Chapter 57 The Talk
Upon hearing Madison’s words, Matthew immediately got up and came over to her. “What's the matter with Quentin and Hannah?”
“School’s about to start. Previously, they were attending preschool in Frostpine. If we're staying in Horizon City, we need to think about their schooling,” Madison explained.
It was only then that Matthew realized he had to arrange for his precious ones to switch schools. Glancing at his watch, he noted it was late and decided to have Carl handle it first thing in the morning at the office.
Seeing Matthew’s silence, Madison offered another solution. “Maybe it's best if I take them back to Frostpine. They can visit during vacations, and it might be easier for you if you decide to remarry.”
Madison didn’t know why, in the years she’d been away, he hadn’t married Brianna, but she assumed the day would come, whether with Brianna or someone else.
"Sorry, what did you say?" Matthew had been preoccupied with thoughts of the children's schooling after they were old enough to attend. If they went to preschool, it should be somewhere close to home, preferably bilingual. It looked like they'd need to hire a housekeeper for pickups and drop-offs, cooking, and cleaning. Madison couldn't handle it all on her own, and it would be too much for her anyway.
"I was saying that I could take them back to Frostpine for school and bring them back here for the holidays," Madison repeated her idea, trying to be patient.
"But how would that work? When school starts, they wouldn't have a break for months. We wouldn't see them for so long, and what about Grandpa missing them? It wouldn't be right to make the old man sad. Besides, the educational resources in Horizon definitely surpass those in Frostpine. I'll have Carl, my executive assistant, arrange the school thing tomorrow. Don't worry about it."
Madison wasn't worried about not finding a school. Come on! With Matthew's abilities, she knew enrolling the children in a decent school would be a cinch. The real issue was that she couldn't stay in the villa indefinitely. If she remained in this city, with the money she had saved over the years, she considered buying a smaller house to live in with Quentin and Hannah. This way, Grandpa and Matthew could see them more often, and Matthew probably wouldn't contest custody.
While Madison thought it over, the phone on Matthew's desk began to ring, and he went to answer it, leaving Madison to watch him get busy again. Seizing the moment, she turned and left, planning to look for a house sometime.
On the phone was Mitchell, reporting on the progress of an important project. As Matthew spoke to him, he watched Madison leave the study, feeling she hadn't finished what she meant to say. Deciding to find another chance to talk to her, he immersed himself in the conversation with Mitchell for about half an hour, discussing work. When they finished, Mitchell asked, "Matthew, when are you returning to the office to work normally?"
He had never anticipated seeing Matthew at the office quite like this before.
"Tomorrow," Matthew replied, hanging up the call. Afterward, he sent messages to his team, instructing them to meet him at his office the next morning.
Thank heavens, Matthew was finally returning.
*
The next morning, Madison and the others woke to find that Matthew wasn't home, correctly guessing he had gone to the office. They had just finished breakfast when the sound of a car horn honking outside announced Willow's arrival. Quentin and Hannah burst through the door, rushing out to greet her.
"Auntie Willow, you're here!"
In her red Porsche, Willow sat behind the wheel, rolled down the window, dressed casually for the day, one hand on the steering wheel and the other propped on the window ledge. Seeing the two little ones run out, she hurriedly waved them over to hop in the car.
"Come on, get in quick. I’m going to take you two out for some fun today."
"Hold on, let me tell Mom," Quentin said, scampering back inside.
Madison was in the kitchen, tidying up after breakfast. "Mom, Auntie Willow is here to take us out," he announced.
Madison dried her hands and followed Quentin outside, where Hannah stood by the door, not getting into the car.
"Madison, Hannah wouldn't get in the car and wait she insisted on waiting for Mom to agree first," Willow reported quickly as soon as she saw Madison come out.
Madison replied with a smile, "It's too much for you to take them out by yourself."
"It's not a big deal. I'd usually head to the arcade with Quinn anyway. I'm pretty familiar with it. Madison, if you're free, come join us."
Madison pondered and decided to stop by the studio to take the past days' sketches to Rachel for the client's review to see if any changes were needed.
"You go ahead and take them. I won't join you today. I'll head out later to meet with their godmother."
"All right then, Quentin and Hannah, hop in. We're setting off."
The two kids, with the green light from Mom, excitedly clambered into the car and left with Willow.
Madison returned inside to finish tidying up the kitchen, then called Rachel to meet up at the studio.
The moment Madison entered the studio, Rachel greeted her with a warm embrace.
The two sat down, and Madison passed the designs over to Rachel.
"Rachel, here are the design drafts for this order. Have the client look them over and see if they have any feedback, and I'll make the necessary changes afterward."
Taking the designs, Rachel stood up, placed them in a folder on the table, and turned back around.
"Madison, how have you been? How are things going with... Matthew?"
"He's looking into finding schools for Quentin and Hannah. They're planning to stay and study in Horizon City," Madison said softly.
"What do you mean Quentin and Hannah will be with him from now on? Then you've basically given away the kids you've raised so hard for nothing. My mom just asked me a couple of days ago why you haven't returned yet, and I didn't tell her much. I guessed that Matthew wouldn't let go easily, so I just told her that Quentin and Hannah's dad is in Horizon City and that you'd met him, which is why you're not back yet." Rachel got a bit worked up when she heard this, knowing full well how hard it's been for Madison to raise two kids on her own all these years.
"I'll call Ximena later. Matthew hasn't mentioned custody yet, and since he doesn't, I certainly won't bring it up. I plan to use my savings from the past few years to buy a house to live in with Quentin and Hannah. We can't always stay at his place."
"That's a good idea. When are you going to look at houses? I'll go with you since I'm more familiar with the area, having stayed here all this time." Seeing that she had decided to stay, Rachel did not try to discourage Madison from buying a house.
"Okay, I'll call you in advance when the time comes. If I find a good one and buy it, you won't need to rent your apartment anymore. You can move in and stay with us."
"Sure, I'll pay you rent then, and don't refuse. Otherwise, I'll just keep living in my apartment," Rachel said happily.
"We can talk about the rent later. Or you could take care of the utilities instead," Madison said, knowing Rachel would not want to live there for free.
"By the way, how come Quentin and Hannah didn't come with you today? Did they go with their dad?" She felt a little unaccustomed to not having the little ones by Madison’s side.
"No, their auntie took them out for fun today. And speaking of coincidence, on the day we came back from Frostpine, Hannah even ran into this auntie at the airport and then a restaurant."
Madison's mention reminded Rachel of a pretty girl at the restaurant who had greeted Hannah and mentioned that it was a coincidence to meet again and left her number, which must have been her auntie.
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