CHAPTER 261
Sebastian glanced at Luke before heading upstairs.
Luke was insulted.
Was Sebastian that unmoved by his presence?
Did Sebastian not even consider him as his rival for Madeline's affections?!
"Hey!" Luke cried out after Sebastian's retreating back. "I want to follow Maddie to that kid's hometown."
"Up to you," Sebastian said without even pausing or turning back to look at him.
Luke was speechless.
He did not feel any sense of achievement!
How infuriating!
Sebastian could not be bothered to deal with someone with a screw loose in his head. He followed Madeline back to the bedroom.
In the bedroom, Joel was squatting down on the floor. He had turned the room upside down.
Madeline walked over and poked his little head. "Buddy, what are you doing?"
"I'm packing my bags!" Joel said. "Aren't we sending Alex back to his home tomorrow? I'm packing my bags in advance!"
Madeline glanced at the floor that was littered with items and commented helplessly, "Are you sure you're not making a mess instead?"
"I won't," Joel declared with an adorable grin. "I was trying to pack my bags but I saw all the things I had and I kept taking them out to have a closer look, so the floor got a little messy. I'll put them all back later so it won't be a mess anymore."
Madeline shook her head in exasperation. "What do you want to bring with you? Tell me and I'll pack it for you."
"I want to bring my clothes, Happy, and a lot of yummy snacks!" Joel counted the items off with his fingers.
Madeline did not know what to say.
Happy was a stuffed toy husky which Joel hugged to sleep every night. He would bring it with him wherever he went too.
Quincy, who was sitting quietly by the window reading a book, snorted and said, "How childish."
Joel pouted. "I'm not childish! I'm just… sentimental!"
Madeline chuckled and patted Joel on the head before passing a small suitcase to him. "Put the things
you want to bring with you into this bag. I'll help you with everything else."
"Okay. Thank you, Mommy." Joel came forward and kissed Madeline on the cheek.
Madeline's heart melted at once.
How did she end up with such an adorable son?
Meanwhile, Sebastian was standing behind them, watching the interaction that took place between Madeline and Joel. All of a sudden, he recalled scenes from the first time he and Madeline were intimate.
It was… an experience worth remembering for years to come.
Due to his childhood experiences, he despised the very idea of getting intimate with a woman, so never in his wildest dreams would he have thought of it as something worth remembering.
It did feel… pretty amazing.
At least this meant that he was a regular guy after all.
Sebastian's lips quirked up as he said to Madeline, "Maddie, come here. I want to talk to you about something."
"Oh. Okay," Madeline replied. She got up and followed him to the room next door.
After closing the door behind them, Sebastian got straight to the point. "Let's have a wedding
ceremony."
"Huh?" Madeline was startled.
Sebastian explained, "Queenie's son insulted Aldo and Buddy because Queenie thought that Aldo and Buddy were born out of wedlock. If we organize a wedding ceremony, everyone will know that you're my lawfully-wedded wife, and Aldo and Buddy won't be thought of as children born out of wedlock. No one would hurt Aldo and Buddy like that ever again."
Madeline stared at him in a daze.
She was willing to go through with his idea.
Rather, she was willing to do anything that benefited her sons.
However… was it truly okay for Sebastian?
A wedding ceremony was a lot more complicated than a marriage certificate.
It was easy to get a marriage certificate as all it took was a couple of hours and a small fee, but a wedding ceremony required a lot of time, effort, and money.
This was especially true for a family like the Harts.
If Sebastian wanted to organize a wedding ceremony to announce to the world that she was his lawfully-wedded wife and Aldo and Buddy were not born out of wedlock, then he would surely spend a huge sum to plan an extravagant wedding ceremony that lived up to the Hart family's social standing.
Otherwise, if the ceremony was too simple, others might assume that Sebastian and the Harts did not care that much about her.
In that case, there was no point in having a ceremony.
If Sebastian's goal was to let the world know that he and the Harts truly accepted her and cared about her, then he would need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to organize a lavish wedding ceremony. Was it truly worth it?
Sebastian noticed that she had frozen in thought, so he did not rush her into anything. "You can take your time to think it over and let me know your decision after."
Madeline was worried that he might take her hesitation the wrong way, so she hurriedly said, "I'm willing to have a wedding, of course. I'm willing to do anything for Aldo and Buddy, but… it's rather unfair for you. It's going to cost a lot to have a wedding ceremony."
"I don't think it's unfair," Sebastian refuted. "You're my wife. Aldo and Buddy are my sons. As your husband and their father, it is my duty to ensure that you all are given what you're due."
Madeline continued to hesitate. "Then… Won't your future wife… mind?"
Sebastian chuckled. "Maddie, as long as you remain the kind and amazing woman that you are right now, there won't be a future wife. You'll be my only wife."
Madeline did not know what to say.
Who could be sure about the future?
She knew that Sebastian was speaking from his heart, but who could guarantee that he would not meet a woman who stole his heart away in the future?
Love worked in mysterious ways.
There was no way of eliminating the possibility that he might fall in love with someone else in the future, whether at first sight or after getting to know her.
When that time came, he would probably regret his decision today, would he not?
"Don't overthink this. I know what I'm doing," Sebastian declared. "As long as you don't mind having a wedding ceremony, leave it to me. You can just get ready to show up as the blushing bride that day. I'm certain that Aldo and Buddy would be thrilled that we'll be having a grand wedding ceremony."
His words managed to sway Madeline.
Even though her sons had never said anything, she knew that they felt insecure and were afraid that she and Sebastian might separate one day.
If they held a lavish wedding ceremony, the kids would feel a lot more secure about the family sticking together.
Now that she began to picture the joyful smiles on her sons' faces, Madeline could not find it in her to object any longer. She nodded and said, "I'm willing to have a ceremony. We can let Aldo and Buddy
be our flower boys. They'll be so excited!"
"That's a good idea," Sebastian agreed. "Then it's settled. I'll get the company's planning department to start preparing for the wedding ceremony. First, we'll send Alex back to his hometown. After we come back, we'll go and take our wedding photos."
"...Okay," Madeline said.
They were going to take wedding photos too!
Madeline was getting quite excited at the thought of her and Sebastian's wedding photo hanging on the bedroom wall. It would be the first thing Quincy and Joel saw when they woke up.
The boys would be ecstatic.
Now that they had come to an agreement, they left the room and went back to the bedroom.
The two children looked over when they heard the door open. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Despite being young children, their gazes had an uneasy sort of scrutiny in them.
The two children sighed in relief when they saw the faint smiles on Madeline and Sebastian's faces. It did not seem like they had quarreled.
Quincy went back to his book, while Joel continued packing.
The sight of this only served to convince both Sebastian and Madeline that organizing a wedding
ceremony was the right decision.
They were willing to go through with it even if all it did was give Quincy and Joel the tiniest semblance of reassurance.