Chapter 121: Chapter 122: Late Realisation
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 ant to hit him.
??But in that mont—panic, anger, humiliation—it all ca 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 seed 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 mont, the assistant hesitated.
??Then he glanced back at , 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
looking at him, he imdiately panicked.
??"Director Alicia!" he blurted out. "It was CEO Blackwood who called
for your room number. He told
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 mont, 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 co all the way Nevaris city to remind
of everything.
??The mories ca rushing back.
??Last night.
??The humiliation.
??His silence.
??And then—
??him leaving.
??Leaving
behind.
??For Lilian.
??My fingers tightened unconsciously.
??He even ca 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 .
??I rembered 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 sa 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 beca.
??Every ti I closed my eyes, her face appeared before .
??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 dread about her.
??In the first dream, we were divorced.
??Alicia hated
so deeply it seed carved into her bones. She left the country and never ca back.
??In the second dream, we were divorced again.
??This ti, she had married soone 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 beco everyone else’s problem.
??For the last two days, I had been like a lit fuse.
??One employee from the secretary departnt 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
was how they fixed it.
??But lately...
??I barely recognized myself.
??The entire company atmosphere had grown tense.
??Employees walked on eggshells around , afraid to beco 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
suddenly ca to life.
??"Hello, CEO Blackwood. This is Isaac from Titan Black Motors. Regarding the electric vehicle project you ntioned 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 . Where’s Alexander?"
??Alicia.
??My hand stopped in midair.
??I let the recording continue.
??"alicia, Alexander’s cooking for
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
often."
??My brows slowly furrowed.
??There was sothing in Lilian’s tone—
??pride.
??Possession.
??And sothing else I didn’t like.
??"Give the phone to Alexander. I need to ask him sothing," Alicia said.
??"What is it? I can pass the ssage 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 ca through.
??Mine.
??I imdiately rembered 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 homade al.
??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 ti 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 rembered the argunt 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 ti, I hadn’t believed it.
??Lilian had always appeared gentle and reasonable in front of . 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 judgnt.
??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 tis had Alicia tried to tell
sothing—
??only for
to dismiss her?
??How many tis 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 chid.
??My gaze dropped to the screen.
??A new ssage.
??From Lilian.
??
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