Chapter 31: Chapter 31

I take a deep breath as I watch him leave. I couldn't understand why he was so upset. What could have happened between him and Madelyn to make him act like this? What kind of relationship did they have? This was something Joshua should have told me or already told me, instead of storming off like he did today.

"Are you okay?" I hear a soft voice. I turn my head to the side, glancing briefly at the woman behind me. She was the last person I wanted to talk to at that moment.

"I don't want to intrude, but... I overheard part of the argument between you two," Madelyn approaches, standing beside me. I observe her movements from the corner of my eye, seeing her putting her hands in the pockets of her red coat and looking vaguely down the street.

"I'm sorry for what happened. I guess coming to this dinner was a terrible idea," she said sadly. "Joshua has always been a bit explosive, especially when it comes to being the last to know something. But in the end, he just needs some time to cool down."

Why was she telling me all these things?

"Well, I have to go. See you around," she smiled kindly and walked away, getting into a white SUV.

There was definitely something wrong with this story. Had she been abducted by aliens and come back as a more understanding and kinder Madelyn? What happened to the old Madelyn?

I order a taxi on my transportation app and wait patiently for it to arrive.

***

When I arrive at my apartment, I am met with a commotion. A woman is speaking rudely to Gregory and Nathan, who are cornered.

"What's going on here?" I look incredulously at the unscrupulous woman.

"You!" she almost flies at me. "Where is he?"

"He who?" I ask, confused.

"Ian!"

"My father?" I realize that she is the woman he had become involved with after my mother. "You're his woman, you should know," I retort.

"Ever since you and your sisters arrived, he doesn't care about his family anymore. His real family! He only cares about those brats and you!"

"Hey! Watch your language! We are his daughters too!"

"There's no room for more children!"

"You should be resigned. You know he had a family before he met you."

"If he wanted to continue with the same family he had before, he wouldn't have built a new one!"

"Fine, you're right. But that doesn't change the fact that he's still our father, and he wants to see his daughters! It was his choice! And you need to understand that!" My voice matches hers. "Now, why don't you stop causing a scene and leave my house before I call the police?"

The woman gives me an almost deadly look but doesn't say another word and leaves my apartment.

"What a crazy woman," Nathan comments.

"You two let yourselves be cornered by her?" I furrow my brow.

"What could we do? She's not our father," Gregory sighs.

"Hasn't he come back with Agatha and Alex yet?" I remember he had asked to get to know them better and decided to take them out for a walk.

"And I think with the woman he's with, it'll take him a while to come back home."

I close the door and throw myself on the couch.

"But then, how was it at dinner? You came back early." Gregory asks and sits beside me.

"A nightmare."

"I can't believe it. Really? What happened?"

"Madelyn was there. And Joshua simply freaked out and left."

"Who is this Madelyn?" Nathan asks.

"She's a witch." Gregory answers.

"A witch who's having a personality disorder. Because suddenly, she started treating me as if I were a stranger and we never went through the phase of not getting along." I explain.

"Are you serious?" Gregory says, astonished.

"There must be something wrong. Someone doesn't become a better person overnight."

"And what if she has an evil twin sister?" Nathan suggests, earning mocking looks from me and Gregory. "Well, why not? I've seen that happen a lot in movies."

"No, it's not possible. If that were the case, we would at least know of the existence of a sister."

Gregory looks at me, intrigued.

"She mentioned a sister. A sister who hasn't come to light." Gregory gives wings to Nathan's thought. "And that could make it easier for her to take the place of the real Madelyn because no one knows about her existence."

"But even so, Joshua dated Madelyn. He would know if he was with the wrong Madelyn."

"Has he told you how their relationship ended?"

"No, I only know that she broke up with him. And it disappointed him a lot."

"For someone who broke up with him... She's much more than just regretful. She's obsessed. While the other version only seems to want to redeem herself with him."

"Are you believing that there could be two Madelyns?"

"Why not? It's a hypothesis we shouldn't dismiss. Because think about it, the evil Madelyn, who is obsessed with Joshua, could have plotted for her sister to break up with her boyfriend so that she could be with him, but I think she miscalculated the procedure, ending up making Joshua hate Madelyn. And in the end, not knowing which one was the real one, he didn't end up with either. And now, the truth may have come to light."

I consider Gregory's idea, it could make sense. But we weren't sure.

"I don't know. The only one who can tell us what really happened is Joshua. And... now we're a bit at odds."

"I believe Joshua will end up telling you. Especially because the evil Madelyn is affecting you so much."

If what Gregory was saying was really true, then it only proved that that girl was crazy, and she needed to be stopped. But if the real Madelyn had returned, then there might be a chance for Joshua to be interested in her again?

