NovelEnglish
Chapter 456 The Solace Family Cannot Force Me
Madeline had just gotten her period, putting her in intense pain from the cramps. Alexander had
accompanied her to the pharmacy to get some painkillers, but nothing seemed to be working.
“Hey, why are you guys here? Have you eaten?” Madeline asked Thomas weakly, but her eyes were
directed at Noah. She was slightly miffed at him for taking the kids out instead of hosting the
engagement party. It was already late in the afternoon and growing children should not be skipping
their meals.
“We just ate, Mommy, and we got some takeout for you,” Colton grabbed the paper bag that Noah was
holding onto and placed it on the space next to Madeline.
Madeline shook her head feebly. “I don’t feel like eating right now. Why don’t you guys follow Daddy
home first?”
“What are you doing here anyway?” Noah’s heart ached when he saw him in such a state. All he
wanted to do was take her into his arms and comfort her, but he knew that Madeline was distancing
himself from her right now. If he tried to force things between them, it would only make her more upset.
He still distinctly remembered the words she said to him during the car accident last night. He vowed
not to make decisions on her behalf anymore before checking in with her first.
“Something came up,” Madeline replied curtly. She did not know what was going on either, but the
three Solace siblings had requested for her to stay back to discuss something with Old Mr. Solace. She
could not say no to them, and truthfully, she was quite worried about Old Mr. Solace’s condition too.
Noah’s eyes flashed with cold anger for a second, and Madeline thought he was about to cause a
commotion and carry her off again. Instead, he just sat down by her side wordlessly and opened the
food packet. He scooped a spoonful of the soup and brought it close to her lips. Madeline was about to
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
insist she did not have an appetite, but her lips opened up on reflex. The soup was hot and savory,
warming up her tummy.
It was only after he fed her the spoonful of soup that Noah realized he might be pressuring Madeline
again. He cautiously glanced at her to gauge how she was feeling and was relieved to find her looking
at the bowl of soup eagerly. Happily, he fed her another spoonful of soup. Madeline was enjoying the
soup when she noticed Noah gazing at her tenderly, causing her to blush profusely and choke on her
soup.
“Are you alright?” Noah asked worriedly as he patted her back to help her breathe.
“I’m fine,” Madeline leaned a palm against Noah’s arm to support herself.
“Drink up slowly. No one’s fighting with you for the soup,” Noah’s voice was sweet and caring, almost
as if he was treating her like a child that needed to be coaxed. Madeline could feel the blush creeping
up against her cheeks again. She concentrated on drinking the soup, not daring to sneak another look
at Noah.
It could have been the soup, or the joy of seeing her children, but her stomach did not seem to be in so
much pain any longer. The three children watched as their parents reconciled and happily exchanged
looks. Cheekily, they made their way toward the door of the ward and peeked inside through the door
crack. They noticed Old Mr. Solace lying on the bed, while the three Solace brothers were kneeling by
the bed.
“Are the uncles in trouble?” Thomas wondered out loud. Wanting to hear their conversation, he leaned
too heavily against the door and lost his balance, causing him to hit his head against the door and
alerting the men inside the ward.
Old Mr. Solace turned his head only to find the three children at the door looking shifty-eyed and guilty.
His anger and frustration with his three grandsons disappeared in an instant. He looked at his great-
grandchildren lovingly, thinking to himself how sweet and adorable each one of them was.
“Get up. Call your sister in here,” Old Mr. Solace glared at his three grandsons who were still kneeling.
Rowan Solace eyed the ECG machine that his grandfather was hooked up to. Noticing most of his
vitals had stabilized, he decided that it was safe to bring Madeline in. However, when Noah wanted to
join Madeline, Rowan stopped him from coming into the ward. “Mr. Quincy, I’m afraid it’s not a good
time for Grandfather to see you right now.”
“I go where my wife goes,” Noah’s message was curt and direct. He never had a good impression of
the Solaces, and he refused to allow them to come in the way of his relationship with his wife.
“Why can’t Daddy go in?” Zeke whined, looking unhappy with Rowan.
“Because Grandpa has something private to talk to your Mommy about,” Rowan explained to Zeke
gently.
“We’re one family, there’s nothing private between us,” Zeke replied in earnest, pouting to make sure
Rowan knew she was not happy.
Thomas and Colton also made a show of standing by Noah’s side. If their Daddy was not allowed in,
they would not budge either.
Rowan shot Madeline a helpless look, silently pleading for her to step in. Based on Noah’s experience,
Madeline was more likely to be on Rowan’s side and chase him away, but he was not going anywhere
today.
“I’m not too close with Old Mr. Solace. I don’t think there’s anything my family should not be allowed to
know,” Madeline said calmly, much to Rowan’s surprise.
Noah could barely hide the shock from his face. He was still under the impression that Madeline was
still mad at him and would distance herself away from him as much as possible. The last thing he had
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmexpected her to do was confess their relationship to Rowan.
“Well… come in then,” Rowan muttered. Since Madeline had made herself clear, he could not possibly
hold Noah back.
Old Mr. Solace’s face lit up with joy and happiness the moment he saw Madeline and the children, but
his smile quickly disappeared when he noticed Noah Quincy trailing behind them. Rowan had
previously briefed him on Madeline and Rowan’s star-crossed relationship. In his eyes, Noah had
recklessly abandoned Madeline for another woman and almost caused her death. There was nothing
good to be said about a man like that. The princess of the Solace family could have any man she
desired, so there was no need to return to a sleazeball like him. Worse still, said sleazebag was
supposed to be engaged to his other granddaughter! Was he openly going after two women at the
same time?!
Noah could sense the old man’s misunderstanding from the hateful look on his face. “The man who got
engaged to Annalise Solace today was my cousin brother, Joseph Quincy. I’ve only ever had one wife,
and that woman is Madeline,” Noah explained himself before Madeline could say anything.
“That was not the arrangement I made with Gordon Quincy back then,” Old Mr. Solace raised a brow.
“Back then, you made an agreement with my grandfather that your granddaughter will be betrothed to
the heir of Quinton Corporation. Well, Joseph is one of the heirs of the company now, so the agreement
still stands,” Noah continued.
Old Mr. Solace stared at Noah with obvious displeasure in his eyes. “But you know the man Annalise
fancies is you!” he snapped/
“I’ve rejected Annalise’s advances many times now. If you think the man that your granddaughter
fancies should dump his wife and children just to marry your granddaughter, then I can only tell you…
the Solace family cannot force me into doing something like that,” there was a hint of challenge in
Noah’s voice.
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
