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.

"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.

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.