Upon hearing her words, Cedric’s heart tightened. “If… I mean if, my parents never wake up again. Can I be your child?”
He had probably already guessed the fate of his parents.
He felt very sad and had been mentally preparing himself since last night. He could no longer change or save his parents, so he did his best to ensure they did not die in vain.
Now, what he wanted more was revenge!
In his small heart, the seed of hatred had taken root and grown into a towering tree within just a few days.
He wanted the Hogan family to pay the price.
Evie looked at the child in front of her, feeling a pang of sorrow. “Cedric…”
She relayed the doctor’s words to Cedric verbatim. The little boy put down his chopsticks, lowered his head silently, and after a while, he looked up, wiped his tears, and knelt before Evie and Jasper. “Evie, please take me in. I am still young now, but when I grow up, I will repay you. Let me be your child.”
Evie’s nose tingled as she looked at Jasper beside her. “Can we?”
Jasper thought of the scene last night on the cliff where the little boy had held onto Evie’s foot with all his might and helped pull her up.
“I’ll handle the adoption procedures. But first, we need to get a marriage certificate! Otherwise, how can we be parents?”
Evie blushed and quickly pulled Cedric up from the ground. “If you become our child, your name will have to change. The Hogan family is not to be trifled with. Just in case, you’ll take Jasper’s surname.”
“Even though you will become my son, you must never forget your biological parents. You will be called Jaime Howlett,” Jasper said after some thought. “Do you like it?”
Cedric nodded heavily. “I will never forget my parents’ hatred, but I will also remember your kindness.”
“We will complete your adoption procedures as soon as possible and then send you to kindergarten. Jaime, you are still young; learning and growing up safely are the most important things now, understand?” Jasper patted his head. “Alright, let’s eat.”
Suddenly having a son… it felt a bit strange.
Jaime, although young, was very obedient and sensible.
After eating, he voluntarily cleaned up the dishes. Evie held his hand tenderly. “Staying with us is your home. You don’t need to feel like an outsider or try to please us. Just behave as you did at home before, understand?”
She didn’t want the child to feel distant or think he had to please them to live well just because she wasn’t his biological mother.
Jaime looked at Evie in a daze and put down the dishes. At home, he had always been a young master who never touched housework…
He was indeed afraid that if he didn’t behave well, Jasper and Evie might dislike him and abandon him.
“We are a family now, but if you make mistakes, we will punish you,” Evie said as she playfully tapped his nose. “Alright, go do what you need to do; we’ll handle the dishes.”
Jasper’s mother played with Jaime for a while and watched some cartoons with him until he fell asleep before leaving.
Only the three of them were left in the apartment. Jasper had never thought he would become a father so quickly; this new identity felt a bit unfamiliar.
He searched online for ways to play with a four or five-year-old boy and ordered many children’s books and toys.
He also looked up some good kindergartens in Aettosa.
“How about we bring my parents over to help us take care of the child?” Jasper put away his phone after some thought. “They are older and should have more experience. My uncle has also been considering moving his business to Aettosa to expand it. This is a good opportunity. What do you think?”
Evie bit her lip. “Will your parents accept Jaime? What if…”
“Don’t worry, they are kind-hearted people. Besides, this child has a pitiful background and needs love and care. I’ll discuss it with them first.” Jasper said as he picked up his phone and went to the bedroom.
About ten minutes later, Jasper came out with a noticeable smile on his face. “They’ll be here soon.”
Evie looked at him in surprise. “Really?”
The man chuckled softly and pulled her into his arms, his hoarse voice whispering in her ear as his lips brushed against her earlobe. “So… dear Evie, are you ready to get our marriage certificate?”
Evie’s face turned bright red with a hint of shyness in her eyes as she pushed against his firm chest with her small hands. “Oh, we have a child now; stop messing around. It would be embarrassing if he came out of his room and saw us.”
