CHAPTER 689

On the cozy bed, a fierce competition for Gwendolyn’s attention erupted between the two little ones.

Zendaya and Benedict both vied for the prime spot next to their beloved mother, even tussling to snuggle up to her.

Benedict, being the more mature and sensible older brother, eventually conceded defeat.

He graciously shifted his little pillow next to Cedrick’s.

After a good half-hour of chaos, the family finally settled down, ready to drift off into dreamland.

Little did they suspect that as soon as the lights went out, a tiny voice belonging to Zendaya pierced the darkness.

“Mommy, my heart is racing like crazy. I just can’t fall asleep,” Zendaya whimpered, her voice carrying a tinge of desperation.

Cedrick, his voice laced with lazy amusement, chimed in. “Zendy, you were sprinting like a cheetah before bedtime. It’s no wonder you’re all wound up.”

Gwendolyn remained silent.

While Zendaya struggled to find sleep, Benedict desperately needed it.

Gwendolyn could see the exhaustion etched on his face. After spending hours in the lab receiving treatments, Benedict deserved a restful night at home.

While she was pondering a solution, Cedrick proposed one. “What if your mommy tells you both a bedtime story?”

Zendaya perked up. “Yes, please!”

Benedict rolled his eyes. “That’s boring.”

Cedrick had a secret agenda. He was hoping that exposing Benedict to more fairy tales and their enchanting lessons might soften his precocious and adult-like demeanor.

He insisted, “Benny, you’ve never experienced your mommy’s storytelling, have you? Consider it a new experience, and it’ll also help soothe Zendy to sleep.”

Benedict grudgingly shifted his position, tucking his arms in. “Whatever. Girls are so troublesome. Even when it comes to bedtime, they want attention before they’re willing to sleep.”

Zendaya paid no mind to her big brother’s grumbling and lovingly embraced him from behind.

With gentle patience, she coaxed her sickly brother, “Oh, Benny, I’m not being troublesome. Just give Mommy’s stories a chance. They’re really fascinating. You absolutely must give them a listen.”

Benedict remained stoic, but his expression softened, and a flicker of curiosity danced in his eyes. It was clear that he was intrigued despite his resistance.

Cedrick and Gwendolyn exchanged a look. Cedrick’s gaze seemed to convey a message without words as he nodded in Gwendolyn’s direction.

With haste, Gwendolyn retrieved a worn-out fairy tale book from the bedside table. Flipping through the pages, she began her melodious narration of the bedtime story.

Cedrick leaned to the side, propping his arm on the bed and casually supporting his head as he absorbed every word of Gwendolyn’s storytelling. He couldn’t help but admire her ethereal beauty as she got lost in the tales.

In the bedroom of Harrick Villa, an aura of warmth and harmony enveloped the air.

The scene felt heartwarming and tender as Gwendolyn was surrounded by her little treasures, including the grown-up one.

“Then, the mermaid finally fulfilled her wish and turned into a beautiful young lady. She reunited with the prince at the grand ball, got married, and had two adorable little babies. They were never apart again and lived happily ever after.”

Over ten minutes later, after Gwendolyn finished narrating the story, the main bedroom was filled with soft and regular breathing as everyone drifted off to sleep.

Under the soft, golden glow of the bedside lamp, Cedrick and the two little children had surrendered to sleep.

Gwendolyn’s gaze lingered on their peaceful faces, her eyes eventually fixating on Cedrick’s handsome profile.

“Goodnight, Hubby,” she whispered, a tender smile gracing her lips. With a gentle flick, she switched off the lamp, surrendering herself to the comforting embrace of dreams.

It was Jessamyn’s doing that Cedrick was made well aware of the rumors swirling around Zendaya calling Charles “Daddy” at the dinner table and how Zendaya managed to stir up chaos during Charles’ blind date with Jessamyn.

Jessamyn saw this as an opportunity to spread some juicy gossip.

However, her original words were extremely insulting and went far beyond just causing a little stir.

The moment Cedrick caught wind of the situation, he swiftly contained the news and even asked Nico to withdraw a promising deal between Jenson Group and Cloudington Group.

Overnight, Cloudington Group incurred losses worth billions.

Bright and early, Jessamyn’s father, Ignatius Cloud, sternly reprimanded his drowsy daughter, “Why in the world did you rub Mr. Jenson the wrong way during your date yesterday? With Jenson Group canceling their collaboration with our Cloudington Group, this is like a clear warning to our family. You have no idea who he is in the business world. He’s like a ruthless and decisive Grim Reaper. Cross him, and he can make even century-old empires crumble into dust. How on earth did you manage to rile him up?” This is from .

Jessamyn, still half-asleep, was utterly confused upon hearing that.

Have I offended Cedrick? When was this? How could I possibly offend him when I don’t even know what’s going on?

