29 WHO IS THIS STRANGER?
Madison, Isabella, and Luke stepped out of the police station briskly, with Ethan walking at a distance. Luke was very upset about what had happened and couldn’t hide his feelings.
“Maddie, you need to stay away from those two crazy ladies. What if they attack you again and, this time, harm you?” Luke was right; Maya and Linda were out for blood like wolves and would stop at nothing to harm her.
They got into the car where the driver had been waiting with a first aid box. He handed it over to Luke, who hurriedly accepted it and started preparing to treat her wounds.
“I think it’s best to go to a doctor. Isa is injured and she needs proper medical attention.”
Madison doubted his first aid skills because she was unsure about his abilities; she didn’t want to worsen the injuries or possibly infect them.
“Trust me,
I know how to treat an injury well. I have a lot of experience from helping you out when we were younger.” He replied, beaming; he whipped out some cotton wool, spirit, disinfectant, ointment, and bandages. Madison pointed at Isa first as though to use her as a lab rat to test how good he was at treating injuries.
He reached out to Isabella and started treating her injuries carefully; he was right about being a pro because she felt no pain. Madison scrunched up her nose as though she was upset about her predictions being wrong.
Isabella kept on staring at Luke as he worked his magic. He was a wonderful man with well–trimmed jawlines and supple skin; his hair was curled up neatly on both sides, and his smile was captivating. Isa felt she was falling in love with him but tried to hide her blush.
“See, all done!” He said excitedly that he had placed a bandage on her injury. He proceeded to signal Madison to come over and tend to her injuries. Her thick hair had been scattered during the
altercation, and she looked a mess; even though she was in the center of the fight, she managed to get out with just slight injuries: a scratch to her neck and a pink face.
Luke got closer and attended to her wounds as well. Madison soon realized why her friend had not shrieked or made a fuss. Luke was very gentle and, indeed, handled it like a pro..
“Maddie, I have an offer for you. It’s a movie I’m currently working on, and I want you to feature in it.
He informed her of his intentions before packing up his box
11
“Really! I would be so excited to get a role in it.”
“I knew how excited you’d be, hence why I informed you. I’ll pick you up later today so you can check the script out.”
“Oh no, you don’t need to bother. I’ll make my way to your office instead.”
“Glad to see how grown you’ve become. Bye, now I’ll see you later as promised. Bye, Isabella.” He said “I at Isa who had begun to feel left out.
“I’m so happy for you! You finally get to move on after two years of delay. I hope you get the lead role, fingers crossed.”
As they made to head inside, a familiar black car pulled over in front of them. Ethan hops out with two brown bags, making Isabella visibly irritated.
“What are you doing here? What else do you want.” She said folding her hands and staring him down if looks could kill Ethan would probably be a dead man.
“Well, I brought some food and medications for the both of you. I also want to apologize on behalf of Maya, she’s never made the mistake of raising her hands on you again.”
Madison felt disgusted at this obvious charade. “Who are you to Maya, and why are you taking responsibility for her actions?” Isabella pressed just before Madison got the opportunity to.
“There’s nothing between the both of us; I’m merely apologizing to you because she’s signed to my company.”
“Both of you! It’s enough now please; today has been a stressful day and I think it’s best if we all go our separate ways and try to rest. Ethan, thank you so much for the food and medications. You’re far too kind. You also need to go home and have some rest, okay?”
“Okay, good night.” He turned away and went into his car, zooming off into the night.
“I apologize on behalf of Maya…” Isabella mimicked him in a very mock tone before slumping into the chair. Madison had enough to handle today and couldn’t muster the energy to question it fault her; besides, he did sound very foolish making that statement. They both took their showers, had dinner, and retired to their beds for a good night’s rest.
The buzzing of her phone awoke Madison. It had rung twice, and she disconnected the call, but it seemed the caller was persistent.
“Hello,” she said in a very dull tone, she was half asleep.
“Madison, my dear, are you fine? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?” It was Olivia on the line, and she sounded concerned
“No, mummy, I’m fine. How are you? I’ve been so busy I hadn’t come to check on you.”
“Darling, I’m fine; I just wanted to know how you were. Ethan told me about everything, and I scolded him properly.”
“It’s okay Mommy, it wasn’t this fault. Do you need any other thing?”
“Ahh yes, I’m attending a wedding soon and I need to go dress shopping. I was thinking you come
over and help me make a choice.”
“Okay Mommy, I have an appointment now so I’ll come by later today. Bye”
Isabella was already up and had been pacing around the sitting room.
“Good morning sweetheart! How was your night?” She seemed excited, and that made Madison
29 WHO IS THIS STRANGER?.
suspicious.
“Good morning…. What’s the occasion?”
“Well, nothing much except that you’re going to check out your script today.”
“Oh yes, I’ll get ready.” Madison couldn’t help but wonder if she was excited because of that it if there
was another reason.
She got ready, and they stepped out only to meet Luke waiting on the front porch.
“Luke? I told you I’d come myself. Why takes the stress?”
“Well, I was going to drive past here on my way to the office, so I decided to pick you up as well.” He replied, ushering them into the car.
It was just a silly excuse, but also a smart one.
Luke was wearing a casual shirt that fitted his lean, muscular frame very well. The night before, it had been so dark that Isabella could not see him clearly, but now she realized just how handsome he was.
Ethan’s car was parked in a corner of the street just out of their sight. He had been sitting in the car the entire night.
When he saw Madison getting into Luke’s car, he started the engine and followed.
He finally realized what was going on when they arrived at the film production company.
It seemed that Luke was trying to push Marjorie back into acting.
That was what he was trying to do as well!
