Chapter 92: Chapter Ninety Two: Back to the office
Third-person POV
Alicia leaned back against the seat, her eyes slowly closing as the car moved steadily through the city.
Her thoughts, however, refused to rest.
Grandmother’s condition was improving—that was the only piece of good news she could hold onto.
For now, at least, the divorce between her and Alexander wouldn’t happen.
But that fragile balance wouldn’t last forever.
As the months passed, her pregnancy would inevitably be discovered.
By then, there would be no hiding it.
Her hand unconsciously drifted to her abdon, her fingers pressing lightly against it.
If the child was exposed too early, Alexander would never allow it to stay.
She knew him too well.
Cold. Decisive. Ruthless when it ca to anything that threatened his control.
But later... things would be different.
When her condition beca obvious, when her body could no longer conceal the truth, the family would be involved. Grandmother would protect her. The others, no matter their intentions, wouldn’t allow Alexander to act recklessly.
At that point, even he wouldn’t be able to force her to terminate the pregnancy.
Alicia’s lashes trembled slightly before she opened her eyes again.
Across from her, Alexander sat in silence, his expression unreadable as always.
The distance between them was less than a ter.
Yet it felt like an unbridgeable gap.
She shifted slightly in her seat, as if uncomfortable.
For a brief mont, her brows knit together—so faint it was almost imperceptible.
But Alexander noticed.
His gaze flickered, landing briefly on her before moving away.
A small, almost dismissive movent.
Yet his fingers tapped once against his knee.
A rare, subtle tell.
Alicia didn’t see it.
She had already turned her face toward the window, her expression carefully composed.
The car soon descended into the underground garage of Blackwood Dominion Enterprises.
With a smooth stop, the engine went quiet.
Alexander stepped out first.
Alicia followed a second later.
They walked side by side toward the elevator, their footsteps echoing faintly in the empty space.
Still, not a word passed between them.
The elevator doors slid open.
They stepped inside.
The ascent was slow.
The confined space only made the silence more suffocating.
Alicia kept her gaze forward, her posture straight.
But just as the numbers climbed past the tenth floor—
"Are you feeling unwell?"
The sudden question broke the silence.
Alicia’s heart skipped.
She didn’t turn. "No."
Alexander’s eyes rested on her profile, sharp and probing.
"You’ve been distracted," he said flatly.
Alicia let out a quiet breath, her tone steady. "I was just thinking about Grandmother."
A pause.
The explanation was reasonable.
Too reasonable.
Alexander didn’t respond.
But his gaze lingered a mont longer—calm, assessing, as if weighing sothing unseen.
Then, finally, he looked away.
The elevator chid softly as it reached their floor.
The doors slid open.
Alicia stepped out first.
Without looking back.
Behind her, Alexander followed—his expression unchanged.
But the question he didn’t ask lingered in the air between them.
On the way to the office, Alicia and Alexander passed through the open office area.
A few employees spotted Alicia and imdiately greeted her.
"Director Alicia!"
"Director Alicia, are you feeling better now?"
"..."
She smiled gently and nodded. "Thank you for asking. I’m almost fully recovered."
Her tone was warm, asured—just enough to put people at ease without inviting further conversation.
She continued walking toward her office.
But behind her, hushed whispers quickly followed.
"Hey, let
tell you sothing. I just saw Director Alicia co out of the elevator with CEO Blackwood."
"Those dia reports are nonsense. Director Alicia and CEO Blackwood are siblings. Don’t read too much into it."
One of them snorted.
"What siblings go out together to watch a play late at night? What siblings get into a car drunk in the middle of the night? They didn’t grow up together, so I don’t buy that they’re just siblings."
"I’ve got so insider info. Want to hear it?"
"Really? Tell us!"
"Word is, Director Alicia was never supposed to join the company. Chairwoman Roseline only let her in out of respect for her father. There’s no way they’d let her get involved in the Blackwood family business."
A pause, then the voice lowered conspiratorially.
"But Director Alicia didn’t accept that. Now that Chairman Blackwood is getting older, she’s technically the adopted daughter of the Blackwood family—but once he’s gone, she’ll be nothing. So she had to find a way into Blackwood Dominion Enterprises to secure her position."
"And then?"
"And then? Can’t you see it? She got close to CEO Blackwood. Chairwoman Roseline is elderly, and no one knows when she’ll pass. Alicia needed a backup plan, and this whole ’sibling’ story? It’s just for show."
A quiet scoff followed.
"In these rich families, even real brothers can turn on each other. And she only ca into the family when CEO Blackwood was already an adult. Siblings? Please."
"That’s impossible. I don’t think Director Alicia is like that."
"Impossible? Haven’t you heard? Art imitates life. In rich families, even the most impossible things can happen."
"What are you all talking about?!"
A stern voice suddenly cut through the whispers.
The employees froze.
They turned around sharply—only to see Alexander standing a few steps behind them.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
But the pressure in the air shifted instantly.
"C-CEO Blackwood..."
No one dared to continue.
The entire area fell into suffocating silence.
Alexander’s gaze swept across them, slow and deliberate.
No anger.
No visible displeasure.
And sohow, that made it worse.
"Since when," he said evenly, "did Blackwood Dominion Enterprises start paying employees to speculate about their superiors?"
No one responded.
Several lowered their heads imdiately.
"I don’t recall approving idle chatter as part of your job descriptions."
His voice wasn’t loud.
But every word landed with precision.
"I—We’re sorry, CEO Blackwood."
"Sorry?" Alexander repeated faintly.
His eyes flicked briefly in the direction Alicia had left.
A barely noticeable pause.
Then—
"HR will remind you what professionalism ans."
A collective chill ran through the group.
"Yes, sir."
Without another word, Alexander turned and walked away.
Ahead, Alicia had already reached her office door.
She pushed it open and stepped inside, her expression unchanged.
As the door closed behind her, the silence finally broke—
A faint wave of dizziness hit her.
She steadied herself against the desk, her fingers tightening slightly.
Her breathing slowed.
Careful. Controlled.
After a mont, she straightened.
As if nothing had happened.
But outside the glass walls of her office—
A familiar figure approached.
Alexander stopped just short of the door.
Through the transparent glass, his gaze landed on her.
Sharp.
Observant.
He had seen it.
That brief mont.
The way she steadied herself.
The way her composure had slipped—
Just slightly.
His eyes darkened.
Sothing wasn’t right.
And for the first ti—
The thought took shape, clear and unavoidable.
The employees were left utterly baffled.
This was the first ti their CEO had ever reacted to sothing like this within the company.
As for the rumors—they hadn’t started today.
They had begun the mont Lilian first ca to the company looking for Alexander. From then on, whispers had quietly spread through every departnt. Later, when Alexander and Lilian were seen together a few more tis, so employees had even started pairing them as an unspoken couple.
An unshakable assumption.
Then Alicia appeared beside him.
And the gossip only grew louder.
But no matter how wildly the rumors spread, they had never truly reached Alexander.
Or perhaps... he had simply never cared.
Yet today, the man who had always remained indifferent had finally spoken.
He hadn’t raised his voice.
He hadn’t shown anger.
But no one present was foolish enough to misunderstand the warning.
Those who were more perceptive quickly pieced it together—
Director Alicia had just returned from leave.
And Alexander’s words... had been ant for her sake.
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