Mia and Julian were confused seeing the panicked faces of all the servants. The women were busy searching and searching.
“What happened?” Mia asked after intercepting one of the women in uniform.
“Young Master is missing again, Miss.”
In an instant, Julian and Mia were wide-eyed.
“Missing again? Isn’t he at home?” the man inquired with his eyebrows still arched high.
“Yes, Sir. Young Master was in his room. Then all of a sudden, he disappeared.”
Hearing an explanation that seemed impossible, Julian looked at his secretary. Finding the same suspicion, he turned back to the servant. “Where are Max and Gabriella now?”
The woman’s index finger suddenly pointed. “Upstairs, Sir.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Wasting no time, Julian and Mia made their way to the stairs.
“Isn’t it weird?” the man asked to the secretary.
“Yes. There’s no way Cayden would just disappear. His parents must be too panicked, so they miss something,” Mia muttered as she quickened her pace.
Just as they arrived at the upstairs, a woman’s cry was heard. Without thinking twice, the CEO approached the source of the voice.
“What happened?” Julian asked as he entered the workroom.
The man who was hugging his wife, turned around. “Cayden is missing. We’ve looked everywhere, but couldn’t find him,” he said with furrowed brows.
“Have you checked the surveillance cameras?” Mia asked, adding to the tension.
“Yes. But strangely, no one was seen coming down the stairs, not even Cayden,” Max said with a stiff expression.
“Then, he’s still on this floor,” Julian muttered as he tilted his head.
In a glance, Gabriella took a quick breath and looked at her brother-in-law. “But, where? We’ve searched in the bedroom and also in this room. Cayden remains unseen.”
“Shall we search one more time?” Mia suggested while holding the woman’s arm.
After hesitating for a while, Gabriella nodded. Once again, the workroom was searched. But unfortunately, the result was still nil.
“What about your bedroom?” Mia asked, pointing to the door. “I think, we can find Young Master there.”
Gabriella could only nod. With trembling legs, she followed her husband who was leading the way.
“Calm down, Madam. We will definitely find Young Master,” the secretary said while walking beside Gabriella.
With a puffy face, the woman nodded languidly. Her mind was already confused with fear.
As soon as they entered the room, Julian suddenly asked, “Where did you last see Cayden?”
“On the bed. He’s eating ice cream in his hand,” Max said guiltily.
“Then, did he just disappear from sight? Like magic?” the CEO inquired, raising an eyebrow.
“We went to the bathroom for a minute. When we returned, Cayden had disappeared. He just left the ice cream stain,” Gabriella explained while pointing at the sheets, “and the teddies.”
In just an instant, Mia who was circling the room, raised an eyebrow. “What teddies?”
“The teddy bears he used to play with,” Gabriella said in a choked voice. “I don’t know what happened. He never lets his friends fall out of the bed.”
“But, I don’t see any teddy, Madam,” the secretary said, successfully stopping the woman’s sobs.
“You don’t?” Gabriella sighed in disbelief.
A second later, she moved to check the safety mattress around the bed. It turned out, Mia wasn’t lying. Not a single teddy was lying there.
“Where do Smiley and Snowy go?” the woman asked with eyes quivering under the furrows of her brows. “I remember, they were here.”
After a moment of silence, Julian suddenly crouched down. The liquid near his feet had caught the attention. “Is this ice cream?” he asked, pointing to the splattered brown spots.
Without a word, all eyes traced the direction of the liquid. As soon as they found out that the trail ended up near the wardrobe that wasn’t tightly closed, Gabriella gasped. She remembered that she had left the door open when Max pulled her into the bathroom.
“Cayden,” the woman sighed as she hurriedly pulled open the door, making the automatic light in the wardrobe turn brighter.
A second later, the four adults were dumbfounded. A baby was looking at them with big round eyes. His tiny mouth was filled with melted chocolate ice cream. On his left, a white teddy bear was covered in melted vanilla ice cream, while on his right side, a green teddy bear was stained with ice cream of the same color.
“Looks like, we should check Cayden’s IQ. I think he’s a genius. He can get the bears the right ice cream,” Max muttered with his eyes fixed on the innocently blinking baby.
“Young Master must also have a high social spirit. He is willing to share with the teddies,” Mia continued as she still had admiration for the Little Prince.
“And it looks like, you should give him a brother soon, Max. Cayden needs a friend who can take his ice cream bites well. He can’t always think of the bears as his friends.”
Instead of muttering along, Gabriella took her son out of the pile of clothes. She didn’t care if the ice cream box overturned and spilled its contents. The woman’s attention has been attached to the baby.
