Chapter 95 He Thinks So
For some reason, the eight boys didnât differentiate between families when they were ordered from eldest to youngest. Madelineâs brothers were the eldest among the boys. Uncle Benjaminâs sons were called Eric and David, and they were fifth and sixth in chronological order. Their names were easy to remember, since Madeline came up with a catchphrase for it. Eric and David? E and D? Hmm, oh, I know! Ed, Edd, and Eddy!
But contrary to that interesting catchphrase, Benjaminâs sons werenât too close to Madeline. They didnât look really happy to see Madeline, but they werenât too against it either. Madeline could understand that. She wasnât a dollar bill, so not everyone would love her. They were just her cousins, so they could be friends if they were lucky, but if not, then they would just be acquaintances.
Morganâs sons were seventh and eight in chronological order. In other words, Michaelâs sons were the oldest four, while Benjaminâs were in the middle, and Morganâs were the youngest. Thatâs easy to remember.
Morganâs sons were called Jack and Nicholas. Hmm, Jack and Nicholas, huh? God is gracious, and the victory of the people. Alright, Iâve remembered their names.
Her own brothersâ names could be hard to remember though. Perhaps fans of JoJoâs Bizarre Adventure would recognize Jonathan and Joseph, but Madeline couldnât make that connection. She just thought their names sounded fine. Connor meant âlover of houndsâ while Cedric meant âkindlyâ, but neither of them had shown those attributes.
Jonathan was calm and collected, while Joseph was a man of few words. Connor could be scheming if he wanted to, while Cedric was an idiot. Lover of hounds? Kindly? Yeah, right. Get real.
She might be thinking about a lot of things, but she didnât drop her mannerisms. Sheâd greet everyone Michael introduced to her. After all, she was the youngest kid around, and sheâd have to greet anyone Michael introduced. When the introductions were nearing its end, she heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, itâs going to end soon.
Michael introduced Nicholas to her. âMaddie, this is Morganâs second sonâNicholas.â
âHello, Nicholas.â Madeline looked at him for a moment longer because of his name. Angie means âmessenger of Godâ, while Nicholas means âvictory of the people.â I wonder if the peopleâs victory has anything to do with Godâs message.
Nicholas glanced at Madeline and ignored her. He asked Michael, âWhereâs Angie, uncle?â
Michael froze up, and he looked at Madeline. âSheâs upstairs.â He didnât want Madeline to misunderstand anything, so he explained, âIt was getting late, and it would be dangerous for Angie to leave alone. Thatâs why we let her stay.â
Madeline smiled. She wasnât angry, for she didnât care. She wasnât blind. Sheâd repay the Wendelsâ kindness, and she wouldnât really mind if they wanted to keep Angie. But she would never come back to them, naturally.
She wasnât saying anything, but Michael had a feeling that what little bond they had built over breakfast was broken because he kept Angie for the night. Madeline was about to come back to them, but now she had decided against it because of his decision. He felt crestfallen, and he was reminded of the time he ludicrously thought he could keep both Madeline and Angie together. He thought he could have another daughter, but now he knew that was mere foolishness on his part.
He had never raised Madeline, and she didnât really feel any familial love toward him. When she needed them most, they werenât there for her. Now, she was all grown up and didnât need them anymore, and she could face anything with ease. If she was happy with how he and his wife treated her, she would be fine with calling them Mom and Dad. However, if she wasnât happy with how he and Crystal were treating her, she could stay away from them for her whole life, and it would be impossible for them to see her. And I thought I could keep both her and Angie?
She has no reason to do as I say and live under the same roof with Angie. Why should she watch as the one who insulted her and usurped her place get all chummy with her own family? Thatâs just disgusting.Têxt belongs to .
If Madeline actually listened to him and his wife and befriended Angie just to come back to the Wendels, he would know she was here for their wealth. But now, it was obvious that she had no interest in the Wendelsâ riches. If he kept being nice to Angie, that would be akin to pushing his own daughter to the backburner.
Madeline didnât care about the Wendels. Not one bit. And humans were creatures driven by the desire to have what they couldnât. He held Madelineâs arm and explained, âOnce she wakes up and has breakfast, Iâll get someone to send her to the Colts and explain this whole thing to Xander.â
I canât be too greedy. Itâs clear now. Madeline hasnât said anything or forced me to make a choice, but itâs obvious that I can only keep one or the other, not both. If he kept Angie, then Madeline would only be related to them in name only. It would be impossible for her to open up to them, and he didnât want to see that.
She was stolen when she was born because he failed his job as her father. She suffered for years, and he had to make it up to her. Besides, he could never keep Angie around. Crystal loathed Cameron, and Angieâs existence reminded her of that nemesis as well as their foolishness. With how bad Crystalâs health was, he couldnât keep Angie around, or it might kill Crystal. There can only be one daughter for us for the rest of our lives, and itâll be our real daughter.
Madeline smiled at him. âYou decide, Dad.â
Cedricâs eyes lit up, and he looked at Michael hopefully. âDad, Maddie said you can make the decision. Can we keep Angie? Xander didnât raise Angie, and he doesnât love her. Thereâs no way he would treat her well. Angieâs been staying with us her whole life, and sheâs already used to this place. Even if we tell the public the truth, we can still keep her as an adopted child.â He got into an argument with his mother and almost killed her because he didnât want to tell the public about the truth. Since then, he gave up on keeping the truth a secret, but now he saw an alternative. Hey, if we just tell them that Angieâs adopted, then itâs fine, right?