Chapter77Discovering the Wound
"Dinner's ready. I'll call Hannah and Quentin," Madison said before hastily escaping.
Upon arriving home, Matthew immediately went to his room and removed his clothes. His white bandages were soaked red, bleeding through to his shirt. Thankfully, he had worn a black shirt and a suit jacket, so it wasn't noticeable.
He found the first-aid kit and carried it into the bathroom. Slowly, he unwrapped the bandages, revealing the stitches from a gunshot wound that had torn open.
Wincing through the pain, he applied hemostatic powder directly to the wound, feeling a sharp sting that brought on beads of sweat that dripped to the floor. He just furrowed his brows slightly under the agony.
He continued to dress the wound meticulously with fresh gauze and new bandages.
After cleaning up, he exited the bathroom and was startled to find Madison standing in the room.
After the brief encounter where she had fled, he headed to the closet to put on clean clothes and an additional jacket to conceal his injuries before heading down to the dining room.
He wondered if she had seen the bandages wrapped around his torso. She turned around quickly, so perhaps she hadn't noticed. Matthew instinctively didn't want Madison to know about his injury.
Madison dashed out of the room and down the hallway, slowly realizing she might have seen thick bandages on Matthew. Was he indeed hurt? He seemed off today, and her suspicions were correct. He had even been pushing himself to compete with Hannah – she wondered how severe his injury was, as he looked pretty pale.
After calling Hannah and Quentin downstairs, seeing Matthew wearing a jacket indoors confirmed her suspicion that he was hiding an injury from them.
Hannah spotted Matthew and tried to wriggle free from Madison's grasp.
"Dad~" she called out as she rushed toward him.
Madison held fast this time, knowing that if Hannah charged over, Matthew might strain his wound while catching him.
"Hannah, wash your hands first. You've been playing, and they're all dirty. Don't get Dad's clothes dirty," Madison instructed.
Hannah Garcia paused and obediently went to the kitchen to wash up before dinner.
"Okay, Mom."
Quentin followed suit and headed to wash his hands as well.
The dining room was now left with just Matthew and Madison.
Matthew gave Madison a meaningful look, causing her to avert her gaze and head to the kitchen quickly.
"I'll get them some towels to dry off," she said hurriedly.
Matthew's appetite was good that night, indulging in an extra helping than usual.
The dishes were simple home cooking, but they tasted special since Madison made them. The four of them sat around the table, chatting with Quentin and Hannah. Hannah asked clever and quirky questions, and Madison patiently responded. The warmth of the family was felt in every bite.
After dinner, Madison busied herself with the dishes while Matthew sat watching TV in the living room with the kids. Hannah moved to cuddle with Matthew, which Madison spotted and swiftly interjected.
"Hannah, you're grown and can't always be held. School is tomorrow. How about you and your brother head upstairs to wash up and brush your teeth? I'll come up soon, and we can all sleep together, okay?"
"All right, but you better come up fast, Mom."
Hannah turned to Matthew, "Dad, we can watch TV together tomorrow. My brother and I are going to bed now. Goodnight."
After kissing Matthew on the cheek, she said goodnight.
"Goodnight, sweetheart," Matthew replied, kissing Hannah's cheek as well.
Ever so compliant, Quentin stood up and took his younger sister by the hand to head upstairs to their room.
With the kids gone, Matthew remained alone in the living room, continuing to watch the cartoons without changing the channel. Madison didn't bother him further and walked off to the kitchen.
Watching Madison's retreating figure, Matthew was sure she had seen the bandage on him. Her interventions with Hannah earlier suddenly made perfect sense. She had prevented Hannah from rushing to embrace him and stopped her again from attempting to climb on him.
Matthew felt conflicted. He didn't want Madison to know about his injury or worry about him, yet he found small joy in her being attentive to Hannah and careful not to touch his wounds.
If he kept hugging Hannah tonight and the wound bled again, he'd probably have to make a trip to the hospital tomorrow.
Madison finished tidying up the kitchen and headed out, only to find Matthew still in the living room, engrossed in a new episode of the animated series.
Madison thought to herself, since when did he start liking cartoons?
After drying her hands, she went upstairs to tuck the two little rascals into bed.
Matthew watched her ascend the staircase, saying nothing.
After Madison finished storytelling and the kids were fast asleep, she laid down the book and could hear the TV still on downstairs.
Why is he still watching TV? Shouldn't he rest with that injury?
Downstairs, Matthew wasn't really watching the show. He had stayed behind just to be around Madison while she did the dishes.
Once she went upstairs, he couldn't follow immediately because that would have made his intent too obvious.
So, he continued to sit in the living room, reflecting on their relationship after Madison had gone upstairs.
During his time in the Middle East, Victor confronted him with the truth, revealing that Madison was considering buying a house and that she had a childhood friend named Nicholas.
Victor said, "Matthew, if Madison is the one you care about, you should let her know. How would she know if you don't speak up? You've been divorced for four years. Living together without clarity will only push her away. And if she intends to leave, then let her go. As long as she’s single, you and that childhood friend Nicholas can compete fairly. With the two kids, you've got an advantage right from the start."
Matthew’s romantic experiences were limited. Brianna had pursued him, and now the idea of actively chasing after someone left him clueless.
He pulled out his phone and sent a Facebook message to Liam.
“Hey, Bro, how do you usually chase after girls?”
After sending the message, sitting on the couch suddenly felt awkward.
On the other end, Liam saw Matthew’s late-night message and knew something was up. He quickly replied, eager to find out more.
“Do I really need to chase someone when I always get chased?”
“Shut up,” Matthew replied.
“Wait, Matthew, even though I've never chased anyone, I can share some tricks with you that others used on me.”
Seeing no response from Matthew, Liam kept texting.
“You know, the usual stuff like dates, candlelit dinners, flowers, and maybe take a hit for her. That should do the trick.”
Still no reply from Matthew.
Liam, grinning, set down his phone and flopped back onto his bed, laughing to himself.
The woman lying beside him, who had been sound asleep, furrowed her brows and muttered with her eyes closed, "What's so funny in the middle of the night? Go to sleep."
Liam rolled over, wrapped his arms around her, and gently kissed her neck, whispering, "Nothing, go back to sleep."
Then he silently pondered. Brianna doesn't need Matthew to go after her. It must be about Madison.
Ha, he knew it! Matthew has finally come around and is ready to make a move on Madison!
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