Chapter 2: The Day She Broke My Heart

Matthew had known Allison Whitney ever since they were in high school.

It wasn’t love at first sight, and nor was it an enemies-to-lovers story. As time passed, Matthew simply found himself falling in love with Allison, and it was the first time he had experienced that kind of feeling.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had a father who catered to his every need and sent him to the best schools and tutors to prepare him for inheriting the company once he became of age. This also included his father planning to introduce him to the daughter of his good friend, to let Matthew know that this was the girl he was going to marry.

Everything was already planned out for him and set in stone. Matthew eventually felt like he was simply a puppet dangling on its strings, controlled by his father whenever and however he pleased. He had no say in his future and only needed to obey the rules, to follow through with the plans his father so painstakingly prepared for his sake.

Matthew hated it, but he didn’t have any other choice in the matter.

But then Allison suddenly came into his life.

Allison Whitney was the first and only rule that Matthew broke, and it was the only thing he ever asked of his father.

“I will do everything you wish and become the best heir that you want me to be,” Matthew had said quietly, looking at his dad straight in the eyes for the first time. “I only ask that I be given the freedom to choose who I marry.”

With the help of his mother, Matthew managed to convince his father, and so he eventually entered into an unexpected marriage with Allison Whitney, a girl who had no wealth, no important connections, and no distinct place in society.

At first, Matthew was uncertain if they could make it work, with him being a point of interest in the business world and the media, but Allison was very understanding and hardworking, so they managed to live a happy life together for two years.

But perhaps it was only him who thought so, because one day, she approached him solemnly and said that she didn’t love him anymore.

Matthew knew the reason why. Allison had always been a workaholic; she would usually spend all day in the lab and come home late, never having enough time for him. She was often so engrossed and focused on her work that she made her career a priority over her own husband.

As time went by, she became known and successful in her field, and soon she became even more busy. Matthew once couldn’t see her face for months. For a long time, he couldn’t talk to his wife, couldn’t kiss her good morning or good night, or even just stare at her face and memorize her features.

The days swept by, and Matthew felt like Allison was becoming more and more like a stranger.

The only moments he got to spend time with her was when she got sick for a while and was practically banned from her workplace to rest. She had been so antsy during that period, wanting to go back to work quickly since she was desperate not to lose the big progress she developed in the past few months.

Matthew had no choice but to accept all her grumblings and lack of mood to talk.

Even though they were married, he felt so, so damned lonely.

Then the day came when she finally got the promotion that she’d been waiting for.

“I’m moving to London for a while,” she said the moment she arrived home, immediately walking towards the bedroom to pack her clothes. “I’ll come visit once a month if I’m able.”

“Wait, what?” Matthew instantly stood up from the couch, almost dropping the laptop that was perched on his lap. “For how long? When are you going? Why are you going?”

“I’m leaving in three days. I already told my superiors that I would get settled in completely by next week and begin the induction in the main laboratory.”

“…Excuse me?”

Matthew had already followed after her and was standing by the open doorway, watching incredulously as she picked through her closet to decide which clothes to bring. He felt his head grow dizzy. Things were happening too fast.

“And you didn’t even bother to consult me?” he finally managed to ask, trying to restrain the anger in his voice. “To consult me, your husband, about moving to another country for your job? And you’re not even asking me to come with you?”

Allison paused in the middle of her task to glance at him, and he felt his heart drop to his stomach.

She was looking at him as though she were looking at a stranger.

“I wouldn’t ask you to come with me. You’re already busy enough with the company,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Well, you still should’ve asked me to, Allison,” Matthew said indignantly. “You should’ve respected me nonetheless. You can’t just announce something important like this to me and expect me to accept it so easily. I’m not some robot you can control however you want.”

Allison’s eyes narrowed. “I was being considerate of you, Matt. I’ve always been considerate towards you,” she gritted out, trying to keep her tone calm and even.

“When have you exactly been considerate of me, Allison? Do you even realize that we haven’t talked to each other for months now? Do you even realize how many lonely nights I’ve spent waiting for you?”

“I don’t recall asking you to wait for me!”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t wait for my wife to come home?”

“You shouldn’t have bothered. You know how busy I am every day!”

“Am I not allowed to miss you?!”

That night, the conversation ended in an unsolved argument, the first big conflict they’d ever had in years. Allison couldn’t understand why Matthew focused more on her than his own job as a CEO while Matthew couldn’t understand why Allison treated her job more like her husband rather than himself.

He had told her that day that he wouldn’t let her go. He was already fed up with everything. Although he’d been angry in the beginning, he soon softened up in despair when he realized that Allison was going to leave no matter what he said.

He just didn’t want her to travel around too much, mainly because he wanted her by his side and because he would miss her even more. This caused a delay in her flight that made her furious, but the more he explained his side, the more she mellowed out, as if she was starting to understand why he was being so insistent on this matter.

But just as he thought she was about to give in, she eventually grew tired of his constant pleading and broke the devastating news to him one day.

She approached him slowly, refusing to sit down on the couch despite him beckoning her to the seat beside him. Her expression was cold, and her empty gaze unnerved him.

“I’m sorry, Mattie,” she said quietly as she looked at him. Her gaze was startlingly devoid of the love that used to be there, shining in her beautiful green eyes. “I can’t do this anymore.”