Chapter 4

Yet, I had told myself that I would end things with Maddie after the wedding. I just never thought that the end would happen so quickly.

The next day, I appeared at the wedding venue in my groom's suit, only to be stopped at the entrance by a group of bodyguards.

They pointed at a large poster by the door, and I turned to read it as instructed.

"Benjamin Caldwell and other mongrels are not allowed in."

I was stunned for a short moment. Then, I caught sight of Maddie's and Sean's photos in the wedding photo album.

I was so mad that I just laughed, pulling out my phone to call Maddie.

As soon as she picked up, I didn't wait for her to say a word and demanded straight away, "So, this is what you meant by giving me an explanation for everything?"

Her voice came through slowly.

"This wedding was supposed to be a show for your grandmother anyway. Don't worry. I've already had someone take her away.

"So, just let me fulfill one last wish to marry the man I love. I promise that I'll come with you to get our marriage certificate after the ceremony."

Then, she hung up on me.

Yet, my focus was entirely on the words she'd just said—that she'd already had someone take Grandma away.

Grandma was old and frail and literally clinging to life with medication and sheer will. She couldn't possibly withstand any more stress than necessary!

I was extremely worried and tried to rush into the hall to demand another explanation from her. However, the bodyguards wouldn't let me through, giving me no chance to get in at all. They even threw me down the steps afterward.

The sound of applause thundered from inside the hall.

Sean was dressed in a bespoke groom's suit as he looked down at me with utter contempt.

"What do you think you're doing, Ben? Some new sort of acrobatic trick? Don't you know that it's my big day today? How could you and your grandmother both behave so similarly and show up without even a wedding gift?"

I ignored his bullshit and scrambled to my feet, grabbing him by the collar. Just then, Maddie happened to run over to us in her wedding dress.

She was frowning hard as she shouted at me.

"Benjamin Caldwell! I dare you to lay a finger on him!"

I ignored her and just continued glaring at Sean.

"Where is my grandmother?"

Sean suddenly grinned slyly at me and grabbed me before tumbling down the stairs with me, pretending as though we were in a huge brawl and punching each other.

"Oh, that senile grandmother of yours? She refused to believe that I was the groom and insisted that I took her to see Maddie. So, I locked her up in the car by the roadside.

"Say, it's like, 102 degrees outside today, isn't it? Wanna bet that your precious grandma's already all dried up like a prune by the time you go find her now?"

I felt my heart leap into my throat. I let out a furious roar and punched him squarely in the face. Then, I scrambled to my feet and ran to the wedding entourage cars parked by the roadside.

I immediately caught sight of a frail, thin, familiar figure in the passenger seat of the first car. I pounded on the car window, trying to find a sharp tool to break through the glass.

"Grandma! Grandma, can you hear me?"

It was right in the middle of the day, and the windows and doors were tightly shut, creating an enclosed space inside. The temperature inside the car had to be a lot higher than it was outside.

That, combined with the lack of proper air ventilation, meant that for Grandma, whose health was already very fragile and delicate, every second her rescue was delayed was another second closer to death.

I couldn't care less anymore and raised my fist, smashing it through the windshield.

After about two dozen blows, my fist had practically gone numb, but I finally broke the glass. I tore at the blood-stained shards of glass and managed to unlock the car from the inside.

Then I carefully carried Grandma out of the car.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and she didn't respond to me at all.

At that moment, there was nothing more I wanted to do than tear Sean apart with my bare hands.