Chapter 136 Not Ready for Intimacy
Grace was both amused and exasperated. Glancing at Alexander's ashen expression, she suppressed her laughter and asked, "So whose baby is Liam carrying?"
Liam hugged his belly with a beaming smile. "Max's."
Liam had been pestering Max to play the "making babies" game with him.
Naturally, Max had no patience to teach him how babies were actually made, much less explain seriously that two boys couldn't make babies together. So he had simply stuffed a pillow under Liam's shirt and kicked him out of the room.
Now Liam was proudly showing off his "pregnancy."
Alexander pinched Liam's cheek with a darkening expression.
Liam ran up to Grace and grabbed her hand, pressing it against his belly. "Is Liam's tummy big?"
Grace bit back her laughter. "Very big."
Liam continued curiously, "Liam wants to have... a little Liam!"
Grace couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter.
Liam was simply too adorable—her little bundle of joy who made her smile every single day.
"Alright, Liam can have a little Liam. Then I'll have one big Liam and one little Liam," Grace said, ruffling his hair as they shared a smile.
Liam squinted happily, but his next words were an absolute bombshell, "Just now... Liam saw... Daddy and Grace kissing!"
With complete innocence, he added, "Grace is going to have a baby soon too!"
Alexander immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, threatening, "What are you babbling about?"
Liam struggled against his grip, making muffled sounds, but Alexander only pressed harder, not daring to let him speak. "Keep quiet."
Grace laughed. "Kids say the darndest things."
...
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Through systematic rehabilitation, Grace had recovered almost completely.
During this period, Alexander had been working late every night.
On one hand, company affairs were overwhelming and demanding.
On the other hand...
He'd been investigating Loving Child General Hospital.
With so much time having passed, uncovering what happened seven years ago required considerable effort, but he had managed to piece together some leads.
Loving Child General Hospital had closed three years ago.
The hospital's location wasn't ideal, and after the surrounding villages were demolished, the hospital relocated.
After the move, a new hospital was established under the name Mary Maternity Hospital, with a completely restructured ownership, new medical staff, and essentially a total rebrand—it was essentially a different institution from its predecessor.
Alexander had thoroughly investigated Loving Child General Hospital's original ownership structure. Over its decade-plus existence, the hospital's finances had been consistently poor with severe losses, but aside from that, there were no apparent red flags.
He'd compiled a complete list of all doctors and nurses from the medical team and brought it home for Grace to review.
"Do you recognize the nurse who delivered your baby?"
Grace held the stack of profiles, some with clear photos, others blurry. She carefully compared each one, feeling somewhat face-blind.
"I can barely tell these faces apart anymore..."
She felt frustrated.
Seven years had passed, and many memories had become hazy.
She tried hard to remember, managing only a vague recollection of features and general facial structure, nowhere near detailed enough for precise identification.
Alexander asked, "Did she have any distinctive features?"
This prompted a memory. "She had a red mole on her chin."
That impression was quite vivid.
After all, she'd mostly seen black moles before—red ones were rare, so it had stuck in her memory clearly.
Alexander frowned. "A red mole..."
Some photos were in color, others in black and white.
All were ID photos facing the camera directly, making it difficult to confirm who had a red mole on their chin, especially since people typically tucked their chins slightly for official photos.
"Don't rush..." Grace said, though in truth, she was more anxious than anyone.
But looking at Alexander's slightly weary profile—the past weeks of juggling work and this investigation had left stubble shadowing his jaw, adding a more rugged masculinity to his appearance.
She unconsciously raised her hand and touched his chin.
Alexander wasn't paying attention to her movement and instinctively dodged, causing her hand to land on his Adam's apple instead.
The distinct feel of cartilage moving beneath her palm made her gasp softly.
Alexander caught her hand, his gaze falling on her face in what seemed like a silent question.
"I... I didn't mean to touch you there," Grace stammered. She'd heard that the Adam's apple was a sensitive spot for men, and indeed, she could visibly see Alexander's body tense in response.
"You can't just touch there," Alexander said.
Grace looked puzzled. "What happens if I do..."
Alexander's lips parted slightly, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. "Things could get out of hand."
He was giving her a fair warning.
There was an accurate saying about this.
One of man's primal instincts was to hunt; the other was to procreate.
So describing many men as "thinking with their lower half" wasn't far from the truth.
Men often risked losing control.
Even with his remarkable self-discipline, he couldn't rule out that possibility.
Especially since his Adam's apple was an absolute sensitive spot.
With just the two of them at home right now, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't do something to her if he lost control.
Truth be told, ever since he'd kissed her last time—that brief taste had only whetted his appetite.
He wasn't a saint; he had desires like any man. Just because he'd never indulged before didn't mean he was truly without passion.
Grace saw the changing color in his eyes and slowly freed her small hand from his grip. "Could you... stop staring at me like that?"
She felt like she might be devoured alive any second.
Alexander gently cupped her small face and brushed a kiss across her lips. What started as mere comfort became like loading a bullet into a chamber.
Suddenly...
She found herself pressed back against the couch.
Files and documents scattered across the floor.
Alexander pinned her beneath him with calculated ease. She instinctively tried to struggle, but her small hands were effortlessly captured in one of his and held above her head, leaving her powerless to resist.
He pressed gentle kisses to her forehead, trailing soft kisses from her nose to her cheeks before returning to her lips, coaxing them apart to taste her sweetness more thoroughly.
"Mmph..."
Grace struggled slightly.
She wasn't ready for such intimacy with him yet.