Chapter 391 Shattered with a Touch
Daisy looked wiped out. They'd traveled all night and barely slept.
"Nicholas should be okay now. Mom, Dad, you guys should head to the hotel and get some rest. We'll go home tomorrow."
She'd already started calling them differently.
Aragorn nodded. "That's our best bet."
That night, caregivers were at the hospital, and Lisa was there, too. Josie didn't want to leave with Sophia, so she stayed to keep Caroline company.
They'd just found out about their relationship, so they had a lot to catch up on. Josie leaned on Caroline a lot.
Gabriel and Sophia took their three kids home.
The little ones yawned, took a bath, and crashed.
Despite the pain in her shoulders and back, Sophia managed a quick shower. As she stepped out, the doorbell rang.
'Who could that be at this hour?' she wondered.
Thinking of Gabriel, Sophia checked the electronic camera and saw him standing at the door.
She was still a bit surprised Gabriel had shown up at the wedding today. The image of him standing tall, protecting her and the kids, flashed in her mind.
He'd broken the security guard's hand who hurt her and taught those guards a lesson.
At the hospital, he'd carried her because he was worried walking would hurt her.
Sophia's hand tightened on the doorknob. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Why are you here so late?" she asked.
Gabriel held up a medical ice pack.
"You still need to ice your injury."
"Thanks." She took the ice pack, feeling a sudden warmth in her chest.
"Can you do it yourself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll manage."
"Let me help you."
Before she could respond, Gabriel's tall frame moved closer, making her step back, and he slipped inside.
Sophia had no choice but to close the door and follow him in.
"Come, sit down." Gabriel patted the sofa.
Sophia bit her lip lightly.
"I'll do it myself."
"Alright."
This time, he agreed right away.
But he didn't seem to be leaving.
Sophia tried to ice her injury herself.
But the spot was awkward. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't reach it. Her hand soon got tired from holding the ice pack against her back.
Gabriel chuckled and took the ice pack from her.
"Let me do it."
The cool sensation hit the injured spot through her clothes.
The burning pain was instantly replaced by coolness, and Sophia's frown eased.
She'd just showered, and her body still smelled like body wash. Her hair was half-wet, all gathered to one side, exposing her other ear, which looked very cute and pinchable.
Gabriel stared at Sophia's ear and neck, her delicate lines, and fair skin. Everything made his Adam's apple bob, and an inexplicable urge surged within him.
He placed his other hand behind him, clenching it into a tight fist.
He prided himself on his self-control, but now it felt like it was about to break.
"Is it done?"
Sophia's gentle voice snapped Gabriel back to reality, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.
"Yeah, now let's apply some ointment."
Gabriel took out some ointment.
Sophia felt a bit awkward. If she needed Gabriel's help with the ice pack, she would definitely need it for the ointment.
She didn't make a fuss, went to the bathroom, and put her pajamas on backward, exposing only her shoulders and back when she came out.
Gabriel smiled, his eyes filled with a tenderness that seemed like it could drown her.
As soon as his hand, covered in ointment, touched her, she let out a sound of pain.
"Bear with it."
For this kind of injury, he couldn't be gentle. He had to rub the ointment in firmly for it to be effective.
A strong medicinal smell spread through the room.
They were silent for a minute before Gabriel's gentle voice broke the awkward silence.
"The kids' birthday is coming up. I'm planning to throw a big party for them."
Sophia's body stiffened slightly, and Gabriel immediately noticed.
"If you don't like it, we won't make it big. We'll just decorate the house and let the kids invite their friends over."
Sophia lowered her head, feeling a mix of emotions.
"Either way is fine."
Gabriel racked his brain to find topics to distract Sophia, watching her reactions closely. If he noticed anything off, he would immediately change the subject.
"Alright, try to sleep on your stomach tonight. Sleeping on your side will hurt more," Gabriel advised, concerned.
He had never been this worried about anyone before. Sophia was definitely the first.
"Okay, thank you." She thanked him politely and distantly.
Gabriel pressed his thin lips together, sighed inwardly, and told himself to take it slow.
Ethan woke up in the middle of the night and found that Sophia was still awake. He went to check and saw Gabriel applying ointment to Sophia. Ethan stared intently.
Sophia hadn't complained of pain all day, so he thought she wasn't hurt.
He didn't expect Sophia to endure it to keep them from worrying. Her back was covered in bruises.
Ethan's heart ached.
Seeing Gabriel's pained expression, Ethan snorted, 'This time, the bad dad does well.'
Ethan turned and went back to sleep.
After seeing Gabriel off, Sophia busied herself for a while before going to bed.
Because of her injury, she didn't sleep well that night and had a dream just before dawn.
She dreamt that Gabriel was very caring towards her. When she was pregnant, Gabriel stayed by her side, comforting and taking care of her. When the doctor suggested aborting one of the triplets due to the high risk, Gabriel constantly reassured her.
Because of his care and attention, she didn't get depressed and successfully gave birth to the three children.
Gabriel held her after she gave birth, crying. "No more kids, and we won't have any more kids."
Then, she woke up.
This dream was particularly fragile.
Sophia lay there recalling the dream, then smiled bitterly.
A dream was just a dream.
In reality, Gabriel had hurt her deeply.
Even though Gabriel seemed to be changing for the better now, the scars from the past were already etched in her heart.
"Mommy."
Sam snuggled up to Sophia, his baby voice melting her heart.
"Good morning, sweetheart."
Sam, with sleepy eyes, reached out to hug Sophia.
Soon, Emma and Ethan woke up, too, and moved over to Sophia.
They played around on the bed, fully waking Sophia up.
She got up, made some porridge, packed it in a thermos, and headed to the hospital.
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