After receiving emergency treatment at the hospital, Coco's condition was finally under control.

Astrid was very attentive and made porridge for her to eat as well.

However, Coco had no appetite and refused to eat at all.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

She did her best to force herself to swallow the porridge before telling Astrid, “Mommy, I will lead the dance on stage at school on Children's Day.

“Would you call Uncle Isaiah and ask him to watch my performance?”

Astrid’s hand froze midway. “You want him to come?”

“I do. I really do. It’s going to be my first time performing on stage. It will be the last time I ever ask him to come watch my performance…

“I only hope he will remember the way I shine on stage and never forget about me.”

Sensing Astrid’s hesitant silence, Coco shook her head dejectedly and burst out in tears. “Never mind, I shouldn’t have asked for so much.”

“Coco, you’re not asking for too much.”

Astrid felt morose as she said that. She then reached for her phone and composed a text to send to Isaiah.

[Coco has a dance performance at her school on Children's Day, would you go watch her?]

As usual, there was no reply from him.

Coco stared at the display on Astrid’s phone without blinking.

Every time a notification popped up, she would become very excited. However, her excitement would only be rewarded with disappointment.

They waited until dawn.

“Is he not going to come watch me perform?” Coco asked and coughed violently again.

Then, she tried to justify it nonchalantly, “Maybe he’s just busy with all the surgeries, I understand. I don’t blame him.”

Astrid observed how sensible Coco was, but could not help but feel crushed.

She wanted to comfort her, but did not know how to at all.

Last night, even when Coco was facing an emergency medical crisis, Isaiah still mercilessly refused to attend to her and prioritized Emmie over her.

The sight of Coco trying to defend Isiah despite how much she was hurting was awful for Astrid to behold. She could not take it.

“Mommy, don't be sad! I would still be very happy that you get to watch me perform!

“Mommy is all I need,” she declared as she snuggled up to Astrid.

Astrid gently kissed her and smiled reluctantly, “You can do it, my dear. Mommy is looking forward to seeing your wonderful performance!”

Coco was very motivated by this and forced herself to finish another bowl of porridge and even had a couple of cherries.

While Coco was getting her IV drip, Astrid stayed with her and watched the instructional dance videos the teacher sent.

At one point, a notification message from Isaiah popped up.

[Okay.]

Astrid was overjoyed. She excitedly showed Coco the message, “Look, he says he’s going to come and watch you perform!”

“Really?”

Coco was just as enthused and showered Astrid with kisses.

“This is the first time Uncle Isaiah is going to see me perform, so I must do my best!

“Mommy, please help me put on my outfit. I want to practice right now!”

In their five years of marriage, this was the first time Isaiah made a promise with Coco.

Astrid was overjoyed, but could not quell her concern as well.

A voice inside her head wondered if Isaiah’s reply was nothing more than a typo.

However, she decided she could not rain on Coco’s parade when she saw how happy she was as she put on her outfit.

Isaiah’s reply gave Coco a boost of confidence.

Despite the condition of her body, she made herself practise for three hours in the ward.

When they were taking a break, she produced all kinds of little trinkets from her bag to show Astrid.

She was chirping away cheerily like a little bird.

“Look, this is a clay doll the teachers taught us to make during arts and crafts!

“Uncle Isaiah likes lions… Do you think he’ll be happy if I give him that?

“Mommy, I won sixteen badges this school year! I came in first place in class, and the principal gave me a box of chocolates! I saved it to eat with you and Uncle Isaiah on Children's Day!”

“That’s wonderful, you did a good job, Coco,” Astrid said with a smile.

She hoped Isaiah would not skip the appointment.

She hoped Coco would have an unforgettable Children’s Day before they left for good.

However, she could not shake the fear that her hopes would be all for nothing.

After hurriedly getting Coco discharged from the hospital, Astrid took her to the supermarket to buy the snacks and ribbons the teacher instructed them to bring tomorrow.

