Chapter 287: Extra, 3 Years Later

It was Asher Keating’s birthday, and since it fell on a weekend, the group of friends decided to get together for dinner at his villa.

In the past three years, Nathan Grant had given birth to a daughter, and Sheila Hughes had a son at the beginning of this year. Only Leah Sinclair hadn’t planned on having children yet for the sake of her career. A year ago, Shawn Grant had completely washed his hands of his responsibilities, tossing Baystream to Leah under the noble-sounding excuse that he needed more time to find a wife.

“Auntie~ Auntie~ I’m here!”

Cynthia Hale, the daughter of Nathan Grant and Chester Hale, came running in as she shouted. They had just returned from a trip to Kingsford.

“Hey, hey, Cynthia, your uncle is right here in front of you. Can’t you see me?”

Shawn Grant, looking displeased, grabbed the little girl by the collar of her shirt as she was about to run to Leah Sinclair, lifting her up and into his arms.

For some reason, the little girl absolutely adored Leah. Whenever Leah was around, she had eyes for no one else—not her mom, not her dad, not even her uncle. She would just cling to Leah.

Cynthia Hale pushed his face away with a look of disgust. “Uncle, your beard is too prickly.”

For some unknown reason, Shawn Grant had recently decided that a full beard was incredibly handsome and had started growing one out. Hearing her complaint, Shawn just laughed and deliberately rubbed his stubble against her, making the little girl shriek.

When Leah heard Cynthia’s voice, she hurried to go over from the yard. But just as she was about to leave, Sheila Hughes’s son, Sylvester Shaw, started to cry, fussing to be held by Leah.

Leah found herself frozen in the doorway between the garden and the living room. On one side, a little girl was shouting, “Auntie, save me!” On the other, a baby was wailing, “Aun-tie~” She was stuck, unable to move forward or back.

Everyone else in the room watched her with amusement. They found it amazing how incredibly good Leah was with children. It had been the same with Talia Keating before. Now that Talia was better, she also loved to cling to Leah.

In the end, Leah picked up Sylvester Shaw and walked toward Cynthia Hale. For a fleeting moment, she felt a wave of relief. ‘Thank goodness Talia Keating hasn’t arrived yet. Otherwise, how could I possibly handle them all by myself?’

“Hey, Asher,” Ethan Shaw said, nudging the man beside him. “Look how much kids love Leah. Aren’t you two planning on having one yet?”

Ever since becoming a father, that guy Ethan Shaw hadn’t missed an opportunity to gloat to Asher Keating. He had finally managed to do one thing before Asher did.

As for having children, Asher wasn’t in a hurry. It had been two years since his wedding to Leah, and he wanted to give her career space. Besides, he also wanted to enjoy a little more time with just the two of them.

‘Then again,’ he thought, ‘perhaps it’s not a bad time to start thinking about it.’

A smile played on Asher Keating’s lips as he watched Leah walk toward Cynthia Hale.

Seeing Leah approach, Cynthia Hale’s face lit up. She wriggled out of Shawn Grant’s arms like a slippery eel and ran toward Leah.

“Slow down, you’ll fall!” Leah said, quickening her pace.

But just as Cynthia was about to reach her, she suddenly screeched to a halt. Leah thought she was upset about seeing Sylvester Shaw in her arms. After all, there had been countless times when Cynthia and Talia Keating got together, with one yelling, “She’s my auntie!” and the other shouting, “No, she’s my auntie!”

Leah crouched down and coaxed her gently, “Cynthia, this is Auntie Sheila’s little boy. You’ve met him before.”

Cynthia Hale pouted. “A baby sister.”

Nathan Grant chuckled, playfully tugging on her daughter’s pigtail. “Look closely. That’s a little boy, not a little girl.”

“A baby sister! A baby sister!”

Cynthia Hale grew frustrated, anxiously repeating “baby sister” before bursting into tears with a loud WAIL. Her crying stunned everyone in the room, and even those outside came in to see what was happening.

The moment she started crying, Chester Hale and Shawn Grant rushed forward to comfort her, but a sharp glance from Nathan Grant stopped them in their tracks.

She crouched down to meet Cynthia’s eyes and said seriously, “Cynthia, Auntie is holding a little boy. Why do you say he’s a little girl? Don’t cry, Mommy is asking you a serious question.”

Cynthia looked at Nathan Grant through her sobs, then glanced at Leah. She pouted and said in a small, quavering voice, “Auntie has a baby sister.”

Leah didn’t get it at first. She looked down at Sylvester Shaw, who was happily playing with her hair and grinning. ‘This little guy doesn’t look like a girl at all,’ she thought.

Nathan Grant and Sheila Hughes, however, understood immediately. Sheila hurried forward, pulled the crouching Leah to her feet, and took the baby from her arms. Nathan also stood up, holding Cynthia and tut-tutting as she looked at Leah.

“What’s wrong?” Leah was completely baffled.

“Are you… pregnant?” Nathan Grant asked, her eyes scanning Leah from head to toe.

Asher Keating, who was walking over just then, froze when he heard the question. Leah also stood there stunned, saying nervously, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Cynthia said you have a baby sister. Kids have a sixth sense about this stuff. When was your last period?” Sheila Hughes asked urgently.

“I think it was…” Leah frowned, trying to remember.

“She didn’t get it last month,” Asher Keating answered for her.

“You two are unbelievable. Her period is a month late and you never thought to check?”

Nathan Grant stared at them, speechless. When her own period had been just two days late, she had sensed something was off, and a test confirmed she was pregnant.

Now, Leah finally started to panic. She had been so busy the past few months, and her period had been late before, so she hadn’t paid it much mind.

“Do you have a pregnancy test? Go take one!” Sheila Hughes said, equally exasperated.

“We don’t have any at home. I’ll go buy one,” Asher Keating said, turning to leave. He was a bit dazed himself.

Chester Hale stopped him. “Why buy a test? Just go straight to the hospital and get it checked.”

Asher Keating stopped in his tracks. ‘Right, why buy a test?’ Then he rushed to grab his and Leah’s coats, wrapping her up snugly before telling the others, “Make yourselves at home. We’re going to the hospital.”

The group waved them off, urging them to hurry. They had gathered at each other’s homes so often over the years that they were all perfectly comfortable no matter whose house it was.

Leah was still in a daze as she got into the car. She stared blankly at Asher Keating. “Asher, it can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it? That one time we didn’t use anything… and it happened?”

Asher Keating squeezed her hand and comforted her in a low voice, “Let’s go find out first.”

He wasn’t sure either. The night Leah was talking about was the day he returned from a nearly month-long business trip abroad. He got home late at night, they didn’t have any condoms, and with absence having made their hearts grow fonder—plus, they were married—they just went for it.

At the hospital, while waiting for the test results, Leah was still in a fog. She suddenly remembered the time she had a fever and went to the hospital with Asher Keating at night. Back then, the doctor had said they needed to rule out pregnancy first, and the two of them had sat there waiting for the results, just like now.

Back then, Asher Keating had asked her, “Are you afraid of having my baby?”

She never thought that after all these years, the two of them would be sitting here again, waiting for the same result. Leah suddenly couldn’t help but laugh.

Asher Keating raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s so funny?”