CHAPTER 260

Sam gave Eugene a list of instructions before ending the call.

"Sam, I heard you mentioning Luke earlier. Did something happen to Luke?" Madeline asked.

Before Sam could respond, someone drawled at the door, "Maddie, are you looking for me?"

Luke had come in without Madeline noticing at all. "Luke, are you a cat? How can you walk without making a sound?"

"Whatever you say," Luke declared with utmost sincerity. "I'm your assistant. Your word is my command."

Madeline was speechless.

Had he truly been her assistant, she would have cracked a whip by now to deal with his glib tongue and flirtatious comments.

"Assistant?" Sam glanced at Luke in shock before turning to Madeline. "Maddie?"

"Luke… had too much time on his hands, so he decided to spend some time at Oasis Law Firm."

Sam frowned. "He said he's your assistant."

"He gave himself that title," Madeline explained helplessly. "Whatever keeps him happy."

Madeline had no way of dealing with Luke anyway.

All she wished for was for him to stay out of trouble and not cause any problems for her. That was enough to make her rejoice. It did not matter if he stuck around as her assistant, bodyguard, guest, or even as a godbrother. Whatever kept him happy!

Sam's brows furrowed even deeper. "Maddie, did you know about what's happening online?"

"What's happening?" Madeline asked.

Before Sam could reply, Luke interjected, "Sam Taylor, don't keep going after Maddie for all sorts of bullsh*t. I'm the one who made it go viral, so if you want to get even for it, then have at me. Don't start attacking Maddie, or else…"

He glared at Sam before grabbing an apple from the fruit basket. Between munches, he continued, "I'm not a pushover like Maddie is. You won't be able to deal with me so easily! I'll see to it that anyone who tries to cause trouble for Maddie has hell to pay!"

Sam had nothing to say.

He knew very well that Luke meant every word.

He would definitely do as he said.

A regular person would care about the repercussions that their actions might bring upon their family, their reputation, or even public opinion, but Luke did not care about any of these things.

He acted freely according to his own whims and would never consider the consequences of what he did.

These were the worst kinds of people to get into a conflict with. For example, if there was a business opportunity that required an investment of one million with a profit of only one buck, no sane person would agree to it, but Luke might.

As long as it pleased him, he was willing to spend even ten million to earn one buck.

Luke was a downright lunatic who had little regard for consequences, while Sam was the heir of the Taylor family and had the burden of the family's fortune and glory on his back. Therefore, even though the Taylors had the means to stand up against the Adamses, he was not going to fight fire with fire when it came to Luke.

If a sane person got into a fight with a madman, it was the sane person who would suffer the most.

Since he knew he would suffer, it was best for him to back off.

Sam did not want to trifle with Luke any longer, so he got up and bade Madeline goodbye. "I'll head off now. It's getting late and I still have work to do."

"Sam, why don't you stay for a meal?" Madeline tried to keep him.

"It's alright. I'm swamped with work right now. I'll come and visit you again once I can spare the time." Sam would lose all appetite if he had a meal with Luke present.

Madeline tried to persuade him a couple more times, but since Sam insisted on leaving, she gave in

and saw him out.

Once Sam had left, Madeline brought her phone out to check what was happening online. She finally understood the conversation that Luke and Sam had.

Madeline gave Luke a helpless look.

Still munching on the apple, Luke looked right back at her in complete innocence.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she clammed up soon after without saying anything.

What was there for her to say?

Should she say that Luke should not have exposed Isabel's deeds to the world?

Madeline did not think that she was that much of a saint. holds © this.

Isabel was too horrible of a person.

Since she did such heinous things, she should be exposed to the world. Everyone would know how evil and conniving she was.

Should Madeline praise Luke for exposing Isabel's cruelty to the world and saving Marshall from the hell she had locked him in?

She decided against that too.

Luke was unhinged enough as it was. What if he became even more unhinged if she expressed approval for his actions?

Forget it. Silence is gold.

Madeline decided not to say anything at all!

She took a clean mug and poured Luke a cup of tea. "Here, have some tea. It'll help you calm down."

Calm down, gain some inner peace, and stop acting like a maniac.

Since Madeline took the initiative to pour Luke a cup of tea, he took it as a reward for his actions. He happily sipped at the tea and said, "It's delicious! I'm sure you're the one who made it, Maddie!"

"I did," Madeline replied. "But I didn't buy the tea leaves. Lucas bought it for Old Master Hart, but he could not drink it, so he asked me to take some home with me."

"The tea leaves aren't as important as the person who brews the tea! You're the one who's amazing, Maddie. You can turn even the worst of tea leaves into the best cup of tea!" Luke sounded thoroughly convincing while he spewed nonsense.

Madeline had nothing to say about that.

All she could think of was, Whatever keeps you happy, Luke!

Nothing else came to mind apart from that.

Luke continued to sip his tea gleefully as he asked, "Maddie, are you going on vacation?"

"You seem to know everything all the time," Madeline commented. "But it's not a vacation. It's just a trip to send Aldo and Buddy's classmate back to his old hometown."

"It's all the same," Luke said. "Count me in! I'll go too. I haven't been on a vacation in such a long time. I heard that the little kid's hometown is up on the mountains. I'm sure it'll be a blast."

Madeline hesitated. "...If you're serious about going, I won't stop you, but you should be warned. Alex said that his hometown is quite impoverished with very little infrastructure. The roads are long and winding, and they don't even have Internet."

"That's fine," Luke declared indifferently. "There's an upside to that too. I'm sure the place isn't overdeveloped, so the natural environment would've retained its original flavor. I'm sure it'll be spectacular! In any case, I'm your personal bodyguard, so I'm naturally going to follow you everywhere. You're going so far off this time. What if something dangerous happens when I'm not around?"

Madeline was at a loss.

Why would someone use the word flavor to describe nature?

Also, who said he was her personal bodyguard?

It was certainly not her!

Even so, it went back to what she was thinking earlier. Whatever keeps him happy. She did not bother to correct anything he said since she did not want to stir the beast.

As long as he stayed out of trouble and did not do anything illegal, she was willing to indulge in his whims.

After all, at one point, all they had was each other.

They relied on each other in a time of peril, and when she was at her weakest and most helpless, he was the one who accompanied her through it all. She was willing to let him do whatever he wanted, as long as it did not cross any legal, moral, or ethical boundaries.

Just then, footsteps rang out from the staircase. Sebastian appeared and soon made his way to the living room.

He ignored Luke's presence entirely as he looked at Madeline and said, "Aldo and Buddy are packing their bags but they're making a mess. You should go up and take a look."

The way Sebastian spoke to Madeline made it sound like they were an ordinary couple discussing the little things that peppered a family's daily life.

Immediately, Luke's carefree expression morphed into a jealous pout.