The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 354

She hadn't seen her daughter in two days, and she truly missed her.

"Okay," Sebastian said, finally taking the spoonful of broth. "Are you coming back tonight?"

"Yeah." Riley was still worried. Every night so far, Sebastian's fever had spiked, and his wound had re-opened today. What if he ran a high fever and it wouldn't break? She needed to keep watch personally.

A faint smile surfaced in Sebastian's eyes. "Take a video of Alora and send it to me. I haven't seen her in days."

"I will." He brought up Alora so naturally, without the slightest hesitation, as if she were his own child. From the moment Alora was born, he had completely adored her. Was this just fate?

Riley took her suitcase and headed home. Mrs. Gable was just getting ready to take Alora downstairs for a walk. "Alora, look, Mommy's home!"

Lying in her stroller, Alora seemed to understand Mrs. Gable's words. Her big, dark eyes sparkled as she looked at Riley, babbling happily and waving her tiny arms and legs in the air.

Riley hurried over and scooped her daughter up, pressing her forehead affectionately against Alora's.

Alora giggled with delight.

Watching them, Mrs. Gable chuckled. "Children naturally have a bond with their mothers. I take care of her every single day, and I've never seen her this excited."

Riley smiled, her heart melting. She played with her daughter for a while, recorded a short video for Sebastian, and then went to take a shower. When she came out, she said to Mrs. Gable, "I have to go to the hospital tonight."

Mrs. Gable frowned. "You just got back from a business trip and now you're pulling a night shift? What kind of schedule is that?"

Riley managed a stiff smile. She hadn't figured out how to explain her relationship with Sebastian to Mrs. Gable yet. "The research project at the institute is wrapping up, so things are just really busy right now."

"No matter how busy you are, you have to make sure you're resting. Don't push yourself until you collapse."

"I know."

The Cloudview Terrace.

Sebastian was sitting up in bed scrolling through his phone. He was reading the chat logs from his group with Lawrence and the others. When he saw the photo of him and Riley sleeping side by side, he instantly saved it to his phone.

When he scrolled up to the messages where they were betting on who would become a father first—him or Lawrence—a faint smile pulled at his lips.

He replied to the message with two simple words: Me first.

His daughter was already six months old. Who could possibly beat him?

Zach, who was out in the living room prepping medication, saw Sebastian's message and practically exploded. He whipped his head around, staring in disbelief toward the bedroom. "You guys already slept together?! When did you sleep together? Please don't tell me it was today! Sebastian, I am not joking right now, your body seriously cannot handle that kind of strain! You're going to end up back in critical condition!"

Sebastian shot him a cold, dismissive glance from the doorway. "You're overthinking it."

Zach left the room with a massive grin.

Riley stood rooted to the spot for a moment before walking over to the bed, looking at Sebastian. "Zach was just messing around, why are you doing it too?"

Sebastian looked back at her with absolute seriousness. "Once I've made my choice, it's for a lifetime. He didn't call you the wrong thing."

Riley's heart went into overdrive. They had literally just started dating, and she had clearly said they were only trying this out. How did it suddenly become 'a lifetime'?

Sebastian didn't believe Riley had suddenly fallen madly in love with him. She was likely moved by the way he took care of her, grateful that he saved her in Riverport, and deeply frightened by his recent brush with death, pushing her to finally agree to give them a try.

But since she had opened the door and taken that first step toward him, he wasn't going to give her a single chance to retreat. He needed her to understand that she was his only choice.

He just wanted to make his stance perfectly clear, not to pressure her.

Sebastian grabbed Riley's hand and pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed, changing the subject. "Was Alora a good girl?"

"Yeah." Talking about her daughter eased some of Riley's tense nerves. She pulled up the video and handed the phone to Sebastian. "I took a little video. Here."

Taking the phone, Sebastian gently tugged Riley's hand. "Come closer. Let's watch it together."

Riley slid closer to him, and the two of them watched the video of Alora, both their faces softening completely. Suddenly, a video call from Pierce popped up on the screen.