Chapter 279 Fearing the Child Might Be Stolen
Mommy's arrival made things better quickly. Emma was soon pacified, eating the food her mother brought, and even the medicine the nurse provided.
Gabriel watched from the side, his expression complex.
Both kids were too dependent on Sophia, and that wasn't good for him.
His plan to dominate the children's lives abruptly seemed unlikely. He needed to proceed slowly, gradually filling the void of more than five years.
Sophia managed to stay at the hospital to take care of Emma.
Gabriel couldn't sleep and sneaked into the hospital room in the middle of the night.
Watching Sophia lying on her side with Emma cuddled close to her chest, she held her daughter protectively in her arms.
Mother and daughter slept soundly, their faces peaceful in slumber and Gabriel noticed how much Emma's profile resembled Sophia's.
Suddenly, Emma kicked the covers off restlessly.
Gabriel, with an indulgent smile, was about to help tuck her back in when Sophia instantly scooped up the blanket and laid it back over Emma.
He thought Sophia had woken up, but when he looked over, he saw she was sleeping the entire time, her breathing even and steady.
Gabriel stood there, stunned.
Emma had been somewhat restless in her sleep lately, and he'd learned that well over the past couple of days, tending to her at night, often re-covering her with blankets. He was particularly concerned that her movements might agitate her wounds, and so he had barely slept through the night.
After only two nights of keeping watch, he felt a bit worn out. Observing the ease with which Sophia managed the situation, he surmised she must have gone through countless nights worrying about a child kicking off their covers and catching a cold to have become so adept.
A faint ache surfaced in his heart.
Gabriel no longer wanted to return to the empty chill of the neighboring hospital room. He settled down onto the couch, propped his head up with one hand, closed his eyes, and stayed like that until dawn.
When morning light streamed through the window, Sophia slowly opened her eyes, only to be stung by the brightness and quickly shut them again. She carefully got up to draw the curtains, blocking the intrusive light, before attempting to go back to sleep.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone seated nearby.
Startled awake by the sight, Sophia nearly screamed out.
Once she made out who it was, she was exasperated.
Man, had he sat there all night?
The surprise had soured her mood.
A cool breeze from the window blew in, and Sophia fetched a blanket to approach Gabriel with gentle steps.
With about a foot left between them, Gabriel's eyes fluttered, signaling his impending awakening.
Sophia's pupils contracted sharply, and she hastily threw the blanket over him, covering his face.
Gabriel pulled it down, opened his eyes, and a cold gleam shone through. Recognizing Sophia, the chill in his gaze slowly faded.
Sophia whispered, "You better not catch a cold and pass it on to Emma."
Gabriel glanced at the blanket in his hands, a slight smile curving at the edge of his lips.
He didn't say a word. Sophia felt awkward and returned to bed to cuddle up with Emma, attempting to sleep. But with her eyes closed, her heart rhythmically thudded away, and sleep eluded her.
Had her mind been foggy just now? She couldn't believe she'd given a blanket to him.
Sophia was filled with regret, immense regret.
Concerning, the fire incident at the Lancaster Group laboratories had been largely resolved, and the severely injured Dr. Quixote and Dr. Scrooge had finally woken up after several days of being in a coma. However, due to the severity of their injuries, they both required prolonged hospital stays for further treatment.
Harrison had been busy with the aftermath until today when he finally learned that Gabriel had not shown up at the office for several days.
"Man, don't tell me you've started dating and stopped working hard?" Harrison quipped after finally catching up on some much-needed sleep.
"No," Gabriel responded, setting his phone aside. While on a video call with Harrison, he multitasked, attending to work emails on his laptop.
"Where are you?" Harrison noticed something familiar about the background in Gabriel's video call.
Gabriel nonchalantly replied, "In the hospital."
"Did your back injury get worse?" Harrison asked out of concern.
Gabriel simply answered, "No."
"Then what are you doing at the hospital? Don't tell me Tiffany's been in trouble... hurt again?" Harrison said sarcastically, tired of Tiffany's antics.
Last time it had been amnesia, now he hoped she hadn't ended up with something worse this time. Being impaired often was not good—it would mean she’d rely on the old Lancaster forever.
Gabriel explained, "My daughter got hurt, I'm here for her."
"Of course, it's Tiffany... Wait, what? When did you have a daughter?" Harrison's eyes widened incredulously, his imagination running wild.
Could it be that old Lancaster had another woman besides Tiffany and had a love child?
Holy smokes, he played harder than Harrison ever did—at least he never had any such complications. As for old Lancaster... tsk tsk…
Harrison remarked, "Old Lancaster, that's not cool of you."
Gabriel, who had just sent an email, glanced at his phone. "Sophia took the other two kids with her years ago,” he continued.
"What?" Harrison swore that no matter how busy he was next time, he'd surely be in on the latest gossip!
"Harrison, about the meeting later..." Gabriel was still speaking when he got interrupted.
"Cancel it, it's off; I'm going to the hospital to see my niece,” Harrison declared,
"What?" Harrison’s secretary said, puzzled.
Before his secretary could grasp what was happening, Harrison had already bolted out like a shot in the wind.
Since when did Harrison have a niece?
At the hospital, Harrison stormed out of his car, rushed into the inpatient ward, and saw Tiffany.
"Harrison!" Tiffany's eyes lit up upon seeing him.
Harrison had no desire to stop and chat; he was intent on heading inside.
A security guard stopped him.
"Please sign in."
"I... Harrison, you don't recognize me?"
The security guard was strict. "Please sign in,” he insisted.
Damn, Lancaster's taking this so seriously. Was he afraid someone would kidnap his daughter?
Harrison dutifully registered his visit.
Tiffany followed close behind.
"Old Lancaster, you're quite unfair, keeping this from me until now," Harrison complained.
"You're busy; I didn't want to disturb you," Gabriel replied.
Harrison was speechless...
"Gabriel…" Tiffany came out from behind him, demurely holding a gift box.
Harrison rolled his eyes to himself. "I'm here to see my little niece,” he claimed, irritably.
Worry hung on Tiffany's face.
"I heard from Assistant Zhao, it was a pretty dangerous situation, the kid nearly didn't make it."
She continued with relief, "Thankfully, we averted disaster."
"I had no idea you had two kids. They must look a lot like you, right?" Tiffany kept rambling on,
"Gabriel?"
Gabriel finally responded with a monosyllable, "Hmm."
"I want to go in and see the kids, is that okay?" Tiffany asked for permission.
Gabriel responded, "Hmm."
Tiffany also entered the hospital room, holding a gift box and wearing a kind expression.
When Sophia saw her, her face immediately darkened.
That scoundrel Gabriel dare let Tiffany in! What was he trying to do? Was he trying to make Tiffany the kids' stepmother?
Sophia, protective as a mother bear, positioned herself in front of Emma, blocking Tiffany's view. "What are you doing here? We don't welcome you, so get out now!" she demanded, fiercely.
Faced with Sophia's rejection, Tiffany wasn't upset and said, "I'm here to visit the sick, Miss Kelly. There's no need for you to be so hostile toward me."
Sophia stated, sternly, "My daughter doesn't need your visitation, and if you don't leave right now, I'll have to be rude."
Tiffany frowned, "It's not nice to be so fierce in front of the children, Miss Kelly."
"Whether it's nice or not is none of your business!" Sophia said, tersely, her patience wearing thin.
"Well, on the contrary, it might be. I'm pursuing Gabriel, and if I succeed, I just might become the children's mother,” Tiffany proclaimed, boldly.
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