Chapter 2

When Sean first noticed that the Harrisons were going bankrupt, he had abandoned Maddie without a word and fled abroad without hesitation.

Meanwhile, I was the one who stayed by her side, ignoring all my shareholders' advice and pouring all my resources into her family's company to help revive it.

When Maddie's parents, Charlie Harrison and Esther Rowland, saw that their company was beginning to recover, they proposed a marriage alliance under the guise of strengthening ties.

However, I knew that they just wanted me to continue pumping money and resources into their company without expecting anything in return.

Also, my grandmother, Rose Hebert, had always been particularly fond of Maddie. She'd even declared that she would only ever allow me to marry Maddie because she didn't want anybody else to be her granddaughter-in-law.

I didn't really care about materialistic things like these, even if I was just doing it for the sake of fulfilling Grandma's dying wish.

At first, I thought that Maddie and I would naturally continue walking hand-in-hand through life after getting married. Yet, Sean's reappearance had ruined everything.

When that thought struck me, I said decisively, "You want to continue being engaged? Fine. But you're going to have to cut off all contact with him."

Ultimately, Maddie deleted all of Sean's contact information and removed him from all her social media accounts right in front of me. She also threw the two unsightly wedding rings into the trash can.

The sullen anger in my heart somewhat dissipated only after I watched Sean leave, looking resentful yet dejected. It wasn't until then that I told Tom to proceed with the wedding arrangements as usual.

After dinner, Maddie insisted on going to bed early to be in the best condition for the wedding the next day. I didn't think much about it and went to my bachelor party that my good friend had decided to throw for me.

Halfway through the party, I realized that my phone wouldn't stop vibrating in my pocket. I looked at it and realized that the bed alarm in our marital home was going off.

Back when I was furnishing the house, I decided to get the best of everything money could buy. The more expensive it was, the better I thought it would be, and I had bought this smart mattress at the salesman's recommendation.

The salesman told me that the mattress could record data based on the couple's sexual activity and frequency. It would even automatically sound the alarm if the frequency was abnormal.

However, Maddie and I weren't officially moving in until tomorrow. So, logically speaking, there shouldn't be anyone in that home right now.

I had a sudden bad feeling about this.

I ignored my friends who tried to get me to stay and drove back as quickly as possible.

As soon as I entered the place, I saw clothes scattered haphazardly across the living room floor, while lewd and intimate sounds came from the bedroom.

I kicked the bedroom door wide open.

Maddie got a huge scare and let out an ear-piercing scream, instinctively hiding behind Sean to hide her naked lower body.

It was so painfully obvious what they'd been doing.

However, Maddie quickly recovered from the initial shock and angrily demanded, "Have you been stalking me, Benjamin Caldwell?"

I held my phone up, the screen still displaying the red alarm bell, as I looked at her coldly.

"So, this is what you meant by getting your 'beauty sleep'?"

A flash of guilt appeared in her eyes. She wrapped her body in the sheets and stood up, trying to defend herself.

"Sean and I grew up together. We didn't just sleep together in the same bed while we were younger. We even showered together often. Also, I was just saying goodbye to him properly. I promise you that we won't see each other again after tonight."

While she spoke, Sean had already put on the robe that I had specifically gotten for myself to wear on my wedding night, walking up to me.

"True love is knowing when to let go, Ben. It's not suffocating control like this. Maddie hasn't even married you yet, and you're already tracking her every move like this. Surely that's not a very gentlemanly thing to do?"

I glanced at him and said disdainfully, "Sure, then I'll let go right now. Let's see if Maddie dares to leave with you."

As soon as I said that, he immediately went over and grabbed her arm.

"Didn't you just say earlier that you have absolutely no feelings for Benjamin? Then, won't you come with me?"

I was also curious about Maddie's decision. Would she choose love or money at a time like this?

After a long time, she finally shoved Sean's hand away.