Alicia’s POV

Alexander tilted his head slightly, his expression dark and unreadable.

‎Slowly, he raised a hand and touched his left cheek—the one I had just slapped.

‎A faint red mark was already forming.

‎"Fine..." he muttered, his voice low, almost hoarse. "I’m leaving."

‎"I’m leaving."

‎I stood there, frozen.

‎I hadn’t meant to hit him.

‎But in that moment—panic, anger, humiliation—it all came crashing down at once.

‎And my hand had moved before I could stop it.

‎Alexander took a few unsteady steps back, as if the slap had done more than just sting his face.

‎Then he turned.

‎Opened the door.

‎And walked out.

‎The assistant, who seemed to had just pieced everything together, stood stiffly in the hallway.

‎He watched as Alexander walked toward the elevator, his usual imposing presence now... strangely subdued.

‎For a moment, the assistant hesitated.

‎Then he glanced back at me, still standing by the door.

‎There was an unmistakable look of grievance in Alexander’s retreating figure.

‎Almost like...

‎he was the one who had been wronged.

‎When the assistant noticed me looking at him, he immediately panicked.

‎"Director Alicia!" he blurted out. "It was CEO Blackwood who called me for your room number. He told me to knock—I couldn’t refuse him, I swear!"

‎I let out a quiet breath and nodded.

‎"its ok,I understand."

‎My voice was calm. Too calm.

‎"You can go rest."

‎"Y-Yes, Director Alicia."

‎He didn’t dare linger any longer.

‎The door closed.

‎Silence followed.

‎The room suddenly felt suffocating.

‎I stood there for a moment, then slowly walked back inside.

‎My phone was still on the bed, the paused drama frozen mid-scene.

‎I picked it up... then dropped it again.

‎I didn’t want to watch anything anymore.

‎I didn’t want to think about what happened last night.

‎But Alexander had to come all the way Nevaris city to remind me of everything.

‎The memories came rushing back.

‎Last night.

‎The humiliation.

‎His silence.

‎And then—

‎him leaving.

‎Leaving me behind.

‎For Lilian.

‎My fingers tightened unconsciously.

‎He even came all the way here... just to explain?

‎A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

‎What was there to explain?

‎That he was worried about Lilian?

‎That she needed him more?

‎That I... could wait?

‎My chest tightened.

‎Because the truth was—

‎I didn’t want to wait.

‎I wanted his concern too.

‎His protection.

‎His choice.

‎But when it mattered most...

‎he didn’t choose me.

‎I remembered my own voice from last night, clear and firm:

‎"Alexander, if you step out that door today... it’s over between us."

‎And he still left.

‎Without hesitation.

‎My eyes slowly lowered.

‎So what exactly was he trying to explain now?

‎His actions had already said everything.

‎

‎‎Alexander’s POV

‎After leaving the hotel, I returned to Valeridge City that same night and buried myself in work, just as I always did.

‎I forced myself not to think about Alicia.

‎But the harder I tried, the more impossible it became.

‎Every time I closed my eyes, her face appeared before me.

‎Happy.

‎Smug.

‎Angry.

‎Heartbroken.

‎Countless expressions lingered in my mind, refusing to fade.

‎And then there was that look in her eyes on the night of our wedding anniversary—

‎the despair.

‎For the past two nights, I had dreamed about her.

‎In the first dream, we were divorced.

‎Alicia hated me so deeply it seemed carved into her bones. She left the country and never came back.

‎In the second dream, we were divorced again.

‎This time, she had married someone else.

‎She stood in a wedding dress, smiling brightly at another man—the kind of smile I had never managed to give her.

‎I woke from both dreams in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep.

‎Only then did I realize how deeply Alicia had worked her way into my life.

‎The house without her felt eerily quiet.

‎Almost unbearable.

‎During the day, I tried to focus on work.

‎It was useless.

‎My temper had become everyone else’s problem.

‎For the last two days, I had been like a lit fuse.

‎One employee from the secretary department made a minor mistake, and I reprimanded them so harshly they left my office looking as if they had seen death itself.

‎Normally, I was not like this.

‎As CEO, I was known for being decisive, calm, and efficient.