“He’s already asleep; let’s go back to our room too.” Jasper lifted Evie into his arms and carried her towards their room.
Before Evie could react, she was already pressed onto the bed by the man, whose kisses rained down on her like a storm.
Her face turned even redder, like a tomato…
The room felt scorching hot…
Early the next morning, Mrs. Howlett and Geoff arrived in Aettosa and headed straight to Jasper and Evie’s apartment.
When they saw four-year-old Jaime, they excitedly hugged him tightly. “Child, I’m your grandma, and this is your grandpa. Oh, my dear grandson…”
“Here is your passport,” Geoff handed it to Jasper. “This is Jaime’s birth certificate and other documents; keep them safe.”
Jasper felt a bit awkward but accepted Geoff’s kindness nonetheless. “Thank you, Uncle.”
“Uncle?” Jaime looked up curiously at Jasper. It seemed his new father’s background was not ordinary!
Jasper tapped his little head lightly. “Don’t worry about adult matters.”
He opened the household register and found himself listed as the head of the household, with nothing else on it.
“This afternoon we’ll get our marriage certificate and complete Jaime’s adoption procedures. Then our family of three can be together.” Jasper glanced at Evie, who was wearing a cute Lolita dress.
“Okay.” Evie gratefully looked at Mrs. Howlett and Geoff. “Thank you, Auntie and Uncle.”
“Don’t call me Auntie; call me Mom from now on.” Mrs. Howlett took out two cash gifts from her bag and handed them to Jaime and Evie respectively. “These are for you two.”
Evie squeezed it; it was thick with quite a bit of money inside.
“Thank you, Grandma.” Jaime sweetly called out.
Mrs. Howlett was even happier. “Jaime, what would you like for lunch? How about we all go out to eat?”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Geoff nodded in agreement with whatever his wife said. The family happily went out for lunch together.
At the hospital, Mrs. Wright brought a lunchbox for delivery. She handed it to the nurse at the reception area. “Could you call Dr. Sylvia over?”
The nurse took the lunchbox. “Sure, please wait a moment.”
After a while, Sylvia came over. “What’s wrong?”
“Sylvia,” Mrs. Wright thought of Jaime and felt a tightness in her chest. Jenna might not be able to have children after undergoing bone marrow transplantation.
She shared her concerns with Sylvia, who sighed. “High-dose chemotherapy can severely damage reproductive organs. This is something doctors can’t control. Especially after transplantation, there are rejection periods, infection periods, and immune reconstruction periods to go through to enhance resistance against postoperative complications. The immune reconstruction period can last up to two years; after that, if there are no issues, she should be almost like a normal person.”
“But whether she can conceive depends on how well her body recovers. This is something no one can predict; it all depends on her recovery.”
Mrs. Wright felt as if she were plunged into an ice cellar.
Her eyes reddened as she spoke hoarsely, “It seems Jenna’s chances of having children are slim… If necessary, we’ll adopt one.”
“You don’t need to be so pessimistic; saving her life is already fortunate enough. Let’s observe for now,” Sylvia comforted her softly before watching her leave with heavy steps and sighing deeply.
Mrs. Wright felt very sad; tears welled up as she turned away and entered the elevator.
If Jenna really couldn’t have children, Mrs. Wright would be very sad as Jenna’s mother-in-law but also deeply sympathetic towards Jenna’s tragic life story.
If necessary, they could only adopt one.
Besides, Jenna was still young, and Brayden was young too; maybe after a few years of good health care, they could conceive?
She kept comforting herself while feeling conflicted inside.
Didn’t Evie adopt one? And it seemed fine.
She took a deep breath; she needed to focus on Jenna’s health now.
She pulled herself together and went to the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner.
She didn’t tell Brayden about this news; there was no need to add to his worries. She would bear it alone.
Feeling uneasy while shopping in the supermarket, she called Cody.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much; just feeling down and wanted to talk,” Mrs. Wright said in a low mood.