LUCIA

Epilogue 4

Hugo went to Evangeline's nursery first. Nowadays, his wife spent most of her time there. However, when he got there, his wife was nowhere to be found and the wet nurse told him that the Madam had gone to her bedroom with the little miss.

Unlike what he expected, the bedroom was quiet when he got there.

His wife was usually quite chatty when she was with the baby. Lately, Evangeline was beginning to coo and babble, so she was showing more reactions. When the baby babbled something incomprehensible, his wife added onto it and agreed enthusiastically.

Hugo was curious if his wife really understood what the baby was saying. The incomprehensible wails that Evangeline made was not a human language.

He was wondering why it was quiet and as expected, he found both his wife and the baby lying side by side on the bed, taking a good nap. Hugo sent out the maid who was standing guard at the side, then he carefully sat down on the bed, taking care not to shake it.

Hugo stared at his wife's sleeping face with a gentle look in his eyes. He understood what she meant when she said that even when she was just watching Evangeline sleep, she felt happy. Every time he saw her, he always felt like that.

When the sleeping Evangeline turned on the bed, Hugo's gaze moved to her.

'I think she's much bigger than when I saw her this morning.'

His mind went back to the day when he first saw the baby after she was born. In the past three months, he was able to understand why they told him that the baby would grow up very fast. It was fascinating to watch his daughter whom he thought looked strange when he first saw her, continuously transform like a doll.

Her plump pearly cheeks were cute. The more he looked at them, the more he felt ticklish somewhere inside. He wanted her to grow up fast so that he could also understand what she was saying.

Evangeline who he was watching, pursed her lips, blinked her eyes and woke up. Her wide eyes looked around and locked eyes with Hugo. Her amber eyes, similar to Lucia's but slightly more yellow, were staring intently at Hugo. Hugo was taken aback and froze, facing the baby.

"Kwawa."

Evangeline giggled and stretched out her hand to Hugo. While making indecipherable sounds that was impossible to distinguish as laughing or talking, she moved her hands and feet with all her might, as if trying her hardest to express something.

He couldn't move his eyes away, so he just watched her quietly.

Seeing that Hugo showed no signs of carrying her after all her hard work, Evangeline's voice grew louder, and she flailed her hands. Her lips scrunched up and her small forehead began to wrinkle. Evangeline's eyes quivered as if she was going to cry at any moment.

"Eve, good girl."

Hugo didn't want to wake his soundly sleeping wife, so he tried to pacify his daughter. However, tears began to well up in Evangeline's eyes.

Hugo fidgeted a bit then he picked his daughter up and hugged her. Then he walked some distance away from the bed.

Whenever Lucia gave him the baby, Hugo reluctantly held her, but he had never taken the initiative after the midwife forced him to carry Evangeline on the day she was born. The baby was so small and weak that he was afraid that something might go wrong when he carried her. Knowing that Hugo showed signs of discomfort, Lucia never forced him.

His daughter was much heavier than when he last held her. It felt like the weight of life he had to bear on his shoulders.

Enjoying the feeling of being in Hugo's embrace and carried in the air, Evangeline began to babble noisily. Hugo wanted to understand his daughter's words like his wife, so he furrowed his brows and listened carefully, but when he realized all over again that he couldn't understand at all, he chuckled.