Liam's POV.
I didn't expect it from her.
Madeline was never the type to chase after me or spew hatred like the others. Ever since I gained fame, she remained nonchalant, so neutral that it always left me wondering.
But now I see it was all a pretence, she was scheming from the beginning.
I have seen different kinds of people ever since I have been in the industry but how could she stoop so low?
The memories of us playing as children gushed into my head before I could stop it.
She always had these tight cute pigtails with a red rubber band tied around, back then we were close because our mothers were friends but things between us fell apart when our mothers had a fall out and after a few days unexpectedly Madeline's mother passed away.
There was no news about her for the next fourteen years and that was until she joined the same university as I did, I remember the first time we crossed paths in this university hall.
Her hair was loose, she no longer had those pigtails, her laughter bright and her eyes full of mischief as she teased her friends, she hadn't changed much she was still the same except that she had lost all her baby fat so it was still easy to recognize her.
Her eyes turned towards me, meeting my eyes for a fleeting few seconds, her brown eyes widened for a moment before she looked away, and that was enough to tell me she remembered me.
Our majors were different so in these three years we rarely crossed paths but I think there was one moment that changed everything between us and honestly, it was my fault and that fault has become a habit that I cannot change.
From the distance, I could see a few people rushing towards me to click pictures, not that I hated all this but I'm not always in the mood to give my best smile.
Especially not today.
Putting on my hoodie I headed to the library, the university had two libraries, a newly built one where that was always packed with students but the old one was calmer, quieter, and people barely came around.
I needed silence. The kind that would let me organize my thoughts.
I put my bag down pulling a chair I sat down with a sigh my mind brewing havoc, the most unbelievable shit just happened to me.
I was married.
To Madeline Harlow.
Legally.
If someone had told me this a week ago, I'd have laughed in their face and asked if they were high. But now, here I was.
A contract with her name on it.
How could she sign the papers?
That thought made me feel like an even bigger jerk than I already was. I was the one who signed first.
But I was forced into it!
I had been sure she wouldn't go through with it. I thought she would laugh at the contract and walk away. Yet somehow, Madeline had signed.
Why?
It made no sense.
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. She saw everything. The way I toyed with women, playing with their hearts like it was a game. She knew who I was, what kind of man I was.
And she still signed.
What kind of woman agrees to marry a playboy?
I pulled my hair out in frustration, if the media catches a hint of the fact that I am married they will run a feast with it, and my security would be risked further.
What was my mother thinking?
One wrong move and the press would be all over it. My career, my privacy, and everything I worked for would be ripped apart.
I decided it was finally the time to call my mother, the mastermind behind all this.
I scrolled through my unread messages. There were dozens, some from my manager, some from my mother, and a handful from women I had no business talking to anymore.
My fingers hovered over my mother's name before pressing the call button.
She picked up on the first ring. As if she was expecting my call.
''Good afternoon sweetie, you just left home a few hours ago, miss me already?''
I could feel my anger simmering, ''Haha, very funny mum, How did you get her to sign the papers?''
There was a brief silence, then I heard the dramatic gasp, ''Oh by her, do you mean Madeline your wife?''
I clenched my jaw, my mum always had a way of getting on my nerves, and I gritted my teeth before replying, ''Yes, her, Madeline.''
My mum chuckled, ''Oh sweetie, she signed those on her own,I didn't even have to go to her place, her father took it from me, and he returned with the signed papers.''
I stilled.
Her father?
What the hell was going on?
''hello, hello, are you there?''
I could hear my mum speaking on the phone but I couldn't pay attention to her as my thoughts wandered.
So I was right, she signed those on her own because Mr Benneton would never force his daughter into anything.