‎Approachable when appropriate.

‎Ruthless when necessary.

‎I judged results, not emotions.

‎If an employee made a mistake, what mattered to me was how they fixed it.

‎But lately...

‎I barely recognized myself.

‎The entire company atmosphere had grown tense.

‎Employees walked on eggshells around me, afraid to become the next casualty of my mood.

‎Jane entered my office as usual.

‎She handled backups for my phone records and call recordings, among many other confidential tasks.

‎I handed her my phone without looking up.

‎"I’ll return it shortly," she said.

‎I gave a distracted hum, eyes fixed on the screen as my fingers moved across the keyboard.

‎A few minutes later, the Bluetooth speaker beside me suddenly came to life.

‎"Hello, CEO Blackwood. This is Isaac from Titan Black Motors. Regarding the electric vehicle project you mentioned earlier—"

‎I frowned.

‎Jane must have accidentally played one of my backed-up recordings.

‎I stood, about to switch it off, but before I reached it, the next file automatically began.

‎"Hello."

‎Lilian’s voice.

‎Then another voice followed.

‎"It’s me. Where’s Alexander?"

‎Alicia.

‎My hand stopped in midair.

‎I let the recording continue.

‎"alicia, Alexander’s cooking for me right now," Lilian said lightly. "You probably didn’t know this, but Alexander is actually a very good cook. Back in college, he lived alone and learned then. He used to cook for me often."

‎My brows slowly furrowed.

‎There was something in Lilian’s tone—

‎pride.

‎Possession.

‎And something else I didn’t like.

‎"Give the phone to Alexander. I need to ask him something," Alicia said.

‎"What is it? I can pass the message along," Lilian replied teasingly.

‎"Give the phone to Alexander."

‎Alicia’s voice sharpened.

‎"This phone has automatic recording. If you don’t hand it over, I’ll let Alexander hear everything you just said."

‎Despite myself, the corner of my lips lifted.

‎Clever woman.

‎Then silence followed.

‎The kind people fall into when they think a recording has ended.

‎Then another voice came through.

‎Mine.

‎I immediately remembered the when this happened.

‎The online scandal

‎The hospital.

‎The day I took Alicia’s phone and then she later had her accident.

‎The day i asked what she wanted to eat.

‎She had said she wanted a homemade meal.

‎So this is what happened.

‎The file ended.

‎I switched off the speaker.

‎But my mind stayed on Lilian’s words.

‎Had she really spoken to Alicia like that behind my back?

‎The Status Update incident flashed through my mind.

‎Then the burn incident.

‎Then every time Alicia had looked at Lilian with restrained hostility.

‎I lowered my gaze slowly.

‎What if Lilian had been two-faced all along?

‎And worse—

‎What if I had been the fool.

‎I rubbed my brow, a sudden realization cutting through the haze in my mind.

‎I remembered the argument Alicia and I once had over Lilian bringing her own makeup artist.

‎Alicia had said Lilian’s makeup idea wasn’t right for the campaign.

‎Alicia had insisted on letting the usual makeup artist take charge of everything.

‎But according to Alicia, Lilian had refused to make any changes and even threatened to terminate the collaboration if anyone interfered.

‎At the time, I hadn’t believed it.

‎Lilian had always appeared gentle and reasonable in front of me. I thought Alicia was being overly sensitive.

‎But later, the final look had indeed been disastrous.

‎The campaign team had spent days cleaning up the aftermath.

‎Back then, I only thought Alicia had been lucky in her judgment.

‎Now...

‎With everything that had happened recently replaying in my head, I was beginning to think Alicia had been telling the truth all along.

‎Lilian may really have said those provocative things.

‎She may really have used my trust as a shield.

‎My jaw tightened.

‎How many times had Alicia tried to tell me something—

‎only for me to dismiss her?

‎How many times had I chosen the easier version of events because it favored Lilian?

‎The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

‎Just then, Jane returned my phone and placed it quietly on the desk.

‎I barely noticed her leave.

‎A notification sound suddenly chimed.

‎My gaze dropped to the screen.

‎A new message.

‎From Lilian.

‎