Love in the Eye of the Storm

Chapter 20

I watched the three videos Madeline had left behind.

The first one gutted me. Chelsea was sitting on my lap, and I was kissing her, angrily, carelessly. Around her neck was the necklace I had originally bought for Madeline. The one and only. But there was no love in that kiss. It wasn't passion. It was spite.

Earlier that night, Madeline had looked at me with nothing but disgust. I wanted to prove, to myself more than anyone, that I didn't need her. So when Chelsea climbed into my lap, I snapped. I kissed her out of pure frustration and shoved the necklace around her neck. Just to feel like I had the upper hand.

But that was all it was. A kiss. I never thought Chelsea would record it, let alone send it to Madeline. By then, Madeline was already seriously ill. Her faith in me had withered to a thread. Seeing that video… it must've destroyed what little she had left.

Then I played the second video.

Chelsea's voice came through: "Be gentle," followed by loud, fake moaning. It made my skin crawl. I never slept with Chelsea, not once. The fact that she'd fake something so intimate, so specific, just to make Madeline think I betrayed her, how do you even respond to that?

No wonder Madeline couldn't stand the thought of me being near Chelsea.

And then came the third video, the one that made my blood boil.

Chelsea was laughing, mocking Madeline, calling her a "dead woman walking." As if that wasn't vile enough, she told Madeline she was pregnant with my child. A complete lie.

That's when it hit me.

The day Madeline died, she tried to tell me something.

"You've already gotten Chelsea, "

She never finished that sentence. I'd gotten a call from Chelsea and rushed out of the room. I didn't even give Madeline a chance to explain.

If I had just stayed with her that day, if I had just listened, she wouldn't have died carrying that weight. I could've told her the truth. That there was never anything real between me and Chelsea. That I never touched her. That she meant nothing.

But life doesn't hand out second chances.

Now Madeline is gone, and she died thinking I was unfaithful. That I got another woman pregnant while she was wasting away in pain.

God, what have I done?

And the truth is, before all of this, we were happy, really happy.

I first met Chelsea months ago. Just a young girl who helped me once. That was it. Nothing more. One night at the club, she sat on my lap. Her eyes reminded me of Madeline when she was seventeen. I spaced out, just for a second. Then she kissed me. If Madeline hadn't walked in right then… I wouldn't have kissed her back.

But Madeline did walk in.

After I found success, money, power, I ended up surrounded by men who had mistresses and open affairs. Their women stayed smiling, clinging. My friends called me whipped because I only ever loved one woman, Madeline.

At first, I didn't care. She was my whole world. I would've done anything for her. But eventually, the teasing got to me. I started second-guessing myself. Was I spoiling her? Was I being too soft?

That night at the club, Madeline argued with me, right in front of everyone. She even threatened to leave me. I was humiliated. Furious. I decided to teach her a lesson by giving her the silent treatment. I wanted her to feel the fear of losing me. I wanted her to crawl back, apologize.

To drive the point home, I let Chelsea move into our villa. I thought it would make Madeline insecure enough to stop threatening to leave.

I didn't realize it would push her away for good.

I regret everything. After she died, I understood just how meaningless everything else was. My ego, my money, my pride, none of it mattered. I would've given it all up just to hold her one more time. But I couldn't even visit her grave. Tanya, her best friend, made sure of that. She knew Madeline wouldn't have wanted me there.

For a long time, I pretended she wasn't really gone. I told myself she'd walk through the door one day. But eventually, the truth set in. And when it did, the weight was unbearable. I wanted to follow her, but not yet.

Not until everyone who hurt her got what they deserved.

So I released all the videos. Everything Madeline left behind. Including the one Chelsea had sent her, that final blow. I made sure the world saw it.

People already hated me. Called me a cheater, a monster. They weren't wrong. I was a terrible husband. I didn't deserve her. I took the heat. I deserved it.

But Chelsea, Chelsea was the one the world really turned on.

People dug up everything about her. The cruelty, the lies. Her online persona shattered. Sponsors dropped her. Fans turned on her. She tried to salvage what she could, even faked a few more suicide attempts. But no one believed her anymore.

Her mother, Ms. Harris, once so proud of her daughter's "success," washed her hands of her. When Chelsea was expelled from school, Ms. Harris sold her, to an old bachelor, for fifteen thousand dollars. Used the money for her son's wedding.

At first, that man treated Chelsea well. But once he found out about her past, and the miscarriage, he turned violent. He beat her every day. Broke her down until she finally snapped.

She stabbed her mother to death.

They gave her the death penalty.

She earned it.

Everyone who hurt Madeline paid the price.

Everyone… except me.

I still owed a debt.

On the day Chelsea was executed, I swallowed a full bottle of sleeping pills and slit my wrist.

Madeline, I'm coming.

I'm ready to make it right.