Love in the Eye of the Storm

Chapter 3

Just as I was about to turn and walk away, Alexander's voice stopped me cold. "Madeline, how long are you going to keep throwing this tantrum?" He stepped closer, grabbing my wrist so tightly that it almost hurt. His once warm, dark eyes were now burning with anger. "Stop threatening to leave! If you do, the company will cut off funding for the Sunrise Orphanage!"

I froze, shock washing over me. I never imagined Alexander would use the orphanage as a weapon against me. I lost my parents when I was just a baby. My brother and I grew up at the Sunrise Orphanage. My dream had always been to make enough money to help the kids there, to make sure they always had new clothes and never went hungry.

When I joined Alexander in his business ventures, we were living in a tiny, cramped basement, where he kissed me passionately and promised that, once he made it big, he'd help those kids. He kept his word. He expanded the orphanage and donated generously every year. Seeing those kids smile filled me with warmth. But now, the same man who had once promised me the world was using the orphanage to threaten me, and the warmth he once offered had turned into a cold, manipulative power play.

I felt trapped. In the last months of my life, I didn't want to be living under the same roof as Alexander and Chelsea, but his power loomed over me like a dark cloud. I feared he would cut the orphanage's funding and harm the woman who had been like a mother to me. I didn't have a choice, I had to stay.

I was silent, struggling to process the betrayal. Alexander's fury seemed to lessen for a moment. But then his phone rang, Chelsea, of course. She was whining about a stomachache, and Alexander hurried off to attend to her, leaving me alone.

"Buddy…"

Just then, my golden retriever, whom I'd raised for twelve years, limped into the room. After our fight, I'd left for a hotel, leaving Buddy behind. The staff had taken care of him, and he had gained a little weight in the days I was gone. He could sense my sadness and hobbled over to me, curling up his injured leg in front of me and nudging my hand with his head.

I knew he was trying to comfort me. I hated feeling this way, but Alexander's favoring of Chelsea was tearing me apart. I couldn't bear the thought of losing Buddy, too. His clumsy attempts to cheer me up finally broke my defenses, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

"Buddy, it's like he's changed. I thought love was supposed to last. When someone says they love you, it should never stop. I never imagined he could fall for someone else. He should have waited just a little longer. I won't take up much of his time, but he won't even wait a month. Why is he in such a hurry?"

My tears soaked Buddy's soft fur, and I saw the worry in his eyes, his own glistening with moisture. He nudged my palm again, as if pleading for me to find some happiness. I didn't want Buddy to feel my pain. I hugged him one more time, reluctant to let him go, and gently returned him to his little bed.

The pain in my body didn't go away, even with the painkillers. I tossed and turned until sleep finally took me, but it was a restless one.

In my dream, I was seventeen again, reliving a nightmare. Alexander's father, fueled by rage and alcohol, lunged at him with a knife. I watched the blade glint in the dim light, and fear gripped me, but my instinct to protect Alexander overwhelmed it. Without thinking, I jumped in front of him. The knife cut my left shoulder, and Alexander exploded in fury, attacking his father.

My injury wasn't that bad, but Alexander, usually so wild and fearless, collapsed in my arms, sobbing like a child.

"Don't ever do something so reckless again," he begged, his voice breaking. "I can't lose you. Without you, life means nothing."

At eighteen, I believed Alexander's love was unshakeable. But now, at twenty-eight, he was willing to hurt me for someone else. He used to fear for my safety, but now, when I told him I was dying, he just looked at me with annoyance, like my suffering was an inconvenience.

I woke up with a jolt, clutching my chest as the sharp pain still lingered. The scent of Chelsea's perfume hung in the air like a suffocating weight. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed fresh air.

But when I stepped outside, horror gripped me. There was Chelsea, pushing my loyal Buddy down the stairs from the second floor!