Twin Cupids at Work Daddy Come Home novel Chapter 719

"Madeline..." Julian murmured quietly. His voice held barely any emotion.

The door was cracked open. Miles knocked, but when no one answered, he simply stepped inside. Julian was just sitting there, staring blankly at nothing.

"Boss?" Miles called, his tone careful.

Julian's lips stayed pressed in a thin, hard line. He was silent for a few seconds, then finally asked, "How was I with her before?"

Miles blinked, thrown off by the question. He hesitated, searching for the right words. "Honestly, Boss, you really loved Ms. Monroe."

Julian's eyes stayed locked on him, the silence between them turning tense. Miles felt himself start to sweat. Had he just made things worse?

"Why do you want to know, Boss? Did you remember something?" Miles tried.

Julian shook his head, giving a crooked, humorless little smile. It was hard for him to wrap his head around it all—the fact that he had once loved someone enough to hand her his entire world, no questions asked.

Looking back now, he just couldn't believe it.

"I should've given her those shares too."

He said it more to himself. Miles misunderstood, thinking Julian expected an answer.

"You almost did," Miles rushed to answer.

Julian glanced up, almost surprised. "Yeah?"

"But you said you wanted to keep them so you could make more money for Ms. Monroe. To spend on her."

A smirk flickered across Julian's face.

"So she really mattered to me that much."

His lips curled into a ghost of a smile. Suddenly, there was a woman in his life who could throw his emotions off balance, and two sons as well. It all felt strange and sudden and, somehow, real.

Meanwhile, Madeline lay awake in her room. She'd been tossing and turning for hours, but sleep didn't want to come.

Her mind was restless and loud, running in circles.

That’s when her phone started ringing, loud and insistent. She grabbed it, squinting at the screen. Brenda.

Madeline let out a sigh, checked the clock. Almost one in the morning. What could Brenda possibly want this late?

She answered right away.

"Brenda?"

Madeline's brows drew together as she set her bag down and crossed the room. "Brenda?"

Brenda lifted her head warily, eyes half-closed. When she realized it was Madeline, she sat up and reached out. "Madeline, you made it."

Madeline caught her, steadying Brenda’s boneless body. "How much did you drink? And what happened here?"

Brenda let out a crooked little smile, tears clinging to her lashes.

"Some creeps showed up... but I chased them off. Madeline, am I hardcore or what?"

Looking at the smashed glass, Madeline actually believed her.

"Madeline... I got dumped..."

"Madeline, what am I going to do? My heart hurts... it hurts so much...." Brenda’s voice broke, her head dropping onto Madeline’s shoulder as she started sobbing in earnest.

"Madeline, you know what the worst part is? I just feel like I owe him. So much. I couldn't even work up the nerve to ask him why. I just... I couldn't..." Her words crumbled apart as she tried to hold back the tears.

Madeline understood immediately—something had gone wrong with Mitch.

Mitch had once saved Brenda. Ten years in prison just for her. That truth was always between them. Brenda always felt like she owed him, and because of that, she never quite felt she deserved to be loved back.