CHAPTER 473

James had everything planned out. Once he got divorced, he would look for Madeline and express his love for her.

After he dumped Madeline and married another woman, he finally realized who he truly loved. He could settle for a lot of things, but being a married man was something that stayed with him forever, so he couldn't marry a woman he didn't love.

He had let Madeline go once, and he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

On this day, he was on a business trip in Wendel City with his mother. After he was done with work, he kept his mother company since the latter wanted to go shopping. It never crossed his mind that he would bump into Madeline here.

He felt that it was a hint from the heavens that he and Madeline were fated to be together. However, to his dismay, she told him that she was getting married.

There was no way he could accept this fact, so he needed to talk things out with her.

Madeline came from a humble background, and she had two kids with her. How was she supposed to marry a good man?

On the other hand, not only did he come from a wealthy family, but he had also known Madeline for years. They knew each other well, and he was the only one that suited her best.

"There's no need to talk." Madeline directly turned him down. "There's nothing to talk about between us. I'm getting married, so I think we shouldn't meet again. Please go away. I'm leaving."

She wanted to circle James, but he got in her way again.

He grabbed her arm anxiously. "Marriage is the most important thing in a woman's life, Maddie. Don't act on a whim and make the wrong choice. We're childhood friends, and I know you well. I'm the most suitable man for you. Trust me. Only I can give you happiness. I—"

"What are you doing?!" Following a roar, a middle-aged woman with delicate makeup and an arrogant bearing ascended from the stairs behind them.

She scurried toward them and frowned at Madeline. "You're really something. I can't believe you've followed us here."

As soon as she heard that, Madeline was too stunned to speak. What? When did I follow you?

After she was rendered speechless for a moment, she said, "Don't get me wrong, Madam. I came here with my mother."

"She's right, Mom," James promptly explained. "She came here first. When I saw her looking at some jewelry, I came over and greeted her."

"Stop lying!" James' mother gave Madeline a scornful look. "She must have found out that you're getting divorced, so she's come all the way here to wait for you."

She snorted and looked condescendingly at Madeline. "You're pretty good at gathering information. You're quick to pester him after finding out that he's getting divorced. So what if you're aware of it? I'm

warning you—stay away from my son. Even though he's getting divorced, he won't marry you. Stop daydreaming!"

Madeline was so furious that she started laughing instead. "There's no doubt that you two are mother and son. Both of you are equally conceited. I'll say this one more time, so listen up. I don't love James one bit. Moreover, my wedding is two days away. To me, my husband is a hundred times better than James. I love him and respect him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Please stop thinking that I desperately want to marry James when I don't love him at all."

"Your husband is a hundred times better than my son? Stop flattering yourself," James' mother said derisively. "Given your situation, no good man will ever want to marry you. Are you marrying a divorced man and becoming the stepmother of his kids or something?"

"What did you say about my daughter?" Crystal strode toward them.

James' mother was startled the moment she saw Crystal. "Mrs. Wendel?"

Crystal was Nigel's younger sister. Since the Dugray Family and the Taylor Family were neighbors, she knew Crystal as well.

As such, she found it odd. "What did you just say? Your daughter?"

She darted her gaze between Crystal and Madeline, thinking that she had misheard her. "Isn't Angie your daughter, Mrs. Wendel? Madeline is supposed to be an illegitimate daughter from the Wendel Family."

Crystal hated this topic, for it was a humiliating past incident that showed how incompetent her family

was.

However, she had to directly deal with this issue and answer her question so that everyone would know Madeline wasn't an illegitimate daughter. In reality, she was Crystal's biological daughter.

Crystal wrapped her arm around Madeline's and stared coldly at James' mother. "Maddie is my biological daughter. She and Angie were born in the same hospital. Angie is Cameron's daughter, whereas Maddie is mine!"

She glared at James' mother and questioned, "What did you just say about my daughter?"

Stunned, James' mother looked at Madeline in disbelief. Is Madeline really Michael and Crystal's biological daughter? In that case, I should consider letting my son marry Madeline.

When her son fell in love with Madeline back then, he was clingy and followed Madeline around every day; she was furious because of that. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Madeline came from an ordinary background, so she didn't deserve James. Moreover, she had to raise two kids. There was no way the Dugrays would let James marry such a woman.

Therefore, James' mother ordered his son to date someone else and forced him to marry the woman she had selected.

She had done it for her son's good. However, life played a trick on her. The woman with a prestigious background was found to be infertile after marrying her son.

It had been one year since they got married, but she still wasn't pregnant with a child. However,

someone from the branch family, who was the nephew of James' father, got married three months after James and now had a son.

James' father was an ordinary man who wasn't as bright as his brother. On the other hand, his brother had two sons who were all smart and capable, and they were just as bright as James.

Now, the eldest son from the branch family had a son while James' wife was infertile. There were no grandchildren in the main family. For this reason, the main family was at a disadvantage while fighting for their inheritance.

James' grandfather hadn't been in the pink of health as of late, and he could pass away at any moment. There was a grandson in the branch family, while the main family had none. Thus, they were worried that James' grandfather would write a will and let the branch family inherit everything instead.

Madeline was a mother of two. However, if she was indeed Michael and Crystal's daughter, her identity as the young miss of the Wendel Family could make up for this shortcoming.

Moreover, the main branch of the Dugray Family lacked kids, and Madeline was fertile.

If Madeline married James and directly gave birth to twin boys, James' grandfather probably wouldn't pass the inheritance to the branch family just because there were no grandchildren in the main family.

As such, the eyes of James' mother became fervent as she gaped at Madeline.

"I'm surprised to learn that Maddie is your daughter!" She put on a passionate smile while looking at Crystal. "It's no wonder that James is deeply in love with Maddie. She probably inherited her parents'

demeanor, and she's grown up to be a beautiful and intelligent woman. It's obvious that she's a well- mannered and knowledgeable person."