At that thought, she turned on her laptop and began making plans.
Beside her, Nicole quietly sighed as she stared at her two serious daughters.
âWhatâs wrong?â Evan asked curiously.
His wife turned to look at him. âI think theyâre both better than me. When I was around their age, I wasnât as hardworking as them. I was like a fool back then, thinking of the colorful flowers in the Rose Garden andâ¦â
Before she could say âthe boy, Tye,â her face turned red. She stole a glance at Evan before looking away.
It seemed like the man had figured out what she had not said as he followed her to the bedroom with a bright smile. Upon entering the room, he asked, âWhat were you going to say? The flowers in the Rose Garden and what?â
âN-Nothing.â
âI already know what it is without you even needing to say it. Youâre thinking of the flowers in Rose Garden and me, who protected you, right?â
Nicole stayed silent.
She raised her head to glance at him before lowering it again. There was a sweet smile on her face, but she kept quiet as she started arranging the skincare products on the dresser.
Evan stared at her for a moment before he stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms. âNicole, when did our fates entwine? From the night at The Passion or from Rose Garden?â
The woman mulled over his words before giving him a serious reply, âOf course itâs from Rose Garden. Thatâs where we first met, after all.â
âWeâve known each other for over twenty years since Rose Garden, but youâve only been pregnant once. Donât you think that numberâs too little?â
Hs direct words rendered Nicole speechless.
What is he trying to say?
With pursed lips, she twisted her head to look at him. âAlthough Iâve only had one pregnancy, Iâve given birth to four children. Thatâs more than enough kids.â
In response, he hurriedly explained, âYou canât count by quantity per pregnancy. Youâre supposed to count by the number of pregnancies. Moreover, I wasnât by your side when you were giving birth to the children. I couldnât take care of you back then. So, Nicole, letâs have another baby. Think of it as an opportunity for me to make up for my regret.â
She hesitated.
He continued, âNicole, think of it as a challenge. Youâve given birth to four previously, so youâll give birth to five this time. Nine children would be a perfect amount. I, too, want to know how my nine children would look like. I wonder what kind of odd babies you can give birth to.â
Nine? Odd babies?
âEvan, y-youâre asking me to give birth to children to satisfy your curiosity? Thatâs such a weird request. Now I know why Iâve given birth to weird children. Itâs because they have your weird genes!â
âMy weird genes? Those four have already grown up, so we canât verify your words. Give birth to a few more, and weâll observe whether theyâve inherited your genes or mine,â Evan muttered as he held her waist.
She was rendered speechless once again.
Give birth to a few more?
Nicole thought back to the days she had spent raising the children back then. Those were the days when sleep was a luxury â the children had been a handful.
Moreover, her current health wasâ¦
âIâm not in the healthiest state right now. Iâm afraid I canât give birth to more.â
âNot being able to do it now doesnât mean you canât do it next time. When you recover, we have plenty of time to have more children.â
Nicole did not answer him.
It seems like Evan is adamant about having more children. Iâm afraid the next pregnancy will be coming pretty soon.
She quietly made a decision to relax as much as possible while she was recovering. She had to prepare herself well, mentally and physically, for her next pregnancy.
âEvan, when you come back from work, buy some chestnut cookies for me. Iâm craving them.â
âAll right. What else do you wish to eat? Iâll bring them back as well.â
âI want⦠I havenât thought of anything else besides those cookies. Iâll call you when Iâve decided.â
âAll right, then. Rest well at home. Donât do anything that slows down your recovery, and try your best to recover within these few months.â