It was just a twisted ankle. I watched as Alexander gently settled her on the sofa and then fetched an ice pack to soothe her foot. He treated her as if she were made of glass.
I remember a time when I had a car accident and broke my leg. I needed a family member's signature for surgery, so I reached out to Alexander. His response was cold and detached, "A broken leg isn't life or death. Why bother me?"
It felt like a cruel joke, especially when I recalled how he had dismissed me in my time of real need.
Yet, it seemed like my husband couldn't be bothered to tend after his wife. Why would he? When everything was just a deal for him. We were just in this marriage to appease our parents. We were just here to get our inheritance.
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..."