"Mom, where'd you go? Please don't leave me behind," said Madelyn.Zach looked at the scene before him. It seemed he was witnessing a Madelyn who had already gone mad. His imposing figure loomed over her as he slowly approached. "Why are you kneeling on the ground? Get up.""What are you here for? You scared my mom away," Madelyn said calmly.Zach pulled her up with one swift motion. "Take a good look. There's no one else in this room besides you and me.""You're talking nonsense. I clearly saw my mom. She talked to me a lot. She said that if I'm tired, she'll take me away from here. It's all because of you. It's all your fault! You drove my mom away! Why'd you come in?"Zach seemed to experience heartbreak for the first time as he watched how he had driven Madelyn step by step into madness, pushing her into hell to achieve his goals. He should never have crossed that line. Now it allowed her to manipulate him easily.Zach had faced numerous shootouts, never losing his composure
Zach said nothing and turned to head downstairs. When he reached the lower floor, he instructed Margaret, "Make some chicken soup and give it to Madelyn when she wakes up."Margaret nodded, "Okay."Jadie gripped Zach's arm and asked, "Zach, you haven't answered my question. What's going on with Madelyn? Is she still upset about the Math Olympiad? Actually, she still has a chance.""That's enough. I'll handle Madelyn's matters myself." Zach's mind was already in turmoil, and now another voice buzzing in his ear only added to his headaches.Jadie was stunned, holding back tears. Zach had never scolded her once from childhood to adulthood. He would never blame her, even though he knew it was her fault. "Zach, did I say something wrong? You scolded me but I was just concerned about Madelyn."Zach looked at her calmly, "After finishing your meal, go back and review your homework. I've already sent Rosario to the apartment. From now on, you don't have to come unless I bring you here."
Madelyn gazed upward at the night sky. Zach followed her gaze but saw nothing, only a pitch-black sky. The weather had not been great the past few days. Suddenly, Zach sensed something was wrong and walked over. However, Madelyn, sitting on the swing, showed no reaction whatsoever.After a while, Madelyn left the swing and headed back, with Zach following her all along. She sat on the sofa, turned on the television, and stared at the static screen. Her eyes were devoid of expression. It continued until four in the morning. Then, Madelyn turned off the television, kicked off her shoes, and peacefully fell asleep on the sofa with her hands folded on her chest.Zach, who had finished smoking at the door, discarded the half-smoked cigarette in his hand. He then carried Madelyn horizontally from the sofa, heading upstairs. As he lifted her, Zach felt that she was almost weightless. Madelyn had gained some weight at the Arnold residence but now seemed to have lost it all again.There were
Zach forced Madelyn into the chair and took a bite with the fork. "See? There's no poison."Madelyn could not understand his actions. 'Isn't he eager for my demise? Why's he bothering with my well-being now? He took away my snacks but served me a meal. He's never done these things.'Perhaps due to excessive hunger, Madelyn had no appetite at all. Her stomach churned, and she felt a wave of nausea and was about to throw up. Madelyn clutched her clothes tightly, remained expressionless, and looked at the used fork. Even without poison, she refused to eat anything Zach brought. It was hard for her to believe he was being so kind."I-I'm not hungry." Madelyn stood up, attempting to escape. However, Zach behind her pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her to sit."Do you want me to feed you myself?" Zach asked."No," Madelyn rejected without hesitation. Then, she reached for a tissue from the side with a trembling hand and slowly wiped the fork. Zach watched her with a darkened expres
Madelyn felt like she would always live in Zach's shadow.As the door handle was pressed down, Madelyn lifted her head and met Zach's aggressive gaze.'He still hasn't left?'Zach noticed the hairband in the sink. He stared at her intensely but did not do anything.He asked, "Are you going to come out on your own or do I have to drag you out?"Madelyn walked out of the bathroom without responding."Eat the medicine." Zach ordered.There were two pills on the table napkin and a cup of warm water on the table. In the past, when her emotions got too intense, she would take an extra pill. She also felt that she should take the medicine right now."Thank you." Madelyn grabbed the pills and ate them. The temperature of the water was just right. She gulped down the water along with the pills.She said, "You can leave now. I want to be alone."Zach scoffed, "You've been causing trouble for such a long time. That's enough. Do you really plan not to go to school and to just stay like t
The painting was laid out on the table, with Madelyn's name written on the reference number column.Ethan brushed his fingers over the painting, "Is she the winner of this competition?" Whenever he saw anything related to her, he would instinctively calm down.Leyton responded, "The organizer sent this. They wanted to know your opinion."Actually, Leyton knew Madelyn would surely join this competition. He knew Madelyn loved painting, and he believed her skills were on par with professional artists."Does she know the Arnold Corporation jointly organized this competition?" Ethan asked."No one knows about that, so I assume Ms. Jent isn't aware of it either.""Understood. You may leave for now.""Okay." Leyton said as he left and closed the office doors behind him.Ethan carefully looked at every detail of the painting.'So that's why she hasn't contacted me for the past few days. Seems she wanted to focus on creating this painting. She's clear-headed and knows very well about w
Madelyn thought, 'I've always felt alone in this family. It doesn't really matter if there's nobody else in this house.'As she walked past Zach, headed toward the stairs, he reached out and gently held her hand. "Rosario had a car accident. She had to undergo surgery, and now she's in the hospital."Madelyn's expression remained unchanged as she responded, "I hope she recovers quickly. But I won't be going to visit her."Despite her close relationship with Rosario, Madelyn couldn't bring herself to face the person who had fed her poison for over a decade. At one point, she had naively considered Rosario her only family.In reality, Madelyn had suspected this truth for a long time, but she had been unable to confront it. A breakdown seemed inevitable for her. However, this was just one factor contributing to Madelyn's current emotional state.She wanted to deceive herself. But she could not do that. She wanted to move on and not care about anything. However, she did not know when
Whenever Madelyn was faced with problems, she would only think about how to escape from them. She hated this aspect of herself. She also hated that she could not do anything.However, no one had ever told her how to react to the problems. She was like a scaredy-cat.Not only did Cecilia look down on her, but every trusted individual around Zach disdained her too.She grew up in this kind of environment. She hated that she could not change anything.Madelyn hugged her pillow as she lowered her head. She did not want to look at the intense gaze that fell on her. Just when she was about to leave, Zach, who looked gloomy which Madelyn could not see, walked to her. He grabbed her arm and plucked the needle from her hand before throwing it on the floor. After that, he dragged her into the bathroom.She struggled defenselessly to resist his touch. Her clothes were torn open, exposing a large area of skin on her chest."Don't touch me!" Madelyn scratched his face and grabbed a comb to th