Entering the house meant Casandra could breathe a sigh of relief because she wasn’t alone in taking care of the sick Alexander. It’s not that Casandra didn’t want to take care of her husband, but she didn’t understand what he disliked and what medicine Alexander should take when he was sick. Alexander, who was hot-tempered and had many restrictions, automatically had several things to avoid when he was sick, so it was better for Casandra to play it safe than sorry.
Casandra didn’t want to mishandle someone more sensitive than a pregnancy test. “Finally, you both arrived,” Meri greeted them as they returned. Alexander looked weak and pale, his fever still high despite Casandra giving him a fever-reducing medicine at the airport. “You, having a dinner with Cesilia when it was clear the food was prepared by Mama for you and Casandra. This means it’s your fault and karma for you!” Meri scolded, lightly hitting Alexander’s arm repeatedly, unaware that her son was now truly weak and dizzy.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Alexander winced, “Your child is sick, and instead of welcoming me kindly, you hit me like this. There’s no difference between having dinner with Cesilia or Casandra. I feel the same either way.”
“Yes, there is a difference. What’s wrong with you?” Meri continued hitting Alexander’s arm. “Mom, if you keep doing this, I might die,” he pleaded, asking his mother to stop.
“Die? As if that’s okay! You haven’t given Mama any grandchildren. You’re just fooling around with death. Wait until you have many children, they grow up and become independent, have their own children, then you can consider whether you want to die or not.”
“Oh my goodness… Is this really how you are, Mom?!” Alexander sat down on the sofa. He felt extremely dizzy if he followed his mother’s wishes. He might die young just because he was sick and got beaten like earlier.
“Casandra, please get Alexander some warm water. The doctor will be coming soon,” Meri ordered, and Casandra nodded, hurrying to do as instructed by her mother-in-law.
“Is this karma for you or what? Mama ordered dinner for you and Casandra, but you had it with Cesilia instead,” Meri kept going, leading Alexander to lie down on the sofa.
“Oh, Mom, there’s no connection between dinner and my fever. You’re just making things up.”
Alexander didn’t want to discuss dinner anymore, which supposedly had something to do with his fever. In reality, he had a fever because he took a long bath last night to cool off his beloved sibling.
“The food Mama ordered contains medicine to make you ready for your wedding night,” Meri whispered, almost inaudible to Alexander.
However, he could still hear her well, although not too loud. “Wait, does Mama mean there’s something like… aphrodisiac in the food?”
Meri nodded quickly. “Yes, so that you and Casandra won’t feel awkward doing it. But you ended up having dinner with Cesilia instead. So, did you do it with Cesilia if not with Casandra?”
Meri was now curious.
“No, Mom. After dinner, we talked for a while in the room, then she got a call from her boss. She had to go back to Jakarta for some work that had to be finished last night. Not long after that, I wanted to do it, and I took a shower to cool off. And that’s what happened.”
“Gone? Well, what about Cesilia then?” Meri panicked. After all, Cesilia was still her daughter-in-law. If Cesilia left after consuming the medicine, Meri was afraid she would do it with any random man. Meanwhile, Alexander was staying in the hotel with Casandra.
“I don’t know, Mom.” Alexander quickly took out his phone from his pants. “I hope she did the same as me. It’s better to have a fever than to do it with someone else. Mama, seriously, you always make things up.”
Alexander continued to grumble. “Why are you blaming Mama instead? Mama clearly said it was for both of you, not for you and Cesilia. It’s your fault.”
“It’s Mama’s fault for doing inappropriate things.”
“It’s your fault. Why didn’t you tell me that Cesilia was staying at the same hotel?”
“I didn’t know, Mom. She suddenly came over for dinner. I already told her that I didn’t want any disturbances,” Alexander explained while trying hard to contact Cesilia.
Unfortunately, her phone number couldn’t be reached. “Where is she?” Alexander looked at his phone. The last time Cesilia opened her chat application was around eleven o’clock last night.
“Maybe she’s still sleeping,” Meri reassured Alexander.
