Third person POV

Alexander stood frozen where Alicia had left him.

The warmth lingering in his empty arms slowly faded, leaving behind an unfamiliar emptiness.

His eyes remained fixed on Alicia’s determined retreating figure until she disappeared completely at the top of the stairs.

The house suddenly felt unbearably quiet.

For the first time

He realized she truly wanted to leave.

And no matter what he said, she no longer seemed willing to stay.

He had finally just realized how deeply she had rooted herself into his life.

And now she wants to leave.

A strange heaviness settled in his chest.

He couldn’t understand it.

He had already clarified the rumors publicly.

He had offered to distance Lilian.

He had even begged her to stay.

So why was Alicia still insisting on divorce?

Was it really because of Aiden?

The thought made his expression darken unconsciously.

But deep down, he knew—

That answer didn’t feel entirely right.

Somewhere along the way, things between them had quietly changed beyond his control.

And for the first time in years, Alexander realized he could no longer read Alicia at all.

The feeling unsettled him more than he expected.

After standing there for a long time, he finally lowered his eyes and turned toward the door.

The cold night air greeted him as he stepped outside.

Yet the frustration and emptiness in his chest only grew heavier.

For the first time in a very long while

Alexander Blackwood felt completely lost.

Alexander got into his car and drove away from The Estates alone.

...

When Raphael pushed open the door to the private room, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

Especially when he saw Alexander sitting alone on the sofa, surrounded by several empty bottles.

Raphael quietly closed the door behind him and walked toward the table.

His gaze swept over the alcohol before settling on Alexander.

"Did you fight with Alicia?" he asked instinctively.

It was the only reason he could think of that would make Alexander look like this.

Alexander didn’t answer.

Instead, he lazily leaned forward, poured himself another glass, and swallowed it in one go.

Seeing him reach for the bottle again, Raphael quickly snatched it away.

Alexander reacted half a beat too slowly from the alcohol.

He slowly lifted his head and looked at Raphael before extending his hand.

"Give it back."

"I’m not interested in sitting here watching you drink yourself unconscious," Raphael said coldly. "If that’s all you called me here for, I’m leaving."

Alexander froze.

His outstretched hand slowly dropped onto his knee.

Then his body sank heavily into the sofa as though all the strength had drained out of him.

He leaned back with his eyes half-closed, trying to hide the emotions buried beneath them.

But the exhaustion under his eyes was impossible to conceal.

After a long silence, he suddenly muttered—

"She wants a divorce."

Raphael paused briefly.

But there was no surprise on his face.

He simply placed the bottle aside and sat down across from him.

"I figured."

Alexander’s eyes opened slightly as he looked over.

Raphael sighed quietly.

"At the last gathering—the one where you forced Micheal to apologize to Alicia..."

He paused.

"Only you and Micheal thought the matter had passed."

"Alicia’s expression back then was already wrong."

Alexander’s brows tightened slightly.

"She looked calm," Raphael continued. "Too calm."

"Like she didn’t care anymore."

Alexander froze again.

His mind unconsciously drifted back to that night.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t clearly remember Alicia’s expression anymore.

Raphael looked at him seriously.

"You always said Alicia was sensible. That she knew how to compromise and endure things quietly."

"And that’s true."

"But people like her are the hardest to stop once they finally give up."

Alexander remained silent.

Raphael’s voice lowered slightly.

"The moment Alicia started fighting back..."

"It meant she had already stopped expecting anything from you."

The room fell into silence.

Even the air seemed heavy.

After a long while, Alexander finally opened his eyes and looked at Raphael.

For the first time in years, there was something almost helpless in his gaze.

"Then why..."

His voice sounded hoarse.

"Why didn’t you warn me earlier?"

Raphael looked at him for several seconds before letting out a bitter laugh.

"I did warn you," he said calmly. "A long time ago."

Alexander looked up slowly.

Raphael leaned back against the sofa.

"I told you before—if you’re going to be soft with anyone, it should only be your wife."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"Other people may not understand you, Alexander."

"But I do."

"And honestly..."

Raphael paused briefly before continuing,

"Even back then, the way you looked at Alicia already said more than you realized."

Alexander fell silent.

His gaze slowly drifted downward, his thoughts becoming distant.

Had his feelings for Alicia really started that early?

Had he already cared about her far more than he was willing to admit?

...Maybe.

Otherwise—

Why had he still insisted they remain "siblings" even after bringing up divorce?

A low laugh escaped his lips.

Now that he thought about it, the idea sounded utterly ridiculous.

How could divorced people continue acting like brother and sister?

But back then, subconsciously—

He simply hadn’t wanted Alicia to leave his life completely.

That was why, even during the divorce discussions, he had deliberately kept the villa out of the settlement.

The place carried traces of her everywhere.

Her books.

Her flowers.

Her habits.

Her presence had already quietly blended into every corner of that house.

And he had selfishly wanted to keep those memories behind.

That was also why—

The moment Alicia agreed to the divorce so calmly, an unsettling panic had started growing inside him.

And when she mentioned leaving her job and moving away with Aiden, he had opposed it almost instinctively.

At the time, he convinced himself he was only looking out for her.

Like a brother.

Like family.

But now he finally understood—

It had never been brotherly concern at all.

It was jealousy.

Pure selfishness.

That was also why, on the day they were supposed to finalize the divorce, he clearly noticed the signed papers still sitting on the bedside table—

Yet deliberately chose not to remind her.

Even something as simple as going to the courthouse had been repeatedly delayed by him again and again.

Deep down—

He had never truly wanted the divorce.

And then there was Lilian.

Back then, whenever Lilian tried taking their relationship further, he always found excuses to avoid it.

At the time, he thought he simply wasn’t ready.

But now, looking back—

He realized the truth was far simpler than that.

Somewhere deep inside, he had unconsciously left a door open for Alicia.

Because if he had truly crossed that final line with Lilian—

There would have been no way back.

The room fell into silence.

And for the first time, Alexander finally understood the reason behind every contradiction.

Every hesitation.

Every delay.

Every moment of selfish unwillingness to let Alicia go.

The answers had been there all along.

He had simply been too blind to see them.