Chapter 194: The Resolute Madison Advocate

Madison rolled her eyes as she listened to him swear so seriously.

"I'm an atheist. Cut the superstitious crap."

With that, she pushed him aside and headed for the door. Alexander hurried after her.

"Fine, fine, you're an atheist. Then I'm a Madison-ist. Whatever you say goes."

Once Savannah's situation was settled, Alexander had plenty of free time. He kept dropping by to see Madison and play with the two kids. At first, the little ones were pretty wary of him, but as they spent more time together and things felt warmer, they eventually softened up.

They were good at comforting themselves, though. Alexander had saved their mom—even if the trouble started because of him, at least he made up for it. Plus, he'd gotten hurt himself. They weren't making it up; Alexander had shown them the wound himself. They'd seen it with their own eyes, and it looked pretty bad. That proved he was sincere.

Madison stood by the window, watching the three of them play in the garden—one big, two small. She shook her head helplessly and couldn't help thinking again how strong blood ties really were.

"You might as well just take him back," Claire said with a smile, appearing behind her out of nowhere.

Madison turned and saw her in the wedding dress they'd just picked. Her eyes lit up. "Wearing something that pretty, you shouldn't say things that kill the mood."

Claire spun around. "Does it look good?"

Madison nodded firmly. "On your wedding day, the bride is the prettiest. No one can outshine you."

Claire grinned and reached out to touch her cheek. "Only my Madison knows how to talk. Oh, I asked Noah and Nora to be my flower kids. Make sure you give them a heads-up."

Madison nodded. "Got it."

She looked back at the garden and saw Alexander lean down to say something to Noah. Noah stared at him seriously, then nodded.

Claire leaned in and nudged her with her shoulder. "Honestly, Alexander's not bad. If you remarried him, we'd be sisters-in-law. I'd feel more secure then."

Madison frowned at that and turned to her. "Did your mother-in-law give you trouble again?"

Marcus had been dealing with the pressure alone and hadn't told Claire what was going on at home. But once Claire found out from others, she couldn't just ignore it—they decided to face it together.

Still, Marcus knew his family well. Not telling Claire at first had been the right call. That mother-in-law was a real piece of work. She didn't like Claire, so she found all kinds of ways to make her life hard. Marcus had nearly split from the family over the fights a few times, but Claire always talked him down.

Claire's smile faded a little. "You know how it is. I'm an orphan, but Marcus isn't. I don't want him to end up alone because of me."

Madison sighed softly. Claire's background was tough, and she had her own plans, so Madison didn't want to butt in too much. Still, she said, "Just don't let yourself get pushed around. If you can't get along, don't force it. Have Marcus set up a place for you two to move out."

"We thought about it, but with his dad's condition, his mom can't handle it alone."

When Marcus's parents found out he was getting married, he and his dad had another big fight. Unfortunately, his dad got so worked up he had a stroke and ended up in the hospital. Now he's half-paralyzed and mostly stuck in bed. Marcus's mom isn't the caregiving type—she never learned how and can't handle nursing her husband. So they hired help to look after him at home. But you can't rely on outsiders forever when someone's sick long-term; there are always little abuses. That's why someone has to keep an eye on things. That's also why Claire kept putting up with it. She knew Marcus felt guilty. No one could just brush off putting their own father in the hospital.

Every family has its problems, so Madison didn't push further.

Claire grinned and winked at her. "So if you married Alexander and got back together, I'd have someone in my corner. You have no idea how snobby his mom is."

"If she knew my best friend was the wife of Frost Corporation's boss, she'd definitely be nicer to me."

Madison knew she was joking. Claire had always been like that—laughing through the tough stuff. She acted cheerful and playful, but she had her own mind and plans. Madison realized her worry was unnecessary and shot her a look. "Alright, stop playing matchmaker. You're not cut out for it. Just be a good bride."

"Fine. Oh, I had a bouquet made. Make sure you catch it when I throw it."

Madison paused.

Claire leaned in and whispered, "It's made of gold. If someone else grabs it, we're out a lot."

Madison gave her an amused look. "You've really gone full rich, huh? Even making the bouquet out of gold."

"It's for good luck."

When they left the private estate, the two kids were already sound asleep in the back seat. They'd run around the garden with Alexander for so long that they were wiped out. Once in the car, they passed out and couldn't be woken up.

"What are you thinking about?" A hand waved in front of her face.

Madison snapped out of it and realized her phone had been ringing nonstop.

Alexander must have called her a few times already. He was looking at her with worry.

She shook her head at him. "Nothing."

She picked up the phone, glanced at the name on the screen, and her brows tightened almost imperceptibly. Then, without any hesitation, she answered right in front of Alexander.

"Got time? I'd like to see you," Nathan's clear voice came through the phone.

For a moment, Madison felt like she was back in school. But she knew a lot of things had changed.

Just a couple days ago, the old man at Cross Group had named his successor. Nathan had finally taken the spot after years of work. There was also news that Nathan, now in charge at Cross Group, was about to marry the Hernandez family's eldest daughter. It wasn't exactly a secret—Madison could find out with a quick search.

"You back in the country?" Madison asked quietly.

"Yeah, got in yesterday. Had stuff to handle right away, so I didn't call you first."

"Alright, let's pick a place," Madison said, knowing Nathan had something to tell her.

"Sure."

After hanging up, Madison looked up and saw Alexander staring at her. His eyes were full of emotions—anger, jealousy, annoyance.

She pretended not to notice, turned away, and closed her eyes to rest. A classic case of not moving if the enemy doesn't move.