No Pain, No Gain

It wasn't until later in the night that Lumi finally slept more soundly.

I was sad that she was going to be leaving the next day. She was my daughter who had stayed by my side through thick and thin for the past six years, after all.

Once she returned to Logan's side, she'd likely hear rumors about me—that I was a lowly woman without integrity who seduced the CEO for money, then ran off with "break-up" money.

That was probably for the best. I hoped that Lumi would forget me quickly. When I would be mentioned again, I would no longer be her mother. I would just be a liar and a vain narcissist.

My illness now was also karma. Even if I died, Lumi wouldn't be sad either.

The next morning, I chased Lumi out of the house. I ignored her cries and called a cab for her, which then drove her straight to Bowen Group.

Even though I was pretty confident that Logan wouldn't close the door on her, I didn't dare take the chance, so I trailed after Lumi.

Soon, I saw Lumi standing at the entrance of Bowen Group. Her tiny self wasn't even tall enough to reach for the door, and all around her were skyscrapers that she had never seen before.

She clutched a photo of Logan in her hands. Her face was slightly pale, and her eyes were reddened. But no matter what anyone asked, she didn't answer them.

Finally, a Maybach pulled up in front of the building. A stern-looking man in a custom suit got out of the car. The man was none other than Logan Bowen.

Lumi took a glance at the photo in her hand. Then, while everyone was rooted in their spots delivering their greetings to the CEO, Lumi dashed forward with those short legs of hers and wrapped herself around Logan's legs.

Sounding especially aggrieved, she cried out, "Daddy!"

Though her voice wasn't particularly loud, everyone there still managed to hear her clearly, and they were all stunned. Even Logan was so taken aback that he forgot to pull away from Lumi.

The people nearby started whispering amongst themselves.

"That's the CEO's child?"

"She does look like him, but our CEO doesn't have a woman in his life. Where did such a grown kid come from?"

Logan looked at Lumi in annoyance before turning to his secretary. "You've got the wrong person. I'm not your father. Mr. Vesille, please remove her and hand her over to the police."

Hearing this, Toby Vesille, his secretary, hurried forward to pry Lumi away from Logan. Lumi wailed as she struggled against him, tears rolling down her face.

She then managed to pull out the paternity test during her struggle and shouted, "Mommy said that you'll understand once you see this. Lumi's a very good girl. Please don't say you don't want me!"

Toby was the one who saw the paternity test in Lumi's hand first, and he hurriedly handed it over to Logan.

When Logan looked it over, his stern expression finally softened a little. But his voice was still filled with disbelief when he asked, "Is this real? Or is it just a scam?"

Toby quickly used the barcode on the test to determine that it was indeed real. And on it, the conclusion clearly stated that there was a 99% probability that Logan and Lumi were father and daughter.

As I stood at a distance, watching Toby pull Lumi away, my fists clenched tightly. I wanted nothing more than to run over and wrap Lumi in my arms to console her.

But once I saw Logan staring at Lumi dazedly after studying the report, I finally relaxed. Logan would definitely accept her because Lumi looked too much like him.

They had the same emerald green eyes and golden blond hair, as well as the signature humped nose of the Bowen family.

"You're my daddy. Mommy showed me your picture. Mommy said that she can't raise me anymore…"

It was as if Lumi's words triggered a memory of a person he never wanted to think about again. Anger flashed across his face as he gritted out, "Is your mother Rafaela Wayning?"