While Astrid was busy picking out snacks, Coco pranced up to her and asked in a voice filled with wonder, “Mommy, I saw Daddy picking out a doll in the gift section! Do you think it’s a Children’s Day present for me?”

Astrid turned around to look.

She spotted Isaiah, who seemed busy choosing a suitable doll.

He was wearing a gentle and affectionate smile while doing so.

Suddenly, from behind the rack, Emmie ran and wrapped herself around Isaiah’s leg and called out “Daddy!” in a cheery voice.

Then came Juno with a cup of yogurt.

Astrid quickly removed her earphones and put them on Coco while shielding her eyes in one smooth gesture, “I’m sure you’ll get a present. Come on, let’s go, it’s getting late.”

That night, Isaiah did not come home again.

Coco slept with Astrid and was so excited that she woke up before the sun had risen.

She happily stuffed the rainbow music box into her school bag, then she asked Astrid to braid her hair into a tiara around her head.

She even drew a family portrait and planned to give it to Isaiah as a gift to remember her by.

Astrid took Coco to the kindergarten and waited by the entrance for a while, but Isaiah was nowhere to be seen.

The one they ended up seeing was Juno and her daughter Emmie, who both dressed up.

Emmie was adorned in a sparkling dress similar to a real princess.

She showed it off to her schoolmates, “Look, my Daddy had this custom-made for me! He spent twenty thousand dollars on it!

“When he found out I liked princess dresses, he ordered hundreds of beautiful dresses for me!”

“Mommy, I just remembered something. Emmie is the transfer student who came to our kindergarten recently.

“Uncle Isaiah spoils her, I’m so jealous,” she said meekly.

Astrid suppressed the bitterness she felt and did not speak.

Both girls were the same age and liked princess dresses equally.

Isaiah spoiled one of them like a princess while the other was an eyesore as far as he was concerned. He would rather not mention her at all.

He did not even buy a gift for Coco.

At the shift in Astrid’s mood, Coco paused and asked hesitantly, “Is Uncle Isaiah not coming because he’s busy?”

Astrid decided to make up another lie to save Coco’s feelings from getting hurt.

She produced a doll and showed it to her, “Even though he’s not coming, he got a present for you.”

Coco immediately brightened at the sight of the doll.

“Look, everyone! My Daddy loves me so much that he got me a doll!”

All the children who were flocking around Emmie suddenly turned their attention to Coco’s doll.

Emmie declared arrogantly, “What a pleb! Who cares about a doll? My house is filled with dolls!”

Astrid was worried the children would get into a fight and wisely led Coco away.

To her surprise, Emmie ran toward Coco and began to scramble around inside her bag.

“Oh! So you’re the one who stole my rainbow music box!” she cried.

“You better give it back!”

Coco was caught off guard by the sudden shove from Emmie and fell on the grass.

The music box fell out of her hand and landed on the ground.

“Coco!”

Astrid was horrified and went to pick Coco up off the ground.

Coco’s right cheek was cut by a branch and was bleeding.

Then Juno’s voice called out, “Your daughter is a thief, Astrid! She deserves it!

“Tell her to return the music box to my daughter before I tell the parents’ group about this! You don’t want to get humiliated, do you?”

“I’m not giving it back!" Coco wrapped her arms around the music box to defend it and cried out grievously, “And I’m not a thief!”

Astrid was immediately enraged when she saw Coco in such a state.

“For the record, Ms. Calzier, “ she hissed, “it was her father who gave her the music box! You better quit pointing fingers, or I’ll break them!”

“What’s going on here?”

A man’s gentle voice broke across the scene.

Astrid turned toward the voice and frowned.

It was Isaiah.

“Isaiah, this girl is a thief! She stole Emmie’s music box!” Juno said as she pointed at Coco.

“You should have Emmie transferred to another kindergarten. I don’t want her around poor characters like this bunch over here.”

“Coco did not steal Emmie’s music box. I have proof!” Astrid turned to Isaiah and waited expectantly for him to defend her.

