Caught In His Embrace: A Second Chance Romance

At the door, Howard turned toward Rosie. "Get in the car. I'll take you home first."

"But I..."Rosie started to refuse.

"Miss, get in," Bobby chimed in, "I'll take you home."

Howard raised an eyebrow at Bobby. "Why are you calling her miss?" 'She's clearly your mom! So what's with the miss?' he thought frustratedly.

"What's wrong with calling her miss?" questioned Bobby confusedly.

Howard was at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain. Eventually, he gave in, sighing. "Suit yourself."

Bobby waved his arms and gushed, "Rosie, get in!"

Rosie had no issues refusing Howard, but for some reason, she couldn't do the same to Bobby. So she agreed smilingly, "Alright. Thank you, Bobby."

"You're welcome," replied Bobby as he jumped down from Howard's lap and climbed into the back seat before waving her in. "Hop in, Rosie."

Rosie chuckled as she got in the car. "Okay."

A frustrated Howard had no choice but to get into the passenger seat.

As the car started, Bobby, who had been energetic earlier, lay down in Rosie's arms and fell asleep soon after.

Howard saw this clearly through the rearview mirror and sneered. "This

brat..." Then, he added, "Sorry for the trouble." This was clearly meant for Rosie.

Rosie shook her head, whispering gently, "No trouble at all."

Howard looked at Rosie through the rearview mirror and thought to himself, 'Is this what they call fate?

'I had given up on reuniting Rosie and Bobby, but, unexpectedly, they had bumped into each other...'

Rosie, on the other hand, was thinking about what Bobby had mentioned earlier about not having a mom.

Sienna had told her that Howard's child was not Yvette's and the reason Howard had broken off with Yvette seemed to be because Bobby and Yvette didn't get along...

Rosie started wondering, 'Previously when Howard confessed his love for me, he was even willing to wait for me to get divorced. However, he had never once mentioned Bobby. Has he never considered the possibility of Bobby not liking me, either?

'But since I have already rejected him, and he hadn't put up any fight, I guess there's no need to dwell on this matter anymore...'

Soon, the car arrived at Sunshine Neighborhood. Howard walked Rosie to her apartment building before saying, "Why don't you head in? By the way, thanks for today."

"You're welcome," replied Rosie smilingly, "It was a coincidence. Plus, anyone in my place would have done the same. Thanks for the ride."

Howard hummed in agreement and thought as he watched Rosie walk away, 'Maybe anyone would have done the same, but now it's you...'

*****

As the car continued on to the Flynn residence, Bobby woke up.

As his eyes opened and he realized Rosie wasn't there, he pouted. "Where is Miss?"

Howard glanced at him and replied truthfully, "She went back to her home." "What! How did I not know that?" wailed Bobby, feeling vexed.

"Because you fell asleep," scoffed Howard.

"Daddy," Bobby frowned and complained, "Why didn't you wake me up? I didn't even get to say goodbye to her yet."

Howard raised an eyebrow and retorted, "That's your problem. You didn't ask me to wake you up beforehand, so I had no obligation to."

Bobby humphed and glared at him before angrily twisting away his tiny body and showing Howard his back.

Howard sneered lightly and didn't coax Bobby, letting him cool off.

Instead, he asked about another matter. "Why did you run away from school

today?" Howard had gone to the school and checked.

The school building was undergoing construction and repairs recently.

The surveillance footage showed

that Bobby had run away using the worker's exit at the construction site. "Let's hear your excuse," demanded Howard.

SV

Bobby pouted and mumbled, "It's because... I didn't want to go home."

"Hmm?" Howard hummed in

surprise before probing further, "But why?" 'Could it be that Bobby is unhappy at home? Maybe he dislikes me or Miranda? Or did the housekeepers neglect him?' wondered Howard. This wasn't a trivial matter.

Love

Bobby mumbled, "I don't like Ms. Yerdinger." Sarah Yerdinger was Bobby's home tutor, responsible for supervising his homework and reading progress and accompanying him in his after-school studies.

"Is that so? Be more specific," responded Howard, raising his eyebrow. He hadn't expected this to be the reason.

"Because she constantly asks me about you..." grumbled Bobby, puffing his cheeks angrily, "She's so annoying that I don't want to see her face."

Hearing this, Howard fell into a momentary silence. Bobby might not understand

fully, but as an adult, Howard understood the core issue.

Sarah had ulterior motives and was undoubtedly unsuitable as a home tutor.

However, there were some things Howard wanted to clarify to Bobby.

He glanced at Bobby and shook his head with a slight smile. "Do you think such a trivial matter is worth running away from home?"

Howard patted Bobby's head and continued, "Listen carefully. If you don't like someone in the Flynn residence, you can ask them to

leave. You're the master of the net

house. Does it make sense for you to be accommodating an employee?"

Bobby blinked his big eyes, trying to understand. "Really? Can I really make her leave if I don't like her?" he asked.

"Of course." Howard nodded again. "You're still young. If something like this happens again, you can come to me. I'll handle it for you."

Bobby's eyes lit up, and he smiled, nodding firmly. "Got it. Thank you, Daddy."

"Look at you, behaving like a brat and running away from home just because of a home tutor and making Miranda worry! Hervey was searching around the whole city for you," scolded Howard, his expression darkening.

"Once you are back home, you are not allowed to go to bed until you've memorized five poems," instructed Howard.

Bobby's face fell as he mumbled, "Got it, Daddy."

*****

Joyce's recovery was going well. After 14 days in the sterile isolation unit, she was transferred back to the inpatient building. Sienna and Josiah were at the inpatient building together now at Lucas' office.

As Joyce's attending physician, Lucas was delighted. "Congratulations, both of you. Joyce's hematopoietic system has been reconstructed. Children are resilient, so she's recovering quickly," he beamed.

Sienna gasped and suddenly covered her face, her eyes reddening as tears welled up.

Josiah was faring slightly better, managing to hold back his emotions, though his eyelashes were damp. "Thank you, Dr. Nelson. We're incredibly grateful to you," he croaked.

"You're welcome. Plus, it's my duty," said Lucas, understanding their feelings. Then, he added, "Once back in the inpatient building, we'll still need to continue monitoring her.

"Given Joyce's condition, a 20-day stay is recommended. If you're still worried, a full month's stay would be better. You guys could afford it."

Josiah nodded. "Let's make it a full month then." He turned to Sienna. "Is that alright?"

"Yes." Sienna nodded. That was her intention as well.

Lucas smiled. "Alright then. The nurse should be bringing Joyce out soon. You

can go ahead and wait for her."

They left Lucas' office and waited at the door. A minute later, the nurse emerged, pushing a hospital bed.noveldrama

"Joyce!" called out Sienna, the first to rush forward.

"Mommy," cried out Joyce, looking so tiny as she lay on the hospital bed. The wires connected to her body had already been removed.

Other than being slightly thinner and her cheeks not as chubby, Joyce looked

much the same as before the surgery. She raised her arms toward Sienna and said, "Give me a hug, Mommy."

Sienna hesitated momentarily and looked questioningly at the nurse. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, no problem with that," assured the nurse.

Receiving an affirmative answer, Sienna didn't hesitate any longer. She bent down

and picked Joyce up. Only at this moment did her heart truly return to its place in

her chest.