Alexander, surprisingly, didn't want me to leave. As the CEO of both Gourmet Ventures International, their family company, and Prestige Hotels & Resorts, my family's legacy, he had a reputation to uphold. He assumed leadership roles in our companies, claiming it was his duty as the man.

But why should I stay in this sham of a marriage? We had the grandest wedding imaginable, yet he refused to register the papers to make our marriage legal.

From that moment on, the presence and absence of love were glaringly apparent.

"Alexander, look," I finally said, summoning the strength to confront him. "You have the inheritance already. You're successful. What more do you want from me? I'm giving you your freedom back!"

Standing in the same room with him made me feel physically ill. He seemed to think my actions were just a ploy to gain his attention.

Alexander, without even looking up, scoffed, "What now? Changing your tactics? You can't threaten me with your son, so now you're using yourself as leverage?"

A year ago, our son Lucas was diagnosed with brain cancer. He'd received countless critical illness notices since then. I recalled how desperately Lucas had called out for a glimpse of his father, but Alexander never visited him. He thought I was using Lucas to gain sympathy and manipulate him. After almost a decade of shared life, this was how little he thought of me.

I wiped away my tears. "Think what you want. I'm leaving."

I began to leave with my luggage when Cassandra interjected, "Alexander, I heard you planned to take Lucas to Disneyland. You didn't cancel that for the mountain trip with me, did you? Natalie is upset..."

Alexander replied soothingly, "Don't worry, there are priorities. We can go to Disneyland anytime, but once the snow melts, we won't be able to see it like this."

Hearing this, I scoffed coldly. Ignoring them, I dragged my suitcase out.

Alexander seemed to sense something was off. He rushed forward and grabbed my hand, his voice laced with frustration. "It's the middle of the night, and you insist on leaving?"

He saw my swollen eyes and paused. "Is missing a trip to Disneyland really worth crying over like this?"

My eyes must have been crying themselves raw, for I saw a hint of pity in his gaze. "Let me clear my schedule next month, and I'll take Lucas then, okay?"

Next month? What next month did Lucas have? If only he cared a bit more about our son, he wouldn't say such foolish things.

I pulled my hand away. "No need!"

Alexander stared at his empty palm, momentarily stunned. He never expected the person who used to cling to him would now avoid him like the plague.

Snapping back to reality, he tried to catch up, but Cassandra grabbed his arm. "Alexander, it's all my fault. Even though I knew Lucas was faking his illness, I shouldn't have competed with a child for your attention. Now it's made Natalie angry at me."

Faking... faking illness? My mind went blank. By the time I snapped back to reality, I had already slapped Cassandra across the face!

Alexander's face, initially tinged with guilt, shifted instantly. He positioned Cassandra protectively behind him and eyed me warily. "Natalie, what are you doing? She's your sister!"

I glared at Cassandra. "You'd better watch your mouth."

However, Cassandra, looking hurt, pleaded, "Alexander, don't let me come between you two. If my sister won't admit that Lucas is faking his illness, I'll just drop it."

Upon hearing that, my brow furrowed as I turned to Alexander. "You think Lucas is faking it too?"

But, he just remained silent. Looking around, he noticed Lucas was nowhere to be seen. With a calm tone, Alexander asked, "Where did you take him this time?"

Of course! Of course, he clearly didn't believe me. If only he would come home, he'd see the table covered in medications and medical records. Yet, he never did.

I remember when Lucas knew he didn't have much time left. He wanted one last family trip to Disneyland. Just to make my son happy, I had begged Alexander, even going so far as to kneel before him. In the end, I clung to his pants, promising that this would be the last time I would ever bother him. I was willing to set him free.

At that moment, he looked down at me, slightly stunned. His eyes filled with both joy and complexity. "You mean that?"

"Yes," I murmured, closing my eyes as tears streamed down. God knew how much I loathed him since then. If only I could undo what I did in the past, our families would never have arranged a marriage between us.

Years ago, I found him in the streets near my ballet class. Little did I know, he was being chased by his kidnappers. Since then, the Edwards family owed us because I saved the life of their heir. My family, the Collins family, and the Edwards family became friends. We always had shared dinners and celebrations. We even merged our subsidiary companies. It came to the point where we always saw each other.

Yet it seemed like Alexander didn't clearly remember the day he was kidnapped because he was just a kid and probably traumatized. Until now, he believed that Cassandra was his savior. I was hurt because no matter how hard I tried to tell him that was not the case, he would never believe me.

"Stop it. Cassy saved me! You're so damn annoying," I can still remember his words to this day.

I loved him, even though we were teenagers back then. That was why I tried to gain even a little bit of his attention, but even before, his eyes were always set on Cassandra. From being his savior, he had grown to like my sister too. And that was probably why, when our parents set us up in a marriage, he was so angry.

