The Boys: I Became The Soldier Boy

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Madelyn’s Manipulation [Bonus]

Chapter 20: Madelyn’s Manipulation

When Madelyn pushed open the door to Homelander’s room, he was sitting on the sofa. Seeing Madelyn enter, Homelander said coldly, "Get out."

"You haven’t come to see me for two days. You haven’t even looked at me." Madelyn’s voice drifted from the doorway, carrying a perfectly calibrated trace of plaintiveness.

She shut the door, her high heels clacking against the marble floor with an unhurried rhythm. It was her usual style—always in control, always composed. But tonight, there was something else lurking in her eyes: unease, and calculation. There was also anxiety, meticulously disguised as tenderness.

Homelander looked up, his expression somewhat complicated. He parted his lips but didn’t know what to say. Madelyn—his handler. The woman closest to the word "mother" in his entire life.

Right now, Madelyn stood before him, dressed in a sharply tailored dark blue suit. The neckline was wide, revealing a deep cleavage. Homelander’s eyes drifted toward it. He opened his mouth, his thoughts completely unreadable.

"Homelander?" Madelyn sat down next to him, her chest pressing close to him as she reached out to touch his face. "What’s wrong, Homelander?" frёewebηovel.cѳm

Homelander shifted half an inch to the side, evading her hand. The movement was minute, but Madelyn’s fingers froze in midair, as if hitting an invisible wall.

"You and Edgar," Homelander’s voice was much lower than usual. "And Vought International. You hurt Soldier Boy."

"No, no, my baby." Madelyn shook her head, her expression near-innocent in its sincerity. "At the time, I just thought Soldier Boy was a Supe-Terrorist. I didn’t know he was your father—I really didn’t. What happened to him, all those things... I had no idea."

"But when I went to check his files earlier," Homelander said, staring dead into her eyes, "you blocked me." His gaze was filled with fury; he was no longer looking at her cleavage.

The room fell dead silent, the low hum of the air conditioner suddenly becoming glaringly distinct. Madelyn looked at him, then suddenly made a move he hadn’t anticipated at all. She leaned in, opened her arms, and wrapped him in a tight embrace, pulling him completely against her.

Madelyn was actually incredibly tense. She had no idea if Homelander was still under her control, but she knew this was her only option. For Vought.

Shifting her position, Madelyn rested her chin against the top of his head, letting him press back against her chest. Homelander froze, his hands hanging limply at his sides, entirely unsure of where to put them.

"It’s all my fault," Madelyn whispered, her breath brushing against his ear, carrying a barely perceptible tremor. "I didn’t know anything back then, baby. If I’d known he was your father, I never would have done it. Forgive me, okay? My baby."

Homelander’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He glanced up at her chest again. He wanted to say something, but the days of accumulated fury and grievance inside his chest suddenly lost their outlet within Madelyn’s embrace. Her hand began to gently stroke his back.

"You haven’t come to see me for two days. Are you never coming back?" As Homelander’s head leaned closer, Madelyn pulled back slightly, cupping his face in her hands and gently stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. "I wait for you every single day. Do you know that? Every day, baby."

Homelander stared into her eyes, his lips parting slightly. Madelyn pressed her advantage.

"Trust me." Her fingers slid from the corner of his eye down to his cheek. "I’ve never lied to you, baby. All of those things were Edgar’s decisions. I was just executing them for him. I really didn’t know anything about your father back then." She leaned even closer, her forehead practically pressed against his. "Let me make it up to you, okay? Just like we used to. You can have Soldier Boy’s love, and you can still have... my love, can’t you?" ƒreewebɳovel.com

Homelander’s breathing grew ragged. He knew Madelyn might be lying. But he couldn’t resist it. His super-hearing could clearly pick up her heartbeat—it was abnormally fast. In the past, Madelyn would explain that it was racing out of passion, but there was another distinct possibility: she was terrified. Was she driven by passion right now, or was it fear? Homelander didn’t know.

Everything that had happened over the last few days—his father’s return, being denied the files, Black Noir’s death, those half-true conversations in the office—it all tangled together, tightening the psychological cord in his brain until it was on the verge of snapping. Yet right now, Madelyn’s warmth was real. Her breath was real. That familiar scent radiating from her was real.

"Don’t push me away," Madelyn whispered, her fingers sliding to the back of his neck, gently guiding his head down onto her shoulder. Homelander’s eyelids drooped, the resistance within his body eroding piece by piece.

But then, his father’s insult flashed through his mind—pussy. He didn’t want to be a pussy. He refused to be manipulated by anyone ever again; he refused to be anyone’s tool. He was Homelander, the most powerful Supe on the planet. Yet Madelyn’s arms were still wrapped securely around his neck. Homelander’s fists clenched tight.

An instant later, a deafening crash shattered the silence. The door was kicked open. The heavy metal slab ripped entirely off its hinges, flying across the room and slamming into the opposite wall with a thunderous roar. Madelyn shrieked, instantly releasing Homelander. Homelander bolted to his feet, his pupils violently dilating.

A tall, silent silhouette framed the doorway. Clad in his deep green suit, his shield wasn’t gripped in his hand but slung at his left side, its metallic edge catching the harsh corridor lighting and throwing off a cold glint. Benjamin—Soldier Boy—stood at the threshold, taking in the scene on the sofa.

He didn’t make a single aggressive movement. No roaring, no interrogation—he didn’t even step inside the room. He simply stood there, fixing Homelander with an utterly clinical glare. Benjamin had known Madelyn was up to something for a while now. When he passed by just moments ago, her getup reminded him of a washed-up old whore. It was fucking repulsive.

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A/N: Next goal: 150 Power Stones = 1 bonus Chapter!

And if you want to read ahead and find out what happens next right away, you can get up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on:

[email protected]/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).