Chapter Thirteen
——————————————
Strange Bedfellows

Quiava was fuming when she walked into Maddox's office. Jean had just shown her the pictures of Maddox and Cardi.

She was pissed then to make matters worse, the first thing she saw once she made it into the office was a picture of Cardi hanging on the wall behind Maddox's desk.

"Why is her picture up there?" Quiava asked, pointing to the picture.

Maddox looked up from his computer.

"Because I want it there," Maddox answered.

"Do you like her?" Quiava asked.

"Yes, I do," Maddox answered.

Quiava stomped her feet.

"Why?" She asked.

Maddox sighed and stood up.

"Quiava, you've been an amazing friend and business partner to me over the years but I will never have feelings for you and honestly you shouldn't have feelings for me. And if I did anything to make you feel like it was okay to catch feelings for me, I apologize. Cardi is different, a good different and my kids love her." Maddox answered.

"You're sorry for causing me to catch feelings for you." She said with a chuckle. "Wow, so some stripper comes in and all of a sudden you want to be in a relationship. What happened to 'I'm going to stay single for the rest of my life' huh?" She asked.

"Things changed. I met someone who changed my mind." He answered.

"You like her." She said, knowing she didn't have a chance with Maddox.

Quiava walked out of Maddox's office, tears starting to fall down her cheeks when she ran into Jean.

Jean was about to insult her but once he saw her crying, he frowned.

"Are you crying over him?" Jean asked.

Quiava quickly wiped away her tears.

"No." She said, trying to walk around Jean but he blocked her.

"Quiava, would you like a drink?" Jean asked.

Quiava nodded.

Jean grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen.

"There's no need to cry, Quiava, Maddox was never the right man for you," Jean said as Quiava took a seat at the kitchen table.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"Because if he was the right man, you would have been married by now." He answered.

"I guess." She said.

⚜️   ⚜️   ⚜️

Liked by themaddoxmax, nettieafine, janaydaniel and 678,900 others
cardiafine Demin fit ✨
View all 694 comments

⚜️   ⚜️   ⚜️

"You look cute," Maddox said as I smiled at him as he pulled me in for a hug.

Maddox pulls away and then leads me to the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as I got in the car.

"On our first date." He answered.

Maddox quickly walks to the other side of the car and gets in. He starts the car and pulls out, driving off.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"Philippe Chow." He answered.

"That's my favorite restaurant," I said.

Maddox smiled.

"I know." He said.

I gave him a look.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"You talk about it in your sleep." He answered.

I hit his arm.

"Boy, I do not talk in my sleep," I said, rolling my eyes.

Maddox laughed.

"Yes, you do. It's cute." He said.

"No, it's not and it's not true," I said.

My phone started vibrating then it fell under my seat so I bent over to get it when I heard wheels scratching.

"Oh shit," Maddox said as I was about to look up, I felt a hard bump and my head hit the dashboard.

All I could hear was the screeching of tires on asphalt, the crunching of metal, and the shouting of Maddox beside me as the car flew sideways.

It only took seconds for my eyes to close and the world around me to fade away with his voice echoing in my ears.

Maddox was pissed. He grabbed his phone and quickly called Axel and Rocco to come to his location and chase after the car that hit Cardi and him.

Someone had already called the police and a crowd started to form around the car.

"Sir, is everyone in the car okay?" Someone asked.

"No, my wife is passed out," Maddox answered, not realizing he called Cardi, his wife.

"Okay, the paramedics are here." Someone said.

Maddox got out of the car and walked over to the other side of the car, trying to open the door to get Cardi out of the car.

A firefighter came over and helped Maddox with the door and asked Maddox to move away so they could get Cardi out of the car.

Maddox moves away so they can help Cardi. Maddox took a seat on the sidewalk and then passed out.

⚜️   ⚜️   ⚜️

Cardi groaned, her head swimming as her eyes fluttered open slowly taking in her surroundings.

She was in a hospital room, that much she could tell from the bed she was lying in.

Her attention was caught by Maddox asleep in the chair next to her hair, her reaction to seeing him caused the heart monitor she was hooked up to start to go crazy.

"Cardi?" Maddox asked.

He was groggy as his eyes opened and found focus on her.

It was only when he squeezed her hand did she realized he was holding onto her.

"Maddox, Why am I here?" Cardi questioned, her voice cracking as she tried to push herself up into a sitting position.

Maddox got up and helped her as he took her by the elbows carefully and pulled her up before grabbing the glass of water sitting on the side table.

He held it up to her lips for her, waiting patiently as she took a sip.

"We were in a hit-and-run car accident," Maddox answered, before sitting back down and placing the cup back where he had got it from.

"Really?" Cardi asked.

"Yes, and you've been asleep for two days. You hit your head pretty hard in the accident." Maddox answered.

"Okay, that explains why I feel like I've been jumped by six linebackers," Cardi said.

Maddox laughed.

"Are you okay?" Cardi asked.

Maddox nodded.

"You had it worse than me." He answered.

"That's good, you have three kids to look after. We don't need you injured." Cardi said.

"And so do you." He said.

"When can I leave?" She asked.

"I think you'll probably be here for another two days." He answered.

"But I want to go home and be with my babies." She said.

He nodded and jumped up from his seat, kissing her forehead without even thinking.

"Okay, I'll go get the doctor." He said.