“If she’s just sleeping, it’s fine, Mom. But the question is, where did she go after she left last night? That’s what worries me.”
“No, since she left for Bali, she hasn’t come home at all.”
“Then where is she?” Alexander was really worried about his wife’s current whereabouts. He was already anxious when she was going out normally.
Especially now that Cesilia left after consuming the medicine, as her mother mentioned.
“Should I look for Cesilia?”
“You’re running a fever, and you want to look for your wife? Besides, you don’t even know where she went after your conversation at the hotel last night,” Meri raised her eyebrow. “Or maybe it’s better if you hire someone to spy and investigate what your wife is doing out there. Don’t trust too much, getting a contract with a famous brand is not an easy matter.”
“No need, I trust her.” Alexander shifted to sit up. “I will find her.”
“Okay, where will you go?”
“Maybe to her agency?” He tried hard to sit up. “Where are the car keys, Mom?” he asked with slightly labored breath, as he still couldn’t move properly.
However, his concern for Cesilia was greater than the pain he was feeling at the moment.
“The car keys are over there.” Meri pointed to the display cabinet in the living room.
“I’m leaving,” he said briefly. Hastily looking for the car keys in the place his mother mentioned earlier.
Alexander didn’t care about his condition; what mattered to him was making sure Cesilia was alright. The first place he would go to was the agency that represented Cesilia as a model.
He hoped his wife would be there.
“Where did Alexander go, Mom?” Casandra asked, surprised to see Alexander was no longer in the living room. As far as she remembered, she left her husband there, but now only Meri was sitting alone.
A look of worry appeared on her face. “But, he’s your husband. He’s sick, why isn’t he resting at home instead of wandering around like that?”
“Alexander went to look for Cesilia.”
“Oh, did Mrs. Cesilia ask for a pick-up?”
“No, dear. Cesilia can’t be reached, and there’s something that makes Alexander uneasy, so he went to find her.”
Casandra nodded, not fully understanding what Meri said, but she pretended to understand to avoid getting involved in too much of Alexander and Cesilia’s stories.
“Cas, it’s better for you to rest now.”
“But, what about Alexander, Mom? He’s really running a fever.”
“It’s okay. Alexander is a strong person. If he can’t handle it, he’ll contact the driver to take him home. Now, go to your room and rest. Prepare yourself. Mama will make sure that soon you and Alexander will start producing grandchildren for Mama.”
Casandra simply nodded, feeling awkward as Meri always brought up the topic of having grandchildren with her, even though Alexander hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to have children with the middle-aged woman.***
“Cesilia, there’s Mr. Alexander downstairs,” said a girl approaching Cesilia, who was sitting in the makeup room. She looked gloomy with slightly swollen eyes. Since morning, she had been crying, regretting her foolishness for falling into Maxime’s trap.
Moreover, now that the man was following her everywhere she went. Just look, as she waited for Maxime’s makeup artist to finish, he sat not far from her, glancing at a magazine with Cesilia’s photos in it.
“Tell him I’m still doing a photoshoot. I’ll meet him in my room in about half an hour,” Cesilia instructed the girl.
“Sure.” The girl excused herself to convey the message to Alexander, who was waiting in the lounge.
“Why aren’t you meeting Alexander yet?” Maxime embraced Cesilia from behind.
“You really should take some distance from me when we’re in public like this. Listen, I’m someone’s wife, and it will ruin my career if you dare to make physical contact with me in public like this.” Trying to break free from Maxime, she was afraid that other employees or crew members might see his behavior.
“I don’t care what they might say.”
“Of course, you don’t care because I will be the one most affected here. My career could be ruined, and you know this career is my life. Even Alexander doesn’t want to interfere with my career, yet you intend to destroy it. If that’s the case, I’d rather expose our agreement to the public.” Resisting slightly, Cesilia hoped her threat would make Maxime back off. Even if it’s just a little, it might make him keep his distance in public.
“Up to you, I’ll follow whatever path you want. If you really want to reveal everything, then our relationship will be exposed as well. If you’re confident that Alexander will still accept you as you are, go ahead.”
