Chapter 126
126 – They Stole Me From Him.
Madeline:
The terrace door had been locked, but the windows shook loudly.
I realized the mansion had been built to endure storms like this.
“You were not bad?” he questioned while chuckling.
“You were the worst. If you do not remember, you made things miserable for us. Any time a girl came to speak with us, it showed on your face that you were irritated. You would stare at the woman until she walked out of sight.” Baxter laughed as he recalled my behavior from the past.
I was stunned because, as he said it, memories returned.
I used to be so jealous of anyone speaking with him. I would physically place myself between them, trying to get his attention.
As everything settled in, I slapped my forehead and lowered my eyes in embarrassment.
“Oh my goodness, I was so embarrassing,” I commented, hiding my face in my hands.
I heard a glass clink, and when I uncovered my face, I saw him place a glass for me on the table.
I accepted it and sighed, glancing at him. My reaction made him laugh, and I found myself not minding it.
“ I found it adorable,” As soon as he said that, I tilted my head.
“You did?” I asked, and he nodded.
I began shifting on the couch. My office was filled with files about the case, and it felt discouraging that we had no new lead to discuss.
We were just sitting and drinking, looking outside the window.
The door to my office had been left open, giving us a view of the terrace and the terrace window.
“I did. It was quite cute,” he said.
“ If you did not text me, who was saying all those things to me, Madeline?” he asked softly, but the question carried weight.
“I mean, I do not want to alarm you, but is it not obvious?” I remarked as I leaned back on the couch and took a sip of wine.
The taste burned my throat at first, but it felt pleasant. It was a little bitter, yet it relaxed me the moment I drank
I could tell he struggled to talk about it.
“My half–sister?” I completed for him, and I noticed the way he looked down before grabbing his glass and chugging the rest, then pouring himself another.
“ Could it be her?” he wondered, and I shrugged.
“All I know is that my cell phone was left behind. Whoever used it, I have no idea. But it has to be someone from the house,” I explained, and he began nodding.
1/3
“It is in the past, Baxter,” I told him, but as soon as I said it, he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.
“ It is not. You do not understand. It is confusing to me,” he hissed.
“What is confusing to you? It is not like I was there to text you. If anything, maybe the text helped you move on, ” I replied, because at this point, dwelling on it was pointless.
The truth was that I had already left by the time someone responded to him.
Still, something about it disturbed him so deeply that he could not focus on anything else.
“You do not understand, Madeline. Someone lied to me about you. Someone who, if I am going to marry, I still do not know what they are capable of,” he hissed, and I finally understood his concern.
“I guess you are not wrong then,” I admitted softly.
“Would you have forgiven Sawyer if he had done something like that?” he questioned.
My fingers tightened around the glass as I stared at him.
“Because, Madeline, marriage is not a joke. You do not just marry someone because you have to. When things like this happen, it ruins everything,” he explained, and I began to feel small.
My marriage had not started from love. It began as an arrangement.
Baxter seemed to read my silence and continued.
“How did you meet him?” he questioned, drinking another glass of wine. “And does he know the children are not his?” he added, asking everything that mattered to him.
“I was working as his maid and he knew I was pregnant,” When I answered, his head snapped up, and I noticed his eyes beginning to water.
“But it is alright, Baxter. It was not terrible. Working as a maid was not disrespectful, at least not to me. I did not feel belittled,” I explained quickly because of how strongly he reacted.
“So you were pregnant while working at someone’s home?” he asked, revealing what troubled him.
“There are many single women, Baxter, who are married and still working even until their delivery,” I tried to reassure him.
Knowing him, I knew he could spiral. The fact that everything he had said in the past had been an act made me less bitter toward him.
And I understood that Graham and Elgin had issues, but their issues were different.
They did not have to sleep with me if they were not prepared to handle their families‘ pressure.
Graham could have warned me about his father.
Elgin had time. If he could accept an alpha’s daughter, why could he not accept me?
“You are lost again,” Baxter remarked, grunting. His grunting carried weight.
T
“I was thinking about what you said, that you had to act because you did not want them to take me again. What did you mean by that?” I pressed, noticing the way he gave small nods, realizing I would not stop until he explained
himself.
“They knew that I had a crush on you.” He paused at that part and drank another glass.
2/3
Then he added, “And then they read the diary, and they suddenly decided they were interested too. They claimed it was the right thing to give you a choice, even though they knew I had loved you quietly for a long time. It felt like betrayal, but they made it seem justified because you wanted it.” He mumbled, and it tightened something in my
chest.
“Do you think their excuses are genuine?” I continued, because as their friend he would know more than what they had told me.
He started to smile.
Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.