usual silence, she fluently said, "Stop sleeping. Get up and play with me. I have a lollipop for you. Don't you want it?"
Sleep? Was he sleeping? Sheffield tried to open his eyes. The first thing he saw were the big bright eyes of the same cutie from his dream.
But the light in the hospital room was so dazzling that he had to close his eyes again.
Gwyn climbed on top of him. Evelyn stood next to her and watched her closely so that the little girl wouldn't accidently touch the infusion tube on the back of his hand.
Slap! It seemed that Gwyn was really enjoying slapping Sheffield.
He opened his eyes again. She was sitting on him. "Gwyn..."
Evelyn sighed, "You've been asleep for a week without movement, but when your daughter hits you, you call out her name unconsciously and finally wake up. This is the third time you've said her name."
'My daughter?' That was when he remembered what Evelyn had told him before he had passed out.
Gwyn was his daughter!
"Daddy..." Gwyn called out to him with a big smile on her face.
Sheffield's eyes turned red in an instant. He tried to reach out to hold his baby, but found that he was on a drip. He put his other hand on the little girl's face gently. "Gwyn!" he called her, his voice filled with love.
Gwyn lay on top of him, laughing, and then called clearly, "Daddy!"
Her voice was music to his ears.
"Hi, my princess." He had no idea that he had a daughter, and they had already met each other before.
He could never have known that the affection he had had for the little girl from the beginning was because they were bound by blood.
He was so immersed in the joy of having a daughter that he ignored the woman next to him.
Evelyn silently carried the basin to the bathroom and poured the dirty water into the drain. She didn't come out until she had cleaned everything.
"Eve," Sheffield finally called. He looked at her tenderly.
Sheffield sensed the coldness in her voice. He was confused. 'How did I manage to annoy her already? I just woke up! What did I do now?' he wondered desperately.
Soon, a doctor and two nurses came to his room and began their check-up.
Gwyn hadn't finished the lollipop yet. Evelyn tried to take the candy away from her. "Gwyn, you shouldn't eat so much sugar. Come on, give it to Mommy."
"Eat!" Gwyn said, biting into the lollipop with her little teeth. She didn't want to hand it over to her mom.
"You will lose your teeth if you go on like this. Come on, be a good girl."
Gwyn reluctantly took the lollipop out of her mouth and gave it to her mom. Under the girl's gaze, Evelyn carefully wrapped the remaining candy in a piece of paper and put it aside. And when the kid wasn't watching, she quickly threw it into the trash can.
She took out a wet tissue and wiped the little girl's mouth and hands clean.
The doctor had finished the check-up by this time. He took off his mask and told Evelyn, "Miss Huo, Mr. Tang has recovered. He still has some minor injuries. He will need to get some good rest and recuperate."
"I see. Thank you, doctor."
"You're welcome. Mr. Tang, rest well."
The doctor left, followed closely by the two nurses. The new family of three were left behind in the ward. But Evelyn refused to even look at Sheffield.
He didn't bug her. Instead, he picked Gwyn up and held her close. He told her, "Gwyn, Daddy is hungry." Gwyn blinked at him. Evelyn had to wonder who the kid was between the two of them.
After a short pause, Gwyn turned around and told Evelyn, "Mommy, Daddy is hungry."
Evelyn smiled at her. "Don't worry, baby. Your dad is an excellent cook. He can cook for himself."
Sheffield was now certain that she was angry. With a bitter smile at the corners of his mouth, he said in a serious tone, "Evelyn, don't you feel bad for Gwyn and me right now? You kept her from me for more than two years. You let her grow up without a father, and you've denied me the happiness of watching her grow too. I really don't understand why you are mad at me in the end?"
Evelyn finally looked at him. His emotions were real. She took a deep breath and explained, "I wanted to tell you. When you left that year, I thought of telling you about Gwyn. I sent you a message, but you didn't reply. And you refused to answer my calls."
"My bad. What about after we met again? Why didn't you tell me about her earlier? We've been together for so long." He was drowning in an ocean of regrets. If he had known that Evelyn was pregnant at that time, he wouldn't have left her. He had missed her pregnancy and Gwyn's birth.
"You told me that we couldn't get back together. I came to see you in your office, but you refused to meet with me. You even declared that there were a lot of women around you, and no space for me. Why would I tell you about Gwyn when you had no interest in being with her mother?" Evelyn glared daggers at him.
Sheffield felt helpless as she recounted all the stupid things he had said and done. He had asked this for himself. "It's my fault. I was an idiot. I apologize, Eve. Now, can I have a hug? Please?"
She stood rooted to her spot and said childishly, "No need. You have your daughter now. You can hug her. What do I matter to anyone anymore?"
"Well, she is my new found daughter. But I also want hugs from my lovely girlfriend." Sheffield figured out the reason for her anger.
Ignoring him, Evelyn took out her phone and made a call. "Uncle Peterson, Sheffield is awake. Yes. Oh, I see."
Sheffield frowned. He had to trick her into giving him her attention. "Ah!" Sheffield moaned with a painful expression on his face. "Evelyn, I..."
Hearing his troubled voice, Evelyn immediately walked over to him and asked, "What's wrong? Are you in pain? Where does it hurt?"