Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 182

She knew her place.

She knew there was no future between them.

She only wanted to hold onto the present.

She just couldn't understand why she still felt this wave of disappointment and sadness.

"But married mommies and daddies always have babies," Stella mumbled, her face full of innocent curiosity.

Stella still didn't quite understand, her face full of innocent curiosity.

"Aren't you our baby?"

Alaric's gaze shifted to Ivy.

Seeing her keep her head down, silently eating without a word, he didn't press the issue.

He figured she understood what he meant.

"Okay, then I'll always be mommy and daddy's little treasure."

Stella stopped dwelling on the subject and went back to her breakfast.

Ivy forced herself not to overthink things, and certainly not to entertain any foolish fantasies about a future with Alaric.

After breakfast, she personally dropped Stella off at school.

Then she headed to the hospital to take care of Ethan.

Around noon, Dr. Parker Montgomery called her, asking her to come to the hospital that afternoon to discuss Gemma's treatment plan.

But Mrs. Gable was busy today and couldn't pick up Stella.

With no other option, Ivy had to pick Stella up first and bring her along to the hospital.

Stella walked beside Ivy, tilting her head innocently as she asked,

"Mommy, why are we at the hospital? Are you sick?"

Ivy shook her head and explained patiently,

"No, honey. My sister is sick, so we're here to see her. Can you keep me company for a bit, and then we'll go home?"

"Okay!"

Stella agreed happily.

But Ivy didn't take the child straight to her sister's room.

Instead, she went directly to Parker's department.

Halfway through the conversation, the office door was pushed open just a crack from the outside.

Through that sliver of space, Stella spotted a cat in the hallway.

Thinking it looked fun, she immediately ran out after it.

By the time Ivy turned her head, Stella was already gone.

Her heart plummeted, and she scrambled up to look for her.

She rushed out of the office and scoured the hallway, but the girl was nowhere to be found.

Panic setting in, Ivy grabbed a passing nurse and demanded,

"Did you see a little girl, about four or five years old? She was wearing a pink princess dress."

The nurse shook her head.

Ivy was frantically about to keep searching when Parker came over and stopped her.

"Don't panic. Your sister is old enough to know better, and she's too little to wander out of the hospital on her own. Let's go check the security room first."

Ivy was burning with anxiety. As she followed Parker toward the security room, she shakily pulled out her phone to call Alaric.