Chapter 80 Unworthy
Nobody would take a step back, and Jonathan felt like his head was about to explode. He stepped up and stood in front of his father, who looked really upset. He gazed at Sebastian and said, “Sebastian, honestly, I’m grateful that you’re standing up for my sister. Really, I am, but Sebastian, think about this. Everyone here is her family. If you keep pushing us, it won’t be good for her. If you do this, it’ll put her in a dilemma. She’d have to choose between you and her own family.”
“Family?” Sebastian looked at him and snorted. “I didn’t see you defending her when your grandfather called her a mannerless b*stard, and now you’re calling yourself her family? Sorry, but you’re thinking too highly of yourself.”
Jonathan’s face fell. “That’s too far, Sebastian. I was nice to you because you’re the boys’ parents, and I don’t want to put Maddie in a tough spot. I’m not afraid of you.” He was the eldest son of the Wendels, and he was a brilliant man who got successful at a young age. His whole life was paved with praises and accolades, but this was the first time someone was being so rude to him.
“As I said, you think too highly of yourself. You’re nice to me because my family is more powerful than yours, and you don’t want to antagonize us.” Sebastian scoffed. “Ever since Maddie and I came to your place, only your mother actually cried because of all the suffering she endured. None of you actually cared about her. Did you ask her how much she suffered? No. All you care about is Angie. All you did was try to come up with a plan to keep Angie. All you tried to do was come up with an idea so Angie wouldn’t have to suffer. You guys keep arguing and arguing and arguing, but none of you actually care about Maddie.”
He smiled sardonically. “Well, I can understand you. Blood isn’t more important than the time you spent with Angie, so of course you side with her. But calling yourself Maddie’s family when you’re siding with Angie is a bit disgusting, don’t you think?”
Jonathan opened his mouth, but he couldn’t say a word, and his eyes that shone with anger dimmed, and his head hung low. Sebastian was right. Ever since Sebastian and Madeline came to their place, Jonathan and the rest of his brothers were hoping that Angie could stay, despite the fact that only Cedric had spoken up.
They didn’t say it because they knew about their mother’s grudge, and they were worried about her health. They didn’t want to anger her, but deep down, they cared about Angie and were trying to see if they could help her out.
Aside from his mother, nobody cared about the suffering Madeline had endured in the past. Nobody cared that she was chased out of the Colts and almost died when she was just a child. Nobody cared that Phoebe and Isabel physically abused and almost killed her when she was taken to the Taylors. It was as if the suffering wasn’t important because it was in the past. As if they could pretend it never existed.
They were already worrying about Angie before she even started to endure hardships, but none of them cared that Madeline had almost died multiple times. Sebastian is right. We call Madeline our family, but we still won’t let Angie go despite what she did. That’s disgusting. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “You’re right, Sebastian.” He looked at Madeline. “Madeline, I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.” She shook her head and smiled. “I have a brother. When he was fifteen, he almost died in a car crash, but I took him to the hospital in time. He’s an orphan who had nowhere to go, so I took him into my firm after he healed up and raised him for five years. We have only known each other for five years, and he is not related to me, but he’s more important to me than you are. So…”
She looked at Jonathan and smiled. “I can understand why you side with Angie. That’s human. Besides, you can’t get along with all the people in the world. It depends on a lot of factors. I can’t force anyone to get along with me, so I don’t particularly care about how you treat me, but Sebastian is right about one thing.” She looked at Sebastian before she turned back again. “Just don’t demand anything from me using the pretext of family while you actually don’t think of me as family. I don’t mind anything else.”
Her smile embarrassed him, and it tugged on his heartstrings for the first time. For the first time, he felt that she was truly his sister.
Her voice was soothing, like clear stream water. It was calm and sweet, and Sebastian loved it. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and looked at Robert. “Hear that, Mr. Wendel? That was for you. Don’t call her a b*stard and act like you’re so high and mighty. If you don’t think she’s good enough to be a part of the Wendels, then you’re not good enough to be her elder. Don’t even think for a moment that you can insult my wife just because you’re old enough.”
Robert had never felt so embarrassed in his life. He was already an old man, but a young man was insulting him without fear or fervor, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Philip alone could bankrupt the whole Wendel Family if he wanted to, and not to mention Sebastian had an uncle who had an army of talented people as well as another uncle who had a nation’s wealth living overseas.
His uncles had no children of their own, making Sebastian the only descendant. They were the Harts’ everything, and Robert could never cross them. All he could do was vent on Michael. “This is all your fault! You just had to let them in!”
Michael shook his head, smiling bitterly. “Dad, I’m a failure of a father. I’ve never been by her side ever since she was born. I failed her.”
“That’s not right,” Harriet said after being quiet for a long time. “Maddie is still your daughter no matter what. You and Crystal gave her life.” She went up to Madeline and said softly, “Maddie, parents can do no wrong to their children. You won’t be here without them. Your mother almost died because of the matter with Angie, and your father is exhausted just handling this matter. You can’t let this go on, can you?”
Madeline looked at her, smiling. “So? What are you trying to say?”
