The Queen's Back

Quinn nodded hastily, willing to agree with anything Teddy said. After all, she felt a little guilty for leaving him behind the previous night.

Once that matter was cleared up, Quinn returned to her usual role as Teddy's lover, eagerly cutting fruit and feeding him The atmosphere between them became peaceful again. Meanwhile, Ava, after leaving the hospital, was eager to meet up with Mona. Ever since Mona and Maxwell had shown up late at night to visit her, she had been bursting with questions.

When Mona received Ava's call, she was still in bed, enjoying a rare weekend morning to sleep in. The interruption, so early in the morning, was not welcomed.

"Ava, this better be important, or I swear I'm going to break your head," Mona grumbled as she answered the call.

Ava wasn't fazed by Mona's grumpy tone. Glancing at her phone, she realized it wasn't even eight o'clock yet, a time she usually spent sleeping in as well. "It's definitely important. Get up, get dressed, and meet me at our usual spot," she insisted. "Why can't it wait until I wake up? You're disturbing my peaceful morning, you know?" Mona muttered while reluctantly getting out of bed.

"It's important! Hurry, I'll be waiting. Ava replied before hanging up,

Thinking it might be about Soren bothering Ava again, Mona quickly threw on her clothes and rushed downstairs.

As she reached the bottom, she made eye contact with Maxwell, who was sitting in the dining room having breakfast. "Ava needs me for something. I'm heading out," she explained.

She was justifying why she had woken up so early, especially after she had confidently declared the day before that she wouldn't get out of bed before ten and even asked him to keep the noise down when waking her up

"Alright, but have some breakfast first. Drive carefully and call me if you need anything." Maxwell said.

Mona gave him an "OK" gesture, gulped down a bit of milk, grabbed a piece of toast, and waved as she headed out the door. Her mind was too preoccupied with whether or not Soren was still bothering Ava to sit down for a proper meal.

At their regular coffee shop, Mona hurried over to their usual spot. Ava was already there. As soon as Mona sat down, she asked, "What's going on? Is Soren giving you trouble again?

Ava shook her head. "No, I've practically forgotten about him. I wanted to ask you about something else. Something about

you."

Relieved that it wasn't about Soren, Mona relaxed. "About me? What do you mean?"

Ava straightened up, her expression serious. "What's going on between you and Maxwell?"

Mona rolled her eyes. "What do you mean? We're married"

"I know that, but the other night, when you both came to see me I saw you two holding hands. So, are you two really together? Like, for real? Is it because of love?" Ava asked, sounding excited.

In Ava's eyes, Maxwell was a far better option than Teddy. At least Maxwell didn't have lovers' or close female friends, and he wasn't sleeping around with other women. That alone made him leagues better than Teddy.

Thinking about the conversation they'd had at the hospital, Mona shyly nodded. "Yeah, we're really together. He's so much better than Teddy ever was. I don't even know what I was thinking, wasting all those years on someone like him. Looking back, I feel like I was such a fool"

"That's great! Honestly, Maxwell is better than Teddy in every way. But tell me. Have you two... you gleaming with curiosity.

know. Ava asked, eyesContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Mona knew exactly what Ava was implying and quickly shut her down. "Stop your wild imagination. No, we haven't. Maxwell. isn't capable."

The thought had been bothering Mona for a while now, and finally sharing it felt like a huge weight off her chest,

Ava, unable to believe her ears, slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "What do you mean Maxwell isn't capable?"

She looked utterly shocked. Maxwell didn't seem like the kind of man who had any issues in that department. He looked like the exact opposite, in fact.

Seeing Ava's exaggerated reaction, Mona rushed over to cover her mouth, gesturing for her to quiet down. "Why are you so loud! Keep it down!"

Once Ava nodded in acknowledgment, Mona slowly removed her hand, still glancing nervously around to make sure no one else had heard.

Ava, now quieter but still in disbelief, asked, "How do you know that? Did Maxwell tell you himself? If he's aware of it, why would he marry you and deprive you of happiness?"

In Ava's mind, she was already mentally criticizing Maxwell. Ava thought, 'How could he selfishly tie Mona down if he couldn't fulfill her needs? Teddy is looking better by comparison, at least in that aspect

Mona shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. "No, he didn't tell me. I heard it from Gordon. And I've tried to you know, test things a couple of times, but he just doesn't seem interested. But we love each other, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

It didn't matter to Mona if Maxwell was capable or not. Even if he lost an arm or a leg, she would still stand by him. Ava, still skeptical, asked, "How exactly did you 'test' him? Don't tell me you stripped down and waited for him in bed?"

She never expected that Mona would be so open. Back when Mona was with Teddy, even holding hands would make her

blush

Mona blushed deeply. "Of course not! I'm not that bold."

She then explained the couple of attempts she had made to subtly initiate something, leaving her thoroughly embarrassed. If anyone but Ava were sitting across from her, she'd have wanted to hide.

After listening to Mona's story, Ava nodded thoughtfully. "Well, that doesn't prove Maxwell is incapable. If you're too shy to bring it up with him, you could try testing him again. I don't think your man has a problem."

Mona, intrigued, asked, "How should I try? Any suggestions?"

Mona was far too embarrassed to bring up such a topic herself. The efforts she'd already made had taken all her courage, and she certainly wasn't going to just strip down and wait in bed for Maxwell to make a move. If he truly wasn't capable, that would just make things incredibly awkward.