"This is bullshit! They won't give us our inheritance? The company is supposed to be mine!" He was so angry that he pushed everything off his desk.

His eyes drifted to me. "And you, you didn't even bother to say no!"

"You know I didn't have a say in this either, right?" I tried to defend myself.

But since then, he hated me even more. I thought he would like me somehow because we were always together, but that was just wishful thinking.

Until one day, he told me his plan to fool our parents. "Fine. Let's attend that damn wedding ceremony. We'll fool them that we're married but we will never register our marriage. I'll just present them fake documents."

We would marry each other but never register it. It was as if I was just his wife before the eyes of our parents and the company, but I would never have his heart.

Why didn't I think further ahead in the past? Why didn't I tell my parents I would rather die than marry him? Why did I even love this man?

Now, even though he was my husband and we had a child, he only ever cared about Cassandra.

Damn it. Why wouldn't he spend one last moment with Lucas? It was one thing for him not to love me, but Lucas was his son too. How could he be so heartless towards his own child?

I stared at Alexander with deep disappointment. Once, I had admired his features as if they were a work of art, but now his face only filled me with disgust. All I could feel for him now was nothing but hatred.

Just as Alexander was about to speak, my sister cut him off. "My foot hurts, and so does my face. Could you check if it's swollen? I’m worried it might affect tomorrow's business event."

Upon hearing her pitiful voice, Alexander immediately turned his attention to her. Cassandra took advantage of the moment, collapsing into his arms. The slap I had delivered with all my might had left a stark handprint on her pale cheek, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

Looking heartbroken, Alexander gently wiped her tears away. I remember how he used to be kind to me when we were younger. Whenever I fell, he would help me up and comfort me in the same gentle manner. After all, we still spent our childhood together. However now, I couldn’t recall the last time he had shown me even a hint of that kindness.

His gaze was now icy and devoid of tenderness. "Apologize to your sister."

I lifted my chin, standing tall. "No!"

Alexander was clearly taken aback by my defiance. He never saw this day coming, did he? He was used to seeing me doing everything for him even though he was already disrespecting me. I was that stupidly in love, and God knew how much I hated myself for that.

During the time he despised me, my feelings for him had only grown. Because I cared for him deeply, I was always cautious around him, trying hard to avoid giving him any reason to dislike me. I offered him my genuine affection, terrified that he might reject me.

Despite my best efforts, nothing I did ever seemed to please him. Everything I did always seemed to fall short compared to what Cassandra did.

Always Cassandra.

Alexander’s initial surprise faded, and he returned to the couch, holding my sister close. As I began to walk away, I heard his warning. "Don’t make me angry, Natalie."

His bodyguard stopped me and escorted me back in front of them. Damn it! These people were both our men and yet they were only loyal to him. Now, I regretted giving him all the power in both our families and companies. He even honed them to be a sword pointing at my neck.

Alexander sat there, legs crossed, observing me with a detached air. The pressure in the room was palpable.

"Apologize to Cassandra," he repeated.

Cassandra flashed me a challenging smile before turning to my husband. "It’s okay. Natalie didn’t mean it."

When she uttered those words, Alexander looked at her with pity. "You’re too soft-hearted. You treat her well, but she’ll never see you as her sister."

He then turned a steely glare at me. "Anyone who hurts Cassandra will pay double."

I recalled a time from elementary school, just a year after I saved him when I had been cornered by older students who stole my money. Alexander had suddenly appeared, fiercely beating up the one who had kicked me. The boy who once protected me was now defending someone else.

And now, my defiant attitude had clearly angered him. It seemed like he was intent on teaching me a lesson. He signaled to the bodyguards to force me to kneel before them.

I gritted my teeth in anger. I had knelt enough before him already! And now he was forcing me to do these things all for a woman? If only he could put as much effort into our son!

As I bowed my head, Alexander’s expression softened slightly, as if he took some satisfaction in my submission.

A bodyguard stepped forward, raising his hand to strike me. But Cassandra intervened. "Alexander, she’s still my sister. Men can be too harsh, and I’m worried they might hurt her."

Then, after a pause, she continued, "If she really needs a lesson, I should be the one to teach it," Cassandra insisted.

At that moment, Alexander didn’t argue. The next thing I knew, Cassandra raised her hand and slapped me twice, her manicured nails cutting into my cheek. She looked at Alexander with a troubled expression. "Oh no, I’ve hurt Natalie. What should we do?"

However, Alexander snorted coldly. "She deserves it. You’re too kind, worrying about her even though she hurt you first."

The bodyguard let me go, and I clumsily fell to the ground. Alexander looked down at me with cold disdain. "You owe Cassandra an apology."

Owe her an apology? It was Cassandra who had first slandered Lucas! No one, not even a single person in the world should dare to taint my son's image! He was never a liar! Yet, as always, Alexander always took her side, no matter what.

I scoffed, "In your dreams! I hate you, Alexander!"