***

I tap frenetically on the tip of the pen on my desk, staring down the hallway that led to Joshua's office.

"Like this, you're going to end up puncturing the new cabinet." Samantha says sarcastically. I finally had my own desk. "What's gotten into you?"

I shrug my shoulders, without an answer. Should I say that I was a bit apprehensive about the possibility of the real Madelyn being in Joshua's room? Just the two of them?

“Is it because of Madelyn?” Samantha asks, perceptive. I shrug my shoulders again, leaving her once again without answers. “Alice!”

“What?!” I let out a grunt of reproach.

She looks at me from her desk, frustrated.

“Can you go back to being the old Alice? The neurotic Alice doesn't suit you.”

I stop tapping my pen on the table and put it aside. I lean back in my chair and cross my arms.

“Do you know Madelyn well?” I inquire.

“Nobody knows anyone well. They will only know what the person wants to show. But, to answer your question, I know her a little.”

“Do you know if she has any sisters?”

“Sister?” she says confused. “She doesn't have any sisters. Not that I know of.”

“Is it possible that they've hidden her from the public?”

“Well, being her, I think it's a little difficult for her personal life not to have been invaded and something found. But why are you interested in this?”

I take a deep breath, wondering if I should share the theory that Gregory and Nathan had. But it's Samantha, so it wouldn't hurt for her to know.

“Because I think that maybe she has an evil twin sister.”

“An evil twin sister?” she smiles amused.

“I'm not sure, that's why I asked if you knew anything.”

“And how did you deduce that?”

“Because since I met that girl, she has shown me hatred. And suddenly, it's like she doesn't even know me. She's kind, understanding, and... It's impossible for someone to change overnight.”

“Maybe she has reconsidered her own actions.” She justifies, and I furrow my brow, incredulous. Samantha had even told me that Madelyn was a bit crazy.

“Okay. That's the last thing that could happen to her.” She rethinks. “Well, back when they were dating, and I had some interaction with her because of Joshua, she seemed to be someone more... How can I say? Huh... Pleasant? Well, she didn't seem like the neurotic person she turned into after the breakup. But I still don't think she has an evil twin sister. Some people go crazy after a breakup.”

“But this is all very strange.” I sigh.

“And why don't you ask Joshua?”

“I don't think it's a good idea.” I let out a grunt and Samantha raises her eyebrows. “We're a bit mad at each other right now. And... He didn't come to apologize after he was rude to me. So, no.”

Samantha rolls her eyes. The door to Joshua's room opens. Walking elegantly in her high heels, Madelyn approaches us.

“Alice?” she looks at me. “Joshua asked for you. He's waiting for you in his office.” She opens one of her charismatic smiles and heads towards the elevator.

I look at Samantha, who shrugs, not knowing what to say. I get up from the chair and head to Joshua's office. I knock on the door and hear him say to come in.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

I enter the room and close the door behind me. Joshua's attention is focused on his laptop screen.

"I need you to check my weekly schedule and see what appointments I have this week," he says without even looking up at me.

His gaze doesn't shift from the laptop screen to me for a single second. Is he really going to treat me like this? We haven't spoken since last night, and now he's acting as if I mean nothing to him. But I don't back down.

"But anything else?" I ask, and he shakes his head.

I walk out of the room and head back to my office.

"Well?" Samantha asks, referring to my "professional" encounter with Joshua.

"He didn't even look at me," I comment, frustrated. "Just asked me to check his agenda."

"Oh! After tomorrow's meeting, he'll have the rest of the week off. You can let him know. And don't worry, maybe he's just having a rough day."

I let out another sigh and take the information back to his office. I enter again.

"After tomorrow's meeting, your week will be free. Thursday and Friday," I inform him.

"Great, almost the weekend. I want you to choose a place."

"A place?"

"Yes, and book it from Thursday night until Sunday afternoon," he finally looks up at me. "I want some time for us."

I look at him in surprise.

"And I believe you deserve some explanations."

It's good to know he's aware of that.

"So... we'll be traveling together?"

"And as a couple, this time."

I remember when we traveled together for the first time. We were coming to London, and I had no idea that one day we would have something with each other. I nod and turn to leave the room. I end up smiling. It's inevitable not to be happy with that news. Despite everything, Joshua is making an effort for us to be a couple, just like he said he would do everything to keep Madelyn from coming between us.

I'm feeling much happier now.

"I can see that you're back on good terms now," Samantha deduces when she sees my happiness.

"We'll be traveling together. He told me to choose a place."

"Well, then I think you should choose the best place. And maybe a place where the sex is amazing," she says with a mischievous smile, and I feel my face turning red.