?Chapter 1018:


    “Haha!” Ellie chuckled. “Kaiden, did you say something mean to the baby? Now it’s ignoring you?”


    Kaiden pursed his lips and gritted his teeth, staring at her swollen belly.


    Ellie turned her head toward him, still smiling.


    “Are you sulking? Hahaha… It’s alright. The baby is still young. If you coax it more, it’ll warm up to you.”


    Kaiden let out a soft snort, gently holding her face and kissing her cheek. He murmured, “I don’t need to coax it as much as I do with you.”


    Ellie was left feeling exasperated and at a loss for words.


    “If it wants to be distant, let it,” he added.


    Ellie found herself both amused and frustrated by Kaiden’s words. Considering the future rtionship between father and child, she slowly reached out.


    Kaiden gently guided her hand to rest on his face.


    “Don’t be upset. The baby doesn’t know you yet, but it will recognize you soon,” Ellieforted Kaiden.


    “Oh,” Kaiden responded tly.


    He saw no point in being upset over an unborn baby. But he appreciated how Ellie tried to cheer him up.


    Kaiden kept a serious expression, hoping Ellie would try harder to make him smile. But it only took him a moment to realize she couldn’t see his serious face.


    He closed his eyes tightly, the pain in his heart intensifying. Maybe he shouldn’t have let her get pregnant in the first ce.


    Kaiden began reading The Miracles of the Namiya General Store to Ellie. When he read in French, his voice sounded romantic; when he read in Japanese, it carried aid-back tone.


    Ellie drifted off to sleep, listening to his voice. Her body naturally turned to the left, her forehead resting against him—an unspoken sign of her reliance on him.


    Kaiden looked from her face to her belly, cing hisrge hand gently on it.


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    He waited for a full thirty minutes. The baby didn’t move at all.


    He snorted.


    Kaiden withdrew his hand and headed to the study. He made a phone call and asked, “What’s the status?”


    The doctor replied, “We used a hormone treatment today. It had some effect—the patient could see light for a few seconds, but not clearly. However, the treatment is quite painful for her.”


    “You can’t use hormones. Find a way that won’t harm the patient’s body,” Kaiden instructed.


    The doctor sounded confused. “But sir, didn’t you say you weren’t concerned about this patient’s well-being?”


    When Carole arrived, her head was covered in blood, and her jaw was dislocated. She didn’t appear to be someone Kaiden would care about.


    Kaiden tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk. The tension was palpable through the phone.


    “I understand,” the doctor quickly corrected himself, shifting the conversation. “We do have a gentler option, but we don’t have the new drug yet, and it’s quite expensive.”


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