Chapter 1342 Letting Go (Fifteen)

• Because of Madison Sawyer’s departure, the pain Chadwick Fullner had kept buried finally blew wide open in that instant. He could picture exactly how Madison had looked—smiling through tears, even acting cute as she spoke to her father. So much heartbreak, and all of it shoved down where no one could see.
• “I really don’t get it. I honestly don’t…” his father repeated, shaking his head, dazed. “You weren’t indifferent to her. Back then, her family’s troubles were your troubles. And Madison really loved you… anyone could see that. So why the hell did it end like this? I thought around New Year’s, if not a wedding, at least you’d settle things. Now she tells me she’s leaving, won’t even say where. She even comforted me—said she was glad to have met us, said there were two more people in this world who cared for her… Said she’d be fine, that she saw me as a father in her heart… Everything sounded fine, all fine—so how did it all fall apart in a heartbeat?”
• “Chad, I never expected you to be rich or powerful. I just wanted you to live with a clear conscience. But at this point—can you honestly say you’ve done right by Madison?” his father said, and tears ran down his lined face. “She’s such a good girl. From Hudsontown to Sokchov, that’s thousands of miles, and she came again and again… When she tried to end her life, I thought, our family owes her a debt we can never repay. As long as she lived, no matter what she became, you’d marry her, and our family would spend a lifetime paying it back… And it’s not just a debt… You know better than I do how she treated you, and how she treated our family. Chad, even if you were made of stone with no heart at all, or if you young folks really live so clean-cut—no fate, no feelings—don’t like her is don’t like her… I still don’t get it. Madison’s so good—what is there not to like? Even if you truly didn’t like her, the least you could do was not hurt her like this. I feel ashamed to face her. A girl that good—she did everything she could, and it all ended up empty. She’s hurting that bad… Chad, how could you be so hard? Don’t you ever think about how much pain she’s in? You want to be good to that other girl and her kid, fine—but where does that leave Madison? You want to be the good guy, but you’re hurting the one person who least deserves it! That’s Madison. You don’t know how to cherish her… You think you’ll ever meet someone like her again in this life? No way. Chad, being a man means honoring feelings and conscience. Do the math—what have you actually done right by Madison?”