Chapter 42 Please Forgive Me
“I don’t want to go at all!” Quincy, who wasn’t in the video call at all, shouted in a haughty tone from beside his brother.
“Fine… But I want to go!” Joel stared into the camera with a pitiful look on his face. “When are you coming home, Mom? I need your kisses and hugs to wake up!” The young boy had fair and round cheeks, and he fixed his large, round eyes on the camera. His eyes glistened with tears as his round belly moved up and down according to the rhythm of his breaths. Madeline still found herself mesmerized by her son’s cuteness despite seeing him every day. Sebastian, who had only witnessed this a few times, was therefore more amused than she was.
He felt his insides fluttering at the sight of his cute son, and he desperately longed to reach his arms into the phone screen just to squish and kiss the fair and chubby boy’s cheeks. “We’re coming back really soon,” Madeline said. “We’ve decided to buy both of you guys a gift on the way home. What do you boys want?”
“Yay! I love presents!” Joel stroked his chin with his stubby fingers while thinking. “I want… I want to go out for dinner with Dad and Mom. Then, I want to watch a musical fountain show after dinner!” he cried.
He wants to have dinner with Dad and Mom, and he wants to watch a musical fountain show after that, huh? Madeline instinctively turned to glance at Sebastian, and he nodded in response. She gave him a grateful look before she turned to smile at her youngest son. “Alright! We’ll make sure your wishes come true! What about you, Quincy? What do you want?”
Quincy’s voice sounded without his face being in the video call. “There’s nothing I want in particular. I’ll just have whatever Joel said, Mommy.”
“Why don’t you think a little harder, darling?” Madeline asked. Quincy was a little too mature in comparison to Joel’s innocent personality. Quincy was often worried about troubling his mother, so he never asked for anything. This made Madeline feel bad.
“I can’t think of anything now,” Quincy replied. “Maybe I’ll think of something when I go out with Mom and Dad tonight.”
Sebastian, who had been staring at the screen from his spot beside Madeline, turned to stare at her with a surprised look on his face. “Did Quincy just call me Dad?” His eldest son was a cold, arrogant child—he hadn’t managed to trick Quincy into calling him his ‘Dad’ up until then. Wait. It’s not tricking. Quincy’s my son. He’s supposed to call me his Dad!
“Yeah!” Madeline cheered. Her sons were finally like the rest of the children who had both parents. They finally had a normal family. Things are going to get better from here onward!
“Mom, where’s Dad? I want to talk to him.” Joel’s gaze flickered for a moment before he looked directly into the camera.
“Dad’s right here.” Madeline handed the phone to Sebastian. When Sebastian held the phone and saw Joel staring at him, he felt all sorts of emotions spreading across his chest. Pride, joy, and an overflow of love seemed to surface from nowhere. Joel was just a kid he had met a few times, yet the young boy managed to trigger so many emotions within him. Being blood-related to someone provides such a magical connection!
“My son.” Sebastian’s voice was filled with warmth and love as he gazed at Joel on the phone screen. “Dad!” Joel grinned. “You and Mom need to come back soon! I miss you guys!”
“Okay.” Sebastian nodded. “We’re coming back really soon. You and Quincy have to listen to your Grandpa… Is Grandpa around?”
“Grandpa was here a moment ago. He just went downstairs,” Joel uttered in a childish voice. “Grandpa said that we’ve been sleeping for too long and that we should eat some food. Grandpa said that he ordered a lot of good food for Quincy and me, and he went off to get someone to prepare the food!”
Madeline eyed her son speechlessly. “You guys shouldn’t eat too much, or else you won’t be able to finish your dinner.”
“Okie!” Joel’s tiny head bobbed up and down in agreement. “I’ll just eat a little bit to satisfy my cravings.”
Joel knew himself well. Quincy was much easier to care for, while Joel had a small appetite and was picky with food. Furthermore, Joel was the one who often had cravings. He didn’t enjoy main meals—he preferred eating snacks instead. Madeline worried a lot about her son’s eating habits.
Right then, Philip’s voice came from somewhere else in the room. “Are you boys awake? I’ve prepared a tea time snack for you guys, so come down and have it with Grandpa!”
“Coming, coming! We’re coming, Grandpa!” Joel crawled out of bed clumsily. Madeline was amused by the young boy’s actions. “Didn’t you say that you’d only get out of bed with my kisses and hugs?”
Joel blinked for a moment before answering. “Good food is the only thing that can wake me up apart from Mom!” Madeline burst into laughter. He’s my son indeed! He’s so adorable! The two kids followed their Grandpa downstairs for tea time. After Sebastian ended the video call, he handed the phone back to Madeline. “You’re not as important as you think you are, after all. The kids didn’t cry,” he teased.
“…That’s only because Philip is really nice to them. He makes them feel secure. They may be kids, but they know a lot. They are very aware of who likes them and who doesn’t.” Anyway, my kids video called me right after they woke up, didn’t they? If they couldn’t get to me, they’d probably cry. I’m sure that I matter a lot to my kids!
“Philip?” Sebastian waved the marriage certificate in his hand. “We’ve got our marriage certificate, so maybe it’s time you change the way you call him. Don’t you think you should call him your father now?”
She stared at him wordlessly. He wants… me to change the way I call Philip? Am I supposed to call Philip my dad? Sebastian isn’t just an extremely talented man. He’s able to beat me in a fight, and he’s even better at acting than I am! Madeline wanted to ask if she should talk to Philip about it before changing the way she addressed him. However, she had only parted her lips to speak when her phone rang again.
She retrieved the phone she had just kept away. This time, it was Dan who was calling her. She felt a heavy feeling in her chest whenever she received a call from someone from the Taylor Family. After letting out a quiet sigh, she placed the phone beside her ear. “Dan?”
“It’s me.” The voice that sounded in Madeline’s ear wasn’t Dan’s, but Phoebe’s. Madeline frowned as she responded in a cold tone. “Yes?”
Phoebe put on a pitiful face on the other end of the phone call. She tightened her grip on Dan’s phone and tried her best to suppress the anger and hatred within her before speaking in a shaky tone. “M-Madeline, I made a lot of mistakes in the past. I know what I’ve done wrong now. P-Please forgive me this one time, Madeline. Let me out, okay?”
Madeline suspected that there was something wrong with her ears. When she was ten years old, Dan was the one who had brought her into the Taylor Family. For the next three years, she was badly tortured by Phoebe and Isabel. When she was 13, her cousin, Sam, returned from his studies overseas. He lost his temper when he found out that Madeline had been abused by Isabel and Phoebe, and he gave Isabel and Phoebe a huge scolding after that.
Ever since then, Madeline was no longer abused by Isabel and Phoebe—Sam was her protector at home. However, Isabel and Phoebe continued to act like they were above her. In their eyes, they were the true members of the Taylor Family, while Madeline was just a servant who was indebted to the Taylors.
After being with the Taylors for more than ten years, it was the first time Madeline had heard Phoebe calling her ‘Madeline’ in such a gentle and polite tone.
