Chapter 772

“Cedrick, I…”

Nico, looking pale, wanted to explain the situation, but Cedrick simply walked past the former and walked out of the door.

Meanwhile, Charles remained standing in the corridor not far away, his blue eyes fixed on Cedrick wistfully.

There were two children with Charles—one by his side and one in his arms. It was strangely a pleasant sight.

Benedict trotted forward, opened his arms wide, and fixed his glassy eyes on his father as a silent request for a hug.

As if reading his son’s mind, Cedrick bent forward and gently lifted the former into his arms, letting his son sit on his arm.

Even when Cedrick managed to take a quick shower, Benedict could still detect the smell of smoke and alcohol on the former, thanks to the sensitive nose he acquired from his prolonged sickness.

“Daddy, you’re naughty. You know I can’t stand the smell of smoke. Still, you secretly drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes in the office. If Mommy finds out about this, she’ll definitely punish you.”

Cedrick forced a faint smile to hide the anguish in his gaze. “I’m sorry. I won’t smoke again, and I won’t make Gwenny angry. Let’s head into the office first. It’s cold out here in the corridor.”

With that, Cedrick carried his son into the office, with Charles and Nico following them.

As soon as they entered the office, Zendaya quickly scanned the room, only to end up frowning.

“Daddy, where’s Mommy? Uncle Charles says Mommy was keeping you company when you worked overtime. Why isn’t Mommy here?”

The smile on Cedrick’s face froze, his gaze lowered as he came up with an excuse. “Your mommy has gone back to the Harris residence on Mount Tranquil. Something urgent happened in the family, and she needs to take care of it.”

Benedict, who was still in Cedrick’s arms, asked, “Then why didn’t you go with Mommy? You wanted to follow her everywhere in the past.”

With a tensed jaw, Cedrick explained awkwardly, “That’s because I have an urgent matter to take care of at work, too. I had no choice but to work overtime. I’ll pick her up latest by tomorrow or maybe the day after tomorrow.”

Both Nico and Charles had grave expressions. They realized something was not right with Cedrick, but they did not expose him in front of the children.

Benedict lowered his gaze, looking a little disappointed. “Daddy, I feel uneasy when I don’t get to see Mommy.”

The boy clutched his chest and glanced at Cedrick gloomily.

For some reason, Cedrick felt an ache in his heart, and his face paled. He could not bring himself to say a word.

Just then, Zendaya asked to be put down on the ground and trotted to Cedrick’s side, hugging the latter’s thighs.

“Daddy, I miss Mommy. I can’t sleep without Mommy.”

The children’s persistent requests put Cedrick in a tough spot, but he did not show his emotions.

Instead, he frowned and pretended to be angry by acting as if he was going to put Benedict down.

“I said; Gwenny’s busy. You two are five years old already. Why are you still so disobedient and insistent on being with her? And how dare you ask for her when you’re in my arms? Go on, then. Go look for her.”

Worried Cedrick would actually put him down, Benedict hugged the former tighter and rested his head weakly on the former’s sturdy shoulder.

“Don’t be angry, Daddy. I’m feeling tired after getting an IV.”

Usually, when Gwendolyn was around, the two children would think of ways to shun Cedrick and hog their mother.

Now that their mother was not home that night, Cedrick was their next best candidate to cling to. In fact, Cedrick was the person they trusted the most compared to Nico and Charles.

Breathing weakly in Cedrick’s arms, Benedict said softly, “Daddy, Zendaya and I had a dream tonight.

We dreamt Mommy got hurt and didn’t want us anymore. It’s not true, right?”

Cedrick paled further, and he suppressed the agony in his heart. “Of course, it’s not true,” he responded casually before bending forward to pick Zendaya up. While holding back the tears welling in his reddened eyes, he hugged them tightly and rubbed his forehead against theirs to comfort them.

“Nico, get two blankets from the cabinet.”

“Okay.”

With that, Cedrick strode over to the couch and sat down on it, placing the children each beside him.

When they were tucked safely under the blankets, they lay on his thighs and fell asleep.

They seemed to be exhausted. In fact, they behaved really well now that they had their father with them.

Cedrick had a gentle expression as he stroked their heads and backs from time to time. It was to help them sleep better.

After a long night, the two soon drifted off to sleep to their father’s familiar scent.

Nico and Charles were slightly taken aback as they watched the trio in silence.

That was because Nico never expected the children who were throwing a tantrum earlier to behave so well in Cedrick’s presence.

Is this what they call suppression from someone who shares their blood?

Charles watched the sleeping Zendaya in silence for some time before saying, “You’re going a great job as a father.”

The fact that the children trusted Cedrick showed how great of a job he had been doing in taking care of them for the past few years.

“Where’s Gwen, though? I know everything you said earlier was a lie. I want to know the truth,”

demanded Charles.

Still gazing at the sleeping children beside him, Cedrick said calmly and softly, “Since you guys have come here, I shall not keep it from you. I don’t have plans on doing that either. There are some documents in the desk’s drawer. You’ll understand everything when you see it.”

Charles was about to get to his feet, but Nico was already one step ahead of him. The latter did not want him to touch anything on Cedrick’s office desk.

Nico was too shocked to speak by the time he finished reading the document.

Even Charles’ expression turned grim. Clenching his teeth, he said, “Cedrick, Gwen’s been missing for twelve hours since noon. How are you still in the mood to drink and smoke in the office? Is this how you should be handling it?”

Without lifting his gaze, Cedrick hushed the man. “Not so loud. The kids are asleep. I’ll kick you out tomorrow if you wake them up.”

Of course, Charles knew he should not be overreacting in front of the children. Hence, he took a deep breath and asked softly, “What are you planning to do now?”

“Wait.”

“Wait?” Charles stared at Cedrick in disbelief. “The person behind this is obviously making a move on her because of you. Sure, you hold an important position in Salinsburgh, but you’ve also made many enemies along the way. You’re the one who failed to protect her. What if she gets hurt if you keep waiting like this?”

Charles believed there was a special bond between mothers and their children.

Benny and Zendy had already woken up from a bad dream about Gwen getting hurt. I don’t believe their dreams were just dreams. Maybe… Maybe Gwendolyn’s already injured. Those guys are crazy.

There’s nothing they wouldn’t dare to do when they already dared to make a move on Chanaea’s wealthiest man. Having a broken limb is nothing, but what if Gwen got injected with poison or dies?

What do we do?

The more Charles thought about it, the more unsettled he became.

His eyes grew red with rage—a sign of being on the verge of losing control of his emotions. Even his hands that held the documents were trembling with rage.

Right then, Cedrick lifted his head and cast Charles a mocking gaze. “Get yourself together, Charles.

Have you forgotten that you’re already in a relationship? You’re right. It’s my mistake this time. I failed to protect her, but are you sure you can do it better than me?”

Charles’ complexion grew paler.

For the past few years, Charles noticed how great Cedrick and Gwendolyn had been together. Not only did Cedrick take good care of his wife and children, but he also managed to perform well at work and even take care of the family chores.

Charles knew he could not do any better than Cedrick.

On top of that, the number of enemies Charles had in the business world was nowhere lesser than Cedrick’s. More importantly, he was not as influential as Cedrick. It would have been impossible for Charles to acquire the documents.

Feeling dejected, Charles kept silent.

Right then, Nico said sternly, “This is not the time to get mad at each other. The more urgent task at hand is to find a way to save her. Cedrick, please tell us your plans. I’m sure we’ll have more ideas if we brainstorm.”