Caught In His Embrace: A Second Chance Romance

"Mr. Flynn!" beamed Joyce when she looked up and saw Josiah behind them. "Are you here for me?"

"Of course." Josiah gazed tenderly at Joyce's delicate features.noveldrama

"Since I promised you, I'll definitely fulfill it," he added as he extended his arms toward Joyce. "How about I hold you?"

Joyce didn't agree immediately but looked at Sienna questioningly. "Mommy..."

Sienna gently smiled and let go of her hand. "Go ahead." She handed Joyce over to Josiah.

Holding Joyce close and kissing the top of her head, Josiah cajoled, "You can lean on me. I'll carry you back."

Joyce nodded. "Okay."

Conner was impatiently waiting near the widely opened inpatient building door. He had been discharged from the hospital two days ago. Knowing that Joyce would be discharged from the sterile isolation unit today, he came here specifically to see her.

Seeing Josiah with Joyce in his arms from afar, Conner immediately greeted them. "Joyce!"

"Uncle Conner!" cried out Joyce.

Conner stretched out his arms toward Joyce. "Come here."

"Okay," she chirped. She went from Josiah's arms to Conner's.

"Let me take a good look at you. Well, you do look fine now..." he mumbled. Conner looked Joyce over carefully and asked Sienna, "Joyce is all better now, right?"

Before Sienna could respond, Joyce hugged Conner and chimed in, "Yes! I'm all better now."

She looked up at Conner, her big eyes clear and bright. "Mommy said I'm

all better now because of you. Thank you, Uncle Conner. I love you the most!"

Conner felt a lump in his throat. He chuckled and tapped Joyce's pert little nose. "I love you the most, too, you little charmer."

Joyce might be young, but she was an expert at tugging people's heartstrings.

Soon, they had settled into the inpatient building. Joyce didn't require IV drips anymore and was mainly on oral medication and required monitoring. Which meant having one adult by her side was more than enough.

Sienna and Josiah had discussed and agreed that she would take the day watch while Josiah would stay the night.

At first, Sienna protested, "It's okay. I can manage on my own. I'm used to taking care of her by myself."

But Josiah insisted. "That's in the past now when I hadn't known about Joyce... It's different now."

"But..." Sienna frowned, still hesitant. "Aren't you busy?"

Although Josiah didn't mention it, it was obvious that he must be occupied with all sorts of matters since he had only been acknowledged by the Evans family recently. He had returned to the Evans family because of Joyce. "I am," Josiah replied curtly.

He lowered his gaze to look at Sienna and whispered, "I know how to handle those matters. But Joyce is the most important thing to me now. Taking care of her is not solely your responsibility."

Since Josiah was insistent, Sienna stopped her protests. At least this way, their schedules would be staggered, and they could avoid the awkwardness of being in the same room at the same time.

After all, they were a divorced couple, and it was somewhat inconvenient to be in the same room. "Alright then," said Sienna, and the matter was put to rest.

*****

In the afternoon, Joyce woke up from her nap, looking all rosy and pink. Looking at her, Sienna felt an uncontrollable surge of joy. She reached out and touched Joyce's face. "You look so beautiful, Joyce, with your rosy little cheeks looking like apples."

In the past, due to being ill, Joyce's face would never have had such a healthy flush.

Joyce opened her big eyes and mumbled, "Apples? Mommy, I want to eat apples."

"Coming right up!" Sienna smiled. "I'll cut them up for you, Joyce. Give me a moment."

"Okay," chirped Joyce.

Sienna got up and went out. She peeled and sliced the apple, placed it in a bowl, and brought it in. "Here you go," she offered.

"Wow!" Joyce exclaimed happily, holding the plate of apples, "They're bunnies!"

Sienna had cut the apple into the shape of bunnies. It wasn't difficult to coax a child if one knew the ways.

"Thank you, Mommy," gushed Joyce.

"You're welcome." Sienna smiled. Just then, her phone in her pocket rang. It was Derek. "Hello, Mr. Pittman," she greeted.

"It's been a while, Sienna," replied Derek.

The last time they met was several months ago when Derek had taken Sienna to meet the investors for his new film.

"Mr. Pittman, is there anything I can help you with?" asked Sienna.

"Well, it's about the dubbing for the previous drama. It's already in post-production and will be ready for broadcast soon," explained Derek.

Sienna was slightly startled. "So soon?" she asked.

Derek chuckled. "It's actually been several months. I wouldn't call that fast. There aren't many parts that require dubbing from your end. Can you let me know your schedule so that I can make arrangements?"

Sienna thought for a moment before answering, "The thing is, I'm not free during the day. Is it okay if we do it at night? I have no problem if it's nights."

"If that's the case, let me check..." There was silence on the other end for a moment before Derek's voice came again. "How about we start tonight? It'll probably take a few nights. Is that okay?"

"I'm fine with that," reassured Sienna.

After hanging up, Sienna thought it over and sent Josiah a message: [What time will you be here tonight?]

Josiah replied: [Around six, no later than seven.]

Sienna texted back: [Okay, got it.]

On the other end, Josiah held his phone, looking at the message and wondering,

'Is Sienna asking because she has something to do tonight?'

*****

It was just past six when Josiah

arrived at the inpatient building. As soon as he arrived, he heard laughter coming from inside the room Josiah frowned slightly. Right them the door to the room opened, and Sienna walked out with Cedric.

Cedric had arrived a bit earlier than Josiah. After seeing Joyce and playing with her for a while, he was about to leave. He was momentarily

stunned to see Josiah. Though within moments, he recovered and nodded smilingly. "Josiah,"

Josiah hummed in reply.

"Hey! You're here early," said Sienna as she glanced at her watch and smiled faintly. "That's perfect though. I could leave early then." As she spoke, she picked up her backpack from the couch.

Then, Sienna looked at Josiah and gestured toward the room before adding, "Joyce has had dinner. You can accompany her to watch cartoons, or read her stories... Up to you. Call me if anything comes up."

"Sure." Josiah nodded, his gaze fixed on Sienna before inadvertently sweeping over Cedric.

Sienna slung the backpack over her shoulder and signaled Cedric. "Let's go. We can leave together," she said.

"Okay..." Cedric nodded dazedly, and they left the inpatient building together.

As the door closed, Josiah's face suddenly darkened as he thought, 'Sienna must have messaged me because of Cedric. Are they going on a date? Josiah scoffed, feeling ridiculous as he thought dejectedly, 'They are a couple, so dating was perfectly normal, right?

'Why am I so concerned about it? As an ex-boyfriend and ex-husband, what right

do I have to care about it?'

*****

Inside the elevator, Cedric glanced at Sienna from time to time.

Sienna chuckled. "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Yes..." Cedric nodded. He had been holding back for a long time because of Joyce's surgery, but now was a good time to ask.

He carefully began, "Where are you going? Don't you need to stay with Joyce?"

Sienna pursed her lips and replied, "It's a work matter... As for Joyce, didn't you see? Josiah is with her."

She smiled faintly before continuing, "We've agreed that I'll take care of her during the day, and he'll take over at night."

Cedric sensed something was off. He gulped nervously before finally voicing his doubts. "You guys haven't reconciled, have you?"