Chapter 110 The Three Idiots
When Philip had called Sebastian a man who ‘appealed to visuals’, he wasn’t entirely wrong.
This was the first time that Sebastian realized he was, in fact, one such man.
He was starting to think that Madeline was made for him. Everything about her seemed to fulfill the checklist he would have had if he ever took the time to think about his ideal woman. Her face was carved out of perfection itself, and she was such a rare beauty that even the silhouette of her back was alluring.
All of a sudden, he found himself wondering what she would look like without clothes on.
Now that they were legally husband and wife, surely it wouldn’t be unreasonable of him to request that she fulfilled her marital duties in the bedroom.
In his defense, he had no intention whatsoever to date other women, and he had already made up his mind that he would spend forever with Madeline. To subject himself to a lifetime of celibacy under such circumstances would be masochistic.
Sebastian was still pondering on this when he came into the living room to find both his children enamored by their grandfather. He ignored the pointed look that Philip served him as he took Quincy and Joel by the hand before leading them back into the room. Following that, he and Madeline worked together to bathe the kids.
They had only just put the kids to bed when Joel beckoned them over. “Mom, Dad, come and bunk in with us!”
Madeline glanced at Sebastian cursorily. Then, she walked over to Joel’s side of the bed and lay down.
On the other hand, Sebastian rounded to the other side of the bed and lay down next to Quincy.
This was the first time Joel was awake and had both parents in bed with him. Needless to say, he was ecstatic. He was on Madeline one minute and climbing onto Sebastian the next, which bothered Quincy as he tried to fall asleep. “Buddy, are you sleeping or not?”
“You’re getting in the way, Aldo!” Joel shoved him aside. “Go over to that side. I want Dad on my left and Mom on my right.”
Quincy rolled his eyes. “What am I, chopped liver?”
“No,” Joel said patiently. “I played with you in the living room earlier, but Mom and Dad weren’t there. I’ve missed them a whole lot, and I want them to myself right now, so can you please just move so Dad can sleep next to me too? You’re the best, Aldo!” With that, he clambered over his brother and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.
Quincy rolled his eyes in mock disgust, but he turned and clambered over Madeline nonetheless to sleep on the far edge of the bed.
Just like that, Joel got what he wished for; he had Sebastian on his left and Madeline on his right. If he nudged over to the left, he could easily roll into his father’s embrace. If he rolled to the right, his mother would be there to pull him into her arms. This was a dream come true.
He rolled from left to right before repeating it. He was giggling throughout the process, and he would lift his head to kiss whichever parent he had rolled into. This went on for a considerable number of times before it finally tired him out, and it was in Sebastian’s arms that he drifted into a deep slumber.
Meanwhile, Sebastian held onto the soft bundle that was his son and felt his heart melt into a puddle. What bliss it is to be a dad! My son is the most adorable creature on Earth!
He planted a kiss on top of Joel’s head, and the little one wriggled slightly before clutching him tightly with his arms. After he had settled in a comfortable position, Joel muttered, “Dad… Burgers…”
Sebastian tried to keep himself from laughing as he peeked over at Madeline and whispered, “See what you did to my son? He’s craving burgers in his sleep now.”
Madeline shot him a withering look. Excuse me, sir, but that is my son. She was suddenly filled with the urge to follow in Quincy’s footsteps and roll her eyes at Sebastian.
“I’ll bring the kids out for fried chicken, fries, and burgers at the end of the month,” he promised solemnly.
She hummed in response and said, “Yes, that’s a must.”
The agreement was once every end of the month, and not even the apocalypse could change it.
If anything were to happen to delay the grand plans of vegging out on fast food, Madeline would always push them back by a week and make it up for the kids later.
“Thank you for not fighting with me on the whole fast food thing today,” she said quietly. She was grateful that he hadn’t put her in a difficult position back at the amusement park. After all, she knew how much he loved the kids and how he was inclined to indulge in their every whim, and she had been worried that he would take a stand against her by insisting on bringing the kids for fast food.
