Chapter 20: Madelyn’s Manipulation
When Madelyn pushed open the door to Holander’s room, he was sitting on the sofa. Seeing Madelyn enter, Holander said coldly, "Get out."
"You haven’t co to see for two days. You haven’t even looked at ." Madelyn’s voice drifted from the doorway, carrying a perfectly calibrated trace of plaintiveness.
She shut the door, her high heels clacking against the marble floor with an unhurried rhythm. It was her usual style—always in control, always composed. But tonight, there was sothing else lurking in her eyes: unease, and calculation. There was also anxiety, ticulously disguised as tenderness.
Holander looked up, his expression sowhat complicated. He parted his lips but didn’t know what to say. Madelyn—his handler. The woman closest to the word "mother" in his entire life.
Right now, Madelyn stood before him, dressed in a sharply tailored dark blue suit. The neckline was wide, revealing a deep cleavage. Holander’s eyes drifted toward it. He opened his mouth, his thoughts completely unreadable.
"Holander?" Madelyn sat down next to him, her chest pressing close to him as she reached out to touch his face. "What’s wrong, Holander?"
Holander shifted half an inch to the side, evading her hand. The movent was minute, but Madelyn’s fingers froze in midair, as if hitting an invisible wall.
"You and Edgar," Holander’s voice was much lower than usual. "And Vought International. You hurt Soldier Boy."
"No, no, my baby." Madelyn shook her head, her expression near-innocent in its sincerity. "At the ti, I just thought Soldier Boy was a Supe-Terrorist. I didn’t know he was your father—I really didn’t. What happened to him, all those things... I had no idea."
"But when I went to check his files earlier," Holander said, staring dead into her eyes, "you blocked ." His gaze was filled with fury; he was no longer looking at her cleavage.
The room fell dead silent, the low hum of the air conditioner suddenly becoming glaringly distinct. Madelyn looked at him, then suddenly made a move he hadn’t anticipated at all. She leaned in, opened her arms, and wrapped him in a tight embrace, pulling him completely against her.
Madelyn was actually incredibly tense. She had no idea if Holander was still under her control, but she knew this was her only option. For Vought.
Shifting her position, Madelyn rested her chin against the top of his head, letting him press back against her chest. Holander froze, his hands hanging limply at his sides, entirely unsure of where to put them.
"It’s all my fault," Madelyn whispered, her breath brushing against his ear, carrying a barely perceptible tremor. "I didn’t know anything back then, baby. If I’d known he was your father, I never would have done it. Forgive , okay? My baby."
Holander’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He glanced up at her chest again. He wanted to say sothing, but the days of accumulated fury and grievance inside his chest suddenly lost their outlet within Madelyn’s embrace. Her hand began to gently stroke his back.
"You haven’t co to see for two days. Are you never coming back?" As Holander’s head leaned closer, Madelyn pulled back slightly, cupping his face in her hands and gently stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "I wait for you every single day. Do you know that? Every day, baby."
Holander stared into her eyes, his lips parting slightly. Madelyn pressed her advantage.
"Trust ." Her fingers slid from the corner of his eye down to his cheek. "I’ve never lied to you, baby. All of those things were Edgar’s decisions. I was just executing them for him. I really didn’t know anything about your father back then." She leaned even closer, her forehead practically pressed against his. "Let make it up to you, okay? Just like we used to. You can have Soldier Boy’s love, and you can still have... my love, can’t you?"
Holander’s breathing grew ragged. He knew Madelyn might be lying. But he couldn’t resist it. His super-hearing could clearly pick up her heartbeat—it was abnormally fast. In the past, Madelyn would explain that it was racing out of passion, but there was another distinct possibility: she was terrified. Was she driven by passion right now, or was it fear? Holander didn’t know.
Everything that had happened over the last few days—his father’s return, being denied the files, Black Noir’s death, those half-true conversations in the office—it all tangled together, tightening the psychological cord in his brain until it was on the verge of snapping. Yet right now, Madelyn’s warmth was real. Her breath was real. That familiar scent radiating from her was real.
"Don’t push away," Madelyn whispered, her fingers sliding to the back of his neck, gently guiding his head down onto her shoulder. Holander’s eyelids drooped, the resistance within his body eroding piece by piece.
But then, his father’s insult flashed through his mind—pussy. He didn’t want to be a pussy. He refused to be manipulated by anyone ever again; he refused to be anyone’s tool. He was Holander, the most powerful Supe on the planet. Yet Madelyn’s arms were still wrapped securely around his neck. Holander’s fists clenched tight.
An instant later, a deafening crash shattered the silence. The door was kicked open. The heavy tal slab ripped entirely off its hinges, flying across the room and slamming into the opposite wall with a thunderous roar. Madelyn shrieked, instantly releasing Holander. Holander bolted to his feet, his pupils violently dilating.
A tall, silent silhouette frad the doorway. Clad in his deep green suit, his shield wasn’t gripped in his hand but slung at his left side, its tallic edge catching the harsh corridor lighting and throwing off a cold glint. Benjamin—Soldier Boy—stood at the threshold, taking in the scene on the sofa.
He didn’t make a single aggressive movent. No roaring, no interrogation—he didn’t even step inside the room. He simply stood there, fixing Holander with an utterly clinical glare. Benjamin had known Madelyn was up to sothing for a while now. When he passed by just monts ago, her getup reminded him of a washed-up old whore. It was fucking repulsive.
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A/N: Next goal: 150 Power Stones = 1 bonus Chapter!
And if you want to read ahead and find out what happens next right away, you can get up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on:
/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).
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