Chapter 26: Cold Feet

Updated Sep 17, 2025 • ~6 min read

Madison stared at the engagement ring on her finger as she sat in her apartment two weeks after Daniel’s proposal. The simple, elegant band caught the morning light, beautiful and meaningful—exactly what she would have chosen for herself. But instead of joy, she felt a growing knot of anxiety in her stomach.

Her laptop screen showed the latest Google alerts for her name. Most were positive—coverage of her upcoming book tour, praise for her foundation work with other scandal survivors, interviews about personal resilience. But scattered throughout were the inevitable reminders of her past: “Madison Torres, the woman who dated father and son,” “Author built career on family-destroying affair.”

The comments section of a recent article about her engagement made her chest tighten:

“Guess she finally locked down the billionaire. Mission accomplished.”

“Wonder how long before she writes a book about this marriage too.”

“Some people will do anything for money and attention.”

Madison closed the laptop and walked to her kitchen, where wedding planning materials were scattered across the counter. Nothing elaborate—she and Daniel had agreed on a small ceremony with close friends and family. But even planning a simple wedding felt overwhelming when every decision came with the question: “Will this feed into the narrative that I’m an opportunist?”

Her phone buzzed with a text from Daniel: How are the venue options looking? I trust your judgment completely.

Madison stared at the message, feeling the weight of his trust and support. Daniel had been nothing but understanding about her concerns, patient with her anxiety, supportive of her need to take things slowly. Which somehow made her growing panic worse.

She called her mother in Phoenix.

“Hi, honey. How’s the wedding planning going?”

“Mom, can I ask you something? When you and Dad got engaged, were you ever… scared?”

“Scared of what?”

Madison paced her apartment. “Of making a mistake. Of not being ready. Of the whole thing being wrong somehow.”

Her mother was quiet for a moment. “Madison, every person gets pre-wedding nerves. But this sounds like more than that. What’s really bothering you?”

“I keep thinking about the public perception, about what people will say, about whether Daniel and I can ever have a normal relationship with all this history between us.”

“Honey, you’ve both grown so much over the past year. You’ve built separate, meaningful lives. Isn’t that exactly what you needed to do before getting married?”

“Yes, but…” Madison struggled to articulate her fears. “What if I’m not ready? What if I’m saying yes because he’s the first person who’s ever truly supported my dreams, not because I’m genuinely ready to be someone’s wife?”

“That’s a very mature question to be asking yourself.”

Madison felt tears prick her eyes. “I love him, Mom. I really do. But loving someone and being ready to marry them aren’t the same thing, are they?”

“No, they’re not. Madison, there’s no shame in needing more time.”

That evening, Madison met Daniel for dinner at a quiet restaurant in SoHo. He looked handsome in his casual clothes, relaxed and happy in a way she rarely saw during their turbulent early relationship.

“You’ve been quiet today,” he observed as they waited for their entrees. “Everything okay?”

Madison took a deep breath. “Daniel, I need to tell you something, and I need you to really listen.”

His expression grew concerned. “Of course.”

“I love you. I love the man you’ve become, I love what we’ve built together, I love the way you support my work and my dreams.” Madison’s voice wavered slightly. “But I don’t think I’m ready to get married.”

Daniel set down his wine glass carefully. “Can you tell me why?”

“Because every time I think about being your wife, I panic. Not because of you, but because of me. Because I keep wondering if I’m choosing marriage for the right reasons or because it feels like the next logical step in our redemption story.”

Daniel studied her face with those intelligent dark eyes. “What would feel like the right reasons?”

“I don’t know yet. And that’s the problem.” Madison twisted her engagement ring. “Daniel, I need more time. Not just weeks or months, but real time to figure out who I am when I’m not reacting to crisis or rebuilding from scandal or proving anything to anyone.”

“How much time?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a year. Maybe longer.” Madison met his eyes. “I know that’s not fair to you. I know you’ve been patient already, and I know this isn’t what you want to hear.”

Daniel leaned back in his chair, processing her words. “Madison, can I ask you something? If we never got married, if we just continued as we are now, would that feel like failure to you?”

The question caught her off guard. “I… no. What we have now feels good. Real. Sustainable.”

“Then maybe marriage isn’t the goal. Maybe it’s just one possible outcome of continuing to grow together.”

Madison felt some of the tightness in her chest ease. “You’re not angry?”

“I’m disappointed, because I was looking forward to calling you my wife. But I’m not angry.” Daniel reached across the table to take her hand. “Madison, I’d rather wait five years for you to be ready than marry you next month knowing you had doubts.”

“What if I’m never ready?”

“Then we’ll figure out what our relationship looks like without marriage. The paper doesn’t define what we mean to each other.”

Madison felt tears spill over. “I was so afraid you’d think I was leading you on or wasting your time.”

“You’re not wasting anything. You’re being honest about your feelings, which is exactly what I want from a partner.”

They finished dinner talking about practical matters—postponing vendor appointments, telling family members, adjusting their timeline for major decisions. Daniel handled everything with grace and understanding, reinforcing Madison’s belief that he truly had grown into someone worthy of her love.

But love and readiness weren’t the same thing.

Later that night, Madison sat on her couch with the engagement ring in her palm. She wasn’t giving it back—Daniel had made clear it was hers regardless of timing. But she’d taken it off, needing to see how her hand looked without it.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Daniel: Thank you for being honest about your feelings. That took courage. I love you exactly as much today as I did this morning, engagement or no engagement.

Madison smiled through her tears, typing back: I love you too. Thank you for making this okay.

As she got ready for bed, Madison realized something important had shifted. Instead of feeling like she was failing at a relationship, she felt like she was finally learning to be honest about her needs and boundaries.

Marriage would happen when it was right for both of them, not because it was expected or because they’d reached some arbitrary timeline.

For now, love was enough.