bChapter 202 /b

    When Jordan returned, he carried two enormous bags stuffed with every type of pad and tampon avable. Ste staredb, /bbstunned/bb. /b“bWhy /bso many?”

    “You’ll need them eventually,” he said,

    could try different ones.”

    5 whem

    down. “I didn’t know what kind you’d prefer, and since it’s been so long, I bfigured /b

    Ste felt a lump form in her throat. Jordan had thought of everything,

    more thoroughly than she had herself.

    Mary chuckled warmly. “Go get changed, de

    . I’ll take care of washing clothes.”

    “No, Mary,” Ste insisted quickly. “I’ve to

    Mary simply smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

    You

    before, I can wash my personal items myself.”

    It took Ste about ten minutes to get properly situated. Never in her life had she imagined feeling joyful about getting her period. “You

    should all go back to sleep,” she said apologetically. “I woke everyone up with my excitement.”

    “Don’t worry about it,” Mary reassured her. “This is wonderful news. We’ll all sleep better knowing you’re healthier..

    Ste locked eyes with Jordan across the room. Without words, she could feel his genuine happiness for her.

    The next morning, the doctor arrived early. Jordan, who had been up since dawn, met him outside to exin Ste’s recent development. When Ste saw the physician, he was already preparing to check her pulse.

    An intense silence filled the room as the three waited, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

    After what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally withdrew his hand, his face breaking into a smile. “Congrattions, Ms. Hayes. Your body

    has shown remarkable improvement.

    “Your organ functions are strengthening significantly. Youth truly is resilient. I had concerns you might never fully recover, but at this rate, with continued care, you should make aplete recovery.”

    Ste’s eyes welled with tears. “Doctor, are you serious?”

    “Absolutely. Your rapid progress shows both excellent care from those around you and your own discipline in following medical advice. Maintain this, and within a year or so, you should return to full health.”

    Overwhelmed with joy, Ste hesitated before asking the question burning in her heart. “Does this mean… I could have children?”

    Jordan stiffened almost imperceptibly beside her.

    your health further. If possible, I’d even rmend multiple children.”

    “Of course,” the doctor beamed. “A pregnancy would actually benefit yo

    Ste’s cheeks flushed crimson. “Thank you, doctor.”

    As the doctor began his routine therapeutic massage, Jordan quietly pulled Mary aside outside the room. “She wants children?” he whispered.

    “Doesn’t every woman?” Mary replied softly, watching Ste through the doorway. “There’s no greater miracle bthan /bbcreating /bblife/bb./bb” /bbShe /bbtumed /bito /istudy Jordan’s face. “Unless… you don’t want children?”

    b1/3 /b

    “bI /bbdo/b,b” /bJordan said quickly, then lowered his voice. “But I had made peace with the possibility we might bnot have /bbany/bb. /bbHer /bbhealth /balway- came first.”

    Mary sighed. “Ms. Hayes feels the same way about you. She worries that without a family of your own, you’d feel… bunanchored/b.

    After the acupuncture session, Jordan and Ste shared a meal in the dining room, with Mary having stepped away to tend to other bduties/b.

    Jordan hesitated before speaking. He’d rehearsed this moment in his head a dozen times. “If the doctors say it’s safeb, /bare you really going to bear multiple children?”

    Ste nodded without hesitation. “If my body allows it, yes. Don’t you want them?”

    “More than anything,” he said, reaching for her hand. “But not at the cost of your well–being.”

    She shrugged, tracing the rim of her water ss. “As long as the doctors say it’s safe, I want to try. I need this, Jordan. To be a mother,”

    He reached across the table, his thumb brushing her wrist. “We’ve got time. You’re only twenty–two. We could wait a few years.”

    Heat rushed to Ste’s cheeks. She hadn’t expected this conversation to veer here s

    soon.

    Children meant that step, and her doctor had been clear: though her menstrual cycle had normalized, intimacy was off–limits for another month or two. Had Jordan been present for that part? The unspoken thought made her pulse skip.

    Noticing her blush, Jordan’s ears turned pink. He cleared his throat. “What I meant was… any children we have could carry your name too. Not just mine.”

    Ste’s fork clinked against her te. “You’d… agree to that?”

    “Of course.” His thumb traced circles over her knuckles. “With both our families nearly gone, someone ought to carry on the linesb, /beven if that sounds like something out of a Victorian novel.”

    A weight lifted from her chest. She’d secretly wished for this but feared sounding presumptuous. Now, his offer settled like a vow. “Thank you,” she whispered.

    Jordan squeezed her hand. “Always.”

    He left abruptly for a work emergency. As Ste gathered her things for the office, her phone buzzed with an unknown number: [Do you really believe Jordan will make you happy?]

    ?

    Her jaw tightened. The sender clearly wanted her to ask who they were, but two could y at this

    game.

    ‘Let them sweat,‘ she thought.

    The supermarket had been thriving for days, its sess growing steadily. There had been a few troublemakers, but with Kevin, Jordan, and N around, every issue was swiftly handled.

    Meanwhile, the hospital called with an update. Max had been working hard in rehab, pushing himself to recover as quickly as possible. Ste knew exactly what he was thinking, but she ignored it.

    On his end, Max had heard about Lionel’s downfall. The Quinn family’s properties had been seized, and Lionel himself had bgone /bbinto /bbhiding/b. Ny million dors. There was no way he could repay that now.

    Max couldn’t believe how far he and his best friend had fallen. ‘Is this our punishment for how we’d treated bSte/bb?/b”

    Many had called Ste a curse, but the truth was the opposite.

    He thought, ‘She wasn’t the one who brought misfortune; it was those who wronged her who suffered. If you treated her wellb, /bthings iwere /iwell for you. If you didn’t… well, look at him now.‘

    It had taken him too long to realize this, but betterte than never.

    After finishing his rehab session, a nurse took him outside for some fresh air. Max, now able to maneuver his wheelchair on his bown/bb, /brolled toward the hospital entrance, only to see security shooing away a disheveled woman in tattered clothes.

    He wouldn’t have paid her any attention… if not for the voice.

    His wheelchair stopped dead. ‘That beggar… is my mother?‘

    biAD /i/b