Angry. Jealous. Casandra couldn’t quite figure out what she was feeling. What was clear was that her chest felt like it was burning as she saw Alexander and Cesilia being affectionate like this.
However, she tried to hide her mixed emotions and gracefully walked towards the wardrobe, ignoring Cesilia’s presence as she now sat on Alexander’s lap.
As if nothing was happening in the room, Casandra began organizing the clothes inside the wardrobe. Her hands were trembling, cold sweat formed on her forehead, and she struggled to contain the tightness in her chest while taking out and moving the items from the suitcase into the wardrobe.
Casandra had no intention whatsoever to even glance at Cesilia and Alexander sitting on the edge of the bed. It was as if she didn’t have any feelings in her heart.
It was as if Alexander and Cesilia were her masters.
“Please respect Casandra’s presence here,” Alexander whispered to Cesilia, asking her to get off his lap. He couldn’t push Cesilia away too harshly, as it might damage his first wife’s self-esteem in front of Casandra. He also didn’t want Casandra to realize that there was a significant problem between them.
Alexander was treating Cesilia well at the moment because they were in front of Casandra. If Casandra wasn’t there, he probably wouldn’t have allowed Cesilia to behave the way she did earlier. Although she was coaxed romantically like before, Alexander couldn’t hide his disappointment and hurt over Cesilia’s actions all this time.
Here, Alexander wasn’t warming up Casandra, but preserving Cesilia’s dignity to avoid making her feel humiliated. He was afraid that it might have a negative impact on Casandra herself.
“Go to our room. I’ll follow you later. There are a few things I need to discuss with Casandra. I can’t let Frans and Robert wait for too long downstairs,” Alexander said, making it clear that he was now asserting his position as the first wife.
Instead of listening to and understanding Alexander’s intentions, Cesilia shook her head. She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck, not yet satisfied with warming up Casandra.
But Alexander covered her mouth with his hand. “Please, Cesilia, I’m here to safeguard your feelings, not Casandra’s,” he whispered, piercing Cesilia slightly to make her understand her current position.
Cesilia finally realized, grunted in annoyance, and got off Alexander’s lap. She left the room with a bit of a stomp, preparing herself to answer all the questions Alexander would throw at her later.
“Cas, I’m going to Cesilia’s room for a moment. You don’t need to move the contents of the suitcase; I’ll ask someone else to do it later. Now, you clean up and change your clothes. Frans and Robert are downstairs; please represent me in meeting them!” Alexander commanded, approaching Casandra, who was emptying the suitcase.
Casandra’s face lifted. “I can do it, Lex. It’s almost done. I don’t want someone else to handle my personal belongings and yours. It doesn’t feel right because I’ve always taken care of my own needs without the help of others,” she explained.
It wasn’t that she wanted to argue with Alexander or anything, but she genuinely wanted to heal her heart first before meeting other people. After all, she needed to release the tears that she had been holding back all this time. If she forced herself to meet Gary and Frans, they might notice that she wasn’t doing well.
“Alright, if that’s what you want. I just need a moment for a little discussion with Cesilia.”
“Fine, Lex.”
Alexander pulled the corners of his lips, patting Casandra’s head before leaving. He didn’t know why, but he currently cared more about Casandra’s feelings than Cesilia’s. He didn’t want Casandra to have a bad impression of him because of what happened earlier. However, he couldn’t fully explain the cracks in his marriage with Cesilia, fearing it might make Casandra arrogant and unwilling to fight like she used to.
After Alexander left, Casandra tightly grasped the shirt of his that was in the suitcase. She hugged it as if it was Alexander himself, venting her heartache from Cesilia’s actions.
The pain was unbearable, even though it was just a hug and sitting together. But Casandra felt this much pain. Was she being selfish for feeling hurt when she saw Alexander being affectionate with his first wife? After all, she was just a newcomer, not Cesilia.
Casandra herself didn’t understand why she felt so deeply wounded.
“Alexander, don’t think I didn’t notice your rejection earlier, when I wanted to be affectionate,” Cesilia retorted as soon as Alexander entered their room. She was trying her best to steer Alexander away from other topics.
She also didn’t want Alexander to talk about his work right now because she had no defense for it.
“Don’t steer the conversation that way, as if it’s a much bigger problem. There’s something more important to discuss,” Alexander responded, with a calm tone and piercing gaze that went deep into Cesilia’s heart.
“What do you mean?” Cesilia pursued, her heart pounding, ready to face whatever Alexander might say.
“As you know, I behave like this because of your actions. You never come home or provide clear information about your whereabouts. How could you lie to me, saying you were busy with work, while you were at the water park, enjoying all the rides with your boss? Is playing a part of your job?” Alexander asked, sounding emotionless but his gaze was intense, piercing Cesilia to her core.
“Don’t think I don’t know about your close relationship with Maxime. And don’t assume that my silence means I don’t know about your actions out there. I know who Maxime is, and I might not know all the details due to the limitations of the information provided by my informant,” Alexander honestly revealed his feelings, including informing Cesilia that someone was assigned to watch her every move. Instead of being afraid, Cesilia turned Alexander’s information into a weapon to attack him.
“So all this time, you had someone following me? Why? Don’t you trust me anymore to the point that you would do all that, Alex?”
“That’s for you to know. I really don’t trust you anymore, especially when Maxime became more important than me. Since the photoshoot that looked more like a display of your relationship with him.”
“What do you mean?” Cesilia bit her lower lip, hiding her great anxiety from Alexander.
“Don’t ask me again what I mean, because every photoshoot you do always involves hugging and kissing scenes between you and him. And I see how possessive Maxime is, afraid of losing you. And strangely enough, when you do photoshoots with other products or models, your attire is modest and published on social media. But the hot poses with Maxime in revealing clothing are only for private consumption.” Alexander placed his phone on the vanity table, so Cesilia could see for herself the photos sent by his informant.
After that, Alexander went to the bathroom to clean up. He let Cesilia rummage through the phone’s gallery, including the photos sent by Maxime using a fake social media account.
It’s hard to describe Cesilia’s feelings when she saw those photos in Alexander’s hands. She tried to guess how Alexander’s informant managed to get into the Villa’s room.