CHAPTER 488

Sebastian caught Joel in his embrace and kissed him before reciprocating with a smile. "I miss you too."

Meanwhile, Joel hugged his daddy's neck and kissed him repeatedly. His actions did not seem like he had missed his parents for one night but for years!

In the living room were Philip, Patrick, and Paul grinning at the trio. Subsequently, Sebastian and Madeline stopped before them, and he poured two cups of tea before proffering one of them to her.

Following that, he kneeled on the ground and served the tea to Philip. "Dad, have some tea."

This was the Hart Family's tradition. The newlywed daughter-in-law had to serve her in-laws a cup of tea the morning after her marriage.

Madeline followed suit and raised the cup of tea in front of him. "Philip, have some tea!"

"Good. Very good!" Philip laughed heartily before receiving Madeline's cup of tea. Then, he took a sip and set it aside before receiving Sebastian's cup.

"Get up, both of you!" He smiled while urging the two to rise to their feet. Next, he gathered a wooden box from beside him and placed it on the table before pushing it toward her. "Maddie, this is a gift from me and my late wife. Take it."

"Thank you, Philip, but I don't need this. I have everything I need, so you don't need to waste the money." Madeline hurriedly refused.

"Yes, you do." While caressing the wooden box, Philip's smile had a trace of sadness. "This is something Seb's mother left behind. She told me before she passed that these are all for her future daughter-in-law. It's a token of her appreciation, so you must take good care of them."

Sebastian picked up the wooden box and placed it in Madeline's hand. "Take it."

The wooden box felt heavy as she hugged it admiringly in her arms. "I appreciate this thoughtful gift from you and your wife. I'll always cherish it."

"You're such an understanding girl." Philip chuckled and said, "This brat is so lucky to be able to marry such a good and obedient wife. I'll be even more satisfied if you two can give birth to a daughter that is as obedient as you."

Madeline was rendered speechless. That came out of nowhere. I'm starting to feel pressured.

Noticing that Joel was standing beside them and staring curiously at the wooden box, Sebastian removed the wooden box from Madeline's arms and placed it on the coffee table. Subsequently, he opened it before turning to Joel. "You need to open it to see what's inside."

Joel's eyes shone even brighter as he quickly dashed over to see what was inside the box. "Oh, wow. There's so much precious stuff in here!"

In fact, the box was filled with jewelry. With just a glance, it was obvious that they were of high quality and rare finds.

Feeling her heart tremble slightly, Madeline told her kid, "Joel, just look and don't touch."

Since Sebastian's mother left these pieces of jewelry behind, they were priceless, so she could not possibly let Joel play with them.

"Alright, Mommy. I understand." While nodding his tiny head solemnly, Joel stated, "Just by looking at them, I know these jewels must be worth a lot, so I can only look but not touch. I'll just look at them and not touch them."

"It's alright." Sebastian caressed Joel's head. "Don't listen to your mommy. It's okay to touch them. They won't break that easily."

Again, Madeline was rendered speechless. Dear Mr. Hart, your method will only bring up a naughty child!

While touching his beloved son's cheeks, Sebastian poured another two cups of tea and kneeled respectfully before Patrick. "Uncle Patrick, have some tea."

Madeline hurriedly followed suit and served tea to Patrick.

After fulfilling the tradition with both Patrick and Paul, Madeline received deeds to a store and a resort manor.

Such expensive gifts shocked her to the core. At this point, she felt like she could lead a good life without lifting a finger for the rest of her life.

A chuckling Philip joked, "It seems like I'm the poorest in the family and could only gift you the things Seb's mother left behind."

Sebastian retorted, "Dad, you're quite a sensible person."

Madeline did not know what to say. Wouldn't he get beaten up for saying something like this?

As she expected, Sebastian received a slap from his dad.

Philip puffed his cheeks while he glared at his son. "What's there to be proud of? The family business you owned now belongs to my wife. Do you think she'd let you inherit the family business if it wasn't because of her love for me?"

Once again, Madeline had no words to describe her feelings.

Had she not seen this for herself, she would not have believed that the serious-looking old man on TV, who was also a man of few words, was the same person as the old man with puffed cheeks and glaring eyes sitting before her.

Meanwhile, Patrick decided to side with Philip. "That's right. If you weren't Philip's only son, do you think we would've doted on you so much?"

Paul added playfully, "Well, I'm not like you guys. I don't dote on that brat. In the future, I'm only going to dote on Quincy and Joel."

After he said that, he pulled Quincy and Joel into his arms before stroking them with his large hands. He loved those two so much that he could not keep his hands off them.

"Gosh, you're right!" Patrick seemed to have realized something. "Since you mentioned it, I'm going to

change my mind too. How is Seb cuter than Quincy and Joel? From now on, they will be our precious jewels."

Feeling her heart tremble slightly, Madeline told her kid, "Joel, just look and don't touch."

He then took Joel away from Paul's arms and pinched Joel's soft and chubby cheeks while proudly stating, "Quincy and Joel are the prettiest children on earth. I've never seen a child more pretty-looking than these two!"

"Of course!" Philip was even prouder than Patrick. "Quincy and Joel took after their grandmother. She was the prettiest woman in Dusktown when she was young!"

"Thank you, Grandpa, Granduncle Patrick, and Granduncle Paul for the compliments!" Joel kissed each of them respectively before tightening his fists and announcing, "Aldo said that having good looks is not enough. We also need to have power! We have to study hard and be a person with real talent, not just someone with good looks and no talent!"

His serious expression was so cute that it made everyone gasp in awe. As such, Philip, Patrick, and Paul began fighting with each other to tease the little fellow, making everyone burst into laughter.

Then, Sebastian turned to Madeline and complained, "Are you seeing this? My position in the family hierarchy is almost at the bottom."

"No, that's not true." Madeline lowered her head and said with blushing cheeks, "I think Quincy and Joel are just like you…"

Sebastian smiled with his eyes and replied, "This is the best part about having a wife. She still cares

about me when others don't!"

"You little brat!" Philip, who was busy playing with his beloved grandsons, found some time to glare at his son. "Now that you have a wife, I have become a stranger to you, haven't I?"

"Grandpa, don't be angry. That's not what Daddy meant." Joel used his delicate hand to pat Philip's chest. "What Daddy means is that Mommy is his partner, and Mommy is his only partner, so everyone else is considered 'others'!"

After being stunned for a moment, Philip found Joel's words funny and laughed while pinching Joel's chubby cheeks. "Oh, baby. How did you know that your mommy is your daddy's partner?"

"Of course!" Joel's big eyes brightened as he explained, "Aldo told me! When Mommy and Daddy were having their wedding ceremony yesterday, I asked him why they were having such a ceremony. Aldo said that after they finished their wedding ceremony, everyone would know that Mommy is Daddy's wife. A wife is a partner for life and the person you're the closest to, so that's why Mommy is Daddy's partner while everyone else is considered as 'others'. No one can steal Daddy from Mommy! Isn't that right, Aldo?" He tilted his head while looking at Quincy.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g