a17 BED OF ROSES OR THORNS?
ntics again, only that it’d be met with an unusual reaction this time. She had stood out the door waiting with Evelyn and anticipating Madison coming through; she had planned a beautiful surprise for them to celebrate a successful auction.
Madison walked through the front door, wholly downtrodden and looking tired. Olivia saw what she thought was a cut in her palm, but Madison managed to hide it well.
“My darling daughter, what is wrong with you? Who hurt you this way?” Olu I said, pulling up her
hand.
“It’s just a slight cut, Mom.” Madison decided she would keep the reason she had a cut a secret because she didn’t want to upset Olivia, but looking into her eyes, she saw questions that needed
answers.
“Well, Ethan had to be somewhere, so when I was struggling to get out of the car, I dropped my bags and broke the expensive vase we got. I then decided to pick up the pieces and glue them back in place
later.”
Evelyn quickly came with the first aid box, settling down and asking the mistress to stay still while she tended to the wounds. Another worker had swiftly collected the brown bags from her.
Madison remained calm even with all the kerfuffle around her and the king’s list of questions recited every minute; she just wanted to climb upstairs and collapse into her bed.
“Good night, Mom, I don’t think I can have dinner tonight.”
Madison stomped her way up, ignoring the delicate heels she was wearing and making loud clanking
noises.
She surprised herself by opening the room’s door and turning on the light. Everywhere she turned was lined with rose petals; there were white, pink, and red roses.
The room smelled of scented candles and aromatic waters that lined the room’s corners. There were large heart–shaped designs everywhere, but the most conspicuous was the bed design.
Olivia had designed the bed with white and red roses, drawing a big heart shape in the middle. The window ledge and dressing table were lined with scented candles and droplets of rose petals, giving it a wonderful smell.
“I have to commend her effort,” Madison said, laughing to herself. She opened the closet and found out all her nighties had been replaced with even skimpier lingerie. There were wine glasses and a bottle of red wine on the bedside table.
“My goodness, not again; why does she always do this?” Madison always found it comedic that anytime Olivia tried to unite her and Ethan, she always went overboard.
She stepped into the shower and soaked herself in the bath; she ensured she enjoyed every bit of it before Stephen returned home with his drama.
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She picked out the skimpiest lingerie and couldn’t help but admire her curvaceous figure. Looking into the mirror, she noticed someone was dotted on the bed. It was Ethan. She quickly covered her cleavage with her hands and looked away.
“I wasn’t expecting you home tonight; I thought you had some work.”
“So, you were expecting Luke? Is that why you designed the room in such a romantic way?”
“Ethan, I was with you all day. What time did I come and do all this? Olivia did everything, and no, I’m not expecting anyone.”
“So, if you weren’t expecting anybody, why were you surprised to see me in my room?”
“I just thought you were not going to come home because you left in a hurry.”
She was growing tired of their usual altercations and arguments, and the room was beginning to get cold, so she left the bed and wrapped herself up in the blanket. She wished everything would return to normal as soon as possible and she wouldn’t have to put up with him any longer.
Ethan scoffed, then got up and strode into the bathroom. Madison could not understand what he
meant by that, which irritated her.
Although the lingerie looked nice, it was far too scarce for this cold weather, and she desperately wanted to slide into her pajamas instead.
She moved all the petals to the ground and climbed underneath the covers, wrapping herself like an onion. After a few minutes, she finally felt warm again.
How were they supposed to sleep that night? From how Ethan looked, it seemed that Olivia had forced him home against his will.
The truth was that Madison knew Olivia too well. She must have called him immediately after she saw her injuries and made him come home, probably even threatening to disown him.
Olivia always had her way around things and was a very rigid woman who would do anything to ensure she got what she wanted. This made Madison wonder if she had faked her illness.
All these thoughts clouded her mind, and she couldn’t get sleep at the moment; she decided to pick up her phone, and surprisingly, she and Ethan had made headlines for being a power couple at the event. She wondered if her slapping Maya would make headlines as well.
“Asleep already? Are you disappointed your lover won’t be able to come over tonight?” Ethan had stepped out of the shower with an agenda to annoy her again; she decided the best bet was to ignore him and sleep.
“Do you mind sleeping on the couch tonight? So, both of us can be convenient on the bed.” She pointed at the rose petals on his side of the bed to emphasize her point.
Ethan couldn’t resist teasing her because he didn’t know if he loved her or not; he didn’t understand his emotions. “Won’t that be a waste of all your effort to decorate the room?” He said this, cracking up the most annoying smile she had ever seen.
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Madison shook her head. “For the last time, I wasn’t the one who prepared all this! Besides, you and I have slept with each other just once, so how can I even tell other people that you failed to satisfy me?”
“Are you trying to hint at something? Do you want to recreate that night?” Ethan stepped forward and grabbed her chin so that she would face him.
“I may need to make myself clear enough. I’m not interested in having any relations with you anymore; I keep ignoring you like you have these two years. Besides, I want to get remarried in the future.”
“Remarry? Is it too early to talk about remarrying?
“Where else am I supposed to go then, Mr. Ethan? If you don’t love me, just set me free. We both deserve to live our own lives the way we want.” Madison raised her head and folded her arms tightly to her chest.
She could no longer tolerate the cold, bland, and loveless marriage that she had stuck with for the past two years. The thought of spending the rest of her life trapped in this marriage terrified her.
Ethan did not expect her to follow the action. A strange feeling emerged in his heart as he stared at Madison; she was inching closer to him seductively.
“What are you doing?” He said, breathing heavily as she grabbed his chin closer to her.
She shoved him slightly after trying to kiss him; Madison didn’t expect what she saw or felt.
