"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.

I stared at Grandma's deathly pale face in horror, my eyes turning red at once.

"Hold on, Grandma… Just hold on… The ambulance is coming… I'll get you to the hospital…"

The ambulance arrived quickly. However, just as I was about to carry Grandma in, Maddie suddenly appeared with Sean in tow, rushing toward the ambulance.

"Wait, send us to the hospital first! You have to send us there first! Sean has a blood clotting disorder! He absolutely can't afford to get hurt!"

I was caught off guard when she shoved me aside, and I nearly collapsed to the ground due to my faltering strength.

However, Maddie didn't even spare me a single glance. She only looked at Sean, who had a tiny cut on his forehead.

"Grandma's old anyway. It doesn't matter whether she lives or not. But it's my and Sean's wedding today, and we absolutely must get through it!"

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Grandma watched you grow up. Are you seriously going to let her die without doing anything about it?"

Maddie didn't answer me. Instead, she turned around and barked orders at the paramedics to close the door and set off.

"What the hell are you still waiting for? I'm going to sue everybody here if anything happens to Sean and we don't manage to get married today!"

Sean, who was right next to her, grinned provocatively at me, mouthing the word "loser" in my face.

I watched helplessly as the ambulance closed its doors and left. The hatred in my heart was at its peak.

It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that Tom finally arrived to pick us up and rushed Grandma to the hospital.

However, I wasn't sure if she was even breathing anymore.

I didn't even dare to touch her, worried that I would just end up hurting her instead. My tears fell onto her arms as I said in a choked voice, "Grandma… We'll be at the hospital soon… Please just stay awake and don't go to sleep… You said that you wanted to watch me get married, didn't you?

"I'm so sorry, Grandma. I should have come along with you in the morning. I never should have let you out of my sight. Please, just hold on for a bit longer, alright?"

Just then, Grandma opened her eyes very slightly and reached up to pat me on the head. Her voice was softer than the whisper of a broken twig.

"I'm sorry, too, Benjy… I shouldn't have forced you into marrying someone you didn't like…"

"No, it's not like that, Grandma. You didn't do anything wrong. It's all my fault. I was too useless. I failed to protect you…"

However, I hadn't even managed to hold her hand when her right arm suddenly fell limply as she breathed her last and closed her eyes forever.

I froze as I watched her, unable to make another sound.

It wasn't until Tom called out to me that I finally snapped back to the present.

"We're here, Mr. Caldwell."

I got out numbly, watching as the medical personnel lifted Grandma onto a stretcher. The emergency doctor just checked Grandma's eyes before shaking his head at me.

"The patient is no longer showing any vital signs. I'm sorry for your loss."

If only we'd arrived just five minutes earlier…

If Maddie had never stolen that ambulance from us, Grandma would probably have still been alive.

I clenched my fists tightly, my eyes turning completely bloodshot.

Seconds later, my phone began vibrating in my pocket. It was a call from Maddie.

I answered the call and placed the phone to my ear. Her shrill voice sounded at once, reprimanding me as she yelled, "The wedding's postponed! You happy now? Fortunately for you, Sean's forehead injury isn't too bad.

"However, I will be staying with him at the hospital today. We'll only talk about getting the marriage certificate tomorrow.

"Right, I also told the ambulance to go back for you. Make sure you pay the fees as well."

"There's no need anymore," I said, interrupting her.

"Mark my words, Maddie Harrison. Harrison Group will never live to see the next sunrise again."