Chapter 4

Flashback ended.

An hour later, the sun rose, and she looked up at it, smiling weakly through her tears and saying to herself,

"After darkness comes the sun. This too shall surely pass. She should be alright, right? I hope they didn't have their way with her. What could have happened for this to occur? Cecelia was supposed to be in bed with my husband, not those ugly things. Now, I don't know which is worse, my husband or those things."

Alexia stood up from the floor and continued,

"She wants to blame me. What will I do now? Edward doesn't seem to believe me either. I should try to explain to him. When he sees the truth, he will surely understand that I had nothing to do with it."

She walked to her car and drove toward the house, praying only that the family and Edward wouldn't misunderstand her. Thirty minutes later, she arrived at the house, and only silence greeted her. She sighed loudly as she got out of the car. Looking around as if she were a thief about to rob a house, she swept her hair from her face and placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm herself. Still, her heartbeat sounded as loud as a drum. She walked slowly to the door and opened it as quietly as possible. She peeked inside and immediately met glaring eyes, jumping in fright and shouting out,

"Oh dear, you scared me!"

Alexia walked into the room and saw that Edward wasn't alone—the whole family was in the hall, and it seemed she was the one they were waiting for. They all turned their heads toward her as soon as she spoke. She sighed, looked at Edward, clasped her hands together, looked up at him with hope, and whispered for only him to hear,

"For once, believe me. I didn't do anything, and I didn't know what was going on in that room. I thought you were there."

He sneered and said,

"Why did you do this? You are a lady after all—how could you plot this against Cecelia? Now she has been raped, all thanks to you. Are you satisfied with the results?"

Alexia looked at him in shock, her whole body frozen. In a small voice, she asked,

"She is alright? Is she going to be okay?"

He smirked, grabbed her hand, and said,

"That, you have to explain to the family. Tell them the reason behind your act."

He pulled her towards the family, and when they reached the middle of the room, he pushed her so she fell to her knees. Tears formed in her eyes and fell to the floor. She looked back at him, but he turned away, ignoring her. She tried to stand, but felt a heel press into her back and a voice snapped,

"If you dare to get up from this floor, you wicked person!"

She recognized the voice as her sister-in-law. She tried again to stand, but another voice cut in,

"If you let my daughter suffer because of you, I will make sure you become a cripple."

She knew it was her mother-in-law who had just spoken, and her tears flowed more quickly. Then another voice added,

"You will have to confess your crime to us, or we'll hand you over to the police."

Alexia sniffed sadly and thought,

"I am innocent but these people want to make me a criminal. I shouldn't act weak here; they have no evidence against me. I need to defend myself before their accusations destroy me."

She stood up slowly and Jane stumbled back. Her brother held Jane in place while glaring at Alexia.

Alexia sighed and looked toward her father-in-law, saying,

"Father, I didn't do anything. I promise you, I know nothing about this."

Scanning their faces, she noticed a young boy staring at her. He was Edward's cousin, the only one friendly to her in the Frank family.

She rushed to him and held his hand, pleading,

"Joseph, you're my brother, right? You've known me for four years. You know I wouldn't do this, right?"

Joseph glanced at his father. He believed Alexia was innocent and knew she was a kind person, so he gave her a reassuring look. Then he walked over to his own father.

"Father, I am sure Alexia would not do such a thing. We shouldn't pass judgment until things are investigated."

"Edward... Ah! I'm in so much pain!" Cecelia suddenly screamed with a pained expression.

Edward frowned, tenderness for Cecelia written all over his face. He turned to Alexia with a cold glare.

"There's nothing to investigate. Either you confess your crimes or I'll divorce you."

Alexia stood motionless, her mind frozen. The four years she spent in that house flashed through her mind. Finally, she sighed. Her rapidly beating heart slowed, and she thought,

'Everything I have gone through in this house these years is only humiliation and disrespect. I wasn't married here—just brought in to suffer, thinking I loved their son. Four years is enough to pay for my foolishness and so…'

She looked his way, wiped her eyes, and the words came easily, as if she had rehearsed them many times,

"Let's get divorced, then. I'm tired of all this."

She walked away from them and headed to her room while they watched, thinking she was only joking and would soon return to beg. She entered her room and picked up a bag. When she opened it, it was already packed with clothes. She sighed and said to herself,

"I've packed and unpacked you so many times. Now, it's time to leave for good."

On top of the packed clothes lay a white sheet. She picked it up, zipped the bag again, and walked out of her room.

Alexia returned to their midst, marched over to Edward, handed him the sheet, and said,

"I've already signed it. Sign your part and meet me at the court tomorrow at exactly eight-thirty. I'll be waiting."

With that, she left the house. He stared at the certificate, a frown appearing on his face as he muttered,

"That woman is divorcing me? I'll go there tomorrow. Let's see if she can really do it."

He walked away while the others exchanged confused looks at the turn of events.

Alexia drove away from the house and headed downtown. She parked her car in front of a building, left her bag inside, and rushed inside. Covering her mouth as tears streamed down her face, she knocked on a door. The moment someone on the other side opened it, Alexia threw herself into their arms and began to wail.