"Alexander... don’t you want me anymore?" Her voice trembled. "I’m really scared. I had a nightmare—I was trapped in that dark room again. It was pitch black. I screamed until my throat hurt, but no one came. They hit me... they shouted at me, and..."

Lilian’s frantic voice came through the phone.

"Lilian, if you’re scared, you should see a therapist."

"I just want you to be with me..."

"Lilian, are you asking me to choose between you and Nana?"

"...I didn’t mean that."

"Even if you didn’t, I need to be clear—between you and Nana, I will choose her. Do you understand?"

"...I understand. I won’t be scared anymore. I’ll see a doctor, like you said."

"Good."

After ending the call, I quickly got dressed. "I’m going to check on Nana. You should get some more sleep," I said, deliberately breaking Alicia’s pretense.

"Mm... okay," she murmured, her eyes still closed.

I left the room and headed to Nana’s ward, only to find Nadia already there.

"I thought you’d gone back," I said.

"No. Something came up, so I’ll be staying a while longer. I was in a meeting yesterday and didn’t know what happened to Nana. I came as soon as I found out," she replied. "You should go and get some rest. Don’t worry—I’m here with her."

"Mm, thanks, Nadia."

With that, I returned to Alicia’s room. When I got back, she was already asleep. I took off my coat and slipped into bed beside her.

Third person POV

After the call with Alexander, Lilian stood still for a moment, her grip tightening around her phone before she tossed it onto the sofa in frustration.

"This can’t be happening," she muttered, her voice trembling with anger. "Why is Alexander suddenly changing towards me?"

Kendra studied her reaction, her expression unreadable. "That woman is getting to him, isn’t she?"

Lilian let out a cold laugh, though there was no humor in it. "She shouldn’t even be in a position to do that." Her eyes narrowed. "How did she even survive?"

Kendra looked away briefly. "Things didn’t go exactly as planned... but she was lucky."

"Lucky?" Lilian scoffed, beginning to pace. "No. Not just lucky." She stopped abruptly, something clicking in her mind. "Every time something happens, she slips through. And now Alexander..." Her voice trailed off, her expression darkening.

Kendra frowned. "What about him?"

Lilian turned slowly, her gaze sharp. "He’s not just acting strange. He’s interfering."

Silence lingered between them.

"At first, I thought he was doing everything for me—that was the impression he gave," Lilian continued, her tone lowering. "But now..." She hesitated, her brows tightening. "It’s like he’s controlling what she sees... what she knows."

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Even now, Alicia should have reacted..."

Lilian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She knew exactly the kind of person Alicia was—someone who would never risk tarnishing Alexander’s reputation but still,she wouldn’t be this quiet about it.

"Which means..." her voice dropped, "someone is making sure she doesn’t.".Lilian’s eyes flickered as a memory surfaced—the kitchen that day, Alexander’s calm but firm voice saying he didn’t want Alicia to see anything.

At the time, it had seemed insignificant.

Now, it wasn’t.

"He didn’t want her to see it," Lilian murmured, realization dawning.

Kendra’s posture stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Lilian’s gaze sharpened. "He’s keeping things from her."

"You might be overthinking it," Kendra said quickly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"No," Lilian replied, her voice firm. "If Alicia had seen everything, she wouldn’t stay quiet. Someone is making sure she doesn’t." Her expression hardened. "And the only person who can do that without raising suspicion... is Alexander."

Kendra exhaled slowly. "Then we need to be careful."

"We do," Lilian agreed. "Make sure Lucas keeps a low profile. No unnecessary movements." Her gaze turned cold. "You know how Alexander is. Once he starts digging, he won’t stop."

"I’ll handle it," Kendra said.

Lilian shook her head impatiently. "That’s not enough. The divorce is taking too long, and every step we take somehow gets blocked." Her eyes darkened with resolve. "We need another approach."

She paused, a dangerous glint flashing across her eyes.

"Alicia has already escaped once... next time, she won’t."

Alicia’s POV

After an hour, we both woke up and freshened up. Alexander asked someone to bring breakfast to the room, and we ate quietly.

When we were done, I figured Grandma should be awake by now, so I went to his room with Alexander.

When we entered, Nadia, Grace, and Aunt Rose were already there. Uncle Steve must have gone back to work—since he was overseas, he probably had things to handle on his computer. I also noticed two distant relatives in the room.

"Ah, Alexander and Alicia are here."

"Aunt, Cousin Amelia," I greeted as I walked in beside Alexander. We exchanged greetings with the others as well.

I glanced around. Grandma still hadn’t woken up.

"Why don’t you sit next to Nana?" Alexander said softly.

There was a table and two chairs between us, but he still guided me over, as if worried I wouldn’t be able to see clearly. He helped me sit beside Aunt Rose before taking a seat nearby.

"The young couple really gets along well," the second aunt teased.

"That’s true. Alexander and Alicia make the perfect match," Cousin Amelia added with a smile.

Her relationship with the Blackwood family wasn’t very close, but with the company’s support, her family had managed to run a small business.

Alexander smiled faintly and spoke politely. "How’s Uncle doing? I heard he recently registered a small factory."

Amelia immediately brightened. "Yes, he’s trying to expand the business..."

After a few exchanges, she became noticeably more cheerful.

Somehow, the topic shifted.

Her gaze moved between me and Alexander. "Alexander, you’re getting older, and Alicia isn’t exactly too young either. When are you two planning to have a child?"

At that, Aunt Rose and the others all looked at us.

"Yes, it’s about time," the second aunt added. "Alicia’s at the right age."

My hand moved to my abdomen almost instinctively.

I was already pregnant.

But I couldn’t let him know.

Alexander smiled faintly. "We’re not planning to have a child just yet."

My fingers tightened slightly. I nodded along, forcing myself to stay calm.

"I understand. You young people still want to enjoy your time together," Nadia teased. "I’ve mentioned it to them a few times, but they always brush it off. I just want a niece or nephew—but who knows when that will happen?"

I didn’t say anything.

For a moment, I didn’t even dare to look at Alexander.

The conversation soon drifted away, returning to lighter topics.

After a while, Amelia and the others stood up to leave. They urged Alexander to go to work instead of staying at the hospital all day.

He hesitated for a moment... before finally leaving.

<<<<>>>>

Nana had been in the ICU for three days, and after Dr. Harrison confirmed her improvement, she was finally moved to a regular room. I’d been at the hospital the whole time, staying close to Nana, and my vision was slowly improving too. Everyone else had mostly stayed as well, keeping her company.

Grandma, however, hated being in the hospital. As soon as she left the ICU, she started insisting on going home. It took all of us, including Dr. Harrison, to convince her to stay a few more days.

"You’re something else. It’s just a few more days in the hospital. What’s so bad about it?" Uncle Steve said.

"I don’t like staying in the hospital. I know my own body," Grandma muttered.

At that moment, Alexander entered. "Nana, you should listen to Dr. Harrison. Stay here a few more days, or we’ll all be worried." Grandma fell silent.

He then glanced at me on the sofa and walked over, placing something on the table. I looked closer—it was a small box of chocolate cookies from my favorite bakery.

"Oh thank you" I murmured, surprised.

Alexander gave a small smile. "Thought you could use a little sweet distraction."

Just then, Grace peeked in and smirked. "Aww, look at you two. Cookies and smiles... hospital romance already?"

I felt my cheeks heat up, and Alexander chuckled. For a moment, even among beeping machines and hospital walls, it felt light and real—like things were finally going back to normal but deep down I knew not to let any of these deceive me.