If that were to happen and she was forced to go along with whatever he said, the kids would end up bending their principles, which she had taught them to stand by no matter what, and they would eventually learn to manipulate one parent against the other for their own interests. As a result, the kids would be spoiled beyond reason if that continued. However, heaven forbid Madeline disagreed with Sebastian; if they ended up fighting over different opinions, Joel would be devastated to think he was at fault for turning his parents against one another since he was a sensitive child.
Alas, none of this would unfold because Sebastian had implicitly gone along with her decision and further reaffirmed the principles she had instilled in her children. For that, she was grateful to him.
“You don’t have to thank me next time,” Sebastian whispered to Madeline now as he gently caressed Joel’s cheek. “You’ve raised the boys so well on your own that it’s only right for me to make things easier for you. Besides, it’s in the kids’ best interests that I’m not seen taking a stand against you.”
Madeline looked at him in the dimness of the room and smiled without saying anything.
As things were, she needed to reevaluate her opinions of Sebastian. The insidious side of him seemed to be reserved for his enemies only, but when it came to her and the boys, he was always kind and considerate.
Perhaps she and the boys had finally gotten lucky in life, for she found no other explanation as to why a man as exemplary as Sebastian would be willing to take care of them without shunning her in the process.
She was also acutely aware that Robert’s shift in demeanor today was brought about by her association with Sebastian; she doubted that the old man would be so generous to her otherwise. While things like these did not bother her, she still preferred being treated with respect rather than being mocked and subjected to abuse.
I owe Sebastian for this.
Their half-day excursion to the amusement park today coupled with her lack of sleep last night had taken a toll on her. She yawned, and at some point, she dozed off until the evening.
When she woke up, she woke the boys up as well.
They sat up groggily and drank their water. After the last of their nap had gone out of them, they put on a change of clothes and left hand-in-hand to spend time with Philip downstairs.
Madeline had always had a habit of leaving her phone off whenever the kids were sleeping, terrified that a sudden call would disturb them. However, she had a separate phone with a private number that only less than a handful of people knew about, and she kept it on 24/7.
Presently, she checked her phone and saw that Michael had texted her, inviting her to join the family for dinner. She thought about this for a while and turned to make arrangements with Sebastian. “My dad wants me to join them for dinner at the Wendel Residence later. I’m on board with it, but I don’t think I want to bring the kids along. Could you keep an eye on them for me?”
Sebastian replied, “Sure. Someone will keep an eye on them, and I bet my dad will be the first to volunteer. It’ll only be a matter of time before he glues the kids to himself so he can have them all day.”
“Wait, are you going to dinner with me?” Madeline asked.
“Yes,” he answered. “My gut tells me that something interesting will take place in the Wendel Family over the next few days. You can’t be selfish and watch the show on your own; I’m coming with you!”
She eyed him curiously. “What have you noticed so far?”
He raised a brow and looked at her knowingly. “The same things you have.”
“Well, what might those things be?” She wasn’t sure if they were talking about the same things here.
With an insouciant air, he put on a change of clothes and answered nonchalantly, “The three idiots.”
Madeline pressed her lips into a thin line, but before she could ask further, he glanced at her and elaborated, “Michael didn’t want Erin to bring Angie back to her place, but you stopped him from protesting and sounded your agreement on the matter…” He trailed off as though to silently ask her to fill in the blanks. He quirked a brow and added in amusement, “I can only assume that your agreement came after you noticed that Erin and Nicholas are both idiots.”
“You noticed it too, eh?” Madeline gaped at him in mild disbelief.
“You have such little faith in my intelligence that it hurts me,” Sebastian said dryly. He looked down to button up his shirt and drawled lazily, “Erin wants to bring Angie home and raise her like she’s her daughter, but Angie won’t settle for that. Instead, she’s vying to become Erin’s daughter-in-law! Unfortunately, being the idiots that they are, both Nicholas and Erin have yet to figure this out.”
Madeline pressed, “How are you so sure that Angie will strike in the next two days?”
