You More Than Anything In The World

Shaun left half an hour early to pick the kids up from school. When they came out and saw him, they were quite happy.

“Mr. Bailey, why are you here?”

The six little ones, with their backpacks bouncing on their backs, ran over to him.

“That's cause I miss you all. Don't you like it when I come to pick you up?” Shaun asked.

“How could we not like it?” Jasper grinned. “We thought you would still be at the hospital!”

“In the future, I'll be staying at your house every day. Will you welcome me?” Shaun asked as he led the siblings to the car after greeting their teacher.

“Why would you stay at our house?” Jesse was puzzled, her eyes gleaming as she looked at him.

Shaun affectionately touched her nose. “Because it's convenient, and I want to be with all of you!”

The kids didn't know that Arissa had been discharged, so they decided to keep it a surprise, following Benjamin's instructions.

“You definitely have something going on!” Zachary cooly concluded with certainty.

Shaun chuckled helplessly. Did this kid have to be so sharp? He could even tell that something was up.

Gavin also didn't believe that Shaun was just here to be with them. It had been so long since they last saw him. Something was evidently amiss.

Tim and Oliver kept their eyes on Shaun but didn't say much. However, Tim's gaze at Shaun was particularly bright.

Shaun laughed and pinched Tim's cheek. This kid used to be so dark, and now, even though he wasn't as fair as the other five, he still looked incredibly adorable.

“Tim, are you staring at me because you don't recognize me anymore?”

Tim smiled shyly and asked in a soft voice, “Mr. Bailey, why weren't you at the hospital taking care of my mommy?”

“Your mommy has already recovered, so there's no need for me to be there.”

Shaun chuckled and securely fastened the kids' seatbelts, driving them back to Yaleview.

“Mr. Bailey, can we go straight to the hospital instead?” Gavin queried as he looked at the driving Shaun.

They wanted to spend more time with Mommy.

“I came from home to pick you up. When I left, Edwin had bought a lot of groceries and hadn't cooked dinner yet. So, let's head home first, and we can take dinner to your mommy at the hospital.”

Shaun said this with a convincing tone, making sure the kids didn't suspect anything.

The six kids sat in the back seat, glancing at Shaun, then at each other, their eyes filled with curiosity.

“Mr. Bailey, why didn't Daddy come to pick us up?” Gavin found this quite strange. Daddy had promised to pick them up after school in the morning.

Frankly, deep down, they still felt a bit disappointed when they saw that Shaun was the one to pick them up instead.

Daddy didn't keep his word.

“Your daddy had some urgent business at his company that he had to attend to. He couldn't make it in time, so he asked me to come and pick you up!”

“What happened?” Gavin asked anxiously, his brows furrowing.

Shaun glanced at the rearview mirror, seeing the kids' concern. He smiled reassuringly.