Chapter 268

Nicholas grabbed her hand for support and stood up, then picked up his crutch. The two of them walked outside side by side.

The hospital was right across from the hotel, just a few minutes' walk.

At the entrance to the operating room, a nurse came over to check their information, take his blood pressure, and help him change clothes. Everything moved along steadily.

Just before going in, Nicholas suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.

Sophia looked up and met his eyes.

"Wait for me," he said.

Sophia smiled. "I'll wait for you."

He had waited for her all these years. Now it was Sophia's turn to wait for him.

Nicholas nodded, let go of her hand, and followed the nurse through the operating room doors.

The doors closed. The red indicator light came on.

Sophia sat down on a bench in the hallway.

Her shoulders drooped slightly, and she let out a long breath.

Benjamin sat down beside her.

"Don't worry. The surgery will be quick."

Sophia made a small sound in response but said nothing more.

She thought she'd been preparing herself for so long that when the day finally came, she wouldn't feel so anxious.

But as it turned out, while she wasn't pacing back and forth, her heart kept surging with wave after wave of fear.

Time passed, second by second.

She didn't know how long it had been, but at last the red light went out.

The door was pushed open from the inside, and Sophia jumped to her feet.

The doctor walked out, pulled down his mask, and smiled at her.

"The surgery was a success."

Sophia's legs went weak, and Benjamin quickly reached out to steady her.

The doctor went on: "The implant is in an excellent position. The fit with the nerves and bone is even better than we expected. The great thing about this material is that the recovery time is very short. Based on our plan, he should be walking normally in about a month."

Sophia's tears fell instantly.

After all these years, Nicholas would finally be able to walk like everyone else.

He would never again have to face those looks of pity or sympathy from strangers. And he could finally keep the promise he'd made to Eloise — running and jumping with their two daughters, flying kites, doing everything they ever wanted to do together.

A nurse wheeled the bed out from inside. The anesthesia hadn't worn off yet, and Nicholas was still asleep.

Sophia walked over, leaned down, and gently touched the back of his hand.

As if he could sense it, his fingertips moved slightly.

Nicholas was taken back to his room. Once the nurse had settled him in and left, Benjamin thoughtfully gave the two of them some privacy.

Sophia sat down by Nicholas's bed and finally let out a long, slow breath.

She leaned forward a little and took his hand.

"Nicholas, can you hear me? The doctor said you'll be walking in a month. A month from now, you won't need the crutch anymore. You can hold Eloise's hand on a walk. You can carry Serena to the park. You can... hold my hand and walk with me, nice and slow."

The man in the bed didn't move, but the fingers she was holding trembled softly, just once.

After a full month of recovery, Nicholas finally reached the day of his last check-up at the hospital.

"All your results are right where we want them," the doctor said.

"The bone and implant have healed beautifully, and your nerve reflexes are normal. Based on how you're doing now, you can walk completely without any assistive device. Going forward, just be careful not to overdo it — gradually increase your activity, and you'll be absolutely fine."

Benjamin grabbed the report right out of the doctor's hands, flipped through it twice, and let out a long breath.

Then he turned around, pointed a finger at Nicholas, and started in on him.

"See? See! You should've listened to me from the start! If you'd come six months ago, you'd already be walking! But no, you kept putting it off and putting it off until I'd talked myself hoarse. Do you have any idea how much I had to say? How many calls do I make? How many times I—"

"Alright, I know," Nicholas cut him off, shaking his head with a smile. "Can't I just say thank you?"

Benjamin scoffed and slapped the report down on the table. "Save it. Just take me out for a meal. All the running around I did for you — I've probably lost a few hairs over this."

Nicholas smiled and nodded sincerely. "My treat. Whatever you want."

That seemed to satisfy Benjamin. He stretched out with a big yawn.

"Good. From now on, you're just like everyone else. Run if you want, jump if you want, go wherever you want. No more dragging that thing around."

He glanced over at Nicholas, then leaned in with a sly look and a wink. "That said, even with the leg fixed, you might want to take it easy in certain areas. We're not exactly young anymore. Don't go wearing yourself out."

Nicholas threw an elbow at him. Benjamin saw it coming and dodged sideways, laughing as he slipped away.

"Cut it out," Nicholas said, giving him an exasperated look.

Sophia had been too anxious to go in and had been waiting outside the whole time.

When she saw Benjamin come out, she rushed over to him.

Benjamin placed the whole stack of reports in her hands with a serious look. "Everything went smoothly. You can relax now."

Sophia stood there for a long moment before it finally sank in.

"That's wonderful, that's just wonderful..." She was crying and laughing at the same time, laughing and crying, not quite knowing how to feel.

Once she finally calmed down, she realized Nicholas hadn't come out with Benjamin.

"Where's Nicholas?" she asked, puzzled.

Benjamin gave her a mysterious wink. "He slipped out through another exit. He said to go back to the hotel and wait — he has a surprise for you."

Sophia blinked. "A surprise? What surprise?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Benjamin tucked his hands in his pockets, turned around, and strolled lazily down the hallway.

"Just go back and wait. You'll see. Stop asking so many questions."

Sophia shook her head and headed back to the hotel, where she started packing.

Their flight home was in three days, but she figured she'd better start now so nothing got left behind.

They still had three days — enough time to go out and explore a bit, maybe pick up some gifts for the family.

Especially Eloise, who had been asking for that teddy bear for ages.

By the time Sophia finally finished packing, Nicholas still wasn't back.

She was starting to wonder. She picked up her phone, about to call him, when the door opened.

Sophia got up from the couch right away and walked quickly toward the entrance.

"Where have you been? What took you so long to—"

She stopped mid-sentence.