Chapter 198 Whose Husband Are You?

Chapter 198 Whose Husband Are You?

"You're awake."

A cup of hot tea appeared in front of him, steam curling up from the surface. Alexander rubbed his throbbing temples and turned to look at the person beside him. "How did I end up here?"

He glanced around the room, taking in the decor that felt both strange and familiar, then knocked on his own head a couple of times.

Madison frowned at him. "Looks like you were pretty wasted. You don't remember anything?"

Alexander blinked. "Remember what?"

The blank look in his eyes made Madison's chest tighten for a moment. A wave of frustration spread through her.

Fine. If he didn't remember, he didn't remember. That meant what he'd said last night didn't count either.

With that thought, she pressed the cup of tea into his hand and said flatly, "Next time you drink that much, don't expect me to look after you."

This drunk had put her through hell last night. She hadn't gotten to sleep until the early hours of the morning.

And now he woke up and couldn't even remember what he'd said. Fine. Not her problem. It wasn't like she hadn't given him a chance — he just couldn't remember. She wasn't going to remind him.

Madison was about to leave when Alexander suddenly set down the cup, crossed the room in two strides, and pulled her into his arms.

His familiar warmth wrapped around her instantly. Madison blinked, caught off guard, and pushed against him with an awkward laugh. "What are you doing?"

"Are you mad at me?" His voice was warm with amusement.

Madison paused and looked up into a pair of eyes dancing with playful laughter.

He was messing with her. All that talk about not remembering — he'd been faking the whole time.

Madison's embarrassment flared into anger and she punched him hard in the chest.

Alexander stumbled back several steps, clutching his chest, and let out a low laugh. "Madison, are you trying to kill your own husband?"

Madison glared at him. "Husband? Whose husband? Who said you're anyone's husband?"

Alexander rubbed his chest and stepped in front of her, leaning down with a grin. "Future husband. Not yet, but I will be."

Madison rolled her eyes at him and shot back, "You're that sure you can win me over? I never said I'd say yes."

Alexander didn't even blink. He acted like he hadn't heard a word of it. "Let me hold you a little longer," he said, his voice low.

Madison scoffed and gave him a sideways look. "You're hungover, not injured. Move."

She pushed him aside and walked out of the room. Alexander immediately followed, right on her heels.

"Madison, my head is killing me."

"Serves you right. I didn't make you drink."

Getting drunk was one thing, but dragging two kids to a bar like that was another. She hadn't even started on him for that yet.

"I'm serious, I'm not faking it. My head feels like it's about to explode." His voice was low and rough, carrying a hint of self-pity.

Madison's resolve softened despite herself. She ladled some hangover soup from the pot on the stove and handed it to him.

As Alexander took it, the corner of his mouth curved up. She'd said she didn't want to take care of him, yet she'd already had the soup simmering and ready to go.

His Madison. Always saying one thing and doing another. He loved her for it.

He stood in the kitchen doorway, cup in hand, watching her make breakfast.

Then something seemed to occur to him. He smacked his forehead. "Where are Noah and Nora?"

He realized he hadn't seen either of them since he woke up.

Madison looked back at him with an expression that was somewhere between a smile and a look of judgment. "You were drunk last night. I couldn't handle everything on my own, so I had Maxwell take them home for the night."

Alexander's brow furrowed so deeply it could've crushed a fly. "No. I'm going to go get them right now."

Madison grabbed his arm. "Can you not make things worse? They're perfectly fine over there. Maxwell called me this morning."

Alexander shook his head with complete seriousness. "You don't know what he's like. Maxwell is jealous that I have a daughter. He wants our Nora to marry his son someday. Our Nora is adorable and precious — there's no way she's marrying that little stone wall Hayden."

Madison found it a little funny that he was already thinking that far ahead. "I thought you actually liked Hayden?"

Alexander kept his expression serious. "That's completely different. The standards for a godson and a son-in-law are not the same."

His Nora deserved the best man in the world. And besides, she was still so young. There was plenty of time to be picky.

Madison raised an eyebrow. "Some things aren't yours to decide. Nora gets a say too."

Alexander nodded. "Fair point."

But in his head he thought: which is exactly why I need to step in a little.

He still remembered the look on Maxwell's face when he'd brought up the idea of Nora becoming his daughter-in-law. He would never agree to it.

Maxwell himself was a mess. And his wife was a total workaholic — serious all the time, barely said a word. Two people like that couldn't even raise their own kid properly, let alone take care of his Nora.

He wasn't the least bit okay with it.

He spent the whole morning worrying about it. After breakfast, Madison headed out to a bridal shop with Claire to get her dress altered — doing her duty as a bridesmaid.

Alexander said he was going to the office. Instead, he made a detour straight to Maxwell's house.

All three kids were in great shape, chasing butterflies around the garden first thing in the morning.

Maxwell watched Nora and couldn't help but like what he saw. She'd gotten the best of both her parents — sweet, bright, and absolutely adorable. If his son could actually win her over someday...

That would be perfect.

Just picturing Alexander's dark, thunderous expression made Maxwell smile to himself, a sly gleam in his eyes.

He turned to pick up his coffee mug from the table — and nearly jumped out of his skin at the man standing outside the garden gate.

That dark, thunderous expression matched exactly what he'd been imagining a second ago.

Maxwell met Alexander's piercing blue eyes, which seemed to see right through him. He touched his nose and smiled casually. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the office?"

Alexander replied with a cool, dry edge to his voice. "I'm here to pick up my kids."

Maxwell immediately patted his chest. "Don't you have work today? Leave them here with me. I'll make sure they have a great time."

"No need. I'll take care of my own kids."

Alexander pushed past Maxwell and called out to the children playing in the garden. "Noah! Nora!"

At the sound of his voice, Nora spun around with a look of pure delight. "Daddy!" she cried, and came running straight into his arms.

Alexander scooped her up and gave her a little bounce, grinning. "There's my girl. Want to come to Daddy's office with your brother today?"

Nora's cheeks were flushed and a little sweaty. Alexander wiped her face with his sleeve without a second thought, never mind that it was a custom-made suit jacket.

"Is Mommy coming?" Nora tilted her head and asked.

Alexander's voice went soft the way it always did when he talked to his daughter. "Mommy's going with your godmother to look at wedding dresses today, so she can't come with us — but she'll come find you tonight."

Nora thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay! I've never been to where Daddy works before."