Chapter 675

A little surprise?

Gwendolyn felt a sweetness in her heart, not expecting Cedrick to be so thoughtful. He had managed to arrange everything while she was packing at the hospital, even preparing a gift.

Charles had accompanied her there and was instructing the elite medical personnel arranged by the hospital director to enter Harrick Villa in an orderly fashion at that moment.

He heard Zoey’s words as soon as he reached Harrick Villa’s entrance. Cedrick even prepared a homecoming gift for Gwendolyn? After all this time together, he still remembered to surprise her to spice up their marital life. As a husband, Cedrick has indeed been very thorough in his duties, taking everything into consideration in all that he does.

Charles’ heart clenched. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would’ve been so meticulous if he had been the one to marry Gwendolyn previously.

He took in the heartfelt smile on her face. I don’t think I’ve ever made her smile so happily before.

A slight discomfort crept into his heart as he relented once again. “Gwen, now that all the medical staff are here, I’ll be taking my leave first.”

Gwendolyn turned to look at him. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

“That’s not necessary. It’ll be the same if I return to the Newton residence to have my meal.”

Gwendolyn held Benedict, but her eyes were riveted on Zendaya in Zoey’s arms. “You haven’t seen Zendy for many days, right? She misses you. Are you sure you don’t want to stay and accompany her?”

He hesitated briefly, turning his gaze following Gwendolyn’s line of vision to look at Zendaya in Zoey’s arms.

Zendaya was laughing happily. Her facial features were a replica of Gwendolyn’s when the latter was a child.

She reached out her fair tiny arms at Charles, seemingly wanting him to cuddle her.

When Charles shifted his deep blue eyes to meet Zendaya’s, her dark, grape-like eyes instantly won over his heart.

Zendaya babbled and furrowed her brows as if she was feeling aggrieved because Charles ignored her.

Before he realized it, he had given in and strode over, receiving the whimpering Zendaya from Zoey and patiently patted the baby girl to comfort her.

Zendaya snuggled in Charles’ arms and giggled triumphantly as if she finally had her way, making everyone in the room laugh.

Zoey said, “It seems Ms. Zendy is really fond of Mr. Newton. Mrs. Jenson hasn’t been back for many days, yet Ms. Zendy only wants Mr. Newton to hold her. It’s like all her attention is focused on him and no one else.”

Her remarks truly touched Charles’ heart, making him all the more reluctant to part with the adorable Zendaya.

Gwendolyn gazed at them and smiled. “Do you want to stay for dinner now?”

He replied, “I wouldn’t dare refuse your enthusiastic invitation. I’ll have dinner and then play with Zendy for a while longer before leaving.”

All the medical staff were accommodated at Harrick Villa, responsible for following up with Benedict’s ongoing medical condition.

Cedrick had the nursery on the fourth floor remodeled into Zendaya’s personal room and cleared out the neighboring room to let the sick Benedict stay alone.

Cedrick regarded Benedict’s health with great importance because the little boy suffered from congenital weakness and premature heartbeat, which were conditions that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

As he couldn’t allow Benedict to affect the currently healthy Zendaya, he had no choice but to arrange for the two babies to stay separately. Moreover, he had taken care of everything before Gwendolyn returned home.

Gwendolyn was satisfied with Cedrick’s efficiency in getting all the work done while she was discharged, so she didn’t have to worry about anything. Once again, she was showered by his thoughtfulness.

Channing monopolized all the milk powder business under Jenson Group.

Although he was a member of the underworld, Channing took the health and growth of the children very seriously. Having had experience with tainted milk powder incidents, he assigned his closest associates to oversee every process at his milk powder factory, including procurement of raw materials, production, packaging, and finally, transportation.

Every stage was documented and verified to ensure the goods delivered to the wealthy and noble families were healthy and nutritious milk powder.

Even so, for the safety of the babies, before each new can of milk was delivered, Cedrick would discreetly send the cans to a professional institution for the batches to undergo a full inspection.

Only after ascertaining they were safe to consume would he hand the cans of milk powder to Zoey.

Meanwhile, there was still no progress in Joe’s case.

Since the kidnapping, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Cedrick had issued a secret warrant for Joe’s arrest across the country, determined to locate the latter and bring him back to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigation and close the case even if he had to search every inch of land in the nation.

During their free time, Gwendolyn and Cedrick spent more energy on their two lively and adorable babies, accompanying and watching them grow.

Days of peace and leisure were always fleeting.

Eight months later, Zendaya and Benedict turned one year old.

By right, such an important day should’ve been celebrated with a grand banquet, especially considering how wealthy and esteemed Gwendolyn and Cedrick’s family was.

However, the couple didn’t seem to be planning on hosting any event at Harrick Villa.

Valentino instructed Logan to ask Gwendolyn and Cedrick about it indirectly and even offered to help organize the birthday banquet for his grandchildren if the couple was too busy.

Cedrick made no response, so that matter was left hanging.

On the day of Benedict’s and Zendaya’s birthday, Salinsburgh was overcast, and a drizzle fell incessantly, adding a touch of gloom and depression to everyone’s mood.

The atmosphere at Harrick Villa was hushed, and the place wasn’t adorned with any birthday celebration decorations either.

No invitations for any event were sent out, or any publicity was made.

Nico personally led a group of bodyguards to keep watch around Harrick Villa. Even the other members of the Jenson family couldn’t catch wind of what was happening inside the house.

The tight security was because Benedict wasn’t doing well. After several months of treatment and careful nursing, his condition failed to improve and was actually deteriorating.

At times, he would be so weak from illness that he would fall asleep in exhaustion after taking a few sips of milk and even face difficulty breathing.

Cedrick and Gwendolyn were low-spirited. That afternoon, they brought the two children to the laboratory in person.

Joshua was originally on vacation. Upon learning the couple had brought the kids there, he jolted awake and hurried out in floral-patterned shorts, slippers, and a thick, long coat.

His refined temperament dissipated without a trace when he was seen wearing the pair of floral-

patterned shorts. At that instant, he looked more like a sloppy young professor.

Cedrick couldn’t help but furrow his brows when he saw Joshua.

“I haven’t seen you for a while, and you’ve become so pathetic? Look at that flamboyant pants of yours.

You don’t even look like a professional researcher anymore.”

A wave of misery washed over Joshua. “Cedrick, you should’ve informed me in advance if you were coming. I was out all night at a bar last night and had only slept for four to five hours when I received news about your arrival. If you had told me you were coming, I wouldn’t have indulged myself last night.”

Cedrick grimaced, not in the mood for banter. “Since you haven’t sobered up, you should just get back to sleep. I’ll get another professor in the laboratory to do the blood tests for the babies.”

“No way! The Jenson and Mallory families have such good relations. Moreover, Benny and Zendy are my nephew and niece. I must carry out the test myself to feel at ease.”

The frown on Cedrick’s face deepened. “Are you sure you can do this when you’re reeking of alcohol?”

“Don’t worry. I’m in good shape. It’ll be fine,” he chirped.

However, only after looking at Cedrick’s darkened expression did Joshua slowly understand what he meant.

Cedrick wasn’t worried about physical well-being. Instead, he was concerned about Joshua’s unsteady mental state, which might result in a botched blood test, causing the babies to have several tubes of blood drawn needlessly.