The Queen's Back (Mona and Maxwell) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12
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Mona smiled faintly. She definitely wasn’t going to mention how she’d invited Maxwell to share the bed with her twice last night. If she did. Jane would probably scold her for being too forward.
That afternoon, Mona used her planned meetup with Ava as a cover to take Barbara’s and Jeremy’s hair samples to a private hospital for a paternity test. Once she had the results, she planned to cause some real trouble for them.
The test results would take some time. After going through necessary procedures, Mona decided to hold off on heading home. She planned to meet Ava at a cafe, then do some shopping and pick up some nice clothes. After all, looking good might catch Maxwell’s eye a bit more. People do notice appearances, after all.
Mona waited for a while, but instead of Ava, she ran into Teddy-the jerk himself. The moment Teddy saw Mona, he was stunned. ‘Is this really the same Mona I know? She looks amazing today.’ He thought. Back when they were together, she always wore odd outfits and her hair was a mess.
As Teddy remembered how his father had just chewed him out earlier that day, anger surged inside him. He thought, ‘All I did was sleep with another woman, and Mona made it a huge deal! Now she’s even engaged to Maxwell. That’s a real blow to my pride.
“Mona, what a coincidence.” Teddy flashed his trademark charming smile, the kind that usually made girls swoon. Even though he was out of college, he still had that boy-next-door, heartthrob vibe. In her past life, Mona might have fallen for his smooth talk and good looks, but now, she just found him greasy and insincere.
“Mr. Powers, don’t call me that. My fiancé might get jealous if he hears you,” Mona said coolly
“Mona, I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance! I was drunk and mistook Barbara for you. You’re the only one care about, I swear!” Teddy pleaded, thinking she was just upset.
Teddy was convinced that everyone in Nathontown knew how much Mona adored him. Since high school, she had always been chasing after him, giving him the best of everything. He thought he’d just made a common mistake and that a little sweet talk would fix things.
The whole engagement with Maxwell? He believed it was just her way of getting back at him. He was absolutely sure of that.
“Didn’t you hear? I’m engaged to Maxwell now. So, what are you to me? Trying to be the third wheel?” Mona laughed. “If that’s the case, I’d be happy to make it news.”
She held up three fingers and said calmly, “I’m giving you three seconds to get out of here, or I’ll start shouting that there’s a guy here trying to be a homewrecker.”
“Mona, don’t be like this. I’m really sorry. I won’t ever do anything like that again,” Teddy said, reaching out to grab her hand.
Just then, Maxwell walked into the café. His gaze immediately found Mona in her light blue dress. But when he saw Teddy holding her hand, his mood darkened. Anger flashed across his face, and his hands clenched into fists. Maxwell marched over, silently watching them.
Feeling the icy tension, Mona quickly stood up and pointed at Teddy. “Shameless! You want to be the other man? Well, I wouldn’t even look your way.” Her words about Teddy being a’third wheel’ caught the attention of several people in the café.
Seeing Maxwell arrive, Mona abandoned all pretense and threw herself imo his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Maxwell, this third wheel is trying to steal your fiancée. What are we going to do about it?” she said with a playful pout.
Maxwell stiffened at the sudden hug, his breath catching as he felt her warmth. But he quickly got into character, saying, “Someone wants to play the third wheel with my fiancée? Looks like they need a lesson.”
He then instructed his assistant, Nigel, to make sure the Carter Group snatched a few more deals from the Powers Group. Mona couldn’t help but laugh. Maxwell definitely knew how to play along.
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15:17 Sat, Oct 19
Chapter 12
Teddy’s face went pale. With the Clem Group already canceling a contract with the Powers Group that morning and hist father’s furious reaction, he knew angering the Carter Group would spell disaster for their business.
“Mona, I was just joking! I’d never actually mess with you. I wish you and your fiancé all the best, Teddy said through gritted teeth. He thought, ‘Once Mona cools down and forgives me, I’ll make sure Maxwell gets what’s coming to him.
Teddy wondered how long Mona would stay mad this time. Back when they were together, they’d fight, but she’d always get over it in a few days and come back to him. What Teddy didn’t get was that Mona really liked him back then. But now, Mona hated him and probably wished he would just vanish. Why would she ever forgive him?
After Teddy slinked out of the café, Mona quickly pulled away from Maxwell, feeling how awkward the situation was.
“What a coincidence running into you here! I was actually just meeting my friend Ava. Bumping into that jerk was pure bad luck,” she said, trying to clarify so Maxwell wouldn’t get the wrong idea. But Maxwell had already guessed that Mona was just using him to get under Teddy’s skin.
“I had a meeting with a business partner nearby,” Maxwell said casually. Then, after a pause, he added, “By the way, Mona, in a few days, let’s go ahead and get the marriage license. My grandfather’s been pushing for it.”
He didn’t want to wait any longer. It wasn’t that he didn’t have faith in them; he just didn’t want to risk Mona being fooled by anyone else again.
Mona nodded with a sweet smile. “Sure, just text me the details on WhatsApp.” Despite being connected on the app for a while, they hadn’t exchanged many messages. Maxwell had only sent her his name, plain and simple: “Maxwell Carter”-not even a period at the end.
Maxwell was a bit surprised at how easily Mona agreed. Maybe she really didn’t mind the idea of being with him after all.
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