After I finished eating, Maria cleared the dishes. With nothing else to do—and my injury making it difficult to move—I lay down to rest.

"You should head home, sir. It’s already past nine," Maria said gently. "I’ll take care of Mrs. Blackwood. You can come back tomorrow." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Alexander nodded. "I’ll return in the morning. Take care of her."

He picked up his coat and was about to leave when I suddenly called out, "Don’t forget to bring the divorce settlement agreement tomorrow—mine as well."

He stopped and turned back, his brows furrowing. "Alicia, the divorce isn’t urgent. You should focus on recovering first. You can barely see—how are you going to review the documents?"

I pressed my lips together. "I may not see clearly, but you can read it to me."

It’s not like I’m completely blind.

"The agreement has already been signed," he said, his tone tightening. "What difference does a few more days make? Why are you in such a hurry to finalize the divorce?"

My heart sank, but I forced my voice to stay steady. "Just assume that I am."

He went still.

For a moment, the room felt suffocating. Then his expression hardened, something dark flashing in his eyes. Without another word, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

Maria looked at me, startled. "Mrs. Blackwood... Mr. Alexander seems really angry."

"Let him be," I said coldly. "I don’t even understand why he’s acting like this. Isn’t this what he wants? A divorce?"

"Mrs. Alicia, you didn’t come home this evening, and Mr. Blackwood was extremely worried," Maria said softly. "When he heard about your accident, he rushed here immediately... and even cooked for you. It’s obvious he cares about you."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Maria, do you really think someone could cook like that for the first time?"

The taste of the food lingered, and with it came a realization I didn’t want to accept.

Alexander was a very good actor.

He had almost fooled me again.

Thankfully, I had seen through him long ago. I knew better than to believe him. He could never love me—everything he did was just part of an act.

"M-Mrs. Alicia... you mean...?" Maria looked at me, completely confused.

"He’s always been the one who cooks," I said flatly. "He’s done it for his ex as well. Just last week, she was sick, and he stayed by her side in the hospital day and night... even abandoning me during Grandma’s celebration. Do you still think he’s good to me?"

"Oh..." That was all Maria could say. She lowered her gaze, disappointment clearly written on her face.

The next morning, I woke up feeling much better than I had the day before. After freshening up, I changed out of my hospital gown into casual clothes and had breakfast.

Once I was done, I sat quietly, waiting for Alexander—but he didn’t come. I spent the entire morning wondering what could have kept him away for so long. It wasn’t until the afternoon that he finally arrived.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. Something came up," he said.

"It’s okay, we can still go," I replied, trying to get up.

Seeing how eager I was, Alexander’s brows furrowed slightly, as if displeased.

"Are you happy about our divorce?" he suddenly asked.

Happy?

"Well... we’ll both be free, right?" I answered.

His expression darkened, but I didn’t think much of it.

"Let’s go," I said, looking at him, though I still couldn’t clearly make out his expression.

"Alexander," I called again when he remained silent.

He lowered his head, his face shadowed, his expression grim. After a moment, he responded, "Mm, I know." He snapped out of his thoughts, stood up from the couch, and said, "Let’s go."

He held onto me and guided me carefully to the car because of my blurred vision.

We got in one after the other.

The car ride was silent, the only sound being the occasional breath. An overwhelming exhaustion washed over me, and I leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes to rest.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Jim’s voice broke the silence.

"Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood, we’ve arrived at the Family Court."

"Mm."

I opened my eyes and reached for the door, but Alexander suddenly grabbed my hand.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I forgot the divorce settlement agreement at the hospital."

"Oh... what should we do now?" I asked. The file contained everything we needed for the procedure.

"I think we’ll have to go back and get it."

"But that would take too much time," I reasoned. "Why don’t you call Maria and have her bring it to us? That sounds better, doesn’t it?"

I noticed Alexander’s gaze darken.

"Alright, I’ll call her," he said before stepping out of the car.

Third Person POV

Alexander opened the car door and stepped out. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts, pausing when he reached Maria’s name. His finger hovered over the screen, but after a moment, he locked the phone and slipped it back into his pocket before getting back into the car.

"I called Maria," he said calmly. "She’s getting a cab and should be here soon. We just need to wait a bit."

"Okay," Alicia nodded.

From the driver’s seat, Jim glanced at Alexander through the rearview mirror, skepticism evident in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected CEO Blackwood to act like this.

Just moments ago, he had clearly seen that Alexander hadn’t made any call. Alicia hadn’t noticed because of her blurred vision—but he had.

Why is he lying to Mrs. Blackwood? Doesn’t she realize? Jim wondered.

Suddenly, Alexander’s gaze lifted, locking onto the rearview mirror. His sharp eyes met Jim’s.

Jim’s heart skipped a beat, a chill running down his spine. He quickly looked away.

"Wait for us outside," Alexander said coldly.

"Yes, sir!" Jim replied immediately, fumbling as he opened the door and hurried out.

The car fell into a heavy silence.

"Alicia... I’m sorry about how you have been getting hurt these past few days. It’s all my fault," Alexander said quietly.

"It’s fine. Let’s just forget about it," Alicia replied lightly, though her emotions were far from calm.

Alexander parted his lips as if to speak again, but no words came.

The events of yesterday were still unclear to Alicia. She couldn’t even read the words on her phone or computer screen anymore, and he suspected her accident was connected to the scandal.

For now, at least, she wouldn’t see the criticism and slander online—but that did little to ease his mind.

"Sorry," he said again.

"Mm." That was all Alicia gave in response.

Silence settled between them once more.

After a while, Alicia finally spoke. "What time is it?"

"Half past two."

"How long has it been? Why hasn’t Maria arrived yet?" she asked, a hint of anxiety creeping into her voice.

"Maybe she got caught in traffic. Let’s wait a little longer," Alexander replied, his lips pressed into a thin line, his expression tense.

"Alright," Alicia said softly.

A few more minutes passed before she spoke again, unable to hold back her worry.

"Why isn’t Maria here yet? Alexander, can you call her and check where she is?"

"Okay."

Alexander opened the car door and stepped out. A cool breeze brushed against his face as he stood there, caught in the middle of his own turmoil.