Five years later, winter hit Hustalia early. It was only November, and it had already snowed.
The snow was light, just enough to cover the ground with a thin white layer. It felt soft underfoot.
"I heard there's a big snowstorm coming tonight. The roads will definitely close," Liam said, glancing at the passenger seat. "Good thing you came back today."
Josephine, who had left Hustalia five years ago, was sitting next to him.
Time hadn't touched her. She looked even more radiant, with a gentle and serene aura.
She rested her chin on her hand, watching the shops pass by outside the window.
Five years had changed the city a lot, but some old shops were still around.
Hearing Liam, Josephine smiled. "Claudia's getting engaged. I had to come back early for that."
Liam asked, "So, if Claudia wasn't getting engaged, you wouldn't have come back, right?"
Josephine caught the resentment in his voice and glanced at him. "Liam, I'm sorry."
The light turned green, and Liam started the car. "Why apologize?"
Josephine replied, "Because you've had a tough time these past few years."
Liam snorted. "At least you know."
He didn't think it was tough. If Josephine hadn't stopped him, and to avoid Stuart finding out, he might have gone to that small village even more often.
Their hospital had a partnership with the local township hospital, so Liam didn't just go to one place. Even if Stuart was suspicious, he couldn't find any flaws.
Liam spent a whole year going to the township for free clinics, resisting the urge to visit the small village where Josephine was.
Stuart's people followed him for a year, finding that he was indeed just doing free clinics, not only in that township but also in neighboring ones.
The activity wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing; it had been planned by the hospital long ago. This way, Liam's visits to the township wouldn't arouse suspicion.
In the first year, Liam knew Stuart's people were following him. When it was time to meet Josephine, even though Liam knew Stuart's people had stopped following him, he still arranged some activities and used the free clinic as an excuse to enter the village.
He was so cautious that Stuart would never have guessed Liam could endure a year without seeing Josephine.
What Stuart didn't know was that it wasn't Liam enduring; it was Josephine not allowing it.
The gift Josephine had promised to give him had indeed shocked Liam.
When he went to the agreed place, he found that Josephine was no longer alone.
She had given birth to a child in July of that year; by the time Liam went to find her, the child was already three months old.
Liam was stunned. He still remembered the look on Josephine's face as she held the child and smiled at him.
His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
At that moment, he didn't even think about whose child it was. He wondered if Josephine had found a new lover and gotten married and had a child so quickly.
Josephine knew she had scared Liam. She couldn't hide this from him.
She didn't plan to bring the child back to the Haustia family. As long as she protected him well, no one would know the child was Stuart's.
Liam wouldn't say anything, but when he found out the child was Stuart's, he looked at Josephine like he wanted to strangle her.
"This is the gift you promised me?" Liam gritted his teeth. "You knew you were pregnant?"
Josephine put the child in his arms. "Do you like it or not? If not, throw it away."
As a doctor, Liam had held babies before, but this was Josephine's child.
The baby was so small and soft that Liam was extremely nervous, holding the child without daring to move.
Josephine watched him with a smile. Liam took a deep breath, stiffened his body, and looked down at the little one.
At three months old, the baby had outgrown the newborn phase and was chubby and fair.
Liam swore he wasn't exaggerating; this was the most beautiful baby he had ever seen.
Josephine said, "They all say the baby's eyes and mouth look like mine. What do you think?"
Hearing Josephine, Liam looked closely and saw a resemblance to Josephine's childhood in the chubby baby's face.
He had grown up with Josephine and remembered her childhood photos clearly.
Josephine asked, "Do you like it?"
Josephine's voice snapped Liam back to reality, and he realized he had unconsciously reached out to touch the baby's cheek.
He looked up and saw Josephine watching him eagerly.
He snorted, turned around with the baby in his arms. "Don't think this means I'm not mad at you."
Josephine sat across from him and said, "Liam, I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah, you're very decisive!" Liam gritted his teeth, not daring to raise his voice for fear of waking the baby. "Such a big thing, and you didn't even tell me! Don't you know there's a risk in childbirth? You should tell me. At least I could have been there with you when you gave birth..."
His voice choked, and he couldn't continue.
Josephine handed him a tissue and took the baby from him. "I'm sorry. It's not that I didn't want to tell you, but given the situation at the time, Liam, would you have agreed to let me keep this child?"
Liam closed his eyes and shook his head honestly.
He would never have agreed to let Josephine keep Stuart's child. He would have wanted to strangle Stuart.
When he heard Stuart had a duodenal ulcer bleeding, Liam even thought, 'Why doesn't he just die?'
Josephine apologized. "Liam, I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize to me." Liam took the baby back. "This child has nothing to do with him. I only know that you gave birth to him."
Josephine smiled. "Yes, that's what I think too."
"What about in the future?" Liam asked, "Will you never let him know?"
Josephine said, "No. I even thought about taking the child abroad."
"Don't," Liam quickly said, "If you go abroad, it will be inconvenient for me to visit you. I won't be able to distract Stuart. But you should move to a different place. It's not convenient for you to stay here with the child."
"It's not inconvenient," Josephine said, "I've lived here for over a year and found it quite good."
Liam had to let her be.
After that, he visited more frequently. Fortunately, Stuart seemed to have given up looking for Josephine.
Now, the child was over four years old, and Josephine felt it was about time. Stuart had probably long forgotten the past.
Moreover, Claudia was getting engaged. So she returned to Hustalia.
However, she still didn't dare to take risks and came alone.
As for the child, she hadn't decided whether to let him appear in Hustalia.