Cesilia clenched her fists tightly. “But with your behavior like this, it’s like pushing me into the abyss of destruction, Maxime. It’s the same as you-”
Her words hung in the air as Maxime’s index finger was already on her lips.
“Relax, Darling. Everyone in this agency already knows about our relationship.”
Cesilia’s eyes widened, surprised by the statement. “And just now, I told everyone in this agency to keep their mouths shut if they want to keep their jobs and earn money here.”
“I don’t believe you can go this far, Maxime!” Cesilia shook her head.
“Of course I can. As I said, I love you so much that I will gradually take over your world. Starting with this agency, for example, so that I can be with you without any fear. Gradually, I will take control of your entire world so that what I do to you won’t be scorned, but cheers of joy.”
“Don’t expect more from our relationship.” Cesilia pushed away Maxime’s attempt to hug her.
“After Wid is gone. Accept the fact that I am better than Alexander, and now find a way or words to ask him to stay away from you. I don’t like my property being touched by other men.”
Cesilia shook her head. “You’re insane! It wasn’t Alexander who touched your property; it’s you who stole me from him.”
“I didn’t steal; you came to me, begging me to revise the work contract back then. And you were willing to indulge me as the final condition to have all the job requirements as you wished. So, where’s the fault if I became addicted to your body and had to add a few essential points to enjoy you whenever I want?”
Cesilia closed her eyes tightly, realizing what Maxime said was true. She was the one who offered to do anything to change the contract. In truth, she never expected that her body was what he was after. And as an agreement, Cesilia couldn’t deny that that day was the first day and the beginning of the destruction in her marriage.
Her career might have been flourishing, but she feared that if Alexander found out about the cheating she did with Maxime, it would ruin their marriage.
“Now you can back off; I want to meet Alexander.” Cesilia glanced at the clock hanging in the makeup room.
She had been listening to Maxime’s nonsense for almost half an hour; now it was time to go downstairs and meet Alexander.
“Fifteen minutes. No more.” Maxime allowed Cesilia to leave the makeup room.
“You’re crazy,” Cesilia muttered before leaving the room. She hurried to the elevator to meet Alexander on the ground floor.
“Where have you been, darling?” Alexander immediately hugged Cesilia, worried that something was wrong with his wife, fearing that the effects of the medicine his mother put in her food might have a bad impact on her.
“I didn’t go anywhere. I’m here. You see, right?” Cesilia loosened her hug from Alexander, afraid that Maxime might see what they were doing. If he didn’t accept it and got angry seeing their intimacy, their marriage would become even more complicated.
“I’m glad if that’s the case. I was really worried about you,” Alexander tried to appear fine, even though his body was really weak, and his headache was unbearable.
If Cesilia wasn’t panicking and her mind wasn’t preoccupied with Maxime, she would have noticed that Alexander had a high temperature. His face was pale, but all her fear transformed her into a different woman. Not only did her heart go numb, but her skin and eyes couldn’t feel that Alexander wasn’t well.
“You saw that I’m fine, right? So now you can go home. I want to work.” Cesilia ran her fingers through Alexander’s hair, catching a glimpse of Maxime’s presence, so she didn’t want any arguments between him and her husband.
“Are you sure? Were you okay last night?” Alexander made sure Cesilia’s condition was alright. Although he should be the one worried, Cesilia was the one worrying about him while he was in this sick state.
“I’m fine, nothing happened last night. I worked, and I must have been tired and fell asleep.”
“Thank goodness then.” Alexander breathed a sigh of relief, hugging Cesilia tightly. He kissed the top of his beloved wife’s head, whom he missed so much. “Forgive me for not being a good husband to you so far, so you haven’t found happiness as my wife. But I promise I’ll support your career to reach the highest point you desire.”
Alexander hoped that with his statement, Cesilia could return to being the wife she used to be. Not avoiding and making time for the two of them.
Cesilia didn’t return Alexander’s hug, as she felt Maxime’s sharp gaze on her. So, she just nodded weakly, screaming inside that she wanted to apologize to the man who truly loved her.
