Three Days Until Goodbye Chapter 06
Ten hours later, the plane touched down.
My best friend, Chelsea Chantrell, was waiting for me at arrivals.
She burst into tears the second she laid eyes on me.
“Mady, look how much weight you’ve lost,” she cried.
“I always warned you that a womanizer like Alexander would end up leaving you for someone else.”
I rubbed her back, having zero desire to hash it out.
“Let’s just drop it,” I said. “I moved here to enjoy myself.”
Chelsea nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. The second that ankle heals, I’m taking you to a bar so we can have some fun and forget that scumbag.”
We spent the ride to her house chatting and laughing.
Just leaving that draining relationship behind brought me this massive, instant wave of relief.
Once we got to Chelsea’s estate, she eagerly brought out some fresh-baked pastries.
We were just settling in when a loud ringtone shattered the quiet.
Chelsea checked her screen, looking confused.
“It’s an unsaved number, but it’s a US area code…”
A cold rush of anxiety hit me, and my head snapped up.
I read the digits flashing on her phone. It was Alexander.
Before I could even open my mouth to stop her, Chelsea answered the call.
I froze, my hands tightly gripping the armrests of my wheelchair.
He had to be insanely persistent to have tracked down my new location this fast.
And if he could pull that off, there was absolutely no way he didn’t know about Sabrina harassing me earlier.
Alexander’s deep, cold voice broke through my thoughts.
“Put Madyson on the phone.”
“You absolute bastard, why are you even calling?”
Chelsea was fiercely protective of me, and she didn’t care at all about his status as a wealthy heir in New York high society.
She cursed right at him.
“Chelsea, if you still care about the Chantrell family’s safety, don’t make me repeat myself.”
Alexander’s tone was completely deadpan.
But after five years with him, I knew he was livid.
Chelsea was innocent in all this, and I couldn’t let her and the rest of the Chantrells take the fall.
I took the phone from her, keeping my voice polite and distant.
“Mr. Broughton.”
“Madyson, do you honestly think you’re independent now? That my money isn’t enough to keep you here?”
Alexander mocked.
“Stop throwing a tantrum. If you leave me, who’s going to pay your bills?
“Come home right now before I lose my temper.”
The truth was, I could support myself.
I’d been foolish when I was younger, always wanting to be his equal, wanting to eventually become his wife.
I never touched the money on the bank cards he gave me every month.
In my head, refusing it made us equal partners.
He had probably forgotten that I was once the highly educated daughter of a wealthy family, a graduate of a prestigious university.
After my family went bankrupt, I’d just stayed home to cook for him, playing the part of his financially dependent mistress.
“Mr. Broughton, I’m turning thirty soon,” I interrupted softly.
“Ever since our company went under, my parents’ health has been failing. Their only wish is to see me in a secure marriage.
“I’m not throwing a tantrum. I just want to get married.”
Alexander fell silent.
The line went completely quiet.
Lately, whenever he came home, there was a faint red mark on his index finger.
When I’d dropped by his office unexpectedly the other day, he’d forgotten to take off his wedding ring.
The design matched the massive, ten-million-dollar diamond Sabrina wore.
He had secretly gotten engaged to Sabrina.
“You aren’t leaving me,” Alexander said, his voice actually shaking.
“The Dawes family owes me too much. You can’t just walk away and leave me taking a financial loss.”
I had expected this.
I knew he’d try to hold his money over my head.
“I’ve been running a side business from home all these years, and I make my own money,” I told him.
“The funds you used to pay off the Dawes family’s debts, along with those bank cards you gave me every month, are all sitting in the safe.
“Alexander, I don’t owe you anything anymore.”