"Kitty!"
Tinsley shrieked, not expecting her youngest to be such a menace.
"Which drama did I miss?"
In came a very drunk Madison, dropping her designer Louis Vuitton bag on the tiled floor and making her way towards the dining hall.
Kian looked over at Tinsley and Shawn could not hold back their smile. He was glad for that entry.
His eyes interlocked with Della and even she could not be more thankful. In evenings like the ones they were having right then, interruptions by Madison Maria were always welcomed.
Ava finished her dessert quickly and ran upstairs, not wanting to be involved in the drama.
And Kitty got the golden opportunity to sneak her way out of the food and touch her father's meal.
Maples, Della and Shawn were the only ones who would have fun watching it unfold.
Beth was quick to ask the dinner to be taken away as Tinsley walked up to Madison before she stumbled and fell flat on her face as she walked funnily.
"Madison..."
"Hey! Tin."
She waved at her as Tinsley held her and right at that very moment, John came, sharing an apologetic look with Kian.
"Madison, what is this? I leave for one minute and you speed run to here?"
John held her wrist turning his wife around to make her face him.
"Deluka's dinner?"
Kian asked. John nodded. Tinsley and he had decided to skip it because of the Friday night dinner they had.
"So what was I supposed to do? Wait till you are done giving me the silent treatment?"
Madison retorted back, trying to pull away her wrist from her husband's hold. He only tightened his grasp.
"He does not talk to me."
She complained about it to Tinsley, looking at her friend and the latter could understand how it must have felt.
She had told me how things were not going well with her and John to Tinsley. And it was last week.
"Come on... let's go. Enough for tonight."
John tried to take her away with him but she resisted him with all her might.
Their relationship was not perfect it had been established a long time ago.
With three kids and juggling between work and family life, it was a bit too much sometimes to handle things.
But that was something they had both realized and made efforts to work on it together.
Madison was not going to be a stay-at-home mother or wife and he had accepted her just like that.
With her airline company and his business, they barely made it like Kian and Tinsley. All the three kids had their nanny to look after them.
"I'm not going with you."
Madison struggled to get out of his hold. Kian signalled John to let go and calm down and he did exactly that.
"I can't do this. You are too much."
John let out in frustration. And it was something that he had told the last time too and she would break down just like the previous time.
And Tinsley would come forward to console her, walking her towards the living room.
"Then why did you marry me if I'm too much?"
She followed John who was walking away with Kian to his study. Tinsley tried to keep up but of course, Madison had a pace that outrun her.
"You cool down and then we leave."
John said, turning around, keeping a strict eye. It did not make Madison faze out in any way and in fact, she decided to drop a bomb.
"I'm pregnant."
"What?"
John could not believe what he was hearing and watched his wife's eyes waiting for her to flutter them so that he could tell if she was being serious or not.
"I said I'm pregnant."
She stood her ground and John went into a static mode. Kian looked over at Tinsley who nodded at him confirming the news.
She had thought Madison would have told her husband already but guessed she had not and did it here.
"But you...you have been drinking..."
John was very confused. Madison shook her head and said that it was not alcoholic. She knew when to stop drinking.
"So you were..."
"Yes! You chose not to talk to me about missing Theo's parent's teacher meeting that I had promised to be there...the same day I was thinking of dropping the news."
She looked dejected. John felt bad for treating her like that.
"Theo was so sad...I just could not hold back, Madison...you know how I feel about the boys and when they are sad."
John tried to explain his position but of course, that was not an excuse for how he made his wife feel.
"I'm sorry..."
He pulled her in for a hug and she did not resist. Tinsley walked back to where her husband was standing.
He wrapped his arms around her thanking God that they did not have such a complicated and complex relationship even though they had a fair share of difficulties that they had to deal with before getting to where they were right then.
The decision was there to keep fighting or to just leave when things like that happened but the love they had for each other made them continue to win over these complexities.
"Let's get home now."
John offered and she did not protest about it as she followed him. They bid Tinsley and Kian, including Beth goodbye for the night and for the menace they caused.
"I could only wonder how those two make it work."
Beth mumbled watching them go. Tinsley smiled at that.
"When you love, you fight for it."
The simple words that came out of her mouth made so much impact on Della that she could not help but think over everything that had happened so far.
Indeed if you love, so you fight...
She looks over at Shawn...
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