Chapter 158 Soup Time
Willow opened Facebook to find Declan asking if she was free today; he wanted to take her out for a meal.
She replied with a message saying she was sorry. She had forgotten her phone and was currently swamped with overtime work—maybe some other time.
Willow didn't mention the events from the previous night. Now that it was over, she preferred not to bring them up again, trusting that Jonah and his team had handled them.
Declan quickly responded with a simple, "Okay..."
Even through the screen, Willow could sense his disappointment.
After staring at her phone for a while, she slipped it back into her bag.
Up on the 16th floor, Mitchell stood in his office by the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the busy streets below.
Today, when Matthew overheard Willow mentioning she had to go back to the office to work overtime, he knew instantly that she was lying. Willow had clearly agreed earlier to bring Marigold home to have dinner with their mother, but now she had bailed on them at the last minute. She made up an excuse about something urgent at work and insisted on giving Willow a lift to the office himself.
Sigh, what to do? Even though he knew that she had someone in her heart, he just couldn't let go.
*
Matthew didn't get any sleep because he was worried about Willow, only managing to drift off after receiving a message from Mitchell on Facebook in the middle of the night. Consequently, he woke up later than usual the next morning.
When he went downstairs, the house seemed quiet. Valerie spotted him descending and served him breakfast at the table. She then mentioned that Mr. Johnson had already taken the kids out for some fun and that the lady of the house was probably in the study.
Matthew quickly ate a few bites of breakfast and then headed upstairs to the study to find Madison.
As he pushed open the study door, Madison was curled up in a bean bag chair, reading a book. "Madison," he called out gently.
She looked up from her book with a warm smile. "You're up. Did you have breakfast?"
Matthew walked over and sat next to her, pulling Madison into a hug. "Yeah, I ate."
"What happened yesterday? You didn't seem to sleep well last night," Madison inquired, having felt that Matthew went to bed very late.
"Yeah, I didn't sleep well. Willow had a bit of trouble yesterday," Matthew mumbled with an expression and tone that clearly asked for comfort and consolation.
Hearing that Willow was in trouble, Madison immediately became anxious. "What happened? Is Willow okay? Is it serious?"
Matthew saw Madison's concern and quickly reassured her, "It's alright now. Everything's fine. Yesterday, she went out with Willow to a karaoke place that turned out to be a bit shady, and they ran into some thugs. Patrick sorted it out by taking them to the police station."
Madison let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad it's okay. Willow even mentioned last time that she wanted to come over to The Old Residence to see Quentin and Hannah. I'll give her a call and invite her over for dinner tonight."
Matthew watched as Madison, full of energy, rose to find her phone. He sighed softly to himself, feeling his importance diminishing bit by bit.
Madison got up to grab her phone from her room, eager to make the call to Willow.
On the other end, Willow picked up the phone quickly.
"Willow, are you coming over to The Old Residence for dinner tonight? Quentin and Hannah said they miss you," Madison's warm voice came through the phone.
"Sure, I'm just finishing up some overtime at the office, and I'll head over once I'm done," Willow immediately agreed. She had already planned on visiting Quentin and Hannah over the weekend, and even if Madison hadn't called, she was ready to go over the next day.
"Great, come over early then. I'll ask Valerie to make a few extra soups that you like."
The two of them cheerfully made their arrangements and then hung up the phone.
Madison, smiling with her phone in hand, walked out of the room. Hearing her voice, Matthew came out of the study room, too.
They met in the hallway. "Matthew, Willow is coming over for dinner tonight. I'll go tell Valerie to prepare a few of Willow's favorite soups."
"Alright, I'll go with you." Matthew would agree to anything Madison said. Holding hands, they walked downstairs together, seemingly more inseparable now than when they were younger.
Willow, after receiving Madison's call, was thrilled. She had missed the little ones and quickly wrapped up the last of her work, planning to head back early.
After toiling away at the computer for another half hour, she finally finished the documents. Stretching her arms high up in the chair and leaning back with her eyes closed, she prepared to stretch her limbs.
Suddenly, her arm bumped into someone. She opened her eyes in alarm, nearly toppling from her chair, but the person behind her quickly grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling.
"Be more careful," Mitchell said. He hadn't come to work overtime; he finished all of his Monday tasks and came downstairs to check on what Willow was doing.
After Willow steadied herself, she quickly got up. "Jonah!"
Mitchell nodded. "All done with work?"
"Yes, all done." Willow seemed to turn into a timid rabbit in front of Mitchell, who had the air of the big bad wolf.
"Ready to head back? Let's go together; I can give you a ride," Mitchell suggested.
"That's okay, Jonah. Madison called me to go over to The Old Residence, but my car is still at the office. I'll head over there in a bit."
She hadn't driven that Friday, so her car was still in the underground parking garage.
Mitchell stared at her for a long time without speaking, and Willow didn't know what he was thinking. They both stood there, face to face, in silence. After a while, Willow looked down at the floor, and she heard a soft sigh that was so faint that she almost thought she had heard it wrong. "Well, when you're done, head back early. Drive carefully," he said.
After Mitchell spoke, he turned and walked away.
Willow stood still in the office, watching his retreating figure, feeling a sudden heaviness in her heart. Eventually, she shook her head, pushing the thoughts aside. She packed up her things, grabbed her purse, and took the elevator down to the underground parking garage.
First, she stopped by the nearby mall to buy presents for the two little ones and picked up an assortment of fruit before driving back to The Old Residence. It had been a while since she had seen the kids, and she wanted to show them she cared.
As soon as Willow's car approached the entrance of The Old Residence, Quentin and Hannah ran out to greet her before she could even park properly. "You're here."
Willow rolled down the window, smiling warmly at the two little darlings, "Quentin, Hannah, did you miss me?"
"We missed you," they answered in unison.
Madison followed them out and, smiling, motioned for the kids to stand to the side and wait for her to park.
Willow, with skilled driving, parked the car seamlessly. After getting out, she greeted Madison and then playfully peeked around her, asking, "Where's my brother?" Nowadays, it seemed like he was joined at the hip with her sister.
Madison took the fruit basket from Willow's hand, laughing, "He's inside."
Willow teased, "Rare sight, him not glued to Sister's side."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
