Chapter 57 Can I Speak?
“…Sure,” Simon muttered.
“Woah!” Joel looked up at Simon once more. “You’re so nice, Mr. Simon!”
Sebastian was speechless. I’m the one who hired these men! Why isn’t Joel thanking me? Sebastian coughed. “You need money to buy stuff, Joel,” he uttered.
“I have money! I have tons of money!” Joel raised up his little hand to show the watch on his wrist. “I have a lot of money, so I can buy a lot of candies and roasted sweet potatoes. I can also buy chips, coke, fried chicken, and all sorts of other yummy stuff!”
“It’s fine.” Philip was standing by the stairs with his back straightened to appear especially elegant and powerful. “Your father has already paid them, so they will only take money from your father whenever you need them to buy stuff. ”
“Oh…” Joel turned to look at his grandfather with his eyes wide and bright. “That’s wonderful! You’re so amazing, Dad!” Both Philip and Sebastian were pleased and satisfied with Joel’s response. Madeline, on the other hand, was still watching them speechlessly. Is it my turn to say a word or two now? “Thank you for your kind intentions, but I don’t think this is necessary,” she said.
Sebastian turned to look at her. “I know you’re an independent woman who’s used to doing things on your own, but things are different now. You aren’t just Madeline Taylor; you’re also Mrs. Hart, so you need to get used to this change in role. This role may give you certain benefits, but it also comes with some issues. For example, my father has his enemies in the political circle, and I have opponents in the business industry. There will be bad people, and they aren’t always going to come at us directly. Some of them may play sneaky tricks, and they may use our family to threaten us. In the past, my father and I used to be each other’s weaknesses. But now, you, Joel, Quincy, and my father are all my weaknesses…”
Sebastian gazed at Madeline. “Do you understand what I mean?” We are all his weaknesses… This is such a simple sentence, yet it makes my heart race just thinking about it. We’re his weaknesses only because he cares about us. If Joel, Quincy and I are Sebastian and Philip’s weaknesses, this means that… they truly care about us. When Sebastian phrases it that way, it really feels like we’re one big family. We’re a family who is bonded through thick and thin…
She clenched her fists as she nodded. “I understand now.”
“And the men?” Sebastian asked.
“I’ll take them,” she replied. She understood the situation, and she took the men, but she still felt rather insecure. She felt… She didn’t know how to explain what she felt. When she was with the Taylor Family, she had always been the one giving and contributing to the family. She was used to it. But now, she was with people who didn’t need anything from her. On the contrary, they kept stuffing things into her arms, and they were consistently showering her with love and care. She was surprised by the sudden show of love, and it made her rather afraid. She didn’t know how she was going to repay them. Sebastian had simply given her too much. What could she offer in return?
Right as she was contemplating all these matters, Emory and the other three men bowed at her and her sons once more. “All four of us swear upon our lives to stay loyal to Mrs. Hart, Young Master Quincy, and Young Master Joel. We will fulfill our duties and follow all orders, and we will only stop when we’re dead. The skies will not forgive us if we go against our word.”
Madeline was speechless once more. That was really formal! She walked down the stairs as she addressed the four men who were kneeling on one knee. “Please stand up.”
The four of them stood up in a synchronized manner. Even though there were only four of them, their aura was powerful—it was evident that they had gone through intensive training. Stars formed in Joel’s eyes when he looked at the four tall men. “You guys are so cool!” Joel turned to look at Madeline. “Mommy, are Mr. Simon and the rest of them going to be like the bodyguards surrounding my uncles? Will Mr. Simon and the rest of them stay with us every day?”
“Yes,” Madeline replied while stroking her son’s face.
“Great! I love it!” Joel clapped his hands excitedly. “I love it when there are a lot of people. That makes everything more fun!”
“What’s good about there being a lot of people around?” Quincy frowned. “Just your presence is enough to bother me. Things will get noisier if there are more people around!”
“That won’t happen, Young Master Quincy.” Fred bent down to speak to the boy. “We’ll only talk when you need us to talk, and we’ll keep quiet when you want us to be quiet. We won’t disturb you.”
Quincy gave his bodyguard the side-eye. “I’m not telling you to speak, but you’re still talking now, aren’t you?” Fred was speechless for a moment. “My apologies,” Fred finally uttered as he got to his knees.
“I didn’t tell you to kneel, so why are you kneeling?” Quincy frowned. Life is tough! Fred thought to himself. Right then, Joel hopped over happily as he tugged Fred’s arm to get Fred to stand up. “My brother’s just joking, Mr. Fred. My brother makes the best jokes!”
Fred didn’t know what to say. I must be too insensitive to notice that it was a joke! Sebastian smiled as he patted Quincy on the head. “Alright, let’s stop fooling around with these men, Quincy. They’re scaredy-cats, so they get frightened really easily.”
“Yeah! Yeah!” Joel nodded earnestly. “I don’t think Mr. Fred and the rest of them know you well enough, Quincy. They would get scared of you easily. We have to take some time to interact with them, and we can only joke with them when we’re close enough. Now… Why don’t we have dinner first? Food is the most important thing!”
Joel ran over to hold Quincy’s hand. “Let’s go, Quincy. Time for dinner. The rice is cooked! I can smell the scent from here! It smells so good.”
“Do you have a dog’s nose?” Quincy hissed.
“Dog? Oh yeah! Did our dog eat anything? I bet it’s hungry,” Joel muttered.
Quincy didn’t know what to say, and Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t worry, Joel. You have an assistant now, right? You can get him to feed the dog.”
“It’s fine.” Joel turned around to wave at his father. “We don’t need Mr. Simon to feed the dog. I’ll do it myself. It’s adorable to watch dogs eating, and I love feeding them!”
“You idiot.” Quincy grabbed the other boy’s arm angrily. “Don’t turn around and talk while you’re walking. You’ll fall! How many times do you need me to tell you this?”
“I won’t!” Joel turned back to look at his brother with a sweet smile on his face. “You’re the best, Quincy! I’d never fall as long as you’re holding my hand!”
Quincy was speechless. Sigh. Joel’s too good-looking—I can’t even get mad whenever I look at him. My uncle was right, after all. It’s all about the looks. Even though I don’t like the way my uncle looks, I have to agree with what he said.
Both the brothers entered the hall hand-in-hand as Joel cried out in his cute voice, “Is dinner ready, Grandpa? Let’s eat!”
Philip spoke in a booming voice. “Hey! Dinner’s ready! Let’s eat!”
Sebastian smiled upon hearing Philip. “My dad…” Sebastian paused for a moment as he glanced in Madeline’s direction. “I mean our dad… It seems like our dad has a really good appetite today.”
Madeline didn’t know what to say. She was using all her brain juice to come up with something when her phone started ringing.
