Chapter 71 Be Still
Crystal didn’t even look at her. She kept filling Madeline’s bowl with food.
Everyone was confused and in chaos.
Sebastian, Aldo, and Buddy were the calmest of them all. Sebastian was sitting beside the boys and helped them with their meal. The boys’ table manners were immaculate. Their posture was upright, and they wouldn’t stir the plates to get their food. All they did was eat their own food quietly. Their cheeks would puff up every time they popped something in their mouths, and they looked like hamsters that had stuffed their faces full of nuts.
Crystal glanced at them by chance, and she couldn’t look away. She had never looked at them seriously before, thinking that they were Cameron’s grandsons. But now that she knew they were her grandsons, she felt like she was stabbed in the heart. Her daughter and grandsons were right under her nose all this time. She had seen them countless times at the Taylor Residence, but not once did she ever love, hug, or even keep them safe.
Michael noticed her peculiar behavior, and he looked where she was looking. Oh, she’s looking at the boys. He wanted to ease the tension, so he smiled at the boys gently. “Aldo, Buddy, she’s your grandmother, you know.”
“Grandmother?” Buddy blinked, then tilted his head to the side to examine Crystal. “Are you sure about that? She looks really young to me. She can’t be my grandmother. I’ll call her pretty lady.”
Madeline chuckled. Her biological mother was indeed really young. Time was kind to her, and she kept herself well, so she didn’t look a day over thirty. If she was in the entertainment industry, she would be praised as someone with eternal youth, and countless people would try to ask her for some tips to care for their skin.
Crystal felt a little better after hearing that little joke.
“You idiot!” Aldo looked at him and frowned, as if he was looking at an imbecile. “Don’t you get it? She’s Mom’s Mom, and that makes her our grandmother no matter how young she looks.”
Buddy blinked innocently. “But Mom didn’t call her Mom.”
Crystal was just starting to relax, but now she tensed up again. Her appetite was already bad to begin with, but now she lost all of it. She put her cutlery down and held Madeline’s hand. She asked Madeline to sit beside her earlier for a purpose. Crystal stared at her daughter for a while, her eyes filled with tears. “Maddie, can you ever forgive me?”
“It is not your fault.” Madeline smiled gently. “You are a victim too, Mom.”
Crystal’s eyes widened. “What did you call me, Maddie?”
“Mom!” Madeline gave her a hug and patted her back gently. “I am a mother too, Mom. I can understand you. If someone took my boys away, it would be the same as killing me. I know how you feel, Mom.”
“Maddie… Maddie.” Crystal could no longer hold back, and she hugged Madeline tightly. “Maddie, my daughter. I am sorry. I’ve failed you.” She cried. “You’re a good girl. I failed you.”
Michael never expected Madeline to call his wife ‘Mom’ so easily, and he felt jealous. He met her first, but she hadn’t called her ‘Dad’ just yet.
Cedric was sitting beside Angie, and he pouted scornfully. I knew it. Anyone would love to be the young miss of our family. Lots of people try to get closer to us just because they’re our relatives. Now that she knows who she really is, of course she wants to make Dad and Mom happy. Makes it easier for her to establish her presence.
What about Angie? She’s been with us for more than twenty years, and now she’s going to be kicked away? Her whole family’s going to be taken away from her. I can’t imagine how she’s going to take this. He noticed Madeline whispering something to Crystal and making her smile. Mom is in a good mood. Great. “Dad, Mom, I have something to say.”
Crystal let Madeline go and turned around sheepishly to wipe her tears away, then she turned back and looked at Cedric. “What is it, Cedric?” Crystal felt a lot better now that Madeline was calling her ‘Mom’ and kept assuring her that it wasn’t her fault that Cameron did the switcheroo. A smile was curling her lips, even.
Cedric felt even more certain now. Good. The timing is right. He suggested, “Dad, Mom, I know it’s great that Madeline is back, but what about Angie? I have a proposition here.”
The mention of Angie wiped the smile off Crystal’s lips, and her face fell. “What is it?”
Michael knew that out of his four sons, Cedric loved Angie the most, and he was arrogant and impulsive. Crystal just felt better. He’d better not do anything stupid. He warned, “You’d better think before you speak, Cedric.”
“Dad, Mom, it’s fine. I’ve thought about this long and hard.” He looked at his parents. “Dad, Mom, Angie might not be your daughter, but it’s true that she has lived with us for more than twenty years. You can’t brush that off so easily. Even though we’re not related to her, she thinks of us as her family all this time.”
“No, this can’t be,” Angie mumbled. “This can’t be real. You’re my real family. Dad and Mom are my real parents. You’re all my real brothers. We’re a family. A family.”
Cedric patted her back and continued, “Dad, Mom, here’s a plan. We can tell the public that Mom gave birth to twins. That way, Angie and Maddie can both stay with us, and you get another daughter in the family. It’s a win-win situation, right?”
Crystal adjusted her position and sat up straighter. “I’ve decided to call the cops to arrest Cameron after dinner,” she said clearly.
“As you should.” Cedric nodded. “Cameron is an evil witch. She should be arrested.”
“No, Cedric!” Angie grabbed his arm with trembling hands. “Cedric, what if she tells everyone about this when the cops arrest her? If she tells them that she actually did a switcheroo just so she can get back at me, that’d be bad.”
Cedric paused for a moment and looked at Crystal. “Mom—”
“What? Are you going to tell me not to call the cops on Cameron?” Crystal stared at her son darkly.
Jonathan hissed, “Cedric, Mom just got better, so quit it, will you?” They knew how much Crystal despised Cameron. Cameron was their grandfather’s illegitimate child, and she was only born because Cameron’s mother deceived their grandfather.
