The smile on my face froze. Mason was a two-year-old boy who couldn't even pronounce words properly, yet he pointed at me and clearly called me a bad man.

Hearing that, Jackson glanced at me before pretending to chastise Mason.

"Mason Horton, how could you say that? He's your godfather! He's always cared about you!"

Madelyn quickly tightened her hold on Mason.

"Don't scold him, Jackson. He's just an innocent child. He doesn't know what he's saying. Samuel is my fiance. Of course, he won't take the words of a child to heart."

I sat there with a wry smile on my face, feeling like an intruder ruining the happiness of the family of three. Who was I to still call myself Madelyn's fiance in such a situation?

Besides, what kind of innocent child would point at someone and call them a bad man?

Mason Horton… Mason… It was only then that I realized Mason's name was probably made up of parts of their names.

Madelyn, on the other hand, didn't see a problem with any of this at all. She even tried to hand Mason to me.

I turned to avoid her. "Enough said. I'm leaving."

She grabbed my wrist.

"Samuel, you're free at the moment, aren't you? You might as well start getting used to being a father."

I sneered. "Madelyn, I might be a fool, but I'm not insane. Why should I help raise a child whom you had with my friend? The three of you might not be bothered by me, but I sure as hell can't stand the sight of you all."

Sensing the tension, Jackson tried to smooth things over with a smile.

"Sam, you know me. I've got no plans to remarry, and Mason's my responsibility. If you mind, Madelyn can come by less often. We definitely won't affect your marriage."

After he said that, he made a show of giving Madelyn a push, his eyes brimming with tenderness.

"You should go with your husband. It's already been two years anyway. I've gotten used to taking care of Mason alone."

As if Mason had sensed the tension, he started wailing in Madelyn's arms.

Madelyn immediately panicked. She frantically comforted Mason, wiping away his tears as she rocked him in her arms.

When he finally stopped crying, she handed him back to Jackson. Then, she turned on me with a glare.

"Samuel Lowe, that's enough! Mason had already been lacking the care of a mother because of you, and now you want me to abandon him? Is that it?

"Besides, you've also been caring for him all this time, and he's used to your care. You'd better accept him wholeheartedly, or you can forget about marrying me."

My breath hitched. Then I turned and walked away.

Mason had been lacking the care of a mother because of me?

I rushed downstairs, not wanting to stay another second. Opening the car door, I got in and prepared to leave.

But just when I tried to shut it, Madelyn appeared.

She wore a deep frown as she stopped me from closing the door.

"Samuel, when I first found out I was pregnant, I wanted to tell you about it. I never meant to hide it. But he's your best friend, and since he didn't want to remarry, I didn't want to make things ugly between us. I figured things would settle once Mason grew up."

I stared at her in disbelief, my eyes turning red.

"Well, too bad you let it slip. I might be willing to help Jackson babysit, but I will never accept my fiancee having another man's child."

When Madelyn saw my reddened eyes, she mocked, "You're the heir of Lowe Group. With all your money and pedigree, you can't even accept something this trivial? Compared to Jackson, you're pathetic.

"He might come from an ordinary family, but he's more of a man than you'll ever be."

I felt my nose sting when I heard that, the kind that came right before tears. "I'm done talking to you."

Madelyn yanked me out of the driver's seat before wrapping her arms around me.

"Come on, stop making a scene. I'll make it up to you. Just not right now."

I gave a hollow laugh, breaking free from her embrace.

After looking away for a while, I said faintly, "Forget it. Let's break up."

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.

Not long after, Madelyn called.

"Do you want to go for a drive? Jackson went to bed with Mason."

She had never taken the initiative to invite me out before. How generous of her to do so. Had she finally started feeling guilty and decided to make it up to me?

I had no patience for her nonsense and was about to end the call when I heard Jackson's voice.

"You're still fussing over that spoiled prince of yours? Aren't you tired? I, for one, am exhausted. Come to bed. Not only do I have to take care of Mason, but I also have to satisfy you."

Madelyn hurriedly said, "Never mind. We'll meet another time."

The call ended abruptly. Bitterness welled up inside me.

If only I'd never allowed those two to get so close, then maybe I wouldn't have ended up like this.

The wedding was canceled the next day. Madelyn held a class reunion, and I decided to go, thinking of it as a final goodbye to this failed relationship.

When my ex-classmates saw Jackson holding Mason while they were chatting, someone deliberately said, "Jackson's got a son? When did he get married? How come none of us knew?"

"Jackson, who's the mother? Why didn't you bring her here and introduce her to us?"

As the group seemed eager to make fun of Jackson, he looked troubled.

Madelyn merely shot me a cold glance, then took Mason from Jackson's arms. "I'm his mother."

In an instant, all eyes turned to me.

People around me started whispering.

"I heard Jackson and Madelyn used to be a couple, but something happened, and she ended up with Samuel instead. Judging by the timeline, Jackson's son should indeed be two years old."

"Wouldn't that mean that Samuel was the other man?"

I was shaking with anger, struggling to hold it in.

I stood to grab a drink, but Jackson deliberately stuck out his foot and tripped me.

I lost my balance and fell hard to the ground. The air instantly filled with cruel laughter.

A sharp, scorching pain tore through my knees.

"Is Samuel feeling so bad about being the other man that he is now kneeling to admit his wrongdoing?"

Madelyn merely glanced at me with disdain, allowing them to talk.

With clenched teeth, I glared at Jackson. If anyone had paid attention, they'd have seen he'd tripped me.

My rage finally boiled over. As I raised my hand to strike Jackson, Madelyn sprang up and slapped me across the face instead.

The room fell silent.

Instantly, I could taste blood at the corner of my lips, and a ringing filled my ears.

I stared at Madelyn coldly before slapping her hard.

"Madelyn Wilkinson, you and I are done."

Having said that, I ignored Madelyn's stunned expression, covered my bleeding mouth, and left in a hurry.