But Cesilia was selfish and wasted Alexander, falling into Maxime’s sinister game. If only time could be turned back, she might never have taken her first job as a model. If she hadn’t, she might now be at home, waiting for Alexander’s return with their baby.
However, because of her ambition and ego, their marriage and home were now on the brink. If Maxime spoke up even a little, Alexander would demand a divorce from her.
Could she handle it when that happened? Two years? Cesilia wasn’t sure she could hide her relationship with Maxime for two years, while the man had started to take control of her world by introducing himself as her new lover.
As evidenced by no one in the agency protesting when they saw Cesilia and Maxime being affectionate.
“Alright then, I’ll go home. Are you coming home today?” Alexander cupped Cesilia’s cheeks.
Cesilia shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, Alexander. Just pray that I finish my work soon so I can come home. Honestly, I miss you so much,” she whispered softly, so Maxime couldn’t hear what she said to Alexander.
Hoping that today Maxime would let her go home, even if she didn’t do anything to Alexander, at least she could hug him at home to her heart’s content. Relieving the longing that had been suffocating her.
“I hope you finish your task soon so you can come home, my dear. I miss you so much.” Unable to restrain himself, Alexander gave Cesilia a brief peck on her lips.
Alexander truly missed the sweetness and warmth of Cesilia’s lips. If only Maxime weren’t near them, Alexander would have kissed her deeply and nibbled on her lips as an expression of his longing.
Zayn’s jaw tightened, angry seeing Alexander dare to touch his woman. Because for Maxime, Cesilia belonged to him, no longer belonging to that man.
So when Alexander said goodbye to go home, Maxime immediately dragged Cesilia to a room not far from where they were standing.
“What are you doing?” Cesilia pulled Maxime’s hand that was gripping her, causing her wrist to ache from the tight grip.
“It’s actually me who wants to ask, what are you doing with that man?!” He slightly raised his voice, questioning the brief peck Alexander gave her earlier.
“He’s my husband, Maxime. Of course, he does that to me, and I don’t mind because he is my legal husband. He’s my husband, not you!!” Cesilia retorted right in Maxime’s face. She was disgusted, completely unable to hold back the pain and anger that had merged inside her heart.
Cesilia wanted to fight back, but Maxime had taken control of her life right now.
“You know I love him very much, and he’s my husband. So it’s only natural that I accept when he gives me a little kiss on my lips. I even want it.” Cesilia slapped Maxime’s chest as hard as she could. She cried, feeling hurt and overwhelmed; it was truly painful for her.
Maxime hugged Cesilia. “I’m sorry, Cesilia, but my love for you has surpassed everything else. I don’t care if you suffer or have a broken heart when you’re away from Alexander. All I know is that I can have you, even if it’s just these two years.”
“Say whatever you want, but don’t stop me from hugging Alexander. Just that. I miss him so much, and you know it.” Cesilia’s tears sounded painful as she expressed her feelings at the moment, hoping Maxime would give her a little freedom. So she could go home and embrace Alexander to her heart’s content. Relieving the longing that had been suffocating her.
“I hope you finish your task soon so you can come home, my dear. I miss you so much.” Unable to restrain himself, Alexander gave Cesilia a brief peck on her lips.
Alexander truly missed the sweetness and warmth of Cesilia’s lips. If only Maxime weren’t near them, Alexander would have kissed her deeply and nibbled on her lips as an expression of his longing.
Zayn’s jaw tightened, angry seeing Alexander dare to touch his woman. Because for Maxime, Cesilia belonged to him, no longer belonging to that man.
So when Alexander said goodbye to go home, Maxime immediately dragged Cesilia to a room not far from where they were standing.
“What are you doing?” Cesilia pulled Maxime’s hand that was gripping her, causing her wrist to ache from the tight grip.
“It’s actually me who wants to ask, what are you doing with that man?!” He slightly raised his voice, questioning the brief peck Alexander gave her earlier.
“He’s my husband, Maxime. Of course, he does that to me,