"I’ll send someone to take you to the airport tomorrow," Alexander said calmly.

"Make sure your things are packed."

Lilian’s face instantly turned pale.

"Alexander... do you really have to do this?"

Her voice trembled.

"Do you hate me that much now?"

She took a shaky step closer, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Do you even realize what people are saying about me after your interview aired?"

"They’re calling me the homewrecker who destroyed your marriage..."

Alexander looked at her coldly.

"And did you never think about that before?"

Lilian froze.

The words caught in her throat instantly.

Alexander’s voice remained calm, but every word felt sharp enough to cut.

"You knew Alicia and I were already married."

"And yet you repeatedly used your illness to keep me by your side."

"You used my guilt against me."

"Again and again."

His gaze darkened slightly.

"Didn’t that ever make you feel uneasy?"

Lilian stared at him blankly.

But deep down, Alexander knew the person who had hurt Alicia the most was never Lilian. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

It was him.

From the very beginning—

He was the one who allowed everything to spiral this far.

He was the one who failed to draw boundaries.

The one who kept indulging the past while ignoring the person beside him.

Looking at Lilian’s pale face, Alexander suddenly felt exhausted.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again.

"Lilian."

His voice softened slightly.

"We both need to let go of the past."

"It’s over."

"For years, I blamed myself for what happened to you."

"I thought I owed you forever."

A faint self-mocking smile appeared on his face.

"But I realize now... I handled everything the wrong way."

"I shouldn’t have kept giving you hope."

"And I definitely shouldn’t have indulged you like this."

Lilian’s eyes immediately reddened further.

"So... you really want to abandon me?"

Alexander closed his eyes briefly before reopening them.

"I’ll give you a choice."

Lilian immediately looked up at him.

"You can stay here."

"But from this moment onward, we’ll have nothing to do with each other."

His tone became colder again.

"I’ll terminate your endorsement contract with Blackwood Dominion."

"And all the opportunities you received through me will end as well."

"From now on, your career will depend entirely on yourself."

"I won’t interfere anymore."

Lilian stared at him in disbelief.

For a moment, she couldn’t even speak.

In the entertainment industry, talent alone was never enough.

Connections.

Resources.

Capital.

Those were the real foundations of success.

Countless beautiful and talented women remained unknown forever because they lacked backing.

Meanwhile, others rose effortlessly simply because someone powerful was willing to support them.

Lilian understood this reality better than anyone.

The Summer family might be wealthy—

But compared to the Blackwood family, they were insignificant.

And more importantly...

Her mother had always opposed her relationship with Alexander after he got married.

If she lost Alexander now, her family would never continue helping her openly.

Without him—

Everything she currently had could disappear overnight.

Panic finally surfaced in her eyes.

"Alexander... please..."

She grabbed his sleeve again desperately.

"Don’t be this cruel to me..."

"If I were truly cruel," Alexander said coldly, pulling away from her grasp again, "I would’ve stopped helping you a long time ago."

Lilian’s tears fell harder instantly.

Alexander looked away slightly.

For the first time—

He realized that his so-called kindness over the years had only made everything worse.

If he had ended things firmly from the start...

Perhaps Alicia wouldn’t have suffered so much.

Perhaps Lilian wouldn’t have continued clinging to false hope either.

The underground garage became quiet again except for Lilian’s muffled sobs.

After a while, Alexander finally spoke.

"In that case..."

"I’ll make the decision for you.

" Tomorrow I’ll send someone to take you to the airport."

"You’ll leave the country."

Lilian’s face completely lost its color.

"No..."

She grabbed onto him frantically.

"Alexander, please..."

"I’ll listen to you."

"I’ll go."

"I’ll leave."

"But give me a few days first..."

"At least let me properly say goodbye to my parents and friends..."

Alexander stared at her silently for several seconds.

Then finally:

"Five days."

Lilian lowered her head weakly.

"...Okay."

Alexander said nothing more.

He simply turned around, opened the car door, and got inside.

The black sports car slowly drove away beneath the dim underground lights.

Lilian remained standing there alone.

The tears on her face gradually disappeared.

The helplessness in her expression slowly twisted into something darker.

Her nails dug deeply into her palms until crescent-shaped marks appeared on her skin.

Originally, she thought that after learning the truth, Alexander would completely destroy her.

But unexpectedly—

He still chose to leave her a way out.

He was even willing to help her settle abroad.

That calmness unsettled her more than anger would have.

Because it meant something far worse.

It meant Alexander truly intended to let her go.

And Lilian knew—

After everything that had happened...

She couldn’t possibly leave this quietly.

Alexander’s POV

The car slowly rolled into The Estates.

I leaned back against the seat, motionless for a long moment before finally speaking.

"Jim, you can retire for the night."

"Yes, sir. You should rest too."

Jim stepped out after parking the car, leaving the silence behind him.

I remained inside for a while longer before finally pushing the door open and stepping out.

Cool night air brushed against my face.

Leaning against the car door, I lifted my gaze toward the second floor.

The master bedroom was dark.

She was probably already asleep.

Asleep in the room that still carried traces of me.

Over the past two years, countless nights had been spent there together — quiet mornings, late nights, tangled sheets, familiar warmth.

Maybe I hadn’t been the perfect husband.

But at some point... we had still been content.

And now everything had been ruined by my own hands.

The emptiness in that dark window felt no different from the hollow ache inside my chest.

I lowered my eyes and reached into my pocket, pulling out the cigarette pack I had taken from Raphael earlier.

One cigarette slid between my fingers.

I lit it awkwardly.

The sharp smoke hit my throat almost instantly.

I bent over coughing harshly, one hand braced against the car door.

After a while, the coughing finally eased.

I stared at the burning cigarette between my fingers for a few quiet seconds before slowly placing it back between my lips.

Smoke drifted into the cold night air, blurring my vision slightly.

For the first time in years, I suddenly understood why people used things like alcohol and cigarettes to numb themselves.

Because some regrets were too painful to stay sober through.