CHAPTER 326

Hearing Joel's question, Sebastian looked at him and didn't know what to say; he wondered if telling a five-year-old kid about such a complicated matter was appropriate.

Just as Sebastian couldn't make up his mind, Madeline ruffled Joel's hair. "Daddy and I are talking about the person who will hurt you and Quincy. We are going to arrest her and let her go to prison; she must pay for what she did. Promise me that when you and Quincy grow up, you guys won't do anything bad, okay?" she said while covering up some of the truth.

The world was complicated, and she didn't want her children to live in a fairytale, believing that everyone was kind-hearted. She wanted them to be good, but that didn't mean they shouldn't be aware of others; they needed to know that humans were unpredictable. Although they were not allowed to be bad, they had to be aware of other bad people who'd want to hurt them.

"Oh…" Joel blinked his eyes. "Don't worry, Mommy. Quincy and I are good boys. We will not do anything bad!"

His words made Madeline smile as she ruffled his hair. "That's right. You two are good boys who wouldn't do anything bad."

"In that case, you and Daddy must be careful!" Joel furrowed his eyebrows and said worriedly, "When you are outside, you must take some bodyguards with you and let them protect you!"

"I will!" Madeline nodded her head and promised.

Even if it were for her kids, she would also protect herself as she wanted to see them grow into adults with her own eyes. Only when she raised them herself would she be at ease.

"Mommy, when Quincy and I grow up, we will protect you!" Joel looked at her longingly.

Hearing his words, Madeline couldn't help but chuckle and caressed his cheek. "Okay, I'll be waiting. Since that's the case, you and Quincy should study hard. Only when you study hard can you be capable of doing anything. By then, you can protect me!"

"Okay!" Joel nodded his head. "We will do our best and work hard!"

"Good boy." Madeline lowered her head and kissed him. "I'm going to the hospital to see Uncle Luke and Leonard. Be good and stay home with Daddy and Quincy, okay?"

"Okay, but you must be careful!" Joel nodded his head again, his doe eyes filled with worry.

When he recalled yesterday's event, Joel was still scared. He wanted to tag along with Madeline, but Madeline and Sebastian kept telling him that there were many viruses in the hospital, causing children to fall ill if they went. Since he hadn't listened to their words and stayed at the hospital yesterday, he had fallen sick. As such, he needed to behave today. Otherwise, he would get sick, and it would be tiresome for them to take care of him. Nonetheless, he felt scared.

The more Joel thought about it, the more afraid he was. He looked at Madeline as his eyes were filled with terror.

When Madeline saw this, she was heartbroken. "It's okay, Joel. I will bring some bodyguards with me on my way out, and they will protect me. Look at the time—I will be back in an hour, okay?"

Although Joel was still afraid, he held back his tears and nodded his head repeatedly. "I'm a good boy. I don't want to go to the hospital with you. Instead, I will wait for you at home with Daddy and Quincy."

Hearing his words, Madeline knew she couldn't coax him any longer as she was on the verge of crying too. Thus, she held back the urge to say anything else and kissed Quincy while caressing his cheek. "Quincy, help me take care of Joel together with Daddy, okay?"

Quincy nodded his head and said, "Okay, Mommy. Be safe."

"I will. Be good now!" Then, she kissed her children again before she left the living room.

After walking to the yard and sitting inside the car, she let out a breath and couldn't help but feel funny and sad at the same time as she thought, I'm just going to the hospital. Yet, we make it seem like we will never see each other again.

The car drove off and arrived at the hospital after twenty minutes. Madeline went to the ICU to check on Leonard first, but he was still in a coma, and Jenson was always by his side. After standing outside the ICU for several minutes, she asked Jenson to take care of Leonard before going downstairs to see Luke.

She knocked on the door before going in, and Logan greeted her at once, asking, "Maddie, is Joel feeling better?"

"Yes, he ate a small bowl of oatmeal after waking up. He seems to have already recovered from his sickness." Then, she looked at Luke, who was lying on the bed. "How is Luke doing?"

Logan turned to look at Luke in disdain. "He's never been better. In fact, he's still as talkative as ever,

and it's making my head hurt."

"He's just like Joel." Madeline chuckled. "He talked non-stop after feeling slightly better. Luke only is talkative when you are around, though. When he's with the others, he doesn't talk much."

The more Joel thought about it, the more afraid he was. He looked at Madeline as his eyes were filled with terror.

"Who said that?" Although Luke could only lay on the bed as his ribs were broken, he was still a slick talker. "Aren't I talkative when I'm with you? What? Are you saying that I'm still a quiet person? Why don't I try talking to you more the next time we see each other?"

"I… I would rather not. I'm quite afraid of noise and prefer silence," Madeline said.

"How can you despise me, Maddie?!" Luke cried out and accused her as if he had been wronged. "I just saved your son, yet you are being contemptuous of me! Oh, dear heavens, how stupid am I to forget that he is Sebastian's son too? Here I am, saving your son and putting my life on the line, yet you think I'm too talkative!"

Hearing his false accusation, Madeline was speechless. No matter what, though, she had to thank him since Luke was indeed a good person.

With that, she walked toward Luke's bed and sat beside him. Then, she looked at him with seriousness and said, "Luke, thank you for saving Joel. If anything really happened to him, I wouldn't know what to do… I'm forever grateful to you, Luke!" Content is property © .

"Only a thank you?" Luke raised his eyebrow and looked at her. "Why don't we come up with

something more realistic? What about a marriage in return?"

"Luke Adams!" Logan furrowed his eyebrows and scolded, "Be mindful of your words."

Luke rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Can't I even tell a joke? I can't move, and you are still trying to shut me up. Are you trying to bore me to death, Logan?"

His words made Madeline speechless. After some time, she said, "What about this, then? Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll cook for you in return. Deal?"

"No way," Luke said. "It's already tiring enough for such a delicate woman like you to take care of two five-year-old brats. How can I still get you to cook for me?"

"Don't call them that, Luke. They regard you as their uncle! Do you think this is appropriate?" Madeline asked.

"Why not?" Luke glanced at her. "How many uncles in the world would risk their lives to save their nephew like me? Who dares to say I'm not suitable to be their uncle?"

Hearing his words, Madeline went speechless and thought, Fine, you win! She didn't even know why she was arguing with a man who was sick in the head. It would be a miracle if she could win an argument over him!