CHAPTER 419 HEâS MY LEADING MAN
âYes. He canât go home now due to special circumstances, so heâs going to stay with us for now. Are
you okay with it, Colt?â It dawned on Madeline that she should have asked the kids for their opinions
before making the call.
âCan he leave if Iâm not fine with it?â Colton hung his head low, thinking that he was asking a lot from
his mother. His eyes reflected his apprehension.
Madeline gently pulled him into her arms. âItâs my bad. Youâre the owner of this house. I shouldâve
consulted with you before deciding whether he could stay with us. I want to apologize to you.â
âI donât blame you, Mommy.â Colton was moved. Mommy said he was also an owner of the house like
Thomas and Mackenzie.
He was over the moon.
âCan you tell me why you donât want him to stay?â Madeline inquired.
Colton took a fleeting glance at the phone in the back. Noah showed no expression behind the screen,
but Colton could tell from Noahâs tensed facial lines that he was mad.
Oh, no. Someone was about to steal Mommyâs heart, and yet Daddy had the time to lose his temper in
the video call.
Colton pulled a pitiful face at Madeline and uttered, âIâm scared that you will fall in love with him and
forget about Daddy.â
Taken aback, Madeline earnestly replied, âColt, I hope you can understand that I will always love you
whether or not your daddy and I end up together, but you canât use my love for you as a reason to
interfere with my freedom of marriage.â
âI donât get it, Mommy. Donât be with Clinton. Can you just be with Daddy?â Colton wrapped his arms
around the nape of Madelineâs neck and acted as a five-year-old should for once.
The boy barely comprehended the meaning behind Madelineâs words, but he got the feeling that
Mommy did not want Daddy anymore.
âAlright now. This has nothing to do with Clinton. I will tell Clinton to leave if you insist that he should
not stay.â Madeline patted Coltonâs back to console him.
Colton picked his head up and looked into Madelineâs eyes before whispering, âLet him stay.â
âColt, I donât want you to have ill feelings, okay?â Madeline only allowed Clinton to stay because a
certain somebody could not keep it in her pants. Plus, Clintonâs story just now tugged on her
heartstrings.
Besides, Thomas and Mackenzie took to the guy, so Madeline agreed to provide a temporary roof over
his head.
Nevertheless, Madeline would rather go back on her word than make Colton feel uncomfortable. Of
course, Madeline would find Clinton somewhere safe to get shelter, but he would not be staying with
them.
âMommy, I donât have any ill feelings. I was just afraid that Clinton would steal you away. I didnât
oppose him living here because I hated Clinton,â Colton anxiously explained before Madeline mistook
him for a mean child.
In the video call, Noah pressed his lips tightly together and broodingly looked at the mother and son in
an embrace.
It was a good thing Colton had not forgotten that his father was still on the line. He tugged on
Madelineâs collar and queried, âMommy, do you really not like Daddy?â
Madeline gave his little cheek a squeeze and responded with a smile, âThe relationship between adults
is complicated. Youâll get it when you grow up.â
Scrunching his face, Colton gave it a thought and asked, âBetween Clinton and Daddy, who do you like
best?â
âYou canât compare them.â Noah was the last thing Madeline wanted to hear about. Since he loved to
stay in Uranica, Noah would remain there for all she cared.
âCan Daddy live with us when he comes back?â Colton tried to secure something for his pops.
Without even thinking, Madeline refused. âNo.â
âWhy? Why do you let Clinton stay here but not Daddy, Mommy?â Colton panicked. What on earth did
Daddy do to piss Mommy off?
Mommy refused to let Daddy stay in the house.
Since Colton could not understand what she said, Madeline believed it was too early to talk about the
complicated relationship between adults.
âClinton is a gentle person and doesnât throw a fit for no reason. Letâs not forget that Clinton is young.
He can play with you. Oh, Clinton is hard-working and a good cook too. Oh, it nearly slipped my mind. I
came in here to call you for lunch. Come on. Clinton has prepared a feast for us.â
Madeline picked Colton up while Colton made a helpless face at the phone on the bed.
Now that Mommy mentioned it, Clinton seemed to have a lot more to offer than Daddy.
Daddy had a bad temper and often threw a tantrum, Plus, Daddy was old. He had wrinkles when he
smiled. His skin was unlike Clintonâs collagen-packed surface. Daddy only knew how to make
pancakes, but Clinton served a variety of food.
Sigh. Hurry back, Daddy. I canât help you if you delay your trip back further.
âWhatâs the matter, Colt? You were cooped up in your bedroom. Are you sick?â Carrying a plate out,
Elise got on to Coltonâs eye level and felt his forehead.
âHot, Auntie Elise,â Colton said, but he did not shy away from Eliseâs touch.
Feeling bad, Elise blew cold air on his forehead.
âPut a wet towel on.â Suddenly, Clinton approached with two wet towels in hand. One was for Elise and
the other for Colton.
Madeline put the towel over Coltonâs forehead. Coltonâs fair and supple skin was flushed from Eliseâs
transfer of heat from the plate to her hand.
Colton stared at Clintonâs tender smile and sighed to himself.
âMommy, I want Clinton to play the leading man in my show,â Once Madeline had taken a seat,
Mackenzie excitedly uttered.
Candace had accepted a role in a movie for Mackenzie. It was a feel-good film, depicting a girlâs
eventful encounters after wandering off from her family.
Madeline had read the script and got a good feeling about the film. Candace mentioned that the co-star
had not been decided yet, and the director was in contact with a few students that had not graduated
from drama school. Apparently, he was going to hire newbies for the movie.
Clinton was not a rookie, but he was not portrayed well in the public, and the image was unsuited for
the role of the leading man.
âMommy! Mommy! Tell Daddy to give the role to Clinton.â Mackenzie ran to Madeline and clung to her
arm as she pleaded.
âDid your daddy invest in the movie?â Madeline asked in shock.
Mackenzie bobbed her head without hesitation. âItâs only a minor production. Daddy poured a lot of
money into the show when he later found out that you liked the script. He made it into a major
production.â
âMadeline, itâs fine if you donât feel right to do it.â Clinton embarrassedly looked at Madeline.
He knew his place. Although Clinton was all the rage now, the agency hyped him up for the wrong
reasons. The agency only wanted Clinton to do well on entertainment shows. They had no intention of
putting him in movies and TVs.
Besides, there was no way his agency could get him a role as Mackenzieâs co-star anyway.
âItâs not that I donât feel right about itâ¦â Madeline experienced mixed feelings.