Ignatius was seething with anger, feeling like a storm of frustration was building up inside him. He saw Jessamyn’s bewildered expression and couldn’t hold back from scolding her further.

“Don’t play innocent with me! This morning, the vice CEO of Jenson Group, Nico Jenson, personally informed me about the collaboration cancellation. He had this cold expression, and I knew he was clearly holding back his anger. When I asked him why, he told me to ask my own daughter.”

Jessamyn genuinely had no clue where the problem stemmed from. “Dad, I haven’t even met Cedrick Jenson. How could I possibly have offended him?” she protested.

Eva, Jessamyn’s mother, joined the conversation, helping Ignatius calm down as she questioned their daughter, “Jess, tell your father everything you did yesterday. We need to figure out where things went awry.”

“Okay.”

Gathering her wits, Jessamyn got out of bed, stepped onto the carpet, and, with a pat on her face, started to recount the events of the previous day. She had only done a few things, so she quickly

narrated everything to her parents. Except for the blind date with Charles at Hotel Bella, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Mom, Dad, Charles is nothing more than a low-life. Not only did he spend time in jail, but he’s now also playing around with a mistress, and get this, he even fathered an illegitimate child. He had the audacity to come for a date with me, probably hoping I’d legitimize his illegitimate child and allow her to bear my name as her mother after marriage.”

Jessamyn continued, “That kid of his is an absolute nightmare, with a mean streak a mile wide. She’s a mouthy little devil, and I couldn’t stand her. I lost my cool and lashed out at her a bit. After that, I reached out to some newspapers and reporters to expose Charles’ wild ways. But it looks like I didn’t give enough money, as no juicy Newton Group scandals made headlines from last night until this morning. I guess the plan didn’t work out. I swear I didn’t do anything to offend Cedrick.”

Ignatius and Eva exchanged puzzled looks, trying to make sense of Jessamyn’s story.

After some contemplation, Ignatius voiced his confusion. “I looked into Charles before, and while he does have a criminal record, he was bailed out by the Mr. Asher of the Harris family. As the head of the Newton family, he’s related by marriage ties to the Harris family. Treyton Harris is engaged to his fifth sister. I heard that when Craig stepped down from power, there was a fierce power struggle among the Newton family descendants, and it was Cedrick and Treyton who joined forces to put him in power. However, I’ve never heard a peep about an illegitimate daughter…”

Jessamyn, still puzzled herself, couldn’t fathom why she’d accidentally antagonized Cedrick.

Ignatius thought for a moment and pressed further. “Tell us exactly what you said to Charles and what you did to his child. Come on, let’s have the whole story.”

“I just laid down a few ground rules for our relationship and set out my conditions, but then that little girl came barging in, calling him ‘Daddy’ the whole time. She’s not his legitimate child, so what else could she be but his illegitimate one?” Jessamyn defended herself. “Besides, you know, when I pointed out right in front of him that she’s his illegitimate child, he didn’t object either.”

“That’s odd…”

The family fell into contemplative silence.

After a while, Jessamyn suddenly remembered Charles’ menacing threat from the day before.

“Dad, you won’t believe how insolent Charles was yesterday. When I criticized his parenting skills and offered to educate his child, he not only stood up for the girl but also had the nerve to threaten me that if anything happened to her, he’d have the entire Cloudington Group go bankrupt by the next day. The man’s off his rocker!”

As she relived the humiliation from yesterday, Jessamyn’s indignation flared up once more.

Ignatius, however, fell into deep thought.

In terms of corporate standing, while Newton Group held considerable power and had deep roots, it wouldn’t be easy for them to directly undermine Cloudington Group.

Moreover, there had been no impact on the collaboration between Newton Group and Cloudington Group.

It was, in fact, the collaboration between the Cloudington Group and Jenson Group that had suffered…

With a thought in mind, Ignatius pulled out his phone, opened the photo album, and rapidly scrolled through the pages.

Last month at a business gala, he had seen Cedrick and Gwendolyn attending together, and there was a little girl who seemed to have a great rapport with Charles, following him around like a little puppy.

After a brief search, he found a picture from the gala where he unintentionally captured a side profile of the young girl.

“Take a good look. Is this the girl?” he asked his daughter.

Jessamyn took the phone, nodded affirmatively, and said, “Yes, that’s the mischievous little devil. Considering the background in this photo, this must have been an important business gala, right? I can’t believe Charles had the audacity to bring his illegitimate daughter to such an occasion. How embarrassing.”

Ignatius was beyond exasperated as he slapped his forehead in frustration. “You know nothing! That’s not some illegitimate child from the Newton family. That’s Zendaya, the daughter of Mr. Jenson and Ms. Harris, the little heiress of both the Jenson and Harris families! Although she’s only five years old, she’s already the presumptive heiress of a multi-billion empire. How dare you criticize her upbringing?”