Chapter 58 Encounter at the Mall
With the children not around, Madison stayed in the studio until the afternoon.
She wondered if Willow had brought them back yet and whether they needed to have dinner at home that night. Thinking about all this, Madison took out her phone and called Quentin.
"Quentin, where are you guys?" There was some noise coming from Quentin's end, and Madison could barely hear the other side.
"Quentin, find a quieter place to talk to Mom it's too loud where you are, I can't hear you clearly."
After a while, Quentin's voice came through on the phone, "Mom, we're still at the arcade with Auntie Willow. She took Hannah to play the claw machine. Auntie is so good at it that we've won so many plush toys!"
"Are you coming home for dinner?"
"I'll go ask her." After saying that, it seemed Quentin ran back into the noise, and then it got loud again in the background. About two or three minutes later, it quieted down, and Quentin spoke into his smartwatch, "Mom, Auntie says we'll eat out tonight and then head home, so there's no need to prepare dinner for us."
"Okay then, be good and don't cause any trouble for Auntie, and keep an eye on Hannah, okay?"
"Sure, Mom, don't worry, and you behave yourself too, love you."
After confirming that the two little ones wouldn't return with Willow for dinner, Madison decided to eat out with Rachel, too. She thought of Matthew, but then, whether or not he had dinner was none of her concern.
So, she and Rachel went out to enjoy some spicy food together.
*
On the other side, Willow was having a blast in the arcade with the two little ones. They took their jackets off and were playing so intently that they were sweating bullets.
Their final loot was a big bag of stuffed animals and toys. The store was thoughtful enough to provide a big bag for it all. Willow, with a bag of toys slung over her shoulder and looking like a college student, was ready to take the little ones out for dinner.
Walking through the mall, Willow couldn't decide what to eat, "Quentin, Hannah, what do you feel like having for dinner?"
The kids looked around, tilting their heads, unable to make up their minds.
"Auntie, we're okay with anything you decide."
Willow looked up and spotted a Cantonese restaurant, "Let's go here. Try something different!"
Quentin and Hannah followed Willow into the restaurant. They found a four-seater table where they could place their bag of stuffed animals.
Surprisingly, the randomly chosen restaurant turned out to have good flavors. The golden garlic shrimp, rice noodle roll, and clay pot rice were all quite delightful. They ordered a whole table full of dishes, and the two little ones ate with great joy.
Brianna was out shopping with a friend when she thought she saw Willow in a Cantonese restaurant. Wanting to get closer to her for a while, she decided to walk in. Indeed, it was Willow, and she approached with her usual gentle smile. "What a coincidence, Willow. Are you out shopping alone?"
Looking up, Willow was caught off guard to run into her here. She offered a forced smile. "Not alone. There are three of us." Quentin and Hannah were busy eating, unconcerned with saying hello since their aunt hadn't asked them to. Moreover, Quentin recognized Brianna as the bad woman who appeared on TV with their dad, a woman who stole their father. He didn't want anything to do with her.
It was only then that Brianna glanced across at Willow's companions, her smile fading instantly as her expression couldn't hide her surprise. "These... these two kids are..."
"They are my cousin's children," Willow interjected before Brianna could finish.
Standing rigidly to the side, Brianna wondered if Matthew already knew about the kids. Had he gotten back with Madison? Lately, her calls to him were either ignored or brushed off after a short response. No, she needed to see Matthew right now.
Regaining her composure with her typical grace, Brianna murmured, "I have things to do with my friend so that I won’t join you. I'll be on my way."
With a dismissive wave of her hand, Willow bid her goodbye.
Exiting the mall, Brianna headed straight to the JK Group headquarters and barged into Matthew’s office. "Matthew, there you are. Your secretary wouldn’t even let me in."
Apologizing, the secretary followed inside, "Matthew, sorry, I couldn't stop Miss Smith."
"Please leave us," Matthew instructed from behind his desk, "I've directed everyone to check in first."
A bad feeling settled over Brianna. Could it be because Madison had returned, and they really reconciled?
"Have you been very busy lately?" Brianna tentatively began.
"Mm," Matthew said, his head bowed as he continued to work through the documents.
Brianna stood across from him, hesitating on how to ask what was weighing on her mind whether he had gotten back together with Madison or not.
Seeing her silence, Matthew finally spoke up, "Do you need something from me?"
"Oh, no... Nothing important," she responded.
Matthew looked up at her, "What have you been up to lately?"
Brianna felt a bit flustered by the question. "Nothing much, just meeting up with friends, shopping, beauty treatments."
Matthew didn't say a word, just kept his gaze fixed on her.
His stare unnerved Brianna. She had recently received a call from her “father,” instructing her to get close to a high-ranking official visiting from the capital. Her mission was to copy the data from a USB drive he carried. She had deliberately created opportunities to meet him and had proactively asked him out to dinner several times, almost hooking him in.
Feeling as if Matthew saw right through her, Brianna was afraid he knew about the kidnapping of Madison's child that she had arranged or that he had uncovered the dealings she was involved in over the years. She was scared of being exposed.
"How about we have dinner together tonight?" Brianna asked cautiously.
Matthew lifted his head from the pile of documents, looking at the woman in front of him. Last night, he received some information from Victor. While it didn't provide concrete evidence, it confirmed that she was involved with the “K” organization. During her time in France, she had always been working for “K.” He believed that the time they spent together in college was genuinely affectionate for both of them. But over the years, everyone changes, and from the moment he married Madison, he knew that he and Brianna were drifting apart. He had never quite understood why she got involved with a criminal syndicate.
He had proposed divorce to Madison mainly because he felt there was no point in delaying each other's lives without mutual affection. Additionally, he needed to follow a lead that involved Brianna to investigate the cause of his parents' plane crash.
After Madison left, he immersed himself in work and the investigation. He had thought that, perhaps, after Madison was gone, he might get back together with Brianna. But apart from his grandfather's strong opposition, he realized he no longer harbored his youthful feelings for her.
With Madison's return, he felt as if all the cells in his body had come alive again. Now that he was certain of his feelings, he didn't intend to linger in indecision.
"Brianna, we need to talk."
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