Isaiah ducked her gaze and started looking around nervously, “Where's Emmie? Is she hurt?”

“Daddy, I'm here!” Emmie ran to him and pointed at Coco while hissing spitefully, “She stole the music box you gave me! Call the police, we have to arrest her!

“She’s a bad person, we can’t have her dancing on stage!”

Isaiah gently cupped Emmie’s face in his hand and inspected her anxiously.

“Are you okay? Is your leg hurt? Is your hand scratched?"

"Daddy, I’m okay. I didn’t fall.”

Emmie shot a sideways glance at Coco.

“It was the thief who got her face scratched! Serves her right!”

Coco’s eyes swelled with tears as she tried to defend herself.

“It was my Daddy who gave me the music box, I’m not a thief!”

People around them began whispering among themselves.

“Emmie’s music box is worth more than ten thousand dollars. All the kids were jealous of her, so Coco must have stolen it because she was jealous too!”

“She keeps insisting it was her father who gave her the music box, but I have never seen her father pick her up from kindergarten. She’s lying!”

“Coco is always sick and has to take days off from school. I'm sure her mother had to spend a fortune just to pay her medical bills.”

“Their financial situation must be difficult at home, so that’s why she decided to steal the music box. It could fetch a good price on the second-hand market!”

Astrid lowered her eyes to hide the bitterness within them.

Although she had a husband, she had been living as if she were a widow.

And now, Coco was accused of being a thief!

It was ridiculous!

Coco was furious with everything they said.

“I have a daddy!” she announced.

“He works as a doctor overseas, and he’s an amazing doctor!

“He was the one who gave me the music box!”

Juno frowned.

“It’s not good to make a habit out of lying, girl.

“Your music box is the same brand as my daughter’s. Do you know how much is it? More than you can afford!

“I can tell you have the same one as my daughter’s!”

Isaiah stole a look at the flustered Coco and suddenly felt something shift inside him.

Then, he instantly suppressed the jolt he felt.

“It's just a music box, we have plenty more at home. Come on, let’s go.”

Coco seemed very pale and was struggling to stay on her feet at that point.

Astrid was distressed and embraced her tightly while holding out her phone to Juno.

“Ms. Calzier, I received the music box in a parcel from Falo two days ago. Here is the tracking number. You can look it up if you don’t believe me.

“It was my husband who sent it to Coco!”

Juno would not take Astrid’s phone and changed the subject instead.

“I still feel like this girl’s eyebrows look just like yours, Isaiah. Are you sure you don’t know her?”

“No, I don’t,” Isaiah said firmly.

Suddenly, a teacher hurried to the scene and went up to Juno.

“Ms. Calzier, I found a music box. Do you think this belongs to your daughter? Mrs. Aubrey Claire found it in the dance studio two days ago and posted it in the lost and found group.

“Didn’t you see it?”

Juno was embarrassed by the sudden development.

She took the music box from the teacher and scurried away from the scene with Emmie.

She did not even bother to apologize to Astrid and Coco. It was as if they did not exist.

Isaiah trailed after them, but not before shooting a glare at Astrid as a warning to keep her mouth shut.

Even without his warning, Astrid would have done the same.

She knew Isaiah had already lost his final chance!

After today’s dance performance, she was going to take Coco and walk out of his life for good!

“Ms. Payne, allow me to apologize to you on behalf of Emmie, ” the headmaster said solemnly.

“Why don’t you take Coco to the infirmary? The show is about to begin.

“Sir, will I still get to dance on stage later?” Coco asked nervously.

“I want Mommy to watch me perform, I want her to take a video!”

“Of course!” The headmaster smiled graciously, “You are the most talented dancer in our kindergarten!"

Then Astrid took Coco to the infirmary to dress her wound.

When Coco snuck a glance at the door, she was taken aback and cried out, “Da… Uncle Isaiah! Why are you here?”