Chapter 138 Understanding
She had never stolen anything; she was forced to kneel and was slapped and shut in the basement to be beaten because she was too young and couldn’t resist. She never wanted those to happen.
She waited on the Taylors like a servant, acting so humble like a slave because she knew to repay kindness. She was grateful to the Taylors and was willing to repay what they did for her. She didn’t really think of herself as a slave.
From all this time with her, he came to know about Madeline’s bravery, persistence, optimism, sunny outlook, self-respect, and self-love.
This girl had too many brilliant qualities.
He only felt sorrow when he thought about her kneeling in front of people, of her getting slapped and whipped and having to wait on people like a servant. He never thought that she was lowly.
Apparently, people like Holly had other ideas.
People like Holly thought that the young master of the Hart Family should have a wife who was untouched by the world—a pretty flower who grew up in a prestigious family. They thought his wife should be someone who had never bowed to anyone before, and instead was the one being waited on and admired at, and be wholly unworldly.
However, they didn’t know that he was once thrown into an organization that worked for the country because his father wanted to train him.
In that organization, there were all sorts of people from different backgrounds. With them, he had rolled on swamp grounds, ate rock-like bread, slept in caves, starved until his eyes went red, and even ate earthworms dug fresh from the dirt out of desperation.
He had traversed several cities, and could speak more than ten local accents. He could even swear in the local language.
He wasn’t some unworldly person himself, so he wouldn’t require his wife to be of a high position to shine brilliantly and remain untouched by the world.
His standard for choosing a partner was actually quite simple. He only had one requirement—he wanted to like what he saw.
Coincidentally, he liked what he saw in Madeline.
Even though she had knelt to people before, and she was slapped and had waited on people like a servant, he still liked what he saw.
Because of that, Madeline had the right to be his wife.
If the two really developed feelings for each other in the future, he might really hold a grand wedding for Madeline and amaze everyone who looked down on her!
Nigel and George both had houses in Wendel City, so they didn’t stay in Wendel House. When it was about time, they bid farewell and left.
On the way back to the Taylors’ other house, Holly was still in a daze.
She couldn’t believe that the pitiful and lowly girl, who would be slapped and punished at the slightest inconvenience, would turn into the mistress of the Hart Family today!
“How could it be?” She mumbled, turning to look at George. “How could Old Master Hart agree to Sebastian and Madeline getting their marriage certificate? Families like us would want their sons to marry a nice woman of flawless upbringing and similar status. How could the Harts—”
“What’s wrong with Maddie’s background?” George frowned as he looked at her. “Maddie is my sister’s and brother-in-law’s only daughter, the young mistress of the Wendel Family. Even though the Wendels aren’t as prestigious as the Harts, they’re still the top family in Wendel City. They had been a famous family for a long time, and it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for the young mistress of the Wendel Family to get married to the young master of the Hart Family, would it?”
“I’m not saying that the Wendel Family isn’t on par with the Hart Family. I mean… Maddie didn’t grow up in the Wendel Family…” Holly said, “Maddie had been considered Cameron’s daughter for the last 20 or so years. You know how Phoebe and her daughter treated her. They slapped her and forced her to kneel before, and they treated her like the lowliest servant. Wouldn’t a prestigious family like the Hart Family think that she’s… too lowly?”
She wanted to use the word ‘dirty’, but Madeline was George’s biological niece, so she changed her wording in case she offended George.
“How could you think that?” George stared at her in surprise. “Maddie was still young then, and she was bullied. Phoebe and her daughter had terrible character, so what does that have to do with Maddie’s worth? I think Maddie is pretty decent. She speaks and acts elegantly, and I heard Stephen say that Sam was grateful to Maddie for saving him, so he hired a lot of teachers for her. She learnt martial arts, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She had her lessons on etiquette, horse-riding, golf, billiards, and even flower arrangement. Stephen said that Maddie would have at most six different classes every day. He also praised her for her smarts, and she was very quick to learn. He even felt sorry for Maddie for having been born in the wrong family, or she would’ve become the most prestigious lady in Dusktown…”
At that, he couldn’t help but sigh. “Now, we’re sure that Maddie was born to the right parents after all. She was just unlucky for the first 20 years, and her beautiful destiny was stolen. Now that the truth is revealed, she can go back to where she belongs. Maddie now has Michael and Crystal to protect her, and she also has her sons with Sebastian. Only happiness awaits her…”
Holly could no longer hear what George said next.
She could only think of Katie.
She was Crystal’s sister-in-law, so how could Crystal get so lucky? Crystal hadn’t taken care of her biological daughter for long, and when she was reunited with her daughter, her daughter had already become the mistress of the Hart Family.
Now, the Wendels and the Harts were joined by marriage, and the Wendels would rise to a higher status. Hence, the four sons of the Wendels would shine even brighter.
What about her, though?
She had raised her niece like her own daughter, and after a single meeting with Madeline, her niece was sent by Madeline into prison!
She even wanted her daughter to marry Jonathan so that their family would have a closer relationship with the Wendels. Now, not even a normal family would want their son to marry a woman who had been in jail, much less Jonathan.
When Katie was released, she would have no say in who she got married to. She couldn’t even think about getting married into a decent family.
With that thought in mind, she felt so sorrowful that tears began to fall from her eyes again.
Noticing that she was crying again, George couldn’t help but frown. “Come on, stop thinking so much. Don’t worry about offending Crystal and Maddie today, or worry that they would take out their anger on Ethan and Stephen. They are both reasonable people, so as long as Ethan and Stephen are reasonable, Crystal and Maddie won’t blame it on them.”
The sense of understanding between a married couple was sometimes unmatched.
They had been together for more than 20 years now, so George knew what Holly was thinking about.
Holly must have misunderstood, but George didn’t think Holly was unforgivable.
Everyone had biases, of course. Holly had brought up Katie herself, so if Holly were indifferent about Katie’s imprisonment, that would be true terror.
As long as she didn’t do anything too extreme, he allowed Holly to be sad about it.
After all, he and his sons would comfort Holly and bring her to the truth.
Time could change everything. In due time, Holly would finally understand, and things would be alright again.
