I chase my six-year-old daughter out of the house on a cold winter day.

I cut her new clothes to pieces and dirty her dainty little face with mud. Then, I give her all my savings.

She looks at me tearfully and reaches out for me, wanting me to hold her. However, I harden my heart and push her away, saying, "Leave! Go to Bowen Group and look for their CEO, Logan Bowen. Show him my death certificate and your DNA test—he'll take you in."

She sobs while looking at me. "Don't you want me anymore, Mommy? Let's go look for Daddy together."

After a brief silence, I say, "I can't go with you. I lied to him back then to have you."

Yes, I'm a liar. I orchestrated everything from meeting Logan, dating him, to ultimately leaving him with his child in my womb. Even the death certificate I've given my daughter is fake.

From beginning to end, I've lied to him about everything except our daughter.

My daughter, Lumi Bowen, truly suffered while living with me.

Her clothes were a bit small for her, but they were clean. Her hair was always tied back with a snowflake hair tie I gave her two years ago. That was the only hair accessory she had.

She didn't go to school and would spend her time plastered to the windows so she could watch the other kids play. However, she never played with them, because the moment she went over, the other kids would surround her and tease, "Look! Lumi's here! It's the girl with no dad!"

I looked at her a little apologetically, but she comforted me instead.

"I don't like playing with them either."

She was but a six-year-old child, yet childlike joy was rarely ever seen on her face. Instead, her little brow was often furrowed while she reminded me to take my medication.

I needed to make sure that a daughter as great as her would have a better life.

I placed my forged death certificate and the results of a paternity test into her little backpack, then gave her all my savings—a mere 200 dollars—and asked her to store it carefully.

"Go. Find your father. Mommy is going to die soon. Do you know what cancer is? I might close my eyes and never wake up again. I won't be able to take care of you any longer."

Lumi's face was covered in tears, and her little hands clutched my clothes desperately.

"I won't go. I'll stay with you, Mommy! If you won't open your eyes, then I'll just wake you up, Mommy…"

She was still too young, and she probably didn't know what death meant. There was no waking the dead.

I explained to her patiently, "Find your father. Then, your bedroom will be bigger than this entire house. No one will dare bully you anymore, and no one will tease you for having no dad."

Lumi cried for the longest time, but she finally gave in after much coaxing.

Logan Bowen was the CEO of Bowen Group, and he had billions in assets. As long as he took Lumi back, then even if he just spared her a tiny bit of what he had, that would be enough to make sure Lumi grew up safely and with everything she could ever need.

"I'll tell Daddy to bring you home too and to find a doctor for you, Mommy. You only got sick because you had a difficult time taking care of me…"

Feeling warm inside, I patted her on her little head.

"Lumi, sweetie, your father won't believe you if you say that. You need to say that your mother, Rafaela Wayning, is a bad woman. She didn't feed you and only had you work all day, so you secretly ran away. Your mom deserved to die."

I watched Lumi as I made her practice those words over and over again. Then, only after I made her pinky-promise me did I let her go to sleep.

Lumi cried and yelled for me even while she was sleeping. I tucked her blanket snugly around her, my heart aching. I had never allowed Lumi to suffer before. This was the first time she had fallen asleep while crying.

I had always taught Lumi to never lie. However, in order to have her successfully return to Logan's side, I'd just have to be the bad mother for once.

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?"

Lumi nodded. Her tears started falling again at the thought of me.

Logan fell silent for a second before spitting out, "Liar!"

He then crouched down and lifted Lumi in his arms.

I had fallen into a daze when I heard Logan say my name once again, but the word "liar" brought me back to my senses.

I chuckled, trying to hide the helplessness in my eyes. Fortunately, Logan was willing to accept Lumi. Her future was now secured, and my heart could be at ease and I could wait for the end of my days.

However, I was still worried about how Logan and Lumi would get along by themselves, so I had already bribed the janitor that was on shift that morning. I took her work badge, changed into her uniform, put on a mask, then went into Logan's office via the staff entrance.

Lumi remained in Logan's arms while they rode the elevator up to the top floor of Bowen Group. This was the most luxurious office building in all of Aethelburg. Logan's office overlooked the whole city, and Lumi, who had plastered herself against the floor-to-ceiling windows, was mesmerized by the view.

With a sliver of disdain, Logan studied the relatively clean but faded clothes that Lumi was wearing. It was clear that he felt the same way about her wide-eyedness that stemmed from not having seen much of the world.

Judging from Logan's expression, it was probably safe to assume that he hated me.

"Take her to buy some clothes in the afternoon, then have my designer drop by. From now on, all her clothes will be custom-made. Also, book a table at the city's best restaurant for tonight. I'm taking her out to dinner."

After hearing the list of instructions, Toby could only remind Logan in a quiet voice, "Sir, you already have an appointment tonight. You're to have dinner with Ms. Malone so you can discuss the engagement."

Logan was about to become engaged to the heiress of the Malone family, Anna Malone. This was a marriage that would bring two powerful families together, and it naturally drew the attention of the whole country.

And yet, a child had suddenly popped out of nowhere at this time.

While Logan wasn't paying attention, I took photos of him carrying Lumi. Then, with an already-written caption, I posted the photo on all major social media platforms.

Currently, there were already multiple trending articles written about it.

"Breaking! Logan Bowen Revealed to Have a Child on Eve of Engagement."

"Logan's a Father. Will the Malone Family Go Through With the Engagement?"

The trending articles drew widespread discussion among the public. Some were concerned about the business relationship between the two families, whereas others were interested in Logan's romantic history.

Soon, someone dug out photos of me from seven years ago when I was still Logan's girlfriend.

"Was a Bun in the Oven When His Girlfriend Ran Away 7 Years Ago?"

"Scheming Ex Reveals Child on Eve of Logan's Engagement. Is This Her Attempt at Rekindling the Romance?"

The public started to speculate and question the timing of Lumi's appearance, but I could only look through the comments helplessly.

I hadn't deliberately chosen this timing at all. I just didn't have much time left.