Chapter 281: Call Me Auntie
Looking at little Nolan, I suddenly realized I was now his cousin. Kinda funny, right?
Nolan was super outgoing. He looked up at Madison with his cute little face and said, "Hello!"
Madison smiled, patted his head, and after Nolan went off to the toy room, she turned to Sophia and said, "Even though Nolan's from the Ortiz family, he looks a lot like you and has a way better personality."
The shade was real—Neil and the Ortiz family weren't exactly charming.
Sophia didn't even flinch; she felt like she found a kindred spirit and got all warm and fuzzy. "Madison, totally! Neil is just too uptight. I can't even imagine if Nolan ends up like him!"
Madison laughed, probably knowing all about the Ortiz family drama, and teased, "Would you ever remarry him?"
"No way!" Sophia was firm. She seemed to think of something and got a bit mad, venting, "Being with him is like being in a cage, and he never trusts me."
Madison asked, "How does he not trust you?"
"Well..." Sophia, a grown woman, felt a bit shy in front of Madison and touched her nose. "It's about the company. Sometimes when he's working in the study, I bring him some fruit, and he even hides the documents. I get it, I shouldn't interrupt his work, but being treated like a spy feels awful. It's like he thinks I'd sell the Ortiz family's secrets."
I totally got where Sophia was coming from. Being treated like that by her husband, no matter the reason, sucked.
Jerry was the complete opposite. He'd bring his work to my place in the evenings, taking over my desk, and his papers would get all mixed up with my manuscripts.
I told him a bunch of times to keep them separate so I wouldn't accidentally see something I shouldn't while looking for my stuff.
Jerry would just grin at me. "I'm already yours; what else shouldn't you see?"
But I knew Neil was a whole different story compared to Jerry.
Madison handed her a glass of water. "Sophia, did you divorce him because of this?"
Sophia replied, "Not exactly, it's just one of the reasons."
"That's good." Madison raised an eyebrow. "His upbringing was pretty rough. Not everyone could handle that."
Sophia looked worried, "Rough?"
"Yeah."
Madison nodded, looking a bit nostalgic. "He was born when my parents were already old. They loved him a lot but had super high expectations. He grew up with strict rules from the age of three or four, barely had a carefree childhood. With the weight of the family on his shoulders, he's used to planning every move carefully, making sure there's no room for mistakes."
Sophia and I were both shocked.
Apparently, Neil had never told Sophia any of this. She looked a bit lost. "He never told me this."
Then she looked at Madison, surprised. "Madison, why are you defending him? I thought you didn't like him."
Madison smiled. "He was the only one in the Ortiz family who stood up for me when I was in trouble back then."
"What happened..." Sophia started to ask but realized she wasn't close enough to Madison to pry, so she quickly changed the subject. "So that day when he went to Serenity Manor..."
Madison asked, "You wanna know why I didn't let him in?"
Sophia was curious. "Yeah."
Madison responded bluntly, "He's too involved with me, just causing more trouble."
Sophia chuckled, "If Neil knew you cared, he'd be thrilled."
Then it hit her, and she looked at Madison, kinda embarrassed. "Madison, did you come here today to order a dress from Hope? Am I interrupting?"
"Not at all." Madison smiled warmly and held my hand. "I'm not here for a dress."
Sophia was puzzled. "Then what?"
"Ask Hope." Madison checked the time, stood up, and said to me, "Hope, I have a dinner with the brand reps. Wanna come?"
I stammered, "I, I think I'll pass."
At first, when Madison helped me, I was all polite. Now that she suddenly became my mom, I was still getting used to it.
Madison didn't push, just asked, "Then for tomorrow's celebration party, should I have Juniper come pick you up and take you to Serenity Manor first?"
Juniper was her go-to person. Having Juniper pick me up and then head to the party together from Serenity Manor meant she wanted to reveal my identity and was now asking for my okay.
I pressed my lips together and nodded. "Sure."
I walked Madison to the elevator. As we were parting, I impulsively called out, "Mom, be safe."
Madison was stunned. She quickly pulled her foot back from the elevator, turned around in disbelief, her eyes moist, "You, you..."
Since my adoptive parents passed away, calling anyone "Mom" was tough. When I thought Skylar might be my mom, I wondered if I could call her "Mom," but I couldn't.
I thought it was because the word felt too foreign. Now, suddenly saying it, I was a bit stunned myself.
Madison couldn't form a complete sentence and hugged me again.
Feeling her choke up, I patted her back, holding back my tears, and smiled. "When I lost that necklace, I thought I'd never find you again."
"Nonsense." Madison let go of me, gave me a smile, and promised, "Hope, from now on, no matter what, I'll be here for you."
Maybe calling her "Mom" reassured her. She looked toward the door and asked, "After the party tomorrow, wanna come live with me at Serenity Manor?"
"I..." I hesitated. "Can I think about it first?"
"Of course." Madison wasn't in a rush. From how she treated Sarah before, it was clear she was a chill mom.
Seeing the elevator about to close, I didn't want her to be late, so I quickly said, "Go ahead, traffic's gonna be crazy during rush hour."
"Then..." Madison took a deep breath. "If you need anything, call me right away."
As the elevator doors closed, I turned around to see Sophia's shocked face. She was still kinda dazed.
I waved my hand in front of her eyes, and she snapped out of it, looking at me in disbelief. "What did you just call Madison?"
I hesitated. "Mom?"
Sophia asked, "Madison likes you so much she made you her goddaughter?"
"No." I smiled, feeling like it was a dream. "She's my real mom. I'm pretty surprised too."
I still hadn't fully processed it.
Sophia was stunned. When I walked to the living room and sat down, she closed the door and hurried over. "What do you mean? Does that mean you're my ex-husband's niece, and Jerry has to call my ex-husband 'uncle' in the future?"
I hadn't thought about it yet. Hearing her say it, it felt like a tongue twister.
I carefully sorted it out and agreed, "Yeah, you're right."
"Then..." Sophia suddenly laughed, "I became Jerry's elder? Well, just for this, I might consider remarrying Neil."
I was helpless.
Before I could respond, Sophia took out her phone and made a call, teasing, "Jerry, call me Auntie."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
