The woman in a manic state didn’t hold back when she slapped Nicholas Croft, causing him to gasp in pain. He wanted to stop her but couldn’t bear to do so, given Sophie Foster’s current physical condition.

Helpless, he endured the pain and sat up, grabbing Sophie’s hand with one hand and placing the other on her cheek, gently speaking to her.

"Be good, just lie down, uncle’s here..."

Expecting Sophie to refuse, she surprisingly agreed after Nicholas spoke, lying flat on the bed with her limbs spread out, staring at the ceiling expressionlessly, saying, "Come on, hurry up!"

Nicholas...

He licked his lips, sighed helplessly, and leaned over her using his arms.

Making love, when it arises from the heart, is a beautiful and romantic affair. But when ordered like a task to be completed, it’s a torment.

That’s how Nicholas felt now. His lips touched familiar softness, his palms felt familiar sensations, yet his heart ached severely. He kissed her for so long without a trace of desire.

Sophie closed her eyes, enduring Nicholas’s caresses without any reaction, not even a satisfied sigh during their kisses.

It seemed as though it was for the sake of conceiving a baby, rather than... love.

Nicholas’s slender fingers landed on the buttons of Sophie’s hospital gown. Each tiny button felt as heavy as a thousand pounds at this moment. Every time he unfastened one, he paused before continuing. His slow movements once again drew Sophie’s dissatisfaction.

She frowned and scolded, "Hurry up, don’t dawdle!"

Nicholas paused, took a deep breath, and suddenly tore open the buttons of her hospital gown. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Beneath the open collar was Sophie’s fair skin, though some places still bore faint bruises, yet it didn’t mar her delicate beauty.

Nicholas’s lips fell on her collarbone, as warm lips swept over every inch of skin, slowly moving downward.

When he stopped briefly upon reaching her lower abdomen, and then moved further down, sensing Nicholas’s intention, Sophie clasped her legs tight, cradling his head, starting to sob softly, "Uncle, don’t..."

"What’s the matter, Lara, why are you crying?"

Nicholas hurriedly raised his body, using his fingers to wipe away Sophie’s tears, while she opened her arms to tightly embrace him, crying even harder.

"Uncle... Lara’s feeling so miserable..."

"Don’t cry... It will be alright, everything will turn out okay..."

Nicholas pulled Sophie’s head to his chest, gritting his teeth and deeply inhaling, then exhaling as he planted a heavy kiss atop her head.

His Lara would surely recover, like Phoenix Nirvana, reborn amidst flames!

A few days later, Sophie was taken back into the operating room, and Nicholas had arranged for the most renowned plastic surgeon in the United States to perform the surgery on her.

Worried Sophie might be afraid, he donned sterile clothing to enter the operating room, staying by Sophie’s side, facing it together with her.

...

Back home in T City, barely past the fifth day of the lunar New Year, the short Spring Festival holiday hadn’t yet ended, Evander Lancaster returned to the hospital for work ahead of time. As the hospital director, most decisions fell to him.

Sophia Hamilton was still on holiday but kept busy. During the day, she occasionally visited the hospital to hang out with Evander, while at night, she was completely monopolized by him.