Chapter 184 Gossip Kills
“Yes, Young Master!” Desmond answered as he could finally heave a sigh of relief now.
20 beatings was like scratching an itch for trained men like them. Sebastian’s punishment for them was probably to teach them a lesson rather than causing them pain. Their boss had definitely gone easy on them!
Desmond couldn’t go downstairs to inform Emory and the bunch as he was still watching over the little young masters. He only sent Quinton a message about it, and had him head over to the 4 kneeling men instead.
Sebastian stayed there for a while more. After finally feeling more at ease after seeing that his boys were in a deep sleep, he got up and instructed, “Guard them well. No one is to leave this room. Get someone else to watch them if you need to step out for whatever reason.”
“Yes, Young Master!” Desmond took his orders well. “Don’t worry, Young Master. I will stay right here and watch over the little young masters!”
Hearing that, Sebastian nodded before turning around to head back to the bedroom next door.
The room was still empty, save for a consistent sound of flowing water coming from the bathroom.
Feeling slightly helpless, he knocked on the bathroom door and tried to convince her, “Maddie, come on out. We need to talk.”
It took some time before the shaky voice from the bathroom gave a weak “O-okay…”
The bathroom door finally opened after a few minutes, and out came Madeline, clad in pajamas, who stumbled her way out.
Sebastian must have been so surprised to see her swaying that he immediately grabbed her and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I am… I am fine,” she replied in a quivering voice.
She looked even more pitiful than she did earlier.
Even though her cheeks were still blushing, her lips had already turned into the shade of white paper. Water kept dripping from her hair as she shivered and looked like a freezing, drenched chicken.
As her eyebrows were pressed together into a frown, Sebastian made Madeline sit down on the bed before he wrapped her in a wool blanket. Then, he found a towel and blow dryer, and proceeded to pat the excess moisture out of her hair before blowing it dry. As the blow dryer did its magic, he said, “Maddie, let’s talk.”
She had her bathrobe tightly around her as she nodded. “O-Okay.”
“How do you feel?” asked Sebastian.
Madeline didn’t reply to that because she didn’t feel anything different in particular.
She hadn’t looked at the time. She wasn’t aware that she had been under the cold shower for a long time. All that she knew was how her brain felt clearer and her body had also returned to a normal temperature. However, her veins and nerves still felt like they were being bitten by bugs or that they were on fire. The pain on the inside didn’t fade one bit.
The discomfort was so blatant that hurling her head at a wall felt like a good idea at that moment.
She was overwhelmed by an unexplainable feeling of sadness as big beads of tears started rolling down her face uncontrollably.
Sebastian was caught off-guard the moment Madeline started crying. His voice immediately softened again. “Does it feel bad?”
Madeline had no choice but to quietly nod at his question.
He reached out to touch her hair, and after feeling that he had gotten rid of most of the moisture, he switched off the machine. “Let me help you,” he blurted out out of nowhere. “I will take responsibility for you.”
She looked up at him and he couldn’t help but gawk at how incredibly beautiful she was. She had the kind of beauty that could cause the ruin of kingdoms if they were in the olden days.
Her big eyes that were adorned by long and curly lashes had an elegant, enchanting curve by their corners. They made her look as innocent as an obedient child. Other than that, her straight nose, small mouth, beautiful lips, and her slender neck that connected to her sensual clavicle were all features of her that made her look so exquisitely gorgeous.
He couldn’t believe how he could be so careless as to let this beautiful woman, whose personality he admired and also coincidentally was the mother of his sons, fall into Luke’s hands. Knowing just how much she had to suffer because of Luke made Sebastian’s heart ache… He was willing to take all responsibilities as her husband.
“I will be loyal and true to you after I have your body…” His gaze met Madeline’s, and he slowly continued, “I will be a responsible husband. I will be loyal to our marriage, and I promise to not commit adultery. I will never betray you. I will give my heart and soul into making life with you work as we raise our children.”
Sebastian knew that Madeline probably wasn’t in her best state of mind now, so he enunciated every word that he spoke. He spoke slowly and surely, and even emphasized on certain words that were more important.
Just like he had thought, Madeline’s thoughts were all muddy.
It took her a while before she finally understood what Sebastian had said to her.
Looking at the serious expression on his handsome face and how his eyes seemed to twinkle as he looked back at her, she was possessed by an urge to cry.
This was what she would consider the best ending.
It was probably because of all the things she had to experience in the past that she could never give herself to a man, no matter the circumstances.
Madeline didn’t want to have fingers pointing at her or mouths berating her for being an immoral, dishonorable woman.
Furthermore, she was a mother.
She thought that it would be a disgrace to her children if she were to get involved with a man whom she had nothing to do with.
Even though she knew that her view might be wrong and that she was being biased, it was hard for her to change her mentality because it was her personal experiences that had shaped her thoughts.
That was why she would rather stay under the cold shower and wait for it to pass on its own despite how terrible she felt.
However, even the cold water was no match against the drug clouding her head.
Madeline had almost lost all hopes then.
Just as she was caught in a dilemma and in utmost pain, Sebastian had not only offered a helping hand, but also to take responsibility over her. This, truly, was the best option she had.
At least they were a lawfully wedded husband and wife.
It might be unbearable, but at the very least, no one could ridicule her for giving Sebastian her body. She wouldn’t embarrass her children too.
The only problem now was that she felt sorry for Sebastian.
He had unknowingly been dragged into this mess, and yet he was now promising her that he would honor their marriage and never go to another woman if he were to bring her to bed.
That would mean that he was giving up his chances of getting married to a woman of his level, then!
Madeline suddenly recalled Luke’s words, and she mumbled, “I am not your best choice…”
In all honesty, Madeline didn’t feel like she deserved anyone at all.
So what if she had had a tough childhood and went on her knees more times than she could count?
She didn’t think that it made her a lowly or inferior person.
She did have to kneel and bow when she was a child, but that wasn’t because she had done anything wrong or that she was a bad child. It was because she didn’t have the power to protect herself.
Even though life hadn’t been easy for her, her hands were clean all this time—she had never intentionally done one bad thing.
She was a good and upright person who deserved to be with anyone she wanted, but that might not be the case for others.
Just as Luke had mentioned, Madeline grew up under rather harsh conditions. She wasn’t a flower in a greenhouse that was carefully taken care of and neither was she the treasured daughter of a rich family. She was someone who had suffered from beatings and mockery.
To a lot of people, Madeline had had a shameful past, and that was why a man like Sebastian was supposed to be with a flawless woman: someone who was born with a diamond spoon in her mouth, and was raised by a family and servants catering to her every whims and wishes. He wasn’t supposed to be with Madeline, who had none of those growing up.
She didn’t think that she didn’t deserve Sebastian, but she knew that a lot of people did.
That was how destructive gossip could be.
She was afraid that he was only making an offer like this out of pity, and that he would regret it someday.
