Chapter 159 The Timid Rabbit & The Crafty Wolf
Madison pretended to be annoyed and patted Willow on the shoulder. Seeing her joke around was reassuring; after yesterday's incident, everyone had been worried she might be troubled by it. Although Matthew had insisted that Willow's easygoing nature meant she would be fine, Madison had still been concerned. Now, seeing Willow in good spirits brought her peace of mind.
Willow called the two kids over to get the gifts from the car's trunk. When they received their presents, they were overjoyed and dragged Willow into the house, forgetting their mother was trailing behind them.
When they entered, Matthew was standing in the foyer. Seeing Madison, he took the items from Willow's hands. Willow led the children inside, and when her brother saw them, he took over carrying everything.
Willow greeted Matthew warmly.
"Where is Mr. Johnson?" Willow asked.
"Mr. Johnson is still napping; he took Quentin and Hannah out to play this morning and got a bit tired," Madison explained.
Hannah pulled on Willow's hand to walk to the living room, "Auntie, let's go play with toys."
"Sure."
And so, the older kid with the two little ones sat on the living room carpet, starting to unwrap the toys.
Matthew brought fruits into the kitchen and asked Valerie to wash some for everyone to enjoy.
Madison, on the other hand, joined Valerie in the kitchen to help prepare dinner. Willow loved the dishes she made, and Madison planned to cook herself.
Mr. Johnson got up before dinner, and seeing Willow, he was very pleased. He continuously urged her to eat more at the dinner table and commented that she had slimmed down.
After dinner, he insisted that she stay the night. Willow readily agreed since The Old Residence had her room with everything she needed, which was very convenient. Quentin and Hannah were delighted; they could play with Willow again.
In the evening, after Willow had taken a bath and dried her hair in her room, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."
Madison came in with a glass of milk, "Willow, drink the milk before you sleep."
Willow went over and hugged Madison, "Thank you—I'm really blessed."
Madison smiled and said, "What are you thanking me for? Are you okay?"
Willow paused, realized what Madison was referring to, and then said cheerfully, "I'm fine. Ran into some thugs, but Jonah must have taken care of them."
"That's good to hear. Get some rest soon."
After Madison went back to her room, she saw her husband, Matthew, sitting glumly on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong? Why haven't you dried your hair?"
Matthew turned around with a look of reproach in his eyes, visibly upset. "Where did you go?" He had gotten out of the shower and found that Madison wasn't in their room.
Knowing he was feeling a bit sulky, Madison walked over with the hairdryer. She smiled as she began to dry his hair and explained that she had gone to deliver Willow's milk.
Matthew silently wrapped his arms around Madison's slender waist, burying his head in her chest. He was inwardly considering whether Madison loved him anymore, caught up in deep self-doubt.
That evening, someone fiercely aimed to prove their potency, so they were particularly passionate, pressing down on Madison over and over again as if they could never get enough. It wasn't until past midnight, when Madison, utterly exhausted, curled up beneath him, cooing sweet nothings that he longed to hear, that he finally ceased and let her rest.
Madison lay in bed with her eyes closed, too weary to move a muscle. She thought this man's vigor was overwhelming that night; perhaps he'd eaten something too revitalizing. She resolved to remind Valerie at The Old Residence to stop making such hearty soups in the future.
Matthew gazed at the tuckered-out petite woman with affection, gently pinched her cheek, and then got up to wring out a towel to clean her off, contentedly wrapping his arms around his delicate wife as they fell asleep.
The next day, Madison naturally overslept. When she finally descended the stairs, she heard the children and Willow playing games in the living room. She walked over, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Quentin and Hannah looked up at Mrs. Jonah, politely greeting, "Good morning, Mrs. Jonah."
Willow followed suit, saying, "You're up? There's some corn chowder in the kitchen. Go help yourself."
Madison nodded, her embarrassment growing. Even the kids were up, and here she was, sleeping in – all because of someone's nightly escapades. She started to wonder if he was made of steel, considering how late they'd gone to sleep and yet how early he'd risen.
"Have you all eaten? Where are Matthew and Mr. Johnson?" she inquired of the two youngsters.
"Matthew went to the office, and Mr. Johnson is over at Garden Lane," Hannah chimed in, eager to answer.
"Oh, I'll grab something to eat first," Madison said and headed to the kitchen.
Behind her, Hannah innocently asked, "Auntie, why did Matthew say Mrs. Jonah wasn't feeling well and needed rest, telling us not to disturb her? But I see Mrs. Jonah is fine after waking up."
Quentin offered a guess to his younger sister, "Maybe Mrs. Jonah just needed a good sleep, and that's why she's better."
Willow felt the question was a bit beyond her purview and wasn't sure how to respond. Just the night before, stepping out to get some water, she passed by Matthew's room and overheard sounds that she couldn't quite describe, so frightening that she dashed back to her room without drinking. She had to admit... it was a bit much for her...
Recalling the sounds from the night before, Willow, a young unmarried woman, couldn't help but blush and flusteredly agree with Quentin: "Yeah, she probably just needed some rest, and now she's better."
"Oh, just like when I'm sick, a good night's sleep fixes everything," Hannah said, easily reassured.
"Auntie, why is your face so red? Are you not feeling well?" Hannah asked with childlike innocence upon seeing Willow's flushed cheeks.
Willow was taken aback, "No worries... Auntie is fine, probably just a little hot. I'm going to go have some water while you kids keep playing." Willow hurriedly got up from the floor and dashed into the kitchen to gulp down some water.
Behind her, the two kids continued to murmur among themselves, "Bro, are you hot? I don't feel hot at all."
Quentin focused on assembling his airplane and not noticing Willow's condition, stared at his building blocks, "I'm not hot either."
When Willow entered the kitchen, Madison had already finished her corn chowder and was tidying up the table.
"Sister."
Madison looked up and saw her, "Willow, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just a bit thirsty. I'm going to pour myself a glass of ice water."
"Oh, there's freshly squeezed orange juice in the fridge. Help yourself."
"Will do."
After Madison cleared the table, she received a call from Matthew, "Madison, are you awake?"
"Yeah, why did you leave so early without waking me up?" Madison playfully chided.
"I wanted you to sleep in; we don't have much to do today. And... how are you feeling?" Matthew asked without a hint of embarrassment.
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