Caught In His Embrace A Second Chance Romance novel Chapter 435

"Mr. Flynn!" beamed Joyce when she looked up and saw Josiah behind them. "Are you here for me?"

"Of course." Josiah gazed tenderly at Joyce's delicate features.

"Since I promised you, I'll definitely fulfill it," he added as he extended his arms toward Joyce. "How about I hold you?"

Joyce didn't agree immediately but looked at Sienna questioningly. "Mommy..."

Sienna gently smiled and let go of her hand. "Go ahead." She handed Joyce over to Josiah.

Holding Joyce close and kissing the top of her head, Josiah cajoled, "You can lean on me. I'll carry you back."

Joyce nodded. "Okay."

Conner was impatiently waiting near the widely opened inpatient building door. He had been discharged from the hospital two days ago. Knowing that Joyce would be discharged from the sterile isolation unit today, he came here specifically to see her.

Seeing Josiah with Joyce in his arms from afar, Conner immediately greeted them. "Joyce!"

"Uncle Conner!" cried out Joyce.

Conner stretched out his arms toward Joyce. "Come here."

"Okay," she chirped. She went from Josiah's arms to Conner's.

"Let me take a good look at you. Well, you do look fine now..." he mumbled. Conner looked Joyce over carefully and asked Sienna, "Joyce is all better now, right?"

Before Sienna could respond, Joyce hugged Conner and chimed in, "Yes! I'm all better now."

She looked up at Conner, her big eyes clear and bright. "Mommy said I'm all better now because of you. Thank you, Uncle Conner. I love you the most!"

Conner felt a lump in his throat. He chuckled and tapped Joyce's pert little nose. "I love you the most, too, you little charmer."

Joyce might be young, but she was an expert at tugging people's heartstrings.

Soon, they had settled into the inpatient building. Joyce didn't require IV drips anymore and was mainly on oral medication and required monitoring. Which meant having one adult by her side was more than enough.

Sienna and Josiah had discussed and agreed that she would take the day watch while Josiah would stay the night.

At first, Sienna protested, "It's okay. I can manage on my own. I'm used to taking care of her by myself."

But Josiah insisted. "That's in the past now when I hadn't known about Joyce... It's different now."

"But..." Sienna frowned, still hesitant. "Aren't you busy?"

Although Josiah didn't mention it, it was obvious that he must be occupied with all sorts of matters since he had only been acknowledged by the Evans family recently. He had returned to the Evans family because of Joyce. "I am," Josiah replied curtly.

He lowered his gaze to look at Sienna and whispered, "I know how to handle those matters. But Joyce is the most important thing to me now. Taking care of her is not solely your responsibility."

Since Josiah was insistent, Sienna stopped her protests. At least this way, their schedules would be staggered, and they could avoid the awkwardness of being in the same room at the same time.

After all, they were a divorced couple, and it was somewhat inconvenient to be in the same room. "Alright then," said Sienna, and the matter was put to rest.

*****

In the afternoon, Joyce woke up from her nap, looking all rosy and pink. Looking at her, Sienna felt an uncontrollable surge of joy. She reached out and touched Joyce's face. "You look so beautiful, Joyce, with your rosy little cheeks looking like apples."

In the past, due to being ill, Joyce's face would never have had such a healthy flush.

Joyce opened her big eyes and mumbled, "Apples? Mommy, I want to eat apples."

"Coming right up!" Sienna smiled. "I'll cut them up for you, Joyce. Give me a moment."

"Okay," chirped Joyce.

Sienna got up and went out. She peeled and sliced the apple, placed it in a bowl, and brought it in. "Here you go," she offered.

"Wow!" Joyce exclaimed happily, holding the plate of apples, "They're bunnies!"