Chapter 132 From Now On, We Are Family
Alexander said, "She only took one child because if she'd been greedy and tried to take both, you would have raised hell demanding to see both babies' bodies one last time. She couldn't produce them, and what if the situation escalated? If you hadn't seen both children for a final farewell, would you have let it go?"
Grace nodded thoughtfully.
Alexander continued, "Which clinic did you give birth at? Do you remember the name?"
Grace replied, "I don't really remember. We moved so frequently that I lost the medical records. I vaguely recall it was called Loving Child General Hospital. I think it specialized mainly in obstetrics, pediatrics, and general internal medicine."
Alexander said, "I'll have someone look into it."
Grace suddenly grabbed his sleeve nervously, asking, "You mean... you mean that baby might still be alive?"
Her eyes flickered with what looked like hope igniting.
If the baby was still alive...
She felt both guilty and regretful. She'd been too young back then, too naive. If her inexperience had caused her to lose that child, making him suffer all these years, she felt utterly wicked!
If she could find the child, she would do everything in her power to make it up to him!
But...
Could she really make up for it?
Seven years of missing love, and all the suffering caused by her moment of poor judgment—could that truly be compensated?
Grace felt somewhat regretful. If only she had opened the urn back then to look properly, perhaps she wouldn't have lost that baby.
If only she had been more persistent, insisting on seeing the baby one last time... none of this would have happened!
Alexander said, "Don't get too worked up. This is just my speculation—nothing's been confirmed yet."
Grace replied, "But I think your reasoning makes perfect sense. Like you said, if someone was stealing ashes, there'd be no need for such elaborate deception—they'd just take the whole urn... Maybe that nurse, that hospital, they were all problematic! It's my fault."
She lowered her head, her face clouded with self-blame.
Alexander watched the dejection and guilt on her face, then reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "Don't overthink it."
His unconscious tenderness somewhat moved her.
Grace looked up. When had this man suddenly become so different from before?
The Alexander of the past had always been domineering and arrogant—when had he ever shown such delicate care?
Perhaps...
It was because of the Emily incident. He felt guilty toward her. Earlier, when he'd stood outside her door saying he wouldn't let anyone hurt her again, that he'd compensate her unconditionally—she'd heard it all.
Was everything he said true?
Seeing her lost in thought, Alexander asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Grace shook her head and said quietly, "Alexander, you've changed. You're like a completely different person from before. The old you was domineering, rough, imperious. Now you even comfort me. So I feel a bit disoriented, not knowing which version is the real you."
Alexander froze for a moment.
He looked down and said, "Grace, I already told you yesterday, and I can repeat it now—I won't let anyone hurt you. This is what I owe you."
There was a gentle knock at the door.
Grace snapped back to reality and turned around. "Who is it?"
The door was gently pushed open.
Liam peeked in, poking his head through the crack, his bright eyes blinking. Seeing Alexander and Grace standing face to face at an unusually intimate distance, his eyes widened in surprise. He thought Daddy was secretly being affectionate with Grace behind his back!
From his angle, Alexander was looking down with both hands on Grace's shoulders, as if he was about to kiss her.
Liam immediately walked in, padding over to Grace's side with eager eyes. His little bottom kept bumping against Alexander while his small hand poked at his own rosy cheek, standing on tiptoe in what was clearly a request for kisses.
"Here! Here..." Liam indicated, pursing his lips, obviously wanting Grace to kiss him.
Grace didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
This little boy was adorable no matter what expression he wore.
She naturally hadn't noticed Liam's continuous bumping against Alexander. She bent down and gently kissed Liam's cheek.
Liam then turned his face to offer the other cheek, demanding symmetry!
Grace was utterly charmed. She cupped Liam's face and kissed until both cheeks were evenly covered!
Liam was absolutely delighted.
Max also poked half his head in, just in time to witness Grace holding Liam's face and kissing him. He immediately felt jealous.
He'd wondered where the little guy had disappeared to—turned out he'd snuck away to find Mommy for kisses.
Max walked over reluctantly, hands behind his back, shooting Liam a displeased look before turning to Grace with wounded pride. "Mommy kisses Liam but not me."
Grace could tell at a glance that Max was jealous.
So she walked over, picked up Max, and gently pinched his little face. "Is Max jealous?"
Max replied somewhat awkwardly, "Why would I be jealous?" He didn't want to admit he was jealous.
Even though he liked Liam too, watching Grace hold and kiss Liam still made him uncomfortable.
Grace knew Max always said the opposite of what he meant. He was proud and wouldn't admit it outright, but his jealousy was already overflowing.
So she kissed Max's cheek and asked with a smile, "Better now?"
Max said, "You kissed Liam twice. I want three kisses."
He definitely had to have one more than Liam!
Grace was nearly laughing but held back, kissing his forehead.
Now it was Liam's turn to be dissatisfied.
He eagerly came over again, pointing to his forehead. Seeing Grace kiss Max's forehead, he wanted the same.
Grace found herself at a loss with these two children. At this rate, the kissing would never end.
Alexander said to Grace, "Grace, take Max back to his room first. I need to talk to Liam."
Grace nodded and left with Max in her arms.
The door gently closed.
Liam tried to follow, but Alexander pulled him over and said seriously, "Liam, remember this—from now on, Max and we are family. You need to be considerate of him, understand?"
Liam nodded somewhat uncertainly. Though he didn't understand all the complexities, hearing that he and Max would be family made him genuinely happy.
After all, he really liked Max.
Liam tilted his little head and asked, "What about Grace?"
Alexander replied, "She's family too."
Liam's eyes lit up. "So... can I... call her Mommy from now on?"
"No." Alexander firmly refused. "You can't call her Mommy yet."