But I also didn't want to let a life slip away.

A mother kneeling on the street, pleading desperately for her daughter, had already caught the attention of many passersby.

People started to stare, and some even took out their phones to record.

Motherly love was indeed great.

But I couldn't accept it. I ignored her as she knelt and walked home, dazed.

I asked the nanny to take our daughter to her grandparents' house. I needed to have a conversation.

I was 31 this year, and I'd accomplished nothing. My life is a joke.

Max called out from the door, "Honey, Chloe, are you home?"

I didn't respond.

Seeing me sitting on the couch, he asked, "Why didn't you turn on the lights?"

I directly asked, "What's the name of your illegitimate daughter?"

His smile faltered, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Did she come to see you?"

Ignoring his question, I repeated, "What's the name of your illegitimate daughter?"

This wasn't a question he could avoid or dodge.

She was ten years old, while our daughter was only three.

By my calculations, they must have been together during our junior or senior year.

"She took her mother's surname. Her name is Zoey Smith," Max said.

I laughed. I was completely speechless with this man. "Zoey? Does that mean 'the first child'? Based on the timeline, Zoey must have been conceived during our junior or senior year."

"That's not true. I didn't name her," he explained.

How laughable.

I looked at him coldly and asked, "So the child isn't yours, is she? Zoey now has leukemia. What do you plan to do?"

The panic on his face was gone. He knelt beside me on one knee, taking my already cold hand in his.

"Mandy, it's all my fault. I know I've wronged you."

"But the fault lies with the adults. The child is innocent."

I shoved his hand away in frustration and coldly asked, "Max, you think the child is innocent. What about our child? Am I not innocent?"

"Let our daughter try the match. It might not work, but at least it's giving her a chance. I've tried many people, but none were a match. If our daughter isn't a match, then I'll have my parents try," Max said.

I looked at the man in front of me, feeling like I was seeing him for the first time today.

He seemed so unfamiliar.

I asked, "Do you know how old Chloe is?"

He froze.

Of course, he knew. He was the one who changed her first diaper when she was born, and he was the one who made her first bottle of formula.