The Queen's Back

"No, Mona, be good and drink it now." Maxwell directly handed the beetroot juice to Mona. He would always remember Mona's pale face from the pain. He did not want to see it again in his life. Meeting Maxwell's determined gaze, Mona said, "Alright then." After saying that, she drank it in one go and placed the glass in Maxwell's hand. She looked like she wanted to be praised and went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Maxwell met Mona's gaze and the corners of his lips curled up subconsciously.

After everything was done, Mona lay on the bed. Only then did she feel a swelling pain in her lower abdomen, but it was not very uncomfortable.

She thanked Maxwell in her heart for asking her to drink the glass of beetroot juice. Otherwise, she would probably feel worse.

Maxwell noticed that Mona had frowned subconsciously. He placed his big hand on Mona's lower abdomen and asked with concern, "Are you feeling very uncomfortable? Is this better?" The temperature of his palm on her stomach was hot, which relieved the swelling pain in her lower abdomen. Mona snuggled into Maxwell's arms. His body was hot. To Mona, this was exactly what she needed. "Actually, it's not very uncomfortable this time, but it's comfortable to have your hand on my stomach." Maxwell said, "I'm glad you're comfortable. I'll leave my hand on your stomach then. Now go to sleep. Do you wantto give you a day off tomorrow?" Mona shook her head and rejected Maxwell's suggestion.

The Design Competition between cities would begin in a few months. The venue of this competition was set at Noretin. Mona hadn't completed her design yet. She still had to produce it later, so twas a little tight.

This time, the Design Competition in Noretin was even more solemn than that in Nathontown. There were a total of three competitions. The first was a free play competition, and the other two were on-the-spot competitions to test the designers' impromptu performance. Maxwell said, "Mona, letknow if you feel uncomfortable. Don't hold it in." Mona nestled in Maxwell's arms and nodded. Sleepiness hit her and she slowly closed her eyes.

Maxwell left a kiss on Mona's forehead before falling asleep with Mona.

The next morning, the morning sun shone on the big bed. Mona moved her hand and opened her eyes in confusion to look at the time.

When it was tto get up, Mona sat up, put on her clothes, and washed up.

Perhaps it was because she had drunk beetroot juice yesterday, or perhaps it was because Maxwell had put his hand on her stomach for the entire night, in any case, after Mona woke up this morning, she did not have the sbackache as before.

Mona's tin the company had been pleasant for the past few days. Without Barbara around, she was in an exceptionally good mood. She even had a lot of inspiration for the design drafts.

On Saturday, Barbara could be discharged. On the day she was discharged, Mona also went to the hospital to pick her up.

Bernard had bought an apartment near the Clem family's residence for Barbara. He had already gotten someone to move Barbara's things over in advance.

Along the way, Barbara was quiet. All along, Bernard and Jane had not mentioned letting her return to the Clem family's residence. She had a vague guess that she had not achieved her goal.

As soon as she saw that Bernard had brought her to an unfamiliar place, Barbara knew what Bernard meant.

Mona was the first to praise, "Grandpa, the apartment you prepared for Barbara looks pretty good." It was indeed not bad. Bernard was afraid that Barbara would feel upset that she was not allowed to return to the Clem family's residence. Hence, he specially bought the best apartment near the Clem family's residence and allocated servants and a driver.

Barbara looked at the apartment in front of her. It looked alright, but compared to the Clem family's residence, it was still not as good. After all, the Clem family's residence was not only a place to live but also a symbol of status. "Grandpa, am I not allowed to live with you?" Barbara asked, feeling aggrieved.

"Well..." Bernard felt sorry for Barbara. He did not know how to reject Barbara when she asked that directly.

"Barbara, look at what you're saying. You're not young anymore. You can move out and live alone. Don't tellyou still have to pester Grandpa and Grandma every day? That won't be good. Moreover, all the people in our circle have moved out and lived alone. If you keep pestering Grandpa and Grandma, you'll be laughed at," Mona said bluntly.

It was true that people of their age in their circle had moved out, but they usually went honce a week, just like Maxwell. However, the Clem family did not require this of Barbara.

"Yes, yes, yes. What Mona said makes sense. You're not young anymore. You're old enough to get married. If you have someone you like, don't forget to tell me," Bernard said.

Bernard did not have a choice. Between Mona and Barbara, he would subconsciously be biased towards Mona. Since Mona was unwilling to let Barbara return to the Clem family's residence, he had no choice but to agree.

"Grandpa, I'm still young. It's still too early forto get married. Let's not talk about it anymore. I'm going to check out the apartment you prepared for me," Barbara saidmischievously. After saying that, she walked into the apartment like a child.

Mona looked at Barbara's back and felt that Barbara's acting skills were really good. However, she won this round. In the end, Barbara did not return to the Clem family's residence.

The incident of Barbara's suicide gradually cto an end, and Mona's days went on as usual.

However, Mona still met Barbara frequently in the company. She and Maxwell planned to transfer Barbara to the branch company in the nof reward after the Design Competition in Noretin was over.

One day, after Mona got off work, she waited for Maxwell to pick her up at the company as usual. After waiting for a long time, Maxwell did not come.

About half an hour later, Mona was getting anxious. She was vaguely worried and was about to pick up her phone to call Maxwell.

At this moment, she received Maxwell's Whatmessage.

[Honey, I'm really sorry. I can't pick you up tonight. Lasked Nigel to pick you up. Something happened to Bud.

I have to rush over.] When Mona saw Maxwell's message, she calmed down a little. She thought that something had happened to Maxwell. She was glad that he was fine. Mona texted: [It's okay. Cback early after you're done.] After Mona put away her phone, she soon saw Nigel rushing over. She was sent hby Nigel.

On the way, Mona thought of Maxwell mentioning Bud. She could not help but think of Bud's girlfriend, Chelly.

Maxwell had asked Nigel to investigate Chelly, but there had been no news.

"Nigel, Maxwell asked you to investigate Chelly. Is there any progress now?" Mona asked subconsciously.

Nigel tightened his grip on the steering wheel and said, "Mrs. Carter, there's still no news from my subordinates. I'll tell you when there's news."

During this period of time, he had om been helping Maxwell with the company's matters. He had even forgotten to urge his subordinates about Chelly's matter. "Alright, sorry to trouble you, Nigel," Mona said.

When Mona returned home, it was past ten at night. She had already finished dinner, but Maxwell had not returned yet. Mona could not help but wonder what had happened to Bud. X