The Queen's Back

It was very quiet outside. The thunder and rain had stopped. The lights of the houses gradually faded as midnight fell, and soon, the city was completely enveloped in darkness. The Noretin Design Competition had ended, and the winners had been chosen. Unfortunately, Mona was accused of plagiarism.

Mona looked outside and rested her head on Maxwell's shoulder.

She sat quietly for a long time that night, thinking a lot about the incident. She wanted to prove her innocence and make Molly pay for what the latter had done. Molly was the one who had plagiarized.

But Mona didn't seem to know what to do and couldn't come up with a fix. Who would believe what she said?

As Mona dwelled in her thoughts, Maxwell sat quietly by her side, lending her a shoulder and offering warmth.

Mona finally couldn't take the doziness anymore, and her eyes slowly closed.

After quite some time, Maxwell gently carried her in his arms and quietly placed her on the big bed. After covering her with the blanket, he walked out of the bedroom.

He called Nigel right after he closed the door.

Nigel had been waiting for Maxwell's call. When it finally came, he said, "Mr. Carter, I've found out that there's a story between Molly and the Carter family.

"Her family is related to the Reed family who are overseas, and she's the illegitimate daughter of Lydia's uncle. She takes her mother's surname and has been raised by Danielle all these years." Nigel passed the message he received verbatim.

Just as Nigel was about to continue, Maxwell interrupted him. "Nigel, is your brain under shock or what? What were my instructions? I told you to look for evidence of Molly stealing Mona's design, not Molly's background." Maxwell felt like slapping Nigel. 'Nigel's an absolute idiot. After working with me for so many years, he still couldn't understand fully what I was trying to say,' he thought.

After hanging up, Maxwell saw the WhatsApp message from Brendan.

[I'll look for Danielle. After gaining her trust, the tables will be turned for sure. Also, Danielle will attend a private gathering in Yosneosiland. The invitation letter is with the hotel reception.]

Regardless of the reason or plan, Brendan provided Maxwell with solutions. Maxwell replied: [Many thanks.]

After Maxwell returned to the bed, Mona leaned into his arms. Her fair and smooth hands clasped Maxwell's silk pajamas tightly.

Maxwell slowly drew out his pajamas from Mona's palm and replaced it with his pinky.

In the night, Maxwell's palm gently stroked Mona's soft hair and said in a deep voice, "Mona, it will pass. This is the darkness just before the dawn. In the future, your design will be admired by a lot of people." Maxwell would support Mona and stay by her side to help her overcome the obstacles along the way.

The heavy rain in Noretin cleared the dust in the air. Golden sun rays shone through the heavy window screen. A new day had arrived.

On the big bed, Mona slowly opened her eyes. Maxwell was no longer there. She got up, put on the clothes that he had prepared, went to the bathroom, and washed up.

The toothpaste was already squeezed onto her toothbrush. Even the face towel had been pulled out and arranged neatly. Mona finally let out a faint smile.

With Maxwell around, she didn't feel so sad anymore since being falsely incriminated for plagiarism.

When she got out of the bathroom, she saw Maxwell walking in with some paper lunch boxes. Their eyes met.

After Maxwell placed the food on the dining table, he pulled Mona by the hand and led her to a seat. "Well, since you, my dearest wife, haven't eaten the breakfasts I make for a

few days, you must miss it adot. Do me a favor and try them.

"We have croissants, honeyed millet porridge, grilled sausages, and peach strudels. Mrs. Carter, take a look at the spread. What tickles your fancy?" Maxwell took out everything from the lunch boxes and placed them on the dining table.

Mona looked at the delicious food

on the dining table and was

especially touched. 'Just making croissants requires a lot of time. Moreover, the millet porridge needed to be slow-cooked. Maxwell must've woken up really early to make me breakfast.'

"I want to eat all of them," Mona said gratefully.

"Alright, Mrs. Carter. That's what we're going to do," Maxwell said.

The two of them had a wonderful breakfast. No one mentioned what happened last night.

"Mona, did I not tell you when I fell in love with you and why?" After the two of them finished breakfast, Maxwell left the plates and cutleries on the table.

He pulled Mona to the sofa next to the dining table and sat her beside him. Maxwell seemed to have repeated this action thousands of times. It was all too smooth. Mona shook her head. "Nope."

She wanted to know, but she had never found the right opportunity to ask.

"Then do I have the time now to tell Mrs. Carter a short story?"

Mona looked up. Maxwell's amber eyes were clear and pure, reflecting her face. "Umhmm." Mona nodded.

It wasn't in high school when the two of them first met. Instead, it was not long after Mona went to kindergarten.

Emily was a person who liked to live life in different places, especially in the fields. One day, she took Mona to a small village, and that was where Maxwell lived.

"Back then, before the Carter family found me, I lived in a village. I couldn't even eat my fill, let alone go to school. Every day, I was boycotted by the children in the village and they threw stones at me. "They mocked me for being an illegitimate child and that I had no father. Being alone, I couldn't fight them."

Every time Maxwell thought about those days, he felt that he wasn't worthy of Mona. He came from poverty, unlike Mona, who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and was doted on by others.

He looked at the Mona's calm face beside him and felt that he was dreaming. He had married Mona just like that.

After looking at her for a long time, he hugged her and continued to lie lazily with a smile on his lips.

"Maxwell..."

Mona called out softly. She had heard about Maxwell's childhood from others. She knew that he had a tough one, but she didn't expect it to be so miserable.

'If I had been reborn to an earlier age and knew that Maxwell had such an unpleasant childhood, I would've asked my grandparents to take Maxwell into the Clem family so that no one could bully him.' Mona thought. "Mona, don't be sad. It's all in the past. Now that I have you, I'm very happy. Let me continue my story."

If Maxwell wasn't sure that Mona loved him, he wouldn't have the courage to say this in front of Mona.

It was a secret buried deep in his heart, a scar he wanted to hide.

"This continued for a long time until one day, my mother abandoned me and left that small village. I couldn't find her, no matter what. Sometime after that, I couldn't take it anymore. I walked to the river alone. Mona, did you know? The rivers in the village were very deep."