"But why..." Alexander muttered softly.

"Why did it take me so long to realize it?"

Raphael smiled faintly.

"The person trapped in the middle is always blind," he said calmly. "The people outside see things much more clearly."

He leaned back slightly before continuing,

"You and Lilian... honestly, from the beginning, that relationship was mostly driven by her."

"She adapted to you. Chased after you. Tried to fit into your world."

"To me, it never looked like a relationship built on equal feelings."

Raphael paused briefly.

"I didn’t expect her to come back."

"And I definitely didn’t expect that even after she returned, you’d still let yourself get tangled up with her."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"I thought you would eventually understand that the only person you truly owed anything to... was yourself."

"Alicia never owed Lilian anything."

"You shouldn’t make Alicia suffer just to compensate for your guilt toward someone else."

"And you definitely shouldn’t drag her into that mess with you."

Raphael’s words struck Alexander like a sudden blow.

He lowered his head slightly before letting out a quiet, almost self-mocking laugh.

"You make it sound so simple."

His voice sounded exhausted.

"So why did it take me this long to understand?"

His thoughts drifted uncontrollably to that night.

The night he and Alicia had been tangled together in bed—

Only for Lilian’s agent to suddenly call and say Lilian had disappeared.

At the time, Alicia had asked him to stay.

But he still left without hesitation.

Worse—

He had even accused her of being cold and lacking empathy.

Alexander slowly closed his eyes.

Looking back now, those words felt unbearably cruel.

Why should Alicia sympathize with the woman who had destroyed her marriage?

If someone called him today and told him Aiden was missing—

He would probably applaud.

Raphael continued calmly,

"And honestly, even if you did owe Lilian something, that still doesn’t mean you should indulge her endlessly."

"Back then, everyone blamed you for what happened."

"But they all conveniently ignored one thing."

"Both you and Lilian were adults."

"You weren’t her guardian."

"She chose to run away from school in the middle of the night. That was her decision."

"As for the kidnapping..."

Raphael’s expression darkened slightly.

"That was the kidnappers’ greed and cruelty. It had nothing to do with you."

"Calling the police was the correct decision at the time."

"If you hadn’t, things might’ve turned out even worse."

"I know you feel guilty," he admitted. "That’s why you’ve spent all these years trying to compensate her."

"But compensation isn’t unconditional."

Raphael’s voice became firmer.

"If Lilian asked you to break the law for her, would you do it?"

"Promises don’t last forever either."

He looked directly at Alexander.

"If you and Alicia had a child someday, and Lilian still wanted to be with you..."

"Would you agree to that too?"

Alexander froze completely.

Raphael sighed quietly.

"Lilian is an adult."

"She chose to leave back then."

"In a way, she abandoned that promise herself."

"She has to take responsibility for her own choices too."

The private room fell silent again.

After a while, Raphael finally stood up slowly.

"I’ve said everything I wanted to say."

He looked at Alexander seriously.

"Don’t betray your own heart anymore."

"Think carefully about what you truly want."

"I believe you already know the answer."

After Raphael finished speaking, Alexander remained motionless for a very long time.

When it came to matters like this—

Raphael and Uncle Steve were the only people who had ever dared tell him the truth directly.

His mind drifted back unwillingly to the years after Lilian’s accident. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Back then, everyone around him had blamed him endlessly.

His professor had once said:

"She ran away. Why didn’t you chase after her? What kind of boyfriend are you? If you had gone after her, none of this would’ve happened."

"A real man takes responsibility."

Even the older police officer at the station had sighed and told him:

"She’s a girl, and you’re the man. Men should be more understanding."

"If you hadn’t argued with her, maybe this never would’ve happened."

Again and again—

People told him it was his fault.

That he needed to spend the rest of his life making up for it.

And slowly, over time—

Even he had started believing it.

But now...

For the first time—

Alexander realized Raphael was right.

No one had wanted that tragedy to happen.

Not him.

Not Lilian.

And yet, he had spent years punishing himself for it.

But now—

Things had already reached this point.

He needed to fix everything properly.

The problem was...

How?

How could he make Alicia listen to him again?

Frustration surged violently inside him.

Raphael casually pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

But before he could take a puff, Alexander suddenly reached over, grabbed it, and placed it between his lips.

The harsh smoke immediately made him cough violently.

Raphael froze in shock.

Because Alexander had never smoked.

Not back in university when everyone around them did.

Not even after Lilian’s accident, when he had been at his lowest.

Alexander had always seemed restrained.

Disciplined.

Almost painfully clean.

But now—

For the first time—

Cracks were finally beginning to appear.

<<<<<<>>>>>

Raphael didn’t trust Alexander to drive himself after how much he had drunk, so he contacted Jim and had him come pick him up from the club.

The black car slowly drove out of the underground parking lot.

For a while, silence filled the car.

Then, from the back seat, Alexander suddenly asked him to drive him somewhere first.

Jim glanced at him through the rearview mirror but didn’t ask questions.

"Yes, sir."

Late at night, the sleek black sports car silently rolled into the underground garage of another upscale estate.

"Sir, we’ve arrived," Jim said softly after stopping the car.

Alexander sat in the rear seat with his eyes closed, his head leaning against the leather seat.

"Mm."

His low reply sounded tired.

A few moments later, he slowly opened his eyes and pulled his phone from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

The screen’s pale glow illuminated his cold features.

He dialed a number.

After several rings, the call connected.

A sleepy yet surprised voice came from the other end.

"Alexander...?"

"I’m downstairs."

"Come out"...