Chapter 3

"You should leave," Maddie said to Sean. "I'm going to officially be part of the Caldwell family tomorrow. We shouldn't meet again after this."

Sean looked like he still wanted to say something, but Maddie shoved him harshly.

He glared at me resentfully. Anyone who didn't know any better would probably think that I was some monster who'd abducted a woman against her own will instead.

Just as Sean was about to leave, I said slowly, "Stand there. Are you that poor that you have to steal my robe? Take that off!"

When I entered the house, I'd noticed that the two of them had been so desperate and passionate earlier that most of the clothes on the ground had been shredded into pieces.

Maddie was well aware of that. She stared at me incredulously.

"Benjamin! How could you humiliate other people like that? Are you seriously telling Sean to go out into the streets naked?"

"Humiliate him?" I echoed, finding it ridiculous. "Have you forgotten something, Maddie? We're not officially married yet. That means that this house doesn't belong to you yet either.

"You broke into private property and trespassed here in the middle of the night with your lover, touching and stealing my things without my permission. What, would you rather that we pay a visit to the police station instead?"

Maddie's face turned red with anger, but she wasn't able to retort.

Just then, Sean shakily loosened the belt of the robe, sounding weak and distressed as he said, "I'm sorry, Ben. I shouldn't have worn your robe. It's all my fault."

He then made a show of showing off the fresh marks and hickeys on his body while taking off the robe. It didn't take much to show just how hard they'd gone at it earlier.

Before I could say another word, Maddie shielded him behind her again and said, "That's enough, Benjamin Caldwell! Isn't it just a stupid robe? Must you drive him to his wits' end before you're finally happy? I'll pay for the robe! Happy now?"

After that, she pulled two hundred-dollar bills and slapped them on my face. The sides of the bills sliced into my cheek, leaving a fine, bloody line in its wake.

She then spoke again.

"I don't even love you. If it weren't for your family threatening and pressuring me into marrying you, I would never even have agreed to the marriage alliance!

"You're also only doing this for your grandmother, aren't you, Benjamin? If that's the case, then you have absolutely no right to interfere in my private matters!"

I glanced at the two crumply notes on the floor and smiled coldly.

She was right.

I had no right to interfere.

I met Sean's challenging stare and just faintly tugged my lips upward.

"Do whatever you please, then."

With that, I turned and left, driving home alone. I'd only just stepped in through the door when I received a text message from Maddie.

"Don't be late for the wedding tomorrow."

I knew that this was her way of giving in to me. She used to do this quite often in the past.

If she went to see Sean behind my back, she would purposely cook me dinner that day. Or if she left in the middle of lunch with my parents for Sean's sake, she would offer to pick me up from work that day.

She refused to humble herself or lower her pride to apologize, using these perfunctory actions to appease me instead.

My best friends who witnessed how Maddie and I got along once advised me to stay as far away from women like her as possible. And yet, I kept giving her second chances again and again.

I kept saying that Grandma was getting older, and her memory was also gradually deteriorating. At times, she wouldn't even recognize me, but she would still insist that Maddie was her granddaughter-in-law.

I didn't want to disappoint her, which was the only reason why I agreed to Mom and Dad "selling" me out to wed Maddie in the wedding alliance.

Still, there had been some sweet moments between the two of us as well. Back then, Maddie had actually been the first one to propose to me in front of the media and paparazzi, telling me that she was going to marry me no matter what.