“Why are you hiding here, Little Prince? Don’t you know that everyone is frantically looking for you?”
In just an instant, Cayden’s brows began to furrow. The look in the baby’s eyes had turned somber. As soon as the corners of her lips were pulled by gravity, a cry broke out. Cayden thought that his mother was angry at his misbehavior.
Witnessing the child’s sadness, Gabriella sighed faintly. Gently, she hugged the baby and patted the trembling back.
“Mom isn’t angry with you, Cayden. I’m just afraid of losing you,” the woman whispered before kissing the Little Prince’s head.
However, the baby continued to cry. Instead of feeling sorry, Julian laughed at his nephew.
“Gosh, he’s so cute. I’d better tell the others to stop looking. If I stay here a little longer, I can bite his cheek and he will cry louder,” the man said before leaving the room.
With a faint smile, the secretary followed her boss. She knew that Max and Gabriella needed time to cool off with their son.
“Don’t cry, Cayden. This is not your fault. It’s Mommy who neglected to take care of you. I’m sorry,” Gabriella said while trying to get the look in the baby’s eyes. Unfortunately, Little Prince kept avoiding the gaze.
Sensing the baby’s uneasiness, Max finally approached. Carefully, he took Cayden from his wife’s hand.
“Relax, Little Prince. Don’t hate your mother. She did it because he loves you too much,” the man said while rubbing his son’s cheek.
Miraculously, Cayden’s cries slowly subsided. After a while, no tears dripped from his eyelids. With a red nose and pouting lips, he continued to stare at his father.
“Now, make up with your mother,” Max said as he extended Cayden’s right hand toward his mother. With chin twitching and eyebrows still furrowed, the baby watched as Gabriella shook his hand.
“I’m sorry, Cayden. I promise to never take my eyes off you, even if your Dad drags Mom away,” the woman said while glancing at the man who suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“Are you making fun of me?” Max inquired, covering Cayden’s ear with one hand and his shoulder.
With the remaining sob, Gabriella shook her head. “No. I’m just telling the truth. We were negligent earlier because you took me to the bathroom.”
After a moment of contemplation, Max finally sighed. Raising Cayden to level with his gaze, he nodded.
“Dad also apologizes, Little Prince. I have stolen your Mom’s attention from you. From now on, Daddy promises to always put you first.”
Being spoiled, Cayden plopped onto Max’s shoulder. Even though his distended stomach was a bit lumpy, he didn’t want to be separated from his father’s embrace.
“So, are you still mad at Mom?” Gabriella asked, tilting her head in front of the baby.
Keeping his chubby cheeks on Max’s shoulders, Cayden blinked slowly. After a while, his hand which was still covered in ice cream reached out towards Gabriella.
“Mamama ….”
In just an instant, the woman laughed heartily. Frowning her brows to hold back the tears, she welcomed Cayden back into her arms.
“Look how whiny your Mom is, Little Prince. You can’t imitate this character. Understand?” Max said, making his wife pursed her lips.
“Do not tease me! You don’t know what it’s like to be a mother,” Gabriella protested, lifting her chin.
“Of course I don’t know. I’m a man. How is it possible for me to be a mother?” Max muttered with a nosy smile.
After a thin snort, Gabriella pointed at the bathroom with a head motion. “Now, let’s clean up. Julian and Mia must be waiting for Cayden downstairs. Dad will be here soon too.”
“So, should we have a party?”
“What party?” Gabriella said as she walked to the bathroom.
“A party to celebrate Little Prince’s bravery. Everyone has gathered. We just need to prepare some food.”
“Yayaya …” Cayden babbled while patting his distended stomach. He seemed to be protesting because he was already full.
Witnessing the cuteness, Gabriella and Max smiled in unison. “Apparently, we do need to check Cayden’s IQ. His number must be much higher than yours.”
“I do think so,” the man implied before stroking his son’s bulging belly. “Cayden is upset that Daddy throws a party when your stomach is full, huh?”
“Yayayaya …” the baby answered while moving his head with furrowed eyebrows.
“As an apology and also a gift, Mom will make a special porridge for your breakfast tomorrow,” Gabriella said, successfully stealing the baby’s attention.
With a faintly raised eyebrow, Cayden asked his mother. “Yaya?”
“Yes. Mom is serious.”
A second later, the Little Prince laughed while raising his hand in the air. Watching the baby’s behavior, Max and Gabriella looked at each other in unison.
“Does he really understand what we’re saying?” the woman whispered to her husband.
“I think so.”
While nodding, Gabriella stepped into the bathroom. “I’ve given birth to a genius baby,” she said.