“Alexander, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Go to sleep, I have something to do for a moment.” Alexander gently touched Cesilia’s head, grabbed his pajamas, and moved to sit on the sofa. Cesilia couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss with her husband, especially after they had planned to have their wedding night just now. However, after Alexander entered the room, he changed his mind and decided not to proceed. Cesilia didn’t know what was wrong, but she realized that she didn’t feel any pain at all. Just a little discomfort. When she checked, she also couldn’t find any stains on the bedsheet.
Her friends had told her that there would be pain and bloodstains after a man entered her body.
Not wanting to speculate and think negatively, Cesilia put her nightgown back on before following Alexander. Her steps were slow, just like when she opened the door to the room. She was taken aback when she saw Alexander sitting in the chair, gazing at the ceiling. He didn’t seem to be engaged in any important tasks as he had claimed before leaving.
“Alexander,” Cesilia called out, daring to approach and touch him.
He turned to her. “Why haven’t you gone to sleep?”
“How can I sleep when my husband is here? Especially after you left after…”
“It’s okay. I just have some work to finish.” He turned on the computer in front of him.
“Alex, please don’t be like this. I know you’re hiding something, so please don’t lie. I deserve to know what’s making you act like this.”
She reached out to hold Alexander’s hand, which was about to grab the computer mouse.
“Tomorrow, okay? I need some time.”
“Alex, don’t scare me,” Cesilia whispered, trying to hold back her tears. She was afraid that something was wrong with her, causing Alexander to change.
Alexander took a deep breath. “Then tell me honestly who hurt you. I won’t be angry, as long as you’re honest.”
“H-hurt?” Cesilia was stunned. Her face grew warmer. She couldn’t answer because she didn’t know why such a question came up.
“You’re not intact anymore. Why and with whom? Even though I’ve never done it, I know it’s not like that.”
“I-I don’t understand.”
Being accused like this, Cesilia didn’t understand at all. Moreover, earlier she felt something was strange but tried to be brave and dismiss all the negative thoughts.
Cesilia remembered clearly. That night, she cried in Alexander’s arms, begging him to believe that no one had touched her. Because she truly didn’t know what had happened to her. Maxime did it after giving her sleeping pills. Many times, hoping Cesilia would get pregnant. However, luck wasn’t on his side, and Cesilia ended up marrying Alexander.
Cesilia tried hard to hold back her tears. She didn’t want Maxime to see how broken she was right now.
“So… it was you? Did you do it out of love or obsession? As far as I know, that’s not how you treat someone you love. No.
“Cesilia shook her head. “No, Maxime!!” she screamed. Uncontrollably, shards of glass had already cut Cesilia’s wrists, proving that her life no longer held any meaning.
“Cesilia!” Maxime chased after her. Embracing Cesilia, he tried to stop the bleeding. He hurriedly took Cesilia to the hospital, keeping her presence a secret. Maxime didn’t want anyone to know that Cesilia attempted suicide because of his actions.
Maxime kept it all to himself. No one knew, including his family. Not only that, Maxime also disabled Cesilia’s phone. From now on, he would control Cesilia for himself. Not for the outside world, especially not for Alexander, as he was afraid that Cesilia would attempt something desperate again.
Alexander jolted awake, his body covered in sweat, in the middle of the night. The nightmare he had experienced had left him breathless.
“Lex,” Casandra shifted to sit up. She touched Alexander’s arm to make sure her husband was okay.
“I had a bad dream.”
“What was it about?” Casandra wiped the beads of sweat from Alexander’s forehead.
“I don’t know. All I remember is a dark figure and the screams of a woman swallowed by that darkness. I don’t know who the woman was, but I feel like I know her voice,” Alexander expressed, recounting the fleeting dream he had.
“Maybe you forgot to say your prayers before sleeping. That’s why you had such a bad dream.”
“Perhaps.” Alexander rubbed his face. “I’ll go to the bathroom for a moment. You go back to sleep, okay!” He put on his pajamas before leaving. Without Casandra’s knowledge, Alexander grabbed his phone.
Casandra, not knowing the exact details of Alexander’s dream, simply nodded. She lay back down, trying to force herself to sleep, unaware that Alexander was now trying to contact Cesilia, but unfortunately, her number couldn’t be reached.
Despite the troubles in their marriage and Cesilia’s situation, Alexander was still her legal husband. And of course, whatever Cesilia did was his responsibility. There was no talk of divorce between them.
Feeling a bit uneasy and suspecting that Alexander was hiding something, Casandra got out of bed. She followed Alexander’s footsteps to the bathroom, listening to what he was doing inside.
“What are you doing?” Alexander raised his eyebrows, seeing Casandra suddenly standing in front of the bathroom door.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“I thought so.”
Alexander allowed Casandra to enter the bathroom.
“Lex,”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry for being intrusive. Why did you bring your phone into the bathroom?”
“To contact Cesilia. I wanted to make sure she’s okay. But unfortunately, her phone number couldn’t be reached.”
Casandra simply nodded and reached for the doorknob to close the door.
“I have no ulterior motives, Cas… and certainly no intention of lying to you. But I did it to protect your feelings,” Alexander said before Casandra closed the door. “I didn’t want you to feel neglected because I’m still thinking about Cesilia, even though she’s clearly no longer by my side.”
“I never thought that way, Lex.” Casandra came out of the bathroom. She hugged and rubbed Alexander’s back. “Whatever you do and decide in the future, I assure you that I will support it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Don’t thank me, Lex. As a wife, of course, I will do whatever you want,” Casandra closed her eyes. “Including parting ways with you, if that’s what you want,” she continued in her heart.
Alexander returned Casandra’s embrace. He could feel the sincerity in her words. Not a trace of doubt could be seen in her expression as she said them.
“It’s her again,” Alexander sighed. He looked at his phone. The messages from his associate were getting worse with each passing day. Alexander wanted to go to Cesilia, but he didn’t want to do it until his love for her disappeared completely. He didn’t want to end up heartbroken because of the decision he would make.
He needed to be mature about it. He didn’t want to cause any negative impact later, especially on Casandra.