Lilian froze for a moment.

Ever since that day at the hospital—when the psychologist refused to continue seeing her and indirectly revealed that Alexander had instructed him not to contact him regarding her anymore—she had understood something clearly.

Alexander no longer wanted to see her.

After realizing her emotional breakdowns were no longer effective, she had no choice but to pretend her condition was stabilizing while quietly waiting for another opportunity.

But now—

Alexander had come to see her himself.

Joy instantly swept away her exhaustion.

"I-I’ll come down right now!"

She hurriedly threw off her blanket and rushed toward the mirror.

Her long hair was messy from sleep, and her pale face still carried traces of fatigue.

She wore a thin floral nightdress that fell above her knees, soft and delicate.

After hesitating briefly, she quickly applied lipstick, grabbed a jacket, and rushed downstairs with her keys.

The underground garage was silent except for the sound of hurried footsteps.

"Alexander!"

Her voice echoed lightly through the empty space.

Alexander stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him.

The dim lighting blurred the sharpness of his features, making his expression difficult to read.

Lilian walked toward him quickly, her eyes bright with barely concealed happiness.

"Why didn’t you come upstairs?" she asked softly.

Then, biting her lip slightly, she added,

"I thought... you didn’t want to see me anymore."

As she drew closer, the smell of alcohol reached her.

"You’ve been drinking?" she asked worriedly. "Do you want to come upstairs? I’ll make you some hot water—"

"No need."

Alexander interrupted calmly.

His indifferent tone instantly stiffened her smile.

"The reason I came tonight is because there’s something I need to tell you."

The atmosphere in the garage suddenly turned cold.

Lilian’s fingers unconsciously tightened around her jacket.

"What is it?"

Alexander leaned lazily against the car door, his gaze fixed on her.

"Pack your things."

"I’ll arrange for you to leave the country."

"Don’t come back again."

For a second, Lilian thought she had misheard him.

Her eyes widened.

"...What?"

"I’ll send you abroad," Alexander repeated calmly. "You won’t need to come back."

"No."

Lilian shook her head violently and immediately grabbed his sleeve.

"No, Alexander... I don’t want to leave!"

"You don’t understand what these past few years have been like for me!"

Her voice trembled uncontrollably.

"Every night I wake up from nightmares. I can’t sleep. I’m terrified all the time..."

Tears quickly filled her eyes.

"Only when you’re around do I feel safe."

"I can’t live without you."

"So please... don’t send me away."

Alexander slowly pulled his sleeve from her grasp.

His movements were cold and detached.

"If that’s true," he said quietly, "then why did you insist on breaking up with me back then?"

Lilian froze.

"I..."

"You said you left because you felt unworthy after what happened."

Alexander’s gaze darkened slightly.

"But was that really the truth?"

Lilian’s breathing faltered.

Alexander stared at her steadily.

"You said everything happened after you left my place that night."

"But the location where you were taken..."

His voice became colder.

"...was nowhere near my apartment."

Lilian’s pupils shrank instantly.

Alexander continued calmly,

"You disappeared almost an hour later, in a completely different area."

"So tell me, Lilian."

"Who were you meeting that night?"

Silence.

Lilian’s face turned pale.

Alexander watched her reaction quietly.

Then he asked the question directly.

"Was it Daniel?"

Lilian’s lips trembled slightly.

At that moment, Alexander already had his answer.

After his conversation with Raphael, he had begun reconsidering many things.

At first, he thought Daniel had simply lied to provoke him.

But then, Lucas Knight finally agreed to speak.

According to Lucas, after leaving Alexander’s place that night, Lilian had gone to meet Daniel.

Lucas used to work under Daniel at that time,He needed money for his mom’s treatment and so Daniel used that opportunity and got him and a few colleagues to gang up and kidnap Lilian that night.

According to him

Before the kidnapping occurred, Lilian had indeed entered Daniel’s apartment building willingly.

The dim garage fell into dead silence.

Lilian’s face slowly stiffened.

Then suddenly—

She laughed bitterly through her tears.

"So you finally figured it out."

Alexander remained expressionless.

Lilian’s emotions finally broke apart completely.

"Yes!"

Her voice rose sharply.

"Yes, I went to see Daniel!"

"Yes, I was secretly seeing him!"

Tears streamed down her face.

"I was the one who gave him access to the confidential information!"

"But all of it happened because of you!"

Alexander stayed silent.

Lilian cried as years of resentment finally exploded out of her.

"I loved you so much, Alexander!"

"But what did you ever give me?"

"You were always cold! Always distant!"

"Everyone thought I was the luckiest woman alive for dating you, but no one knew how lonely I was!"

Her voice shook violently.

"You never cared about my feelings!"

"You never comforted me!"

"You wouldn’t even touch me properly because you were never certain about our future!"

"At some point, I started wondering if you even loved me at all!"

She covered her face as she sobbed.

"And then Daniel appeared..."

"He was gentle to me."

"He listened to me."

"He made me feel wanted."

"So I fell for him."

A bitter smile appeared through her tears.

"But after he got what he wanted, he changed completely."

"That night, I went to his apartment and found another woman there."

"He admitted he never truly loved me."

"I got angry and threatened to tell you everything."

Her breathing became uneven.

"I left his place intending to find you..."

"But on the way..."

Her body trembled visibly.

"A vehicle stopped near me."

"And then..."

Lilian slowly closed her eyes.

"That’s when they took me."

The underground garage became silent again.

Only the sound of her crying remained.

Alexander stood there quietly, feeling strangely numb.

Deep down, he had already guessed pieces of the truth.

But hearing it directly from her still felt unreal.

For years—

He had chained himself to guilt.

He had sacrificed his marriage.

Sacrificed Alicia’s feelings.

Sacrificed himself.

All because he believed he had failed the person he loved.

But now—

The truth was far uglier than he had imagined.

And somehow...

That realization hurt even more.