The Suprise
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I kept walking, going inside the car as his driver moved to the trunk and started extracting my boxes.
As I approached the door, Thomas opened it for me with his plastered–on smile.
“Thomas, how are you?” I greeted him.
“I’m okay, miss,” he replied. “Are those your stuff? Should I help you with them?”
“Yeah, maybe you should help me with them. I really have no idea where to put them.
“What are they? I’m sorry if I may ask. Do you want me to put them in your room, or do you have somewhere specific you want me to put them?”
“I don’t know. They’re stuff from work, but I don’t think they’re important enough that I need to hide them in my room. But I also don’t know where you’re going to put them.”
“Don’t worry about that, miss. I’ll have it taken care of,” he assured me with a smile as he started heading towards the car.
I got inside the house and, just as I was about to go up the stairs, I remembered Madeline. I decided to go and see her. Just as I turned around, I heard footsteps on the stairs.
I turned back and found Madeline coming down the stairs.
Her face was filled with both confusion and a little nervousness, though she smiled brightly at me.
“Mina,” she said, continuing down the stairs.
I stood there, waiting for her, unsure of what to make of her sudden shift “I didn’t know you were going to be home now. Why are you home so early?” she asked.
Her behaviour was unbelievably different from how it had been this morning when I left. Earlier, she had been distant and wasn’t making eye contact. Now, she acted as if she was genuinely happy to see me.
I couldn’t tell if it was because I had come home unexpectedly or if something else was going on.
“Yeah, something came up at work, so I just decided to come home,” I said, my
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words tight and deliberate.
“Oh, I hope it’s nothing bad. I hope it’s all good,” she replied, her concern sounding sincere.
“Yeah,” I answered with a forced smile. “Everything is fine. Everything is great.”
But then I noticed a hint of concern or curiosity on her face.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure, Madeline. Everything’s okay. I’m just glad you’re feeling better from yesterday. I was worried about you, and I was actually coming to see you in the kitchen. But I’m glad I caught you here.”
Madeline smiled faintly, but just as she was about to say something, the door opened. Thomas walked in, behind him the driver carried my boxes to the door and then left.
Thomas began picking up the boxes and moving them inside.
“What’s that?” Madeline asked him, her brow furrowed.
“These are Miss Mina’s things,” Thomas replied as he carried the boxes up the stairs, slipping past us without another word.
Madeline turned her attention back to me, her questioning look almost piercing.
“Your things?” she asked.
“Yeah, those are my things from the office.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“You’re taking your things from the office? At work?”
“Yeah, I quit today,” I revealed.
“You quit?” She repeated, her tone suddenly sharp. “Why would you quit your job?”
Her reaction caught me off guard. “Personal reasons. There were things that happened, and I just had to quit.”
“So what are you going to be doing now? Just lying around the house, not doing anything?” she asked, the words sounding almost like an accusation.
Her sudden change surprised me. Madeline had always been sweet and kind, and I didn’t expect her to lash out like this. Not now, not about this.
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There was something in her eyes, something unsettled, but she quickly caught herself. She softened, composing herself.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice gentler. “That didn’t come out the way I intended.”
I watched her carefully, trying to understand what was really going on. Something was off with the whole thing.
“What I meant to say,” Madeline started again, her voice faltering slightly, “is that I’m just wondering what you’re going to do….. I mean, I’ve watched you grow up, and I know how much of a hard worker you are. I was just curious how you would handle just sitting around the house. It doesn’t sound like you.”
I took a moment, watching her closely again. There was something off with her, but I couldn’t quite figure it out.
“I haven’t thought about it yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something to do with my time,” I answered with a chilling smile.
The
whole day was beginning to press down on me. I wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation anymore, not after everything that had already happened. I wasn’t going to let her keep judging me while she didn’t have the whole story.
Before I could say anything else, the front door opened, and Emerson appeared, his smile lighting up his face as both Madeline and I turned towards him.
“Emerson!” Madeline greeted him cheerfully, taking a few steps toward him. “I didn’t expect you to be home.”
“Yeah, this one quit on me,” Emerson said with a teasing grin, pointing in my direction as he walked past her and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Can you believe she quit today? Made a whole show of it too.” He finished off jokingly.
Madeline smiled, but I could tell the expression didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Yeah, she just told me she quit, and I was wondering why she would do that. It just seems… highly reckless. Just because she’s married to you now, the first thing she does is quit her job?”
I could feel Emerson’s hand tense on my shoulder, though he kept his smile.
“This one quit because Eric threatened to quit the company,” he said lightly, his eyes shifting towards me. “She didn’t want Eric to quit because she thought I would cause a rift between us, so she decided to quit instead.”
He turned to me, his eyes softening. “This one is a keeper. I’m not going to regret
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marrying you.” He finished off and kissed me on the lips, right in front of Madeline.
I giggled, playfully hitting his chest.
“You, you, you,” I said, laughing softly.
We both turned back to Madeline, but her face was tight, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She looked as though she was on the verge of breaking down.
“Are you okay, Madeline?” I asked, a bit concerned.
“I’m sorry,” she replied, her voice shaky. “It’s just… I’m not used to this. I think it’s going to take some time.” Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and practically power–walked toward the kitchen.
I looked at Emerson, confused. He simply raised a hand in a helpless gesture, as if to say, ‘I don’t know‘.
Then, with a reassuring smile, he took my hand and started gently pulling me up the
stairs.
When we stepped into my room, I glanced around, expecting to see the boxes from earlier, but they were nowhere to be found.
“Where did Thomas put my boxes?” I asked, turning toward Emerson.
“Your boxes?” he echoed, a proud smile creeping onto his face. “I kind of told him to create a home office for you downstairs on the first floor, so that’s where your boxes are.”
I stared at him in surprise. “You made me a home office?”
“Yes, I did,” he said, his grin getting larger. “Do you want to go and look at it?”
“You made me a home office,” I repeated, still in shock. “How? When?”
“When you stormed out of my office earlier, angry,” he admitted sheepishly. “I called Thomas and arranged everything. I knew that just saying sorry wasn’t enough, so I decided to show you. I had him create a home office next to mine. Do you want to go and see it now?”
“Hell yes, I do!” I said, excitement bubbling up as I left him behind and started running down the hallway.
“Please, no running in the hallway!” Emerson called out after me, his tone playful with a hint of concern. “Oh my God, don’t do that. You’re reminding me of things I shouldn’t be remembering right now!”
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He caught up to me, a knowing look in his eyes that made my heart race for a different reason. He kissed my forehead gently, took my hand, and we continued down the stairs together.
When we reached the first floor, I already knew where his office was, so I headed for the door right next to it. My heart pounded with excitement.
He walked ahead, opened the door, and stood aside waiting for me to enter.
And when I stepped inside, I couldn’t help myself.
I gasped.
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