ua, so she ignored his question and asked

e". Irritation flickere

ing his will, and if word gets out about my divorce, it'll ruin my standing.

family was throwing a wel

so, it'd lift the spirits of J

de of a happy marriage was the

urtly. "Just get the divorce fin

Stop pretending. You hid the ring because you don't actually want t

ard these past two years. Even if we divorce, I'll

ened, disbelief t

the

ar to be wi

back, "Oh, Mr. Yates, how could I possibly make you happy? Don't worry, I'll return the ring-wouldn't

asn't fazed

l, convinced this was just ano

g at her. "We've got guests today. Dress

ss times she had visited the mansion dressed in modest, unassuming c

part of a dutiful wife. After slipping into the outfit, she carefully applied a touch

d her smooth skin and delicate fea

the staircase, he froze for a

ged Alicia's graceful curves, making

her cheeks, as though she had just ha

ion?

t tightened i

ho else could've slept with

th slipped into their familiar roles, masking

h Joshua's, their movements synchroni

one, the grand hall bustled with life, r

reason, as soon as Alicia crossed the thre

immediately drawn to the figure loungi

gh to reveal a sliver of his collarbone, the

thoritative stare that pinned her in place- her mi

meanor, his brows furrowing as he

throat. One word escaped her

chill down her spine. To her, Caden

ship, their paths first cross

red to her school, and from that moment,

w late she stayed up studying, Caden was always a step ahead. He would outscore her by the

cepted defeat, settled in

ot Al

ffocating weight of living up to her family name. Excellence wasn't just a

audacity to snatch away everything she'd work

from the very beginning, and Alicia, stu

h openly and in the shadows, and their final showdown took place in

than perfection. And she achieved it, having garnered a perfect score. But Caden, ever the serpent, had

w came from her father, Phil Bennett. Over the phone,

nothing. She waited for his anger to ebb, then aske

er solace. She comforted Alicia that day, p

ushing back from Itrubisite to attend the g

d crumbled, left an orph

d Caden again. Afterward, Caden left Wa

.

le. Alicia cast him a sidelong glance as he continued, "With a family em

furrowed

ost would kill for. But Caden had accumulated his ow

care about the

ven if he didn't care about the fortune itself, he'd figh

stirring chaos purely

r, and even now, the thought of giving him so much as a gl

"I know you two don't get along," he said. "But he's s

e immediately tried to pull her hand fr

pened. "Alicia, be

fusing to go in. Just let go of me first. I

a's face, and instead of releasing her, he in

r tongue, sil

lifted, his eyes narrowing in a la

ne strained, meeting his brothe

entwined hands, a smirk tuggin

indifferently, as though h