Sophia couldn’t keep up with his pace and laughed. “President Livinus, that joke isn’t funny.”
Livinus chuckled and held her close. “I never thought there would be a day when I’d become a father!”
Since Sophia had come to tell him in person, she must have already confirmed it. She was a traditional medicine practitioner, after all—she could diagnose pregnancy just by checking her own pulse.
“But…”
“No buts, Sophia. Maybe you don’t realize this, but I’m quite traditional in my thinking. Rather than spending my life alone, I would much rather marry the person I love and have children. I’m not young anymore—you should at least give me the chance to raise a child before I get too old, to watch them grow, send them to university, see them step into society, and witness them getting married.”
“But we weren’t prepared for this.”
“If we keep preparing, I’ll really be having a child in old age!”
Sophia laughed. “You’re exaggerating.”
“How is it not? So, you just focus on a healthy pregnancy—I’ll handle everything else!”
Sophia couldn’t argue with him. She realized that Livinus was more enthusiastic about this than she was. That very night, he asked Joanna to deliver a pile of ginseng, and various health supplements. Even more ridiculously, he had an entire room cleared out to make a nursery. By the afternoon, the crib was already set up—an oval-shaped one that could be converted into a round bed with a diaper-changing station. A cute mosquito net and soft bumpers were added, making the crib look incredibly adorable.
“Joanna, tell him to stop buying things!”
Sophia was already annoyed by the sheer amount of stuff, yet Livinus insisted on buying even more.
“You should be a little understanding—he’s just excited about becoming a father!”
Joanna was overjoyed when he heard the news. These two were already so outstanding—imagine how amazing their child would be!
“The baby is still so small. There are more than eight months to go before it’s born,” Sophia said. “If we keep buying things now, there won’t be any space left in the house by the time I’m in my final trimester.”
“If there’s not enough space, President Livinus will just buy a bigger house!” Joanna joked. “Men these days—many of them dote on their kids more than the mothers do.”
Sophia was speechless and could only let it be.
Thankfully, after the nursery was set up, Livinus stopped buying things, saying he wanted to leave the joy of picking baby supplies to Sophia.
Since she had only just gotten pregnant, no one could tell. Sophia still ran her clinic daily and only closed at around 8 p.m.
That day, just as she opened the doors, Lincoln Bright was carried in.
After examining him, she noted, “You’ve improved. Do you feel it?”
Lincoln Bright nodded. Initially, he could only move with his hands supporting him, but now, he frequently felt the urge to walk. However, whenever he tried, his legs would tremble but fail to bend—let alone allow him to stand up.
After listening to him, Sophia said, “Take it slow. You’ve been paralyzed for ten years—even people who break a leg and spend just a few months in bed have to struggle to walk again. Right now, you’re like a baby learning to walk—just on the verge of standing but still needing a bit more time. The fact that your lower limbs are already stronger than before is a good sign.”
Lincoln Bright could feel it too. His legs had once been severely atrophied, but now, though still thinner than a normal person’s, they had filled out significantly.
She noticed a wound near the corner of his mouth and found it odd. She handed him a bottle of ointment.
“Apply this. It’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
Lincoln Bright’s eyes flickered with guilt, and he looked away uneasily.
That night, Nancy called.
She rambled on about a bunch of random things until Sophia couldn’t take it anymore. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“I…” Nancy hesitated before suddenly blurting out, “I slept with a man!”
Sophia was stunned. “Who? I thought you didn’t have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t! He’s not my boyfriend. It was just a one-night stand…”
“Who?”
“You know him,” Nancy said weakly.
“I know him?” Sophia was confused. “Who is it?”
“It’s… it’s Lincoln Bright! I slept with Lincoln Bright!”
Sophia sucked in a sharp breath.
Sure, being paralyzed didn’t mean a man couldn’t function in that way, but still, the thought of Lincoln Bright having a one-night stand felt… difficult to imagine.
How did Nancy even pull that off? She was genuinely curious.
“That cut on his mouth—did you do that?”
Nancy gave an awkward laugh. “I was drunk last night… You know how I get when I drink…”
Nancy had always had a crush on a senior from university. That senior didn’t know she was from a wealthy family and only treated her like any other ordinary classmate. When Nancy returned from studying abroad, so did her senior. She finally confessed to him, only to be rejected.
Not long after, that senior started pursuing another girl—a so-called rich socialite.
Nancy realized that he had chosen her for her wealth, just to fast-track his life.
