Chapter 1007

Keira looked at Lena and smiled, following up on Hayden’s words. “You’re family. It’s different.”

Lena shot her a subtle glare before stuffing the red envelope into her pocket and saying, “Give me the rest. I’ll hand them out for you later.”

Hayden passed her the prepared stack of red envelopes, and as she took them, she asked, “What about the other departments?”

Hayden and Aaron exchanged a glance and chuckled. “Of course. Every medical staff member in this hospital gets one.”

“President Hart, you’re too generous,” Lena said, giving him a thumbs-up.

With that, she took the envelopes and left.

Aaron glanced at the time. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back now.”

“Mm. Happy New Year!” Hayden said, offering his holiday wishes.

“Happy New Year to your whole family,” Aaron replied, adding a few extra words that made both Hayden and me instinctively turn toward the baby in the bassinet.

From today onward, we were officially a family of three.

Outside the hospital room, Aaron followed Lena, watching as she handed out all the red envelopes to the nurses on duty. She also conveyed Hayden’s wishes and wished everyone a happy New Year.

“Are you heading home?” Aaron asked.

“No. Rea just gave birth, and there are still a lot of things to take care of. Plus, the sun will be up soon anyway,” Lena replied with a yawn.

“Then get some rest. I’ll bring you some dumplings later,” Aaron offered. He knew Lena loved dumplings, especially the ones eaten on New Year’s—she always said they had a special taste that couldn’t be replicated any other time.

“You don’t have to go through the trouble, Uncle. You’ve also been up all night. Just go home and rest,” Lena said, not wanting to inconvenience him.

Aaron didn’t argue, but Lena knew that meant he wouldn’t listen. He was stubborn like that. She decided not to push it.

“Eat this while it’s still warm before you rest,” Aaron said, handing her the container of bird’s nest soup he had been carrying.

This time, Lena didn’t hesitate. She took it, lifted it to her lips, and drank it all in one go. “Thanks, Uncle. Happy New Year. Wishing you wealth and prosperity.”

“Happy New Year,” Aaron replied before turning to leave.

Lena watched his retreating figure and thought about how he had stayed at the hospital for hours. She murmured under her breath, “If he ever becomes a dad, he probably won’t be any worse than Hayden.”

Back in the hospital’s resting room, Lena sat down but didn’t immediately fall asleep. Instead, she stared blankly at nothing for a while, letting her mind drift.

Only when she finally took off her coat did she feel something pressing into her palm—she had forgotten about the red envelopes in her pocket. She pulled them out. There were five in total. Four were from her grandparents and parents. The last one was from Aaron.

His red envelope was different from the others. Instead of opening the four family envelopes first, she instinctively reached for his. Inside, she found a card. She recalled that Aaron had mentioned it was “a big one.”

Judging by this, he wasn’t joking. Whatever was in there was worth more than what a normal red envelope could hold. The last time he had given money—when he handed out 60,000 dollars as a “name change fee” for Xandra—it was already an extravagant amount. This time, she wasn’t sure how much it was, but she was certain it wouldn’t be any less than before.

Lena wasn’t someone who lacked money, so she didn’t dwell on it. Without much thought, she tossed the red envelope into her office drawer and then lay down on the small bed in the room. She fell asleep quickly.

And then, she dreamed. She dreamed that she was lying on a delivery bed. Sweat dripped down her face from the sheer pain. A man was next to her, comforting her, but she couldn’t see his face. All she knew was that she was gripping his hand desperately, squeezing it with all her strength. Between each painful breath, she cursed through clenched teeth. “Dammit… Aaron… you b*stard… this hurts so much…!”