Alicia’s POV
I finished work early and decided to head ho sooner than usual.
While standing in the elevator, a news notification suddenly popped up on my phone.
"Two individuals were attacked by unknown assailants on Bellmont Street earlier today and are currently receiving treatnt at City Hospital."
I frowned.
At first, I almost ignored it and locked my phone, but curiosity got the better of .
After a brief hesitation, I tapped on the notification.
The video attached to the article had clearly been fild by a passerby.
The footage was shaky and blurred from the rain, making it difficult to see clearly. I could hear heavy raindrops hitting the person’s phone as several dical staff hurriedly lifted an injured person from the ground and pushed them into an ambulance.
Sothing about the man in the video felt familiar.
I narrowed my eyes and dragged the tiline forward.
For a brief second, the cara caught the side profile of a man standing beside the stretcher.
Alexander.
My fingers froze.
I quickly paused the video, but I was a second too late. The fra stopped on the injured person lying on the stretcher.
It was a woman.
She was dressed in black, one pale arm exposed beneath the rain.
Just as I was about to press play again, sothing suddenly caught my attention.
Her wrist.
I stared at it carefully.
Even through the blurry footage, I could still see the faint blue shimr beneath the rainlight.
A bracelet.
The sa blue bracelet Alexander had once bought for —
Only to later give to Lilian.
A cold feeling slowly crept up my spine.
The woman on the stretcher...
Was Lilian.
And the black coat draped over her body looked suspiciously like the one Alexander often wore.
Which ant—
The man beside her really was Alexander.
A faint, mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
A few days ago, he had kept insisting he would send Lilian abroad.
Yet now?
He couldn’t even bear to let her out of his sight.
Then what was the point of dragging out the divorce?
Why not just let go and be with the person he truly wanted?
The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding.
I turned off my phone and stepped out.
Ever since Alexander returned two days ago, I had started driving myself to work again, so it didn’t matter whether Jim was around or not.
Gripping my bag tighter, I walked toward my car alone.
>
When I returned ho, only Maria was there, which confird my suspicions.
My appetite had improved a lot recently, and by the ti I got ho, I was starving. Seeing that Maria had already prepared dinner, I ate quietly before heading upstairs to shower.
Warm water stread down my body, but my thoughts remained restless.
Just then, a knock sounded on the bedroom door.
"Ma’am?" Maria called from outside. "Mr. Alexander is looking for you."
My brows furrowed.
Wasn’t he supposed to be at the hospital?
"Ma’am, can you hear ?" Maria asked again, her voice sounding slightly panicked.
"Okay, Maria. I’m coming."
After finishing my shower, I changed into my pajamas and walked toward the guest room Alexander had been staying in lately.
I supposed it was his way of giving space.
Even though most of his belongings were still in the master bedroom.
When I reached the door, I noticed it was slightly open.
Before I could knock, Alexander’s low voice drifted out from inside.
"Just co in, Alicia."
My hand froze on the doorknob for a second before I gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The mont I looked up, I imdiately turned away again.
Heat rushed to my face.
"Why the hell are you shirtless?" I asked irritably.
Alexander sat lazily on the sofa, completely unbothered.
His upper body was bare, revealing broad shoulders, defined muscles, and several injuries scattered across his skin. Knife wounds lined his shoulder and arm, while bruises and dark contusions spread across his chest and waist.
He leaned back against the couch with one hand resting loosely over his shoulder, his dark eyes fixed on .
His voice ca out low and slightly hoarse.
"Alicia," he murmured, "I’m hurt. Could you help treat it?"
I stood there silently, my thoughts briefly flashing back to the news video I had seen earlier.
"Didn’t you go to the hospital?" I asked finally. "Why didn’t you treat your injuries there?"
"Who said I went to the hospital?"
I frowned. "The news said both victims were taken there."
"I didn’t go."
Alexander noticed I was still standing by the door and repeated quietly,
"Alicia. Co here and help ."
My gaze drifted toward the wounds on his shoulder again.
The cuts weren’t shallow.
And besides the knife injuries, there were bruises all over him.
For a mont, my expression flickered slightly.
Even though part of wanted to ignore him completely, I still couldn’t stop the concern rising inside .
"...Maybe you should go to the hospital," I said after a pause. "Those wounds should be treated properly."
"Too many reporters there," he replied calmly. "I don’t want my private life photographed."
Or maybe...
He simply didn’t want discovering Lilian had been hurt because of him.
"Then should I call Maria?"
"She already retired for the night."
"...What about calling a doctor over?"
"If you don’t want to help, then forget it." Alexander lowered his gaze with a faint, self-mocking smile. "I’ll manage on my own."
He opened the dicine cabinet beside him and began rummaging through it awkwardly.
Then, with obvious inexperience, he applied ointnt to the wound and started wrapping bandages around his arm.
The result was terrible.
The bandage sat crookedly around his arm, uneven and loose in so places while overly tight in others.
After struggling for a while, he realized he had forgotten to grab scissors.
He tried tearing the bandage with his hands several tis, but instead only tightened it further against the wound, making the skin around it turn red.
Seeing that I silently , A few monts later, I returned holding a pair of scissors.
But when I stepped back inside, I saw Alexander gripping the end of the bandage between his fingers before tearing it off forcefully and tossing the excess onto the table.
"Did you manage to tear it open?" I asked quietly from the doorway.
Alexander looked up in slight surprise.
"...Yeah."
His gaze lowered again.
"You should go rest. I can handle it."
I furrowed my brows. "I only ca back to give you the scissors."
Walking over, I placed them beside the dicine cabinet.
"I’ll head back now."
As I turned to leave, my eyes landed on his damp pants.
"You should change into sothing dry too," I added softly.
Just as I reached the door, Alexander suddenly called out—
"Wait."
I stopped and turned back toward him.
"Is there anything else?"
Alexander slowly stood up.
His eyes locked onto mine.
"Alicia," he said quietly, "I’m hurt. Don’t you care about anymore? Even a little?"
I t his gaze before giving a helpless smile....
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