Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1619

The moment she let go, Dolly marched straight toward James, swinging her little basket.

"Daddy, grapes. Dolly picked them all by herself." The little girl stopped beside James's leg, holding the basket as high as she could, her face lifted in an adorable plea for praise.

The cold, hard lines of James's face instantly softened into pure warmth. Reaching out with his long arms, he scooped his daughter up and set her on his lap. Dolly pinched a purplish-red grape from the basket and pressed it to James's lips.

"Daddy, eat." Her sweet, childish voice was unbearably endearing.

James smiled, lowering his head to take the grape from her chubby little fingers. He chewed it slowly, the amusement in his eyes deepening as his deep, gentle voice filled the air. "Mhm, it is delicious."

Hearing her father's praise, Dolly was overjoyed. She snuggled into his chest, giggling brightly. Her innocent, carefree laughter instantly shattered all the heavy tension in the living room.

Meanwhile, Joey did not immediately rush to his father. He remembered what his mother had told him outside. Gripping his small basket, he marched his short little legs steadily across the thick carpet until he stood on the other side of the coffee table. He stopped, tilting his head to stare intently at Jared and Cadence with his big, dark eyes. He observed them seriously for a moment, as if trying to verify if the man in front of him matched the 'cool Grandpa' from his memory. Once he made his confirmation, his eyes lit up. He immediately scurried around the massive coffee table, marched right up to Jared's legs, and offered his bamboo basket like a precious treasure.

"Cool Grandpa, eat some grapes. They are really yummy."

Seeing his cool Grandpa eat the grape, Joey's eyes curved into happy little crescents. Then, he quickly spun around and offered the basket to Cadence, who was sitting quietly nearby. "Grandma, you eat one too."

Cadence froze for a second at the crisp sound of the word 'Grandma'. Technically, as Jared's wife, Joey really was supposed to call her that. But hearing it so suddenly still caught her slightly off guard.

Jared, however, interpreted her hesitation as the instinctual caution born of their high-ranking positions. Having sat in those seats for so long, they were accustomed to viewing everything with vigilance. But at this moment, Jared could not help but softly explain, "Go ahead and eat it. These grapes were planted in the back mountain by my mother many years ago. Try one. They are very sweet."

Hearing this, Cadence's gaze softened as she looked at the basket of grapes. Jared's mother was not just the matriarch of the Nelson family, she had also been the beloved mentor who guided Cadence through her early years. The vines her mentor had planted by hand all those years ago had finally borne fruit, carrying an entirely different depth of emotional weight. She reached out, peeled the skin off a purplish-red grape, and placed it in her mouth. As the sweet juice spread across her tastebuds, she smiled gently and nodded. "Mhm, they are wonderful."