Her Betrayal Made Me Choose Better

My eyes had already turned completely red.

I fought hard to hold myself together, refusing to explode.

Madelyn froze when she saw me like that. She cupped my face with her hands, forcing me to look at her.

She then spoke as if she were doing me a favor. "Fine. I'll come back every few days to keep you company, and I'll take care of Mason after that, okay?"

When I didn't respond, she let out a long, weary sigh.

"Samuel, this is the best I can do. Could you stop being unreasonable?"

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm.

"That's too troublesome. Just thinking about it exhausts me. Now that we've already broken up, you can just stay with him and your child. Whatever I do is none of your business anymore."

She grabbed my shoulder roughly, assuming I was just throwing a tantrum.

"Samuel, are you being serious right now?"

Not wanting to argue anymore, I turned toward my car.

All of a sudden, she shoved me hard. "Alright then. You're finally dropping your act and acting all high and mighty, huh?"

As I was out of it to begin with and didn't expect her to push me, I hit my head on the car door, and before I could steady myself, I stumbled and hit the side of the car.

Madelyn shot me an annoyed look before turning away.

At some point, Jackson appeared. He scolded her in mild reproach, "Sam's always been the golden boy. It's normal for him to have a temper. Can't you just cut him some slack?"

Scoffing, Madelyn casually placed a hand on Jackson's shoulder.

"I'm a person as well. Why should I cut him some slack? He was the one who pursued me in the first place. And now he's giving me attitude?"

Then she shot me a frosty glance before turning to Jackson with a gentle smile.

"You've always been better than him since you're both reliable and level-headed. If it were Samuel dealing with something like this, he'd have blown up ages ago with that temper of his. Just imagining it gives me a headache."

Watching them standing there talking so intimately made my stomach churn. Not wanting to care about them anymore, I got in my car and drove off.

My heart ached so badly that I struggled to catch my breath.

Right then, my phone rang. It was a call from Marissa Burke, Madelyn's mother.

"Sam, I already heard. It was wrong of Maddy to cancel your wedding. She even hid the fact that she had a child from all of us and only came clean when the child was already two. That child was just an accident.

"Maddy simply couldn't bring herself to abort it. I've been thinking, and I believe that as long as she still loves you, this shouldn't stop you two from getting married. Besides, Jack already said he won't fight you for her. You're still the man Maddy will marry. You're a man, Sam. Be the bigger person."

My throat closed up. When I finally spoke, my voice came out hoarse. "Madelyn and I are done, Marissa. We're no longer together."

When she heard that, her tone changed instantly. "I knew rich young men like you were all heartless. I was against your relationship from the start, for I was worried my daughter would suffer from being with you.

"Now that she's coming clean after making a mistake any soft-hearted woman would, you can't even forgive her?"

My grip on the steering wheel tightened until my knuckles turned white.

"You don't have to worry, Marissa. Your daughter has someone now. She and Jackson make quite the pair. I've already removed myself from the equation and won't be disturbing them again."

I ended the call before she could respond and hit the brakes, pulling over to the side of the road.

Breathing hard, I thought of how I'd traded a life of luxury for simplicity for the sake of Madelyn's fragile pride.

And when Madelyn finally agreed to be with me, she'd still mock me occasionally.

Every time it happened, I'd just nod with a smile. I had thought that if I just stayed by her side as an ordinary, caring man, she would eventually open her heart to me.

But at a family gathering once, she couldn't even hide her disdain for me for being plain-looking.

"I heard Maddy's dating a guy from a rich family. Where is he? Don't tell me it's that guy next to her."

"He looks so plain. There's no way he's rich. She must have just said that to look good in front of others."

As Madelyn's relatives laughed, her gaze toward me grew distant.

I sat in my car for a long while, dazed, before finally driving home.