Madeline had also heard the call. She quickly stood up and said, "Felix, I should go, so my cousin doesn''t get the wrong idea."


    But after just a few steps, she hissed in pain.


    Felix rushed over to support her, frowning. "Is your foot still not better?"


    Madeline''s eyes welled with tears. "There were paparazzi squatting outside the hotelst night. I was afraid they''d write something scandalous, so I didn''t go to the hospital. I just iced it myself in my room. It felt fine, but I thinking to see you aggravated the sprain, so it hurts a bit now."


    "Then just stay here. I''ll take you to the hospitalter," Felix said immediately.


    "But my cousin..."


    "Don''t worry about her," Felix interrupted, pressing her back down onto the bed. "Your injury is more important."


    Madeline obediently sat back down on the bed.


    At that moment, ire and Noreen arrived outside the room, and ire began pounding on the door.


    Felix''s brow furrowed again. He truly disliked this boisterous side of ire. This was a hotel, a public ce. It was terrible if she disturbed the other guests.


    He hurried to open the door.


    ire was raising her hand to knock a second time when the door swung open.


    Felix confronted her with a cold expression. "You''re going to disturb the other guests."


    ireughed, a bitter, angry sound. "Am I disturbing others, or am I disturbing you?"


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Move." ire shoved him aside and stormed into the room.


    The first thing she saw was Madeline sitting on the bed.


    It was a suite. There were sofas, chairs, even the floor to sit on.


    But Madeline was sitting on the bed.


    The implication was blindingly obvious.


    Felix wasn''t even pretending anymore.


    Even though Madeline was fully dressed, in ire''s eyes, it was just a flimsy attempt to cover up the truth.


    To make matters worse, Madeline adopted an innocent expression. "Cousin, what are you doing here?"


    Her tone and expression were aplete one-eighty from the smugness she''d disyed on the phone just moments ago.


    ire didn''t humor her. She strode over and pped Madeline across the face.


    The sound was crisp and loud.


    Madeline''s head snapped to the side.


    Felix''s face darkened, and he immediately snapped at ire. "ire, what the hell do you think you''re doing? First the shouting, now the hitting!"


    He tried to move past to stop ire.


    Noreen and Wilbur, like two sentinels, stepped up on either side of him, blocking his path.


    Madeline clutched her face, her eyes red, and looked at ire with a wounded expression. "Cousin, did you misunderstand something? I can exin."


    "Exin my ass," ire spat.


    She raised her hand and pped Madeline''s other cheek.


    Perfectly symmetrical.


    Felix, in a panic, shoved Wilbur''s arm aside and grabbed ire. "How long are you going to keep this up? When did you be like this? Look at yourself right now, you have no ss at all! If a reporter catches this they''ll have a field day, and the


    Quigley family''s name will be dragged through the mud because of you!"


    When a person is truly speechless, they be truly speechless.


    Yet, Felix looked at her with utter disappointment. "I thought you were a reasonable person who knew her limits but now you''re makinga scere over such a small matt


    "A small matter? Felix, did a dog eat your brain? I''m being framed as a kept woman, and you call it a small manem. Or do you just enjoy being cuckolded?" ire''s whole body was trembling with rage.


    The person who should be disappointed wasn''t him, was it?


    Felix clearly froze for a second. "What framing? Who framed you?"


    "Her!" ire roared, pointing a finger at Madeline''s nose.