Chapter 185 - Little Bean Sprout

It had been three days since Lance Go was last seen after gunning down the gun club president. Through the efforts of the members of Nisia Rifle and Gun Club, a bounty of fifty million dollars was placed on his head—dead or alive.

However, what the people didn't know was it wasn't the gun club president who was the real target of Lance Go. It just so happened that the man was on his way back to King Alistair's direction and was unfortunately caught in the line of fire.

Luckily for King Alistair, his aide who stepped outside to bring his gun was quick on his feet and shot Lance Go in the arm as the latter fled the scene.

This news was enough to stir trouble in the Lee Family and caused Grandpa Lee and Selena's hospitalization.

According to Ava, Grandpa Lee collapsed after confirming that Lance Go failed an assassination attempt on the life of King Alistair.

He was immediately rushed to the hospital and was given the best medical attention and was now recovering in Lee Estate because he wasn't a big fan of hospitals, so he left after gaining consciousness.

Selena Go, however, had to stay a little longer since she prem.a.t.u.r.ely gave birth to a daughter whom she refused to visit.

Rumor has it that the child was a carbon copy of Lance Go. That was why the newborn in the NICU department was never visited by her own mother.

The nurses in the NICU department took pity on the newborn, that when Ava paid the newborn a visit, they felt obliged to inform her of the tiny detail.

"The mommy can always visit the baby, especially during feeding hours so she can hold or simply touch her newborn's hands or feet because prem.a.t.u.r.e babies need warmth in adjusting to the outside world too," the NICU nurse explained to Ava who was watching by the nursery glass window.

Right in front of her was a tiny mung bean wrapped in a white blanket. The name card on the foot of the NICU crib was 'Baby Girl S Lee'.

"Thank you so much for your concern, nurse Kyla," Ava spoke to the nurse, reading the name on the latter's nameplate.

A sad smile curved Ava's lips as she darted her gaze from the nurse back to Selena's newborn baby girl. She planted her hand on the window and tiptoed to get a good look at the newest addition in the Lee Family.

Ava walked like a zombie back to Selena's maternity suite and saw her cousin pumping milk whilst silently weeping.

"Heeeey," Ava called out, rushing to Selena's aid. Her eyes softened at the sight of her cousin.

"It hurts," Selena said and pointed to her c.h.e.s.t. "I've been pumping every two hours but nothing comes out and my b.r.e.a.s.ts are sore." Selena stifled a tear. It was a good thing the hospital-grade b.r.e.a.s.t pump was loud enough to muffle her cries.

"Just stick to your schedule. Your milk will come out soon. Maybe… Maybe you need to visit your baby so your milk will naturally let down? I heard… I heard you never once step foot in the NICU department."

Selena shook her head in disagreement. "Who can love that face?!" she seethed with anger and was met with a jolt of pain in her stomach and b.r.e.a.s.t that she winced and cursed in the bed. In her head, she wondered why nobody told her that recovering from giving birth was more painful than labor and delivery itself.

"But Selenaaa," Ava drawled and clasped Selena's hands with hers. She hoped that her cousin would soften up a bit. "Only a mother can love 'that' face and the mother we're talking about is you, so can you please visit the baby? She has your cute button nose."

The alarm on Selena's phone rang. It had been twenty minutes since she started pumping, yet nothing came out from her c.h.e.s.t. It also woke something up in her, something that she never noticed until now.

She glanced up at her cousin and saw Ava's warm and sweet smile, and couldn't help but feel thankful that at least the latter visited her. Nobody did, not even her parents.

It was always her cousin Ava who stood beside her every time when the rest of the Lee Family turned a blind eye to her, and the feeling of letting her down ate Selena's conscience, so she forced herself to give in to Ava's request. "Okay. But I won't stay long inside."

Ava clapped her hands and pushed the button to call forth a nurse. She then requested a wheelchair for Selena to sit on because the walk to the NICU wing was a bit far.

Although they were granted a wheelchair, Selena still tried to walk on the way to the NICU wing as advised by nurse Kyla. The cousins would then take short breaks whenever Selena was pushed to her limit.

When they reached the NICU wing, only Selena was granted access inside the room while Ava watched from the glass window as Selena met her daughter for the first time.

The baby was sleeping peacefully inside the glass-enclosed crib, even with the few monitoring wires attached to her that would make a beeping sound from time to time.

Selena swallowed a lump in her throat. Her child was so tiny, it was as big as her hand that she asked herself, when could she ever carry the tiny bean sprout?

Soon, her little girl cried, albeit softly, it was akin to a cat mewling. Selena felt her b.r.e.a.s.t suddenly grow heavier the longer she heard her child's pleas. Was it food? Was her diaper dirty? Or her child simply needed her warmth and embrace?

Nurse Kyla hurried to Selena's direction, holding a weird contraption. She passed a bottle to Selena and said, "This one is for you, mommy. You have to catch your milk so we can feed it to your baby later. And this one is a gown you can change into. Yours is soaked."

Selena's brows knitted in confusion. It was when nurse Kyla pointed to Selena's c.h.e.s.t using her mouth that Selena slightly bowed, seeing for herself her drenched hospital gown. She didn't realize that all along, her milk was dripping ever since she heard her little bean sprout cry.

"Thanks," Selena said. She took one more glance at her daughter before wheeling herself to a designating nursing area in the room. As if she was a pro at it, it didn't take a lot of time before Selena was back at her game, pumping milk out of her swollen c.h.e.s.t.

Like her name, she looked tranquil as she let the buzzing sound of the machine deafen her because her mind was elsewhere the entire time, thinking whether she should keep the child or sign her up for adoption.

Or maybe, she could move out of the country, and forget everything about Nisia and move on with a new life with her little bean sprout.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, the gunning down incident sent shock waves to the nation. The news of the king being in attendance at the scene of the crime created theories that maybe it was really him who was the target and not the gun club president.

The Sui Family did not like such news to create fear and panic in the country, especially when it was the truth. Add to that the fact that Lance Go was still at large. News like that would also incite other leftist groups to finish what Lance started and try their own attempt to assassinate the royal family.

Eventually, the link between the king's presence in the hunting party was turned into a mere hoax, and the people moved on with more pressing matters like Fiona Chung's scandal.

Apparently she went shopping in Hong Kong and was caught holding hands with her rumored new boyfriend, an award-winning indie film director, who happened to be married and had three young kids.