William let out a sigh. “Drink the milk, and I’ll tell you the truth.”
Valeria consumed the milk obediently. “Can you tell me about it now? Did something really happen to Abbie?”
“Yes! She fell into the sea and lost her life.” William told Valeria about the accident that befell Abbie briefly.
Valeria’s eyes went moist with tears. “How could this be? She is still so young, isn’t she? She is pregnant. How could she be gone so fast?”
William immediately reached out to wipe her tears away when he saw her crying. He comforted her, “Honey, don’t cry! You just gave birth recently. Tears are bad for your eyes.”
“Do you know that Abbie is my best friend and confidante? She is my only friend. I can’t believe she is gone now!”
Then she couldn’t help but sob uncontrollably. Natalie pushed the door open when she heard her sobs. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”
“She knows what happened to Abbie.” William seemed conflicted and embarrassed.
“What happened to Abbie was already in the past. You can’t change anything even if you cry your eyes out. Valeria, you’ve just given birth. Crying like this is bad for your eyes. Listen to me and hold your tears!”
“I can’t help it!” Tears were streaming down from Valeria’s eyes.
As Valeria cried in the room, the two little babies lying on the bed outside woke up one after another. Santhos opened his eyes and looked around. Why were they in an unfamiliar place? He was a little scared, so he pouted and began to cry loudly.
Cade’s eyes were wide open as he looked around. Originally, he was calm, but he also began to cry when he heard Santhos’s voice.
The nanny immediately held the two of them in her arms and tried to calm them down, but it was futile. When they sensed that a stranger was holding them, they opened their mouths wider and cried louder.
Valeria was upset about Abbie’s death. Upon hearing the two babies that were crying, she looked at William and asked, “What’s going on?”
William helped wipe away her tears for her. “They were scared when they heard you cry.”
“Nonsense! I don’t buy it.”
“It’s true. I saw in the video that babies know fear after they are born, especially when they couldn’t sense their mother nearby. You were crying so loudly just now. They heard it and cried because they were scared!”
Valeria felt sorry for them. “Ask the nanny to bring them in.”
William immediately went out and brought the two children in one by one. Valeria’s eyes widened when she saw that he was holding them. She could not care about her sadness now as she complained to him, “The way you hold them is wrong. They will feel uncomfortable in that position. Give them to me quickly!”
William handed Cade to Valeria. Cade stopped crying instantly when he sensed the familiar scent of his mother.
“Look, I told you that they were scared!”
William also carried Santhos over. Valeria held each of them in both arms. Then they stopped crying and looked at her with their eyes wide open.
“This is amazing!” Valeria mumbled.
Cade leaned against Valeria and indulged in the familiar scent of his mother. He was nudging against her body with his mouth. Valeria exclaimed, “Honey, do you think he wants to drink milk?”
“It seems so. They haven’t eaten anything since they were born.”
The nanny immediately came in with the prepared milk powder. Valeria and William took the milk bottle from her. Each held one baby and started to feed him. The two little guys’ mouths were full as they drank the milk happily.
For the first time in their lives, Valeria and William were parents. They were feeding their children milk powder for the first time too. Both of them found it a refreshing experience.
The two of them were feeding the babies when Hayden’s voice rang out from outside. He brought the tonic soup that the maid had prepared earlier. Andrew was also there with him.
When he entered the room, he said that he wanted to see the babies. Once he saw Valeria and William feeding them, he was instantly interested. “It’s so fun! How can this be so fun and so cute? Uncle, let me feed them, okay?”
“Are my sons your toys?” William shot a glare at him.
“Of course not, but you can’t keep them all by yourself, can you? They’re adorable. Let me learn how to do this, okay? After all, I will get married and have children in the future too.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, but I’ll practice first. It’ll be easy for me once I have children in the future.”
Hayden felt like feeding his precious grandsons too when he looked at them. “Valeria hasn’t eaten anything yet. William, get her some food. Andrew and I will feed the babies.”
“Dad, think about your age. Why are you fooling around with Andrew?”
“I’m not messing around. I’ll need to take care of my grandsons in the future. Of course, I have to start learning how to do so now.”
“Not today. They’re mine for the whole day.” William refused straight away.
“Then I’ll come over again tomorrow.” Andrew immediately chimed in.
“Don’t you need to work? Is your company so idle?”
“I’m not free at all, but I want to take care of babies for once. Don’t glare at me. Fine, I’ll give up on that idea, okay? Can I hug them for a while now?”
“Yes, but do you know how to hold a child properly?”
“Why won’t I? Even if I’ve never held one before, I’ve seen it done countless times.” Andrew muttered as he took Santhos from William’s hands and carefully held him with his hands.
“Are you lifting a dumbbell? Brat, you’re making me anxious. Let me do it.” Hayden seemed unhappy.
“I can do it! Let me hold him for a while. You can have Cade with you. By the way, how can you distinguish between the two of them now? They look the same to me, don’t they?” Andrew looked at the baby in his arms before he looked at the one in Valeria’s. “You’re bound to mistake them for each other, aren’t you?”
“The nurse marked them when they were born. We won’t mistake them!” Valeria explained, pointing at the bracelet in the baby’s hand. William, who was next to her, looked at Andrew as if he were looking at an idiot. Andrew smiled awkwardly and said, “Uncle, have you named them?”
“No! Any ideas?”
“I don’t dare to voice any opinions here since grandpa is here. But I’m called Andrew. Will their names start with A as well?”
“Of course not.” Hayden continued, “Your uncle and aunt have already decided on their nicknames. I’ll be naming them.”
“What’s the nickname? Don’t tell me it’s something like pudding or pumpkin?”
“Oh, shut up! You’re so annoying!” Valeria burst into a giggle. “The older one will be called Cade, while the younger is Santhos, as you know!”
“Cade! Santhos!” Andrew read their names again. “I thought you would give them a mighty and domineering name.”
“What’s the point of a powerful and domineering name? It’s not meant to scare people. More importantly, it needs to be easy to pronounce.” Hayden continued, “I’ve thought about it all night last night. Didn’t Valeria and William already come up with the nickname? Then let’s just call them accordingly. Cade’s full name shall be named Cadence Howard, and Santhos’s Santhosgio Howard!”
“Cadence and Santhosgio? Okay, that’s it!” William did not object. After all, the nickname was given by Valeria, so Hayden could choose to name the kids however he wanted.