The CEO Gets What He Wants

The two kids had woken up early that day and were sitting on the couch in the living room, dressed in their adorable pajamas with cartoons on them.

They didn't have any classes scheduled for that morning, but they had gotten so used to waking up early that they did it anyway.

Cayden had told them that Avery needed a lot of sleep due to her being pregnant, so the kids knew better than to disturb her after waking up.

Instead of doing their homework in the study like they usually did, they decided to do it in the living room so they could see Avery first thing in the morning.

Since Avery would surely make her way to the living room, they figured it would be the best place to wait for her.

Cayden saw the two kids working on their own stuff when he came down the stairs.

Zachary was solving some mathematical olympiad questions with a serious look on his face. Although he had turned six and would be starting elementary school soon, he was as smart as kids in the third or fourth grade.

Rory, on the other hand, was leaning against the table as she painted a colorful underwater world on drawing paper.

Rory seemed to have inherited Avery's drawing skills. She had a great imagination and the ability to produce breathtaking works of art.

There was a look of relief in Cayden's eyes when he saw how talented the two kids were.

The kids looked up when they heard footsteps and saw Cayden coming down the stairs.

Rory quickly ran toward him and held her painting up as she asked, “What do you think of my painting, Daddy? I'm going to be participating in the semi-finals of the Children's Art Contest in one week!”

Rory had gotten first place when she participated in the Children's Art Contest a while back, so she was qualified to enter the semi-finals.

Naturally, she was elated when she received the good news.

Cayden glanced at her drawing and gave her a pat on the head.

Rory must've inherited Avery's beauty! That fair skin on her pretty face, those crystal-clear eyes, and that tall nose... She looks almost like Avery when she was a child! The way her pupils dart around when she's thinking about something makes her look like a cute little fox!

“Not bad. It's a lot better than the previous one, but you mustn't let it get to your head. You need to keep working harder so you can produce the best art possible,” Cayden commented.

Rory's drawings looked childish due to her lack of experience and skill, but she made up for it with her amazing imagination. She could breathe life into an already impressive-looking painting of an underwater world.

“Yeah, I'll continue working even harder. Thanks, Daddy!” Feeling satisfied after receiving Cayden's compliment, Rory returned to the table and continued painting with a huge smile on her face.

Zachary closed the mathematical olympiad workbook and flashed his authoritative father a respectful look. “Daddy.”

“Have you solved the questions I assigned you yesterday?” Cayden asked as he sat down on the couch and flipped through the workbook.

Zachary sat perfectly straight as he nervously watched Cayden check his work from the side.

Cayden was a little surprised when he saw that Zachary had answered the most difficult questions correctly.

Even so, he maintained a calm expression as he said, “Not bad.”

Cayden had long since realized that Zachary was incredibly good with numbers. In fact, his mental calculation skills were almost on par with that of Cayden's. Because Cayden wanted to nurture Zachary's talent in mathematics, he would give Zachary a lot more daily homework assignments than Rory.

Noticing that Zachary looked aggrieved, Cayden gently patted him on the head and asked, “You must be wondering why I treat you and Rory differently, right? You feel I'm giving you too much work, right? I bet you wanted to ask me why Rory gets to have fun while you have to do all these homework assignments.”

Zachary kept his lips tightly pursed as he shook his head.

“You're the eldest grandson of the Moore family, and you will most likely inherit Trident Group in the future. That means you'll have to shoulder a much heavier burden than everyone else. On top of that, you're going to grow up into a man in the future, so you'll have to protect Rory, Mommy, and the baby with me. I know it's tough studying so much right now, but you will benefit greatly from it in the future. We're men, so we have to bear our responsibilities. You're a smart boy, Zach, so you should be able to understand what I'm trying to say. There are no weaklings in the Moore family. Is that understood?”

Being the heir to the Moore family, Zachary would only face even more stressful and challenging situations in the future. If he's so weak that he can't even handle studying hard, then he can't possibly manage a huge international company when he grows up. I know I'm probably being a little too strict with him, but I have no choice. If I allow him to grow up in a life of comfort instead of getting him to mature through hardship, he will grow up weak and spoiled. That is not how I want my son to turn out. My son will grow up strong and independent so that he can survive and achieve success in this dog-eat-dog world.