Cedrick agreed without hesitation. "Of course. It's only right. I will marry Gwenny and take full responsibility!"

Kieran narrowed his eyes and gave the other man a scathing look. "Do you think everything will be solved if you just took responsibility?" Gwendolyn knew her brother well enough.

He has a grudge against Cedrick. Knowing how vengeful he is, he's not going to let it slide without teaching Cedrick a lesson he will never forget.

"I'm to blame too, Kieran," she said hastily. "Ceddy had just recovered. Don't torment him."

Kieran was unmoved. "He wouldn't learn to treasure you if I don't teach him a lesson. Does he think that asking for your hand in marriage is all he needs to do to court the daughter of the Harris family?"

"Kieran..."

Gwendolyn took a step forward, but Cedrick stopped her. "I will do whatever you ask of me," he said in a level voice. "Nothing is off limits!"

"Very well."

Upon obtaining the man's promise and regarding him with one last haughty glare, Kieran rose and turned to leave.

Gwendolyn called out to him nervously, "Does Asher know, Kieran? You didn't tell him, did you?"

Kieran would not bear to hurt her, but it was Asher who had disciplined her ever since she was young; he would never let both her and Cedrick off the hook.

Pausing in his stride, Kieran said begrudgingly, "Own up on New Year's Eve."

Gwendolyn heaved a sigh of relief. Sounds like Asher doesn't know yet.

Placating her racing heart, she was thankful that her legs would remain functional for another two days.

Noticing it all, Cedrick took her hand. "Are you that afraid of Asher?"

"He will blow his lid if he finds out. This isn't some small matter, either. He will never forgive me, much less you."

Cedrick stroked her hair and pulled her close to him. "Don't worry. Nobody will harm a hair on your head with me around."

"Don't bother acting tough. Your fate will be worse than mine." Gwendolyn's brows creased. Her expression was taut with unease. "It can't let it come to that. I'll think of something to help Asher get over it as quickly as possible."

At long last, New Year's Eve finally arrived.

That noon, Gwendolyn, Cedrick, and Nico went to Valentino's house for lunch.

Later that day at night, Cedrick prepared some exquisitely boxed gifts and, together with Gwendolyn, ascended Mount Tranquil straight up to Marcus' villa at the peak.

It was lively in the villa.

Lorelai, Asher, Sienna, Kieran, and Treyton were there.

Cedrick did not have a mask on this time when he arrived at the Harris residence with Gwendolyn. Thus, Lorelai was struck dumb when she saw him.

"You're so handsome, Mr. Jenson! It appears that the rumors are false!"

Cedrick remained willfully silent.

With a sneer, Gwendolyn cast Lorelai a scathing look. "Of course, the rumors do not hold a candle against the real thing. Those feeding off the rumors must be feeling awful now that they see Ceddy's face, I'm sure."

Lorelai shot her stepdaughter a fierce glare. She did feel awful, as though she had swallowed ten lemons in a row. Her chest was heaving as though it was going to explode.

As it was New Year's Eve, Marcus had warned Lorelai ahead of time to behave herself as Gwendolyn, her fiancé, and her brothers were coming home, and that she would not win an argument against Gwendolyn.

At the unpleasant reminder, Lorelai scoffed imperiously, rolled her eyes, and turned to leave.

Gwendolyn did not deign to spare the woman another glance. Instead, she dragged Cedrick into the villa.

Upon crossing the threshold, Sienna dragged Gwendolyn over to do some crafts while Treyton marched Cedrick out to light some fireworks.

As it was a day for family, Marcus gave the servants the night off; even the chef was heading home after preparing dinner. Thus, they had to light the fireworks themselves.

The deafening blasts went on for a long time. The air in the villa was thick with anticipation for the new year.

Throughout the meal, however, the dinner table was silent. Though they were all in excellent spirits, they appeared to be preoccupied with their own thoughts. Gwendolyn cleared her throat.

Cedrick set his spoon down at once. Wiping his lips elegantly with a napkin, he broke the silence.

"Aside from coming with Gwenny for dinner, Mr. Marcus, I actually have something important to share with you all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gwendolyn tightened her grip around her cutlery and glanced at Asher.

She noticed that his brows were deeply furrowed as if he was absorbed in something else.

It was so quiet that only the crisp clattering of cutlery could be heard.

With a solemn look, Cedrick continued, "Gwenny is seven weeks pregnant with twins. We were planning to announce it in three months' time, but since we are all family, we would like to take advantage of the happy occasion to share this wonderful news."

Marcus and Sienna were delighted by the news, while Lorelai was shocked and dismayed. She stared at Gwendolyn's belly with a look of jealous resentment.

Meanwhile, Kieran was impassive, for he had already known several days prior.

Treyton, on the other hand, nervously gulped some soup and glanced at his eldest brother. He, too, had been informed by Gwendolyn ahead of time via a text message.

Out of all of the different reactions, however, Asher's was the biggest.

His fork fell to the table with a clatter, his severe gaze filled with shock and rage.

A sudden, deafening bang sounded. Gwendolyn, who was already feeling guilty, shuddered at the noise and buried her face in her hands. Cedrick pulled her into his arms and comforted her.

"Are you really pregnant?" Asher gnashed his teeth and fixed his glare on Gwendolyn in Cedrick's arms. "What did you promise me, Gwendolyn? Is this your answer to my question?"

Marcus cleared his throat. His stentorian voice drew the spotlight back to him.

"This is a joyous occasion indeed. I will have a grandchild in my arms in a matter of months! Well done, Honey! Asher, on the other hand, can't even get Sienna pregnant after all this time. You are the one who deserves to be told off!"

Sienna flushed crimson and hung her head in embarrassment.

Asher did not say much else as he could not confront Gwendolyn in front of their father.

After subduing his eldest son, Marcus turned to regard Kieran and Treyton. "And you two. Still no wives! When can hold my grandchildren? You two aren't even trying."

The brothers hung their heads and continued eating in silence.

Kieran had never planned to have a relationship. Cool and impassive, he did not let the admonishment bother him.

Meanwhile, Treyton had fought with Marcus over the matter of getting engaged to Eloise so hard that he still could not reason any matter with his father. Moreover, the party celebrating the Newton family reuniting with Jennifer would only be had later that year.

He decided to wait until the Newton family announced Jennifer's identity before finding a way to appeal to Marcus for help in setting the engagement.

All of them seated at the table were preoccupied with their own problems.

In the ensuing silence, Cedrick turned to Marcus and continued, "I'm thinking of getting registered with Gwenny after New Year's Day and bringing the wedding forward. The pregnancy, on the other hand, will be announced after the wedding."

"Um... It's indeed time to think about your wedding, but would it be too rushed to bring your wedding forward to sometime after New Year's?"

Cedrick

"Don't w Gwenny

Marcus

"I object

We value your privacy

We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as cookies and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device for personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. With your permission we and our partners may use precise geolocation data and identification through device scanning. You may click to consent to our and our partners' processing as described above. Alternatively you may click to refuse to consent or access more detailed information and change your preferences before consenting. Please note that some processing of your personal data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such processing. Your preferences will apply to this website only. You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by returning to this site and clicking the "Privacy" button at the bottom of the webpage.

MORE OPTIONS

DISAGREE

AGREE

ive

Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report
Hᴇlp us to clɪck the Aɖs and we will havε the funds to publish more chapters.