Chapter 36 Matthew Catches a Severe Cold from a Cold Shower
Madison had a good night's sleep unexpectedly. In the morning, she was woken by a series of knocks at the door. Groggily, she got up to answer it and froze at the sight of Matthew standing there.
Matthew swore he hadn't expected to open the door to such a sight. He had taken three cold showers last night just to cool down the heat in his body, which had led to him waking up with a cold this morning, a severe headache, and being unable to go to the office.
The woman who had just gotten up and opened the door was a mess, her hair disheveled, wearing his white shirt which showed her long, slender legs, covering just enough to hide her backside, while her chest was barely contained with half the buttons undone.
Matthew turned his head and coughed lightly, handing her his bag, "Get dressed. Inside are clothes I had someone buy and deliver this morning. The gown from yesterday wouldn't be suitable for going out."
Madison blushed, taking the bag from him, "Thank you."
After closing the door behind her, she realized too late that her shirt buttons had come undone. The thought of having greeted Matthew like that, standing at the door for such a long period, made her wonder if he had seen everything. Oh, how she wished she could vanish on the spot—no wonder he had awkwardly averted his gaze when he handed her the clothes.
Madison felt like she was about to lose it, mortified at the thought of facing Matthew again.
She dug out a Chanel-style dress from the bag, changed into it, and deliberately took her time getting ready before leaving the room. The house was silent, leading her to believe he must have gone to work.
Just as she went downstairs, she noticed her purse had been delivered and was resting on the sofa. As she hurried over to grab it, a voice from behind nearly made her jump out of her skin.
"Are you ready? Come have breakfast." There stood Matthew, clad in grey homeware and slippers, with the calm demeanor of a character straight out of a comic book, dishware in hand as he emerged from the kitchen.
Madison's heart had almost stopped. Why wasn't he at work this late? She had been ready to take her purse and leave, thinking no one was home.
"No... thanks, I should be going," she stammered.
"It's hard to catch a taxi around here in the morning. Finish eating, and I'll have the driver take you back," he said.
"That's kind of you, then. Thank you."
Matthew simply glanced at her without a word and continued eating.
Sitting across from him, Madison saw a spread of pancakes and eggs on the table. She served herself a bowl, peeled an egg, and asked, "Why didn't you go to the office today?"
"Not feeling well."
"Oh, what's wrong? Should you go to the hospital?" Her sudden concern made her put down her spoon.
Matthew just looked at her, silent.
Realizing she might have overreacted, she added, "I mean... if you're not well, it's best to see a doctor rather than wait until... um... it gets worse."
She quickly resumed eating, her head down.
Pushing his bowl forward, Matthew said, "Caught a cold. I've finished eating. The driver will be here in 20 minutes to take you back. Could you close the door behind you when you leave? I'm going to go back to sleep."
He stood up and made his way upstairs. For the first time, Madison noticed the hoarseness in his voice and how pale he appeared.
Watching his retreating figure until he was out of sight, she turned back and finished her breakfast quickly, even taking the time to tidy up and clean the dishes. As she stepped out of the kitchen, the driver rang the doorbell. Grabbing her purse, Madison glanced upstairs before heading out the door.
Matthew felt dizzy, likely due to a fever. After lying down in bed, he couldn't fall asleep. Instead, he listened to the noises downstairs, the clinking and clanging reminiscent of four years before the divorce, when she would always be bustling about in the kitchen, cooking meals daily. After she left, he only learned how to make pancakes.
The sound of a closing door signaled her leaving.
Matthew lay in a hazy state, just about to drift off to sleep, when his phone's ringtone jolted him awake.
"Speak!"
"Matthew, it's me—I was wondering why you didn't come to work today. Did you... forget... you had scheduled a meeting with us?" Patrick's voice was tentative, apprehensive even through the phone, sensing Matthew's irritation as if he were frustrated.
"I'm not feeling well. I caught a cold," Matthew replied, then hung up.
"Matthew, hello?"
Staring at the phone, Patrick felt a pang of heartache. He just wanted to express some concern for Matthew's health.
The few sitting on the sofa exchanged glances. They had received notification from Matthew to meet today. Unexpectedly, even the habitually late Patrick showed up while Matthew hadn't yet appeared. The CEO's office staff also seemed clueless about where he was, prompting Patrick's call to Matthew. From the look on Patrick's face, it seemed the meeting wouldn't happen.
"What's with Matthew?" Mitchell asked, curious since Matthew, a paragon of self-discipline, never let anything interfere with work. And now, he had seemingly forgotten about a meeting he had scheduled.
"Yeah, what happened to Matthew? How could he forget about the meeting?" Liam added, nosily leaning in.
Patrick looked up to find even the coldest Victor eyeing him for answers, but he honestly had no clue.
"Matthew just said he's unwell, caught a cold. His voice did sound quite congested," Patrick explained.
"Matthew's sick? With a severe cold? Hard to imagine Matthew's iron constitution succumbing to illness," Liam exclaimed in shock. It was surprising, in all the years they knew each other, Matthew had never missed work due to health issues.
Mitchell also found it odd. "The weather's been fine, not too cold. How did he get such a bad cold?"
Only Victor seemed calm. "Matthew is human, not a deity. Isn't catching a cold perfectly normal?"
He then looked at Patrick and suggested, "You should check on Matthew later. He's alone at home, and it's bad if he has a high fever with no one to look after him."
"But I don't know how to take care of a sick person!" Patrick protested, saying that visiting was one thing, but caring for someone was not his forte.
"Just bring Willow with you," Victor suggested, thinking Patrick might be unreliable. Although Willow might not be much better at nursing than Patrick, being a girl, she could still manage some care, like making food or something like that.
"All right, the responsibility falls on me," Patrick declared. He stood up as if he were heading into battle.
None of his buddies gave him much of a glance. Since Matthew was sick and couldn't hold the meeting, everyone prepared to return to work.
Patrick took out his phone to call Willow, who was toiling away on the twentieth floor. When she heard that Matthew was sick and that she should come to the house to check on him, she hurriedly asked her supervisor for leave to meet up with Patrick.
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