CHAPTER 240

Quincy's declaration got Madeline's attention at once. "What is it, Aldo?"

"Mommy, one of our classmates tried to help us during our fight with Jayden. Jayden and the others hit him too, but he didn't get hurt so the teacher didn't bring him to the nurse's office," Quincy explained to Madeline before making his request. "Can we send him home? I want to thank him for his help."

"Of course," Sebastian answered before Madeline could. "What's his name? I'll send someone to get him."

"I'll go by myself!" Quincy looked at Quinton and said stiffly, "Please put me down."

Quinton could tell that Quincy was adamant about not being carried around, so he set him down with a wistful sigh.

"I'll go and bring him over!" Quincy ran toward the classrooms.

"Me too!" Joel cried out hurriedly. "Daddy, I want to go too!"

"Okay, let's go!" Sebastian followed after Quincy with Joel in his arms.

Madeline could not be bothered to deal with Queenie anymore, so she followed behind them and called out to Quincy, "Aldo, slow down. Be careful not to fall."

"Mrs. Hart, please wait a moment! Please listen to me!" Queenie was sweating profusely as she tried to run after Madeline, but the Hart family bodyguards kept her back.

She could not get past the bodyguards at all. The dread in her heart intensified at the thought of her upcoming downfall, so she did not hold back anymore. She screamed after Madeline, "Mrs. Hart, I'm begging you! Please forgive me! It was just a little fight between the children. It's not a big deal! Please don't take it to heart, please…"

Madeline heard her screams but she did not even bother to turn back and look at Queenie.

All she cared about now was her sons.

Quincy ran back into the classroom and headed straight for one of his male classmates. "Alex, you want to go home, right? Come with me. My mommy can help to take you home."

The boy hesitated for the briefest moment before standing. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Quincy's eyes were dead serious as he said, "You helped Buddy and me, so I'll help you too!"

"Me too! Me too!" Joel waved as hard as he could from where he was behind Quincy.

Quincy turned around and frowned at him. "Stop relying on Daddy to carry you around!"

Joel's eyes flitted between Quincy and Sebastian. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and squished his face against Sebastian's before muttering reluctantly, "But I like it when Daddy carries me…"

He wanted to obey his older brother's instructions, but he did not want to leave his father's arms.

What should I do?

Joel scrunched his face up in indecision.

Sebastian's heart melted at the sight.

He kissed Joel on the face. "It's okay. You're still a little boy, Buddy. It's perfectly fine to want to be carried."

"Daddy!" Joel perked up again. He kept his arms around Sebastian's neck as he rubbed his face against it affectionately.

Joel's reaction made Sebastian feel like his son was an adorable little kitten, all soft and warm in his arms, and smelling faintly of milk too. By now, his heart was nothing more than a puddle of fuzzy feelings.

He tightened his arms around his son with no intention of ever letting go.

All of the students in the classroom were staring at them curiously.

The talkative ones began to whisper to one another, "I think Jayden was lying! Quincy and Joel's father treats them very well. My father doesn't even treat me like that. All he does is yell at me!"

"You're right! Quincy and Joel's father looks so young and handsome too!"

"Is that Quincy and Joel's father, though? Maybe he's not?"

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear Joel calling him Daddy?"

"You're deaf!"

The children's discussion grew louder and louder, and soon, the entire classroom was buzzing.

Sebastian glanced at the student who questioned his identity and declared, "I am Quincy and Joel's father."

The student turned scarlet before hurriedly looking away, wishing that he could hide under the table.

While Sebastian did not take offense to a child's comments, he wanted these children to know that his sons were not b*stards born out of wedlock. His sons were his flesh and blood as well as his responsibility.

He turned to Alex and said pleasantly, "Thank you for helping my sons. You're welcome to be our guest anytime."

Alex said politely, "Thank you, Mr. Hart."

Now that Joel was safely tucked into Sebastian's arms, he forgot all about the incident with Jayden. Instead, he gushed to Alex, "Our house is very pretty, and my mommy is the best cook ever! You can come and have dinner with us!"

Sebastian chuckled as he nudged Joel's face. "Joel's right. Alex, you should come and have dinner

with us."

The students saw how Sebastian interacted with Quincy and Joel, so they knew for a fact that Jayden was lying.

It seemed like Quincy and Joel's father loved them very much. It was nothing like what Jayden said about them becoming servants or disowning them.

That explained why Quincy and Joel would start a fight with Jayden. It was because he was a big fat liar!

After proving that Jayden's insults were nothing but lies, Sebastian left with his sons and Alex in tow.

Once they all got in the car, Quincy asked Madeline, "Mommy, can you send my friend home?"

"Send your friend home?" Madeline glanced at Alex and asked, "Does he stay very far away?"

"Yeah, very, very far away!" Quincy said. "Up in the mountains."

"Yes, I know about it too!" Joel, who was still all cuddled up in Sebastian's arms, raised his hand and cut Quincy off. "Alex's home is on a mountain far, far away. Alex wants to go home but he has no money, so he can't."

Madeline was even more confused now. "If his home is so far away, why is he attending this school?" holds © this.

"My dad sent me here," Alex explained. "The house here belongs to my dad and my stepmother, and the house in the mountains belongs to my grandma. Grandma's house is my home. I want to go home."

The word stepmother set off a lightbulb in Madeline's mind. "Your stepmother doesn't treat you very well?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded. "She scolds me and beats me."

Madeline frowned. "What about your father? Doesn't he care about the way she treats you?"

"My father is busy working. He rarely comes home," Alex said.

"What about when he does come home then?" Madeline asked. "Did you tell him that your stepmother often hits you?"

"I told him, but he doesn't believe me," Alex replied. "I don't have any bruises."

Madeline was speechless.

Alex pursed his lips and looked up at Madeline. His dark eyes glinted with an iciness that rivaled a frozen lake. "Mrs. Hart, please send me home. I will repay your kindness when I grow up!"

He seemed no older than six or seven, but he exuded an aura of maturity that far exceeded his age.

As he stared at Madeline, his eyes were steadfast and seemed to confirm that this was a decision he had thought long and hard about.

"Mommy, when Jayden, Rennie, and Gordon were hitting Buddy and me, Alex helped us." Quincy

looked into Madeline's eyes and said, "Mommy, we need to repay our gratitude to him. Can we help Alex, please?"