The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 913

Jamison had joked that the extra five or six pounds went straight to her chest. It was an exaggeration, but not entirely inaccurate.

"Taking care of twins must be exhausting for Dr. Ludwig. I haven't seen him in a while, and he looks like he's lost a lot of weight!" Sophia noted.

Ivy didn't mention her husband's weight loss was due to his illness. She simply went along with it. "Yeah, it's been a tough few months for him. Whenever he's home, he's the one taking care of the boys."

It was the truth.

Jamison might complain about having two sons, but when it came down to it, he was an incredibly devoted father.

Of course, his dedication stemmed mostly from his desperate need to keep his wife from overworking herself.

Day or night, whenever a baby cried, he was the first one up to check on them—even with a night nanny on duty.

Sometimes, when the babies woke up screaming at three in the morning, Ivy felt bad for him. She knew how demanding his work was and would try to stop him so she could check on them instead, but he always refused.

Anyone could say they loved someone.

But actually proving it—not just on a whim, but weaving that devotion into everyday life—was incredibly rare.

Ivy knew perfectly well that her speedy recovery wasn't due to superior genetics. It was because she had married an incredible man.

"By the way, you just said you didn't have a man. So what about you and Dale? Have you two not made it official yet? I saw in the group chat that he brings his friends to your café all the time. Aren't you two pretty close?" Ivy shifted the topic, not wanting to make them sick with her romantic bragging.

Sophia gently touched one of the baby's tiny hands and said casually, "We're just friends. I found out about his family situation, and it's just... not a good fit."

In her early twenties, Sophia would have believed that love conquered all.

But now, pushing thirty, she knew that letting romance blind her to reality would only lead to disaster.

Gossiping behind someone's back wasn't her style, but Sophia had been bottling this up for a while.

Ivy was a mutual friend, making it easier to vent.

"He's the middle child. He has an older brother and a younger sister. Both are married, but they struggle financially and constantly rely on him for bailouts. So even though he makes a great salary, his bank account is practically empty."

Katrina frowned in shock. "He just gives them money? No expectation of getting it back?"

Sophia offered a bitter smile. "How could they pay him back? His brother's daughter was in a horrible car accident a few years ago. Ivy knows about it. If it hadn't been for Dr. Ludwig stepping in... the little girl wouldn't have made it."

Katrina frowned and looked at Ivy.

Ivy nodded. "It's true. The surgery was a huge success. It even made the local news."