Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride

Chapter 1276 - 1271: Infertile

Initially, Nathan wanted to ask why Sophia was back at work when Evander had already helped her take a leave of absence, but when the words reached his lips, he said instead, "Make me a cup of coffee."After all, she was his brother’s woman, and as the elder brother, excessive concern seemed inappropriate.

"Okay, President." Sophia nodded slightly, then opened the door and walked out.

In Evander’s office, Gabriel came personally to pick up the test results. Although he already knew that Willow was not his daughter, seeing the data on the test sheet still left him somewhat disappointed.

In his heart, he always held a sliver of hope that perhaps Willow was indeed his daughter...

Gabriel sat opposite Evander, continuously puffing on a cigarette while staring at a spot. Evander could tell that Gabriel had feelings for Willow, having raised her for over twenty years.

Evander’s fingers tapped unconsciously on the desk, one hand resting on the back of the chair, glancing at his elder seemingly inadvertently asking.

"Uncle, after having Willow, did you ever think about having more children?"

Gabriel took a drag on his cigarette and turned to his nephew, unhappily saying, "What do you mean I didn’t think about it? Your aunt couldn’t get pregnant after Willow!"

Evander withdrew his gaze, looked at his unconsciously tapping fingers, the corners of his mouth curving into a meaningful smirk, "Uncle, don’t say that. If Aunt couldn’t get pregnant, she wouldn’t have had Willow in the first place."

Gabriel paused in his smoking motion, glanced at Evander, and snorted disdainfully, "Hmph! She could get pregnant with another man, but after marrying me, she became a hen that doesn’t lay eggs!"

After speaking, he took a fierce drag on the cigarette, seeing that the butt was burnt out, angrily flicked it to the ground.

Evander chuckled lightly, the curve of his lips slightly mocking.

The facts were clear, yet some people just didn’t understand.

"Alright, I’m leaving. You continue with your work!" Gabriel stood up, grabbed the test results in front of him, clearly still upset.

"Take care, Uncle," Evander said courteously, watching Gabriel’s departing figure and shaking his head helplessly.

Gabriel huffed, heading towards the elevator, still not contemplating the implications of Evander’s words as he passed the trash bin. He crumpled the test results in his hand and tossed them in before striding into the elevator.

"What do you have to say now? You’ve blamed me for not being able to conceive all these years, and your mother called me a chicken that can’t lay eggs behind my back! Mr. Gao, I’m going to throw this report in your mother’s face when we get home and see what she has to say!"

In the elevator, a woman pointed at a man’s nose, finally able to vent years of grievances after being wronged for so long.

The man being scolded looked livid but did not argue back.

A successful man cannot stand having a woman disgrace him, especially in public.

Gabriel impatiently glanced at the clamoring woman, disdainfully shifting away to one side.

As the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened, Gabriel quickly stepped out, disdaining to share the same space with such a low-tier woman for even a second longer.

Gabriel marched towards the entrance, but after a few steps, his pace faltered, and his brows furrowed unconsciously. His nephew Evander’s words echoed in his ears — if Aunt couldn’t get pregnant, she wouldn’t have had Willow in the first place...

Could it be...that I’m the problem?

Gabriel was bewildered, standing in the center of the hospital lobby, his brows knotted in thought.

After a moment, he scoffed and shook his head.

Impossible, how could he, strong and vigorous, be unable to have children, unlike the scrawny man in the elevator who clearly looked unhealthy?

Gabriel strode towards the exit, went out through the revolving glass door, but when the door swung back around, he turned and walked back inside again.

With a grave expression, he walked purposefully towards the elevator.

Not wanting others to know about his privacy, Gabriel had his nephew collect a sperm sample, stored in a specialized container, which Evander took to the lab.

In the ward upstairs, Willow was ready for discharge, but unsure where to go after, so she continued to stay in the hospital.

With the recent incident, Catherine had to accommodate her.

With suspicions burgeoning, Gabriel couldn’t wait a day longer, sitting in Evander’s office, smoking one cigarette after another, waiting for the test results.

Before lunch, the results finally came out, and Evander returned to his office with the report.

"Uncle, take a look at it yourself. If you don’t trust the level of technology at our private hospital, you can have it done again at another hospital."

Evander placed the report in front of Gabriel, who tossed aside his cigarette butt and snatched it up.

The data on the report was difficult for him to comprehend. He looked up at Evander and asked, "Is it my problem?"

Evander folded his hands inside his white coat, a common habit among medical professionals, and reached out to take the report from the desk, looking at the data and said.

"The report shows that your sperm count is low, only 0.2×10^9/mL, extremely rare, and the viability is low, with most being dead..."

Listening to Evander’s explanation, Gabriel looked up at him, probing, "So... does that mean... I’m infertile?"

Evander slid the report back to him, tucked his hands back into the pockets of his white coat, inhaled deeply, sighed, and nodded, "Yes."

Gabriel...

Slumped in the chair in despair, realizing it wasn’t his first wife who was infertile, but himself. And marrying Catherine all these years without conceiving again was also his issue...

The abruptness of it all left Gabriel unable to accept the reality, blankly slumped in the chair, unresponsive to what lay ahead.

Evander took another deep breath, exhaled, and said, "Uncle, actually... Willow is quite good. After all, she has been raised by you all these years. If not for that man’s extortion, wouldn’t you treat her as your own daughter anyway?"

After Evander finished speaking, Gabriel suddenly turned to glare at him, his abrupt movement causing Evander to freeze, nervously licking his lips, awaiting the reprimand.

Gabriel stared at him steadily for a few seconds before abruptly getting up and striding towards the door.

Evander turned his head, watching his uncle Gabriel’s departing figure, smiling helplessly.

Willow leaned against the hospital bed, staring blankly ahead. Catherine sat on the sofa, laying out the just-delivered takeout on the coffee table, "Willow, come eat."

Willow came back to her senses, took a deep breath in, and exhaled shakily, lifting the blanket to slide her legs into the slippers. Just as she slipped one on, the door to the ward was suddenly flung open.

Instinctively, the mother and daughter looked over to see Gabriel standing at the entrance with an unhappy expression.