24 SPARKS
Ethan carried Madison over his shoulder and walked out of the restaurant.
“Let go
of me,
Ethan. I want to go back. Let me go.”
1/3
“I’m not letting you go back to your Luke.” Ethan scowled. He hated that she would rather be with
Luke than with him.
“Fine them, take me home. To my house!” “Alright. I’ll bring you home.”
He placed her in the backseat of the car and got in. As the car pulled away, Madison slumped against Ethan’s shoulder.
Madison murmured with half–closed eyes, “If you don’t let me out, I’m going to vomit all over you.”
“Drink some water. You’ll feel a bit better.” When Ethan realized she couldn’t hold the bottle, he placed a straw in her mouth while he had the bottle close to her.
The driver was so stunned at what he saw that he momentarily let go of the steering wheel, causing the entire car to steer sideways for a second. Ethan cursed quietly as the water spilled on him.
“Are you even paying attention to the road?”
“I’m so sorry, sir. It wouldn’t happen again.”
“It better not. Now stop staring and drive.”
Once they reached the house, Ethan carried Madison in his arms and headed inside. Instinctively, Madison wrapped her arms around Ethan’s neck.
Evelyn was just about to go to bed when the noise woke her. She was stunned to see Ethan walking in
with a woman in his arms.
She could not help but feel a bit of anger toward Ethan. She was upset that he was running around with different ladies instead of salvaging his marriage and fixing things with Madison.
As he climbed the stairs, Ethan called Evelyn, “Go make a bowl of hot soup. Madison is drunk and
needs something hot to drink.”
“Madison?” Evelyn asked in surprise
“Of course. Who else would I bring home with me?‘
Evelyn nodded her head, too stunned to speak. She thought it was Maya he was holding in his arms, but it was indeed Madison.
Thank God! Their marriage was saved! She would be able to keep her job after all. Evelyn had been wondering what would happen to her if Ethan and Madison got divorced. This job was all she depended on. She used to work as Olivia’s maid, but since she preferred peace, she was sent over to
work for Madison instead.
24 SPARKS
2/3
Madison was easygoing and did not like to trouble other people, so Evelyn liked her very much. If she and Ethan got divorced, she balked at the thought of having to serve a new mistress. If that happened, she would rather resign than serve Ethan’s lover.
“Very well, sir. I’ll go make some right now.” She trotted happily into the kitchen.
Ethan brought Madison to the room and laid her on the bed. Then, he sat down next to her and watched her sleep. At this moment, Madison’s brows were furrowed as though she had a lot on her mind.
“Why are you frowning? What are you thinking of? Luke?” Stephen frowned at the fact that she dreamt of another man.
What was this feeling in his heart?
Ethan grew even more frustrated at the thought of Luke. He took off his jacket and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt.
Madison seemed very cold. She had curled herself into a ball, murmuring something under her breath. Thinking that she was feeling cold, Ethan wrapped his arms around her. However, when he got closer, he finally could hear what she was saying. “Don’t go, Luke.”
The entire room seemed to turn cold.
Ethan’s gaze was steely.
“I was right. She’s divorcing me for this Luke guy.” Ethan could feel his rage boiling within him.
He grabbed Madison’s chin, forcing her to look at him, and growled, “Why did you marry me, Madison? Is it because Luke dumped you? Was I just your rebound? Now that he’s back, you’re divorcing me to be with him? Is that what you think of me? Do you think I’m just a puppet here to do your bidding?”
Marjorie could vaguely hear someone talking to her. She was feeling annoyed by all the noise and instinctively swatted his arm. “Shut up.”
Ethan did not say anything further and instead stared at her in silence. After some time, he inched closer to her and was about to kiss her when the door flew open.
Evelyn was clutching a bowl of hot soup in her hand. When she came upstairs, the door was slightly ajar.
Thinking Ethan was not in the room, she barged in without knocking. The sight of Ethan and Madison on the bed made her leap in shock, almost spilling the soup.
“Put down the bowl and get out.”
Evelyn gingerly placed the bowl on the table and scampered out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Ethan stood up from the bed and angrily combed his angrily head through his hair. Have you ever
24 SPARKS
given Madison a second glance in the past? What was going on there?
He went back to the bed and sat beside her.
3/3
“Madison, wake up. Drink some soup. You told me you’re lightweight, so why did you drink so much today?” Ethan asked.
Madison scrunched her face up into a grimace and turned her head away. Ethan gently shook her, trying to wake up.
All of a sudden, she opened her mouth and vomited all over Ethan, spilling the bowl of soup all over him in the process.
The
pungent stench of alcohol and soup spread through the room. Ethan stared at the mess all over him. He despised everything dirty, so he immediately went to the bathroom to clean himself.
A few minutes later, he emerged again with Madison’s pink towel wrapped around him, having taken a quick shower. Madison seemed to feel much better after vomiting. She was already fast asleep when he came out of the shower.
Ethan wet a towel and cleaned her, seeing that she had soiled her too, much to his disgust. Then, he found a nightgown in the closet and changed her, trying very hard to get ahold of himself as he stripped her clothes.
Finally, he sat before the floor–to–ceiling windows and stared at the night sky. Madison began to snore, and Ethan lit a cigarette and continued staring out the window.
Suddenly, he noticed a film magazine on the table beside the couch. He flipped through it and was surprised it was full of scribbles, primarily reflections, and analyses of various movie plots.
“It seems that I was the one who dragged you down,” he muttered as he glanced at Madison. He never knew Madison was so interested in film. She had managed to make a name for herself as a voice
actress.
She would have been even more famous if she had not married him. She had given up her career for him. Why? Because she loved him while he had spent the last year making her hate him.
Ethan took a deep breath and stared at Madison again, and for the first time, he finally noticed just how beautiful she was.
