Eleanor covered her mouth, overjoyed and excited, and immediately texted back, "You had a baby and didn't even tell me? Are we still best friends?"
"I knew you were a busy woman! I decided to tell you after he was born to give you a surprise."
"Alright, I'll come see my godson tomorrow," Eleanor replied with a smile, carefully studying the baby pictures, genuinely happy for her friend.
"No rush, we're still under observation at the hospital. Next week is fine."
"Okay, make sure you get some rest. I'll bring Evelyn to visit you next week."
After chatting a bit more with Joy, Eleanor couldn't help but recall the day her own daughter was born. Although Evelyn had only weighed six pounds, being a first-time mother meant she had spent three grueling hours in the delivery room.
Afterward, in the busy haze of caring for a newborn, the pain of childbirth was forgotten within a month. The cuteness of the little one was a cure for everything.
Right then, Joy sent over a few more candid shots. In them, Frazier Jeffries sat on the sofa holding the baby, his face a mix of excitement and nervousness, his movements clumsy yet overflowing with paternal affection.
Looking at these pictures, Eleanor's breath hitched, and her thoughts drifted back six years.
It was the day after their daughter was born. Ian had been just as careful, his face filled with the anxiety of a new father.
The head nurse stood by, instructing him on the correct way to hold an infant. The man who was always so composed looked particularly clumsy at that moment.
Back then, despite her exhaustion and pain, she had taken out her phone to take pictures and videos, capturing the moment a man became a father for the first time. Now, all of it was packed away in a corner of her computer files, a folder she would never open unless absolutely necessary.
In the period right after her divorce, she had considered deleting them. But then she thought about how precious these memories would be to her daughter. So, she changed her mind, deciding to preserve them for Evelyn to see when she was older.
Looking at Frazier in the photo, Eleanor sincerely hoped her best friend would find lasting happiness, forever cherished like a princess.
Eleanor came to her bedside, her gaze calm. "Gina, please, say what's on your mind."
"I heard from Serena that you went to Kingston to receive another award. You're truly outstanding," Gina said with genuine praise.
Eleanor pressed her lips together and nodded, waiting for her to continue.
Gina took a deep breath, her eyes filled with guilt. "Eleanor, there's something I must confess to you. The reason Vanessa was able to come and go from the Goodwin family home so freely and get close to Evelyn… it was all my fault."
Eleanor was slightly stunned but didn't interrupt.
"When I was diagnosed with the blood disorder, Ian was still in the country taking care of his father. He kept it from me, letting me believe it was just a bad flu. It wasn't until two years later that I found out it was hereditary, which is why Ian started taking Evelyn abroad for frequent check-ups. That's when Vanessa offered to help," Gina's voice was filled with regret. "She seemed so gentle and considerate, always asking after me, and she was incredibly patient with Evelyn. Ian was busy managing the company, working from morning till night, and I was struggling to care for a child on my own—"

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