Chapter 222 Preparing for a Baby?

Chapter 222 Preparing for a Baby?

Dylan's body hadn't fully recovered yet. After talking with Sophia for a while, he drifted back into a deep sleep.

Uneasy, Sophia tidied up the hospital room and gave Dylan one last check. Only after confirming he was out of danger did she finally leave the hospital.

On the drive home, Sophia pulled out her work phone, her expression wistful as she scrolled through the packed chat logs.

She'd only gotten this phone after joining the company. Yet in such a short time, it had accumulated over a dozen work group chats and countless message threads—all evidence of the hours she'd poured into Zachary's design brand and her own creative projects.

What a waste.

She let out a quiet sigh.

Her dedication to the project had been real. But now, given how things had turned out, there was no way she could continue.

Once she left the country, she wouldn't be able to manage the studio anymore. So she'd already explained the situation to her team and officially disbanded it.

As for the company, someone else would surely take over the handoff.

Satisfied she'd tied up all the loose ends, Sophia closed her eyes, exhausted.

When she arrived home, she slipped back into the calm, cheerful mask she always wore in front of the kids.

She smiled warmly. "How was your day, my loves? Did you miss Mommy?"

Julia and Simon came running out to greet her, wrapping their little arms around her legs. "We missed you! All day long!"

She laughed, pinching their soft cheeks.

But as her gaze swept across the room, a flicker of bitterness crossed her eyes.

This house had finally begun to feel like theirs—full of memories she and the children had created together. But before they could make more, they'd be forced to move again.

She'd already made up her mind.

She would sell the house and cut ties with this city once and for all.

Sophia acted as if nothing was wrong as she shared dinner with the kids.

Later that evening, just as she was about to put them to bed, someone knocked at the front door.

The moment she saw Zachary's figure through the peephole, her face went pale. Instinctively, she tried to slam the door shut—but Zachary shoved it open and stepped inside, his expression dark.

"You're selling the house?"

He'd had people monitoring Sophia's movements. The second he learned she was putting the property on the market, he'd rushed over.

Sophia's tone was sharp. "It's none of your business. Get out."

He let out a cold laugh, his gaze landing on a framed photo sitting on the bookshelf—a picture of him with Julia and Simon.

This house bore traces of his presence. And now, learning that Sophia was ready to sell it without a second thought, he demanded, "Are you really this heartless? You're just going to take them and leave?"

His voice was heavy with disappointment. "Have you even thought about what this will do to the kids? They're still so young, and you're dragging them from place to place. That's not fair to them either."

Sophia's brow furrowed. She didn't want to argue with Zachary in front of the children.

"I already told you—my decisions are none of your concern. Please leave. Now."

He scoffed, his gaze piercing. "You really think our relationship is something you can just erase with a single sentence?"

"Sophia, whether you want to admit it or not, I'm the father these kids depend on. What you're doing right now is ripping their father away from them with your own two hands."

Sophia opened her mouth to argue back.

But Zachary cut her off, his voice cold and sharp. "Don't start with that line about 'protecting their mental health.' What you're doing now is what's actually hurting them."

"Are you really going to teach them to live without a father? When they grow up, will they even know how to love anyone? Do you want them to have a broken childhood?"

His relentless questioning left Sophia speechless.

Just then, the kids, having heard the commotion, stepped out of their room.

The moment they saw Zachary, their first instinct was joy.

But then their expressions crumpled. They glanced nervously at Sophia, then stood frozen in place, too scared to approach him.

Zachary's heart twisted painfully.

He turned back to Sophia. "You see that? That's your doing. You're the selfish one here. You always have been."

Sophia bit her lip, her eyes welling with tears. She couldn't bear to see the children looking so uncertain and afraid.

Through gritted teeth, she hissed, "This is all your own fault!"

Her voice broke. "Do you know why they won't come near you? It's because they think you're about to have your own child—that from the very beginning, they've been terrified you'd abandon them!"

Zachary froze, stunned. He turned slowly toward her. "What are you talking about?"

Sophia's heart felt like it was being stabbed. Her voice trembled with pain. "Did you really think I wanted to leave with the kids just because of some photos online?"

That wasn't it at all. That was just the final straw.

She thought back to the beginning.

The first time the children fully realized that Zachary would eventually have his own family was when they'd seen him and Paula coming out of a baby store together.

From that moment on, a seed of doubt had been planted in their hearts.

And that seed made it impossible for them to ever fully trust him again.

Now, Sophia tore away the last shred of dignity between them. Her voice was sharp as a blade.

"When you were cozying up to Paula, you didn't give a damn about the kids. One second you're shopping with them, the next you're browsing baby stores with her. Did you really think they were too stupid to notice? That they wouldn't understand what it meant?"

Zachary's face went dark, his brow furrowed deeply.

He looked confused, even troubled—but somewhere beneath it all, he seemed to sense he was finally getting close to the heart of the problem.

"What baby store?"

"Still playing dumb," she said with a bitter laugh. She snatched Zachary's phone out of his hand and dialed Paula's number. "Since you won't admit it, let's have Paula explain. I'm sure she'd love to go public with your relationship."

The call connected.

Sophia didn't waste a second. "I'm asking you directly—what were you and Zachary doing in that baby store at the mall a month ago?"

On the other end of the line, Paula sounded equally confused.

But her mind worked quickly. She sensed the tension in the air and decided to test the waters.

"Sophia… what are you talking about?"

Zachary let out a cold laugh. "See? She has no idea what you're talking about. We never planned to have a kid."

A kid?

Paula raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

She didn't know the full story yet—but she knew exactly what Sophia feared most.

Immediately, she forced a few sobs into her voice, feigning panic. "That's right, Sophia—please don't misunderstand. Zachary and I don't have a child. The baby store…"

She bit her lip, barely suppressing her smug satisfaction. Her voice wavered as if she were on the verge of tears.

"I only went to ask about... preparing for pregnancy. It's not what you think."

Sophia's face went deathly pale.

Preparing for pregnancy? With whom?

Her gaze snapped to Zachary, who stood beside her with a furrowed brow, saying nothing.

And just like that, she had her answer.

Paula's voice trembled with false concern. "Sophia, did you and Zachary have another fight? Please, I'm begging you—don't let me come between you two. If... if my asking about pregnancy upset you, then I'd rather never have children at all!"

Her voice cracked as if she were holding back tears. "Zachary already has your kids. That's more than enough."