Chapter 208: Unexpected Visitor 2

"Not so fast, little one. Your mother is still injured."

Kristoff’s voice reached Isobel’s ears.

Mother.

The single word sent a storm of emotions spiraling through her.

For a moment, she could only stare at him.

Your mother.

The memory of the day she had given birth came rushing back—the sterile hospital room, the unbearable pain, and then Kristoff taking baby Alex from her arms.

He had made his decision then.

He told her never to appear before him, Charlotte, and the child again.

Their contract had been fulfilled. And so had her purpose.

He cast her aside as though the months they had spent together had meant nothing.

Yet now, he was holding their son in his arms and telling him that she was his mother.

Something inside Isobel trembled.

Was it because I took that blade for him?

Had seeing her bleed finally awakened whatever conscience he had buried beneath his cold exterior?

If that was the reason...

Then perhaps the wound in her arm had been worth it.

Across the bed, Alex was beginning to object to his father’s restraint.

The tiny boy squirmed impatiently in Kristoff’s arms, stretching his chubby little hands toward the person he desperately wanted to reach.

Isobel.

He turned his head toward his father, his brows furrowing with babyish determination.

"Da... da... da..."

Kristoff glanced down.

Before he could react, Alex’s tiny fingers reached up and grabbed the first thing they could find.

His nose.

"De... deee!"

The little fingers tightened.

Kristoff’s expression instantly darkened.

The sensation brought back a strangely familiar memory from his childhood—his grandmother yanking his ear whenever he had destroyed another section of her carefully tended garden.

"Alexander."

Kristoff said his son’s name through clenched teeth.

Alex merely blinked at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Then, apparently deciding that his father was an obstacle rather than a helper, he twisted his little body toward Isobel.

He nearly slipped from Kristoff’s grasp.

"Ma... ma..."

The moment the word left his mouth, his entire face brightened. He reached for her again, wriggling with renewed enthusiasm.

But the two large hands holding him firmly in place prevented him from getting any closer.

Alex’s lower lip trembled.

His eyes quickly filled with crystal-clear tears, making them look even brighter. The moisture clung to his thick lashes, darkening them as they fluttered helplessly.

Isobel’s heart melted.

How can anyone resist those eyes?

Even when they were on the verge of tears, they were impossibly beautiful.

Alex let out a soft whimper and stretched his arms toward her once more.

"Kristoff..." Isobel’s voice softened. "How about I hold him for a while?"

"No!"

The answer came immediately.

"Alex is too energetic. He could accidentally hurt you."

Kristoff’s gaze fell to her injured arm.

"I can’t risk that."

Before Isobel could respond, Alex’s face crumpled.

"Waaaah!"

His cry filled the room.

Isobel couldn’t help but smile despite herself.

"How about you lay him down beside me?" she suggested. "He won’t be able to reach my right arm that way."

Kristoff hesitated.

His eyes moved from Alex to Isobel’s bandaged arm.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Finally, he relented.

"Fine."

He carefully lowered Alex onto the bed, and beside Isobel.

The moment his tiny feet touched the mattress, Alex stopped crying.

His watery eyes immediately locked onto Isobel.

He began crawling toward her.

"Hey."

Kristoff caught him around the waist.

"Just lie down. Don’t make a fuss. Aren’t you afraid you will hurt your mother?"

His tone was firm.

He didn’t speak to Alex in the soft, sing-song manner most people used with babies. Instead, he spoke to him as though the little boy were already old enough to understand every word.

Strangely enough, Alex seemed to understand.

He settled down beside Isobel.

One tiny thumb slipped into his mouth while his other hand reached out and grabbed a fold of her hospital gown.

Isobel watched him for a moment. Then she frowned slightly.

"He’s hungry."

Kristoff looked at her.

"Is he?"

"I’ve taken care of babies before."

She glanced at Alex.

"I know what they look like when they’re hungry."

Kristoff said nothing.

He reached into the baby bag, pulled out a bottle, and handed it to Alex.

The baby eagerly took it with both hands.

Within moments, he was drinking contentedly.

Isobel watched him, something warm spreading through her chest.

This is my son.

My baby.

A child she had carried for nine months. A child she had been forced to give up.

And yet, here he was beside her now, completely at ease as though he had always belonged there.

By the time Alex finished the bottle, his eyelids were already drooping.

A few seconds later, he was fast asleep.

His tiny head slowly rolled to the side until it came to rest against Isobel.

Isobel stared at him in surprise.

"He just... went to sleep like that?"

Kristoff chuckled.

Isobel looked up at him.

"He isn’t always like that."

A faint smile tugged at Kristoff’s lips.

"His nanny usually has to rock him for ages. Sometimes she has to dance around the room while singing lullabies before he’ll finally fall asleep."

Isobel looked down at the sleeping baby nestled against her.

Then she gently brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead. They were thick and the same color as their father’s.

"Maybe they’re doing it wrong," Isobel said.

Kristoff’s smile froze.

For some reason, those simple words made the room fall strangely quiet.

"But even my mother couldn’t make him fall asleep that quickly."

"Maybe it’s the way they hold him."

"But you’re not even holding him right now, and he still fell asleep."

Isobel’s gaze drifted back to the sleeping Alex.

She watched his tiny chest rise and fall, his little face peaceful as he slept against her side.

"Then..." A soft smile touched her lips. "It must be my scent."

Kristoff’s brows lifted slightly.

"You know how they say babies can recognize their mothers by their scent?"

"Yes, you’re right."

His gaze settled on Alex, then slowly shifted to Isobel.

Because for the first time, watching his son sleep peacefully beside Isobel, he wondered if perhaps Alex had simply been waiting all this time...

...for his mother.