Alexander stood there.

Then stepped inside slowly.

"Surprised?" he asked. "Don’t recognize me?"

I lowered my legs from the chair and pushed myself upright.

My voice came out hoarse.

"How did you get back?"

"Let’s go."

He crossed the room and took my hand.

The warmth of his palm startled me more than his sudden appearance.

I followed him toward the door, then suddenly remembered something.

"Did you figure it out?" I asked quickly. "Can I really leave now?"

"You can leave," he said calmly.

"The rest will be handled by the lawyers."

"Oh."

I followed Alexander quietly as we left the interrogation room.

At the entrance, we ran into John Reynolds.

Alexander gave him a slight nod and patted him once on the shoulder.

"It’s on you now. We’ll head back."

"Got it," John replied steadily.

I gave him a small nod of acknowledgment.

Although I wasn’t very familiar with him, I knew exactly who he was.

John Reynolds was the top lawyer in Blackwood Dominion Enterprises’ legal department, and his reputation in Velaridge City was well known.

If he had personally come, then the confidential leak case was serious.

Rescuing me had likely only been the first step.

"We can go now," Alexander said, glancing back at me.

I followed beside him, lowering my gaze.

"I thought the situation at the New York branch was serious. Why did you come back so soon?"

Alexander looked down at me, then slipped an arm around my waist.

He chuckled softly.

"You’re asking me that?"

"Were you really planning to spend the night at the police station?"

I pressed my lips together.

"They did make a huge mess," he continued, guiding me toward the exit. "But the team managed to contain it. Once it was settled, I planned to return in the morning."

He paused.

"Then Jane called and told me what happened."

His grip around my waist tightened slightly.

"So I flew back that same night."

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

I looked away.

"Jason said all of that in front of everyone at the company," I murmured. "There wasn’t much I could do..."

Unless I exposed our marriage to everyone.

"Stubborn."

Alexander shook his head lightly.

"You could have called Nana. Or Uncle Steve. Either one of them would’ve gotten you out immediately."

Anyone else in my position probably would have done exactly that.

But I had always wanted a simpler life.

Even in high society, status came with gossip, judgment, and endless scrutiny.

When I first entered the company, many people claimed I only got in through connections.

So for years, I had worked harder than everyone else, determined to silence those rumors with my own ability.

"Uncle Steve went to inspect some of his businesses," I said quietly.

"Well, Nana or Aunt Rose would still have done something."

I fell silent.

I wanted to ask him something else.

If I had publicly revealed our relationship at the company...

What would he have done?

But the words never left my mouth.

Because I already understood.

His frustration came from me not asking for help—

not from me refusing to reveal our marriage.

I changed the subject instead.

"Have they found the person who leaked the information?"

"They’ve confirmed it," he said calmly. "Don’t worry."

"That’s good."

By then, I was surviving on pure willpower alone.

The moment I stepped out of the station, the pressure in my chest finally eased.

Once we were inside the car, exhaustion swallowed me whole.

I leaned against Alexander’s shoulder...

And fell asleep almost instantly.

I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke again.

Still half-conscious, I realized we had already reached the villa.

Alexander was carrying me upstairs.

When he noticed I was awake, he lowered his gaze to me and spoke softly.

"We’re home."

"Let’s get you to bed."

"Mm..."

I murmured weakly, closing my eyes again.

And in the safety of his arms, I fell back asleep.

Alexander’s POV

I gently pushed open the door to the master bedroom and carefully laid Alicia down on the bed.

Slowly, I helped remove her outer clothes and covered her with a blanket, relying on the last of my self-restraint.

Alicia and I had been married for two years, yet her beauty still had the power to catch me off guard.

Everything about her affected me more deeply than I cared to admit.

And that was exactly what was happening now.

But I knew better than to act on anything while she was in this condition.

Just remembering the way I had found her in that interrogation room was enough to darken my expression.

Still, I continued taking care of her.

Every movement was slow and deliberate.

I didn’t want to wake her.

I moved to her vanity and examined the bottles and jars there until I found a bottle of makeup remover.

Taking a few cotton pads, I dampened them and returned to the bed.

Then I carefully began wiping away Alicia’s makeup.

The cool touch made her frown faintly, and she lifted a hand instinctively to brush mine away.

I caught her wrist gently and lowered it back onto the blanket before continuing.

Still half-asleep, Alicia turned her face to the side in refusal.

With only one hand free, I lightly cupped her chin and guided her back toward me.

Then I continued removing the rest of her makeup.

It was the first time I had ever done something like this for anyone.

Yet strangely...

It didn’t feel awkward.

Or unfamiliar.

When I finished, I sat at the edge of the bed and found myself unable to move away.

I leaned closer, quietly studying her sleeping face.

Her eyes were shut tightly, long curled lashes casting delicate shadows against her skin. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Her complexion was pale and smooth—so flawless that from a distance it looked untouched, and only up close could one see the faint softness of fine hairs along her cheeks.

For a moment, the room was completely still.

Then my phone rang.

The sharp sound broke the silence instantly.

I came back to myself, pulled the phone from my pocket, and answered it.

Glancing once more at Alicia, still sleeping peacefully, I stepped out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind me.

"Hello, CEO Blackwood?"

It was Jason Smith.

"Director Jason," I said after stepping out into the hallway. "What is it?"

"CEO Blackwood, you’ve already returned from New York? I heard from Jane and the others that something went wrong there again. It’s a good thing you were there to handle it before it escalated."

Jason’s tone was smooth, almost too smooth.

He was circling the point.

I cut him off.

"Director Jason, get to it."

There was a brief pause before he finally spoke plainly.

"You must have heard that confidential company information was leaked. I was concerned for the company, so in my urgency, I may have overstepped with Director Alicia."

He let out a small laugh meant to sound humble.

"I’m loyal to the company, of course. But if I handled it poorly, perhaps you could speak on my behalf to Director Alicia."

My expression cooled.

I had only just returned with Alicia, and Jason’s call came almost immediately.

He had clearly been watching for my return.

If Jason truly believed he had crossed a line, he would have called Alicia directly.

Instead, he called me.

He wanted to test my reaction.

If I sounded unconcerned, he could relax.

If I sounded displeased, he could immediately hide behind his sincerity to the company and save himself trouble later.

"Jason," I said evenly, "you’re overthinking it."

"Your actions were in the interest of the company. Investigating a leak is part of your duty."

I paused.

"It was done with integrity."

The silence on the other end deepened.

"Alicia isn’t unreasonable," I continued. "She’ll understand your position."

My tone remained calm.

But calm did not mean forgiving.

"She may understand," Jason replied carefully, "but I still upset Director Alicia. An apology is only right."

"Then why are you calling me instead of apologizing to her?"

Silence.

I had no intention of blindly siding with Alicia simply because she was my wife.

The truth was simpler than that.

Anyone with sense could see she was not the one who leaked confidential information.

Accusing her merely because she had been alone in my office was unreasonable.

Worse—

It reeked of personal motive.....