The room instantly grew quiet. Everyone was waiting for what would come next.
Alexander had a sensitive stomach, and that was something most of the office already knew. Anything too spicy would leave him uncomfortable for hours.
Would the untouchable Alexander Blackwood bend for her?
My lips remained parted as I waited for Alexander to reply. Instinctively, I wanted to stop and remind them. But before a single word could leave me, Alexander calmly lifted the slice of beef and placed it in his mouth.
Without hesitation, without frowning. Even the small scrunch of his eyebrows disappeared before I could take a second look.
My breath caught. The warning died in my throat.
"Right, Miss Summer," Lilian said, turning to smile brightly at me. "What was it that you wanted to say?"
"It's nothing," I said.
I lowered my eyes and swallowed the words back down.
Of course.
When food comes from the woman you love, even bitterness can become sweet. So what was a little spice?
A strange, bitter relief washed over me. If I hadn't been cut off, I would only have humiliated myself again.
The lunch continued. Wine glasses clinked. Laughter rose.
The atmosphere gradually loosened as everyone drank more freely.
However, right as I thought the worst of it was over and lunch could finally come to an end, Kendra turned toward Alexander with a playful smile.
"I heard Director Alicia is your younger sister and works directly under you. You two must be very close, right?"
The room quieted with interest.
Alexander lifted his gaze. For one brief second, his eyes met mine. Then he looked away and reached for his drink.
"For Grandma's sake," he said casually, "I look after her a little."
The words were spoken lightly, almost carelessly. Yet, they struck me harder than any insult that day.
For Grandma's sake. Not because I was his wife. Not because I mattered. Not because he cared.
Just obligation. Just duty.
No one else noticed anything wrong. They laughed and moved on. But inside me, doubts spread like cracks through glass.
Was he deliberately drawing a line between us in front of Lilian? Or had that line always existed, and I had simply pretended not to see it?
Two years of marriage. Two years beside him. And I had never once entered his heart.
Every kindness he had shown me, every good memory I had treasured had only been respect for Grandma.
Nothing more.
I curved my lips into a composed smile.
"I'm only CEO Blackwood's subordinate," I said evenly. "There's nothing especially close between us." Then I turned to Kendra. "Though you seem unusually interested in me."
Kendra laughed sweetly.
"Since we'll be working together soon, curiosity is natural. I hope you won't take offense, Director Alicia."
"I still fail to see what any of this has to do with work," I replied coolly.
For the first time all lunch, I felt Alexander's gaze linger on me. It was only for a second before it was gone.
Two hours later, the lunch finally ended.
I returned to my office and buried myself in paperwork until evening.
Numbers.
Contracts.
Emails.
Anything was easier than thinking.
By six o'clock, the entire floor had emptied and everyone had gone home.
Everyone except him.
The light in the CEO's office still glowed at the end of the corridor.
I stood there for several seconds. My thoughts battled quietly inside me. In the end, I still walked toward the familiar door and knocked.
"Come in." Alexander's voice was calm as always.
I entered.
He sat behind his desk, sleeves rolled slightly, eyes still on the laptop screen.
"Do you have plans tonight?" I asked.
He looked up.
"No." Then he closed the computer and stood. "Let's go."
No questions. No hesitation. It was as though he had expected me to ask.
I nodded and followed him out in silence.
Dinner was already prepared when we arrived home.
We went upstairs separately to freshen up, then met again in the dining room.
The meal passed quietly, with only the faint clink of cutlery disturbed the silence.
Afterward, Alexander went to the study with several documents while I stayed in the living room with the television on. I couldn't remember a single thing that played across the screen.
A while later, I checked the time.
It was time for my pregnancy vitamins.
My fingers tightened around the bottle before I opened it. The pill sat in the palm of my hand as I prepared a glass of warm water to wash it down.
I had just placed the tablet on my tongue when a voice sounded behind me.
"You're taking medicine?"
My heart nearly stopped. I turned sharply.
Alexander stood near the doorway of the study, eyes fixed on the bottle in my hand.
"Did you see a doctor?" he asked immediately. His brows drew together. "Is it serious?"
For a moment, I simply stared. I was caught off guard by the tone of his voice. He almost sounded concerned.
But that was a silly thought. Concern. For me?
Before he could notice my hesitation, I forced myself to move. I swallowed the pill quickly and set the bottle aside.
"I saw a doctor," I said calmly. "It's nothing serious."
His eyes remained on me, and I tried not to fidget under his gaze. They were sharp, scanning me up and down as though he knew I was hiding something.
For the first time since discovering my pregnancy, I felt afraid he might find out.
Before I could react, Alexander crossed the room. He reached behind me, and my eyes widened with horror.
"Wait—"
He grabbed the bottle of pills, his eyebrows knitting themselves tightly together.