Chapter 1323


    Christine was a fool since she would naivelyply each time her family asked for money. It was the


    same if someone from her hometown asked her to help them to find a job—she would provide them


    with food and amodation while taking the trouble to go around to look for a job for them.


    All her rtives needed to do was just rest at a fancy hotel while waiting for the jobs to knock on their


    doorstep.


    In no time, her good reputation had spread far and wide through word of mouth. People from her


    hometown came to look for her andplimented her father for having raised his daughter into who


    she was. But, on the flip side, no one thought of how she struggled in Bayside City on her own.


    Maddieforted Christine as they drove to thetter’s house. At home, Christine continued to cry as


    calls from her family members kepting in with each one taking turns to berate her.


    Maddie resented the thought of returning to her hometown and she vouched never to return. She did


    not want to have anything with the people back home. But then, it’s still my home and where my roots


    are.


    She had to simply evade them for Christine’s sake.


    Christine cried for a while. Then, Maddie advised her to take a day off and return to work the next day.


    Maddie then headed home as she thought about what had happened. Shortly after, she opened her


    jewelry box.


    Normally, she would make an effort to wear the same attire as her colleagues and try not to stand out


    from the crowd. But, at the same time, she did not want to appear shabby while disliking luxury items.


    However, as the youngest Madam Fletcher in the family, she definitely had a few presentable pieces of


    jewelry. She dug through the box and found a string of pearl nes that were more expensive than


    what Bethany owned.


    Maddie never had the chance to wear it or even remove it from its packaging.


    She knew that having broken Bethany’s ne, Christine had caused quite a ruckus because of


    what she earned. In their industry, it sounded exaggerated that an endorsement would pay up to


    millions. However, only one-tenth of the amount would be in the artist’s pocket, provided that the


    agency was reliable.


    Christine was not even an A-list celebrity—she was merely a newbie and ranked as a D-list celebrity at


    best. By putting two and two together, it was certain that she could not afford to pay three million as she


    just gave several million to her family to purchase a house and did not have any money left.


    On the other hand, Maddie did not have the time or opportunity to wear it. I might as well let Christine


    have it since she is in a dire need of a ne. Since Joel never checks my jewelry box, he will never


    discover it anyway.


    Yet, she was unwilling to give it away and allow other women to wear it since it was a gift from Joel.


    She carefully put it back and nned to bring it with her the next day.


    By the time Joel returned home at night, she had already cooked dinner. Drew and Lorelei were also


    home too.


    From the day she arrived, Lorelei had always been a mischievous child. When Joel first adopted her,


    she could not speak even a word of Cethosian, and since the former was rather busy with work,


    Maddie, as the child’s mother, had to teach her to speak thenguage from scratch, all the while


    learning it herself.


    Over time, L had learned to speak Cethosian while Maddie’s fluency in thenguage tremendously


    improved—so much so that she could interview dignitaries with ease.


    “Papa, Mommy,” L suddenly greeted in fluent Cethosian.


    “Hey!” Joel eximed aloud as he reached out for her. Both father and daughter were about to practice


    martial arts with each other.


    Maddie carried Drew over and ced him down. “Drew will be as good as Papa and his sister in the


    future!” she said.


    Although he looked aloof, he was actually clingier than anyone else.


    As her family had a happy and harmonious home, she felt that her life was perfect. She even vowed to


    hold onto it and would not allow those from their hometown to cause her trouble.


    Just as she had expected, Christine’s father rang her. “What are you doing? Your uncle’s daughter,


    Tawny has gone missing. You should help them to look for her.”


    After hanging up on the phone, Maddie murmured, “My a*s! She should just get lost for good.”


    However, she knew that she had no choice but to look for Tawny. She quickly gave Christine a ring and


    ryed the news to her. “Chrissy, Tawny has not returned. I can’t get her through the phone—” she


    revealed in a worried tone.


    “It’s okay. Don’t worry, I aming to your ce right now. Wait for me at home; let’s look for her


    together,” Christine replied.


    Since Tawny is missing, they will surely look for Christine and thrash it out with her. Maddie would be


    worried to death if Christine went missingte at night, but not Tawny.


    After Maddie hung up, she immediately changed her clothes and informed Joel. “Dear, I have to be at


    the office as I have to report on a piece of breaking news. I’ll be working throughout the night. Do not


    wait for me and rest early.”


    While she was changing her clothes, he silently made his way behind her as he asked, “What is the


    news about?”


    “There are two African countries at war again. The editorial department has to ensure that the script is


    ready on time for tomorrow morning,” she lied.


    She lowered her head and searched for her purse as she dared not look into his eyes.


    However, Joel was not easily deceived as he suddenly grabbed her and stared at her. “Which countries


    in Africa are at war? Who is involved with the crossfire? Where is the location?”


    Damn it! Maddie suddenly recalled her husband’s profession. He will definitely be the first person to


    know of such news. She then babbled, “How would I know? My boss asked all of us to be there


    immediately.”


    Joel knew she lied—she was clearly being bothered by something earlier that was not work-rted. He


    never poked his nose in her work and she never fancied it for him to do so either. Something has


    happened.


    Maddie also never shared about the happenings of her hometown with him. On top of that, she never


    allowed her family to return to Bayside City either.


    Joel had barely contacted the Evans Family. When he proposed to Maddie, they had only spent a day


    in the city to meet the parents and register their marriage. He did not even reveal his identity during that


    trip. So, in the eyes of the Evans Family, he was merely a senior soldier who was also a bachelor.


    The Evans Family knew that Joel was a registered resident of Bayside City, which resulted in a


    generous betrothal gift. They had asked for one hundred thousand and he gave the exact amount


    without any hesitation. After giving the betrothal gift, Maddie merely left with him. He did not contact the


    Evans Family since then as he was always on the move. Each time he nned to visit them, it so


    happened that he was posted on a mission, leaving him with no choice but to abort the n. It was


    Maddie who continuously kept in touch with the Evans Family.


    As she started to break out in sweat at the sight of his piercing eyes, she feared that he would know


    she lied. Unexpectedly, he stroked her hair and gently asked, “Are your rtives in trouble? I heard


    someone calling you cousin over the phone.”


    She continued to lie and replied, “No, it was just my colleague.”


    He knew she hadnded herself in a mess, but upon realizing that she refused to divulge anything, he


    then added, “Go and get dressed. I will drive you there. It’ste at night; I am not going to let you go out


    alone.”


    Maddie was taken aback and instinctively held onto Joel, who turned and was about to drive his car.


    She stammered, “S-S-Something did happen. I have a cousin who went out alone and went missing


    because of a little setback at work. Now, she is not contactable.”


    He was speechless. Such a little fool!


    Joel wanted to be the one to take her, but in the end, he firmly bit his lips and responded, “You should


    have told me; this is a serious matter.”


    She murmured, “If I tell you this and you end up escting things, the situation would really be bad.


    What if others use you of abusing your power?”


    She was a news writer and well aware that reporters fancied a good scoop to pen their headlines.


    From N?velDrama.Org.


    Joel wore some casual clothes while saying, “There won’t be any issues. Today, I am not Joel. I am just


    Maddie’s husband. Your cousin is missing and as an inw, I ought to help to look for her, right?”


    It warmed Maddie’s heart. My hubby is simply a gem of a person.