Chapter 231: Luca Got Pregnant?

The moment Luca and Sophie stepped out of the hospital, Jennifer finally let out a quiet breath of relief.

Based on her initial evaluation, Daisy Kennedy had developed mild psychological trauma after losing her parents so suddenly. Thankfully, it wasn’t severe. With proper counseling and continued emotional support, Jennifer was confident the little girl would recover quickly.

Much of that, however, was thanks to the care Daisy had received over the past few weeks.

If Sophie hadn’t happened to cross paths with her that day and offered to help...

Jennifer didn’t even want to imagine how things might have turned out.

Since Daisy would need ongoing therapy, Luca decided she should remain in San Fierro for the time being. If everything went well, he also planned to enroll her in a good kindergarten after the summer break.

Once they got into the car, Luca unlocked his phone without saying a word. Instead of explaining himself, he opened Cecelia’s message and handed the screen to Sophie.

She had assumed his earlier reaction meant something serious had happened at the company.

Instead...

She stared at the message for a few seconds before quietly exhaling.

At least it wasn’t bad news.

Then another feeling crept into her heart.

A small, bittersweet ache.

She knew exactly who Cecelia was.

Although they had never spoken face to face, Vivienne had mentioned her more than once in the group chat. Sophie knew she was the woman Luca had fallen for during his trip to New Orleans.

What she hadn’t expected was for Cecelia to become pregnant so quickly.

Meanwhile, she’d been with Luca for much longer and still wasn’t expecting.

Of course, she knew the reason.

For most of their relationship, they had been careful every time they were together. It was only recently that they’d stopped taking precautions.

’Maybe... if I’d insisted he stop using protection sooner...’

She pushed the thought away.

Looking back at Luca, she asked softly, "What are you planning to do?"

"I was already thinking about bringing her to San Fierro," Luca admitted. "The pregnancy just moved everything forward."

This would be his first child.

He had absolutely no experience.

He’d probably have to ask Mom and Dad for advice.

Besides, he’d wanted Cecelia in San Fierro for quite some time. Now, with her pregnant, leaving her alone in New Orleans was out of the question.

Sophie nodded.

She had been worried about that as well.

Having Cecelia nearby would make it much easier to look after her.

And...

Sophie hoped to have a child with Luca one day too.

With Cecelia already expecting, she could learn what pregnancy was really like and prepare herself for the future.

"When are you going to tell Vivienne and the others?" she asked.

"Now?" Luca scratched his cheek awkwardly before giving her a pleading look. "Could you help me?"

Sophie puffed out her cheeks.

"...Fine."

No matter how conflicted she felt inside, she found it difficult to refuse him.

She took his phone, typed out a message, and sent it to Vivienne.

Neither of them knew that Vivienne happened to be at Luca’s villa at that very moment.

Splash.

Naomi sighed dramatically as she reluctantly pulled another stack of bills from her purse.

"Why am I always the one losing the most?"

Trish burst into laughter from the sidelines.

"That’s what you get for sitting at the table! You should’ve known your wallet wasn’t making it out alive."

Honestly, Naomi never stood a chance.

Across from her sat Mr. and Mrs. Hale, and Vivienne.

Mrs. Hale had spent decades playing board games. Even if she constantly claimed she wasn’t very good, she still had more than enough experience to bully newcomers.

Mr. Hale often played cards with old friends whenever he had free time.

As for Vivienne...

She quietly kept feeding good tiles to the two elders whenever she could.

With teammates like that, Naomi’s defeat was inevitable.

That afternoon, Vivienne and Naomi had stopped by to visit Luca’s parents.

Mrs. Hale had seen Naomi during video calls before and had always wanted to meet her in person.

As for Vivienne...

The moment she walked through the door, both elders had already accepted her as one of their daughters-in-law.

She was beautiful, elegant, and carried herself with the grace of someone raised with impeccable manners.

It was almost impossible not to like her.

What the two elders didn’t know was that, while they believed Vivienne was supporting Luca, the truth was the exact opposite.

Just as another round was about to begin, Vivienne’s phone vibrated twice.

"Vivienne, you got a message."

Trish picked up the phone from the sofa and waved it.

Because of her work, Vivienne rarely ignored messages or calls.

Without looking away from the table, she said, "Can you check who it is for me?"

She doubted it was anything urgent. If something truly important came up, her staff would call instead.

"There aren’t any company secrets on here, right?" Trish asked cautiously.

"No. Don’t worry." Vivienne casually discarded a tile. "Thirty thousand."

Octaveo Pharmaceutical’s real secrets were hidden inside research reports for new drugs.

Even Trish wouldn’t understand those files if she somehow opened them.

Feeling reassured, Trish unlocked the phone.

When she saw the sender was Sophie, she relaxed.

A second later...

Her eyes widened.

If her emotions a moment ago had been as calm as a still lake...

Now they were crashing like a tidal wave.

She spun around and shouted at the top of her lungs,

"Mom! Dad! Vivienne! Naomi! Luca got pregnant!"

Everyone at the table heard every single word.

Mrs. Hale rolled her eyes.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Since when can your brother get pregnant?"

"Oops!" Trish slapped her forehead. "I said it wrong!"

She hurriedly corrected herself.

"Luca’s girlfriend is pregnant! He’s going to be a dad!"

"...What?"

Clatter.

Four chairs scraped backward almost simultaneously.

The game was forgotten in an instant.

All four hurried over to the sofa.

"Sophie’s pregnant?" Mrs. Hale leaned forward eagerly, excitement written all over her face.

Standing beside her, Mr. Hale said nothing.

He instinctively pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

Just as he was about to light one, he paused, sighed, and quietly slipped it back into his pocket.

Vivienne and Naomi both froze for a brief moment.

A faint sense of disappointment flickered across their faces.

But it disappeared just as quickly.

Neither of them had been in any rush before.

Now...

Someone had quietly beaten them to it.

’Maybe... it’s time I started thinking about this too.’