Chapter 3

I snapped out of my memories. Alexander hadn't answered my request right away.

The car was quiet until I heard dripping. Weird. Why would a car this nice be leaking?

I looked around in confusion. Then my eyes landed on Alexander's wrist.

A dark tie was wrapped around his strong, pale wrist, and blood was seeping through it, trailing down and dripping into the car.

I cried out in shock. "Alexander, you're hurt?"

His expression was way too calm. And the inside of the car was dim.

I'd completely missed how pale he was, or how much blood he'd already lost.

"We should go to the hospital first."

"Alexander, go to the hospital."

At twenty-eight, he was even more stubborn and impossible to read than he had been at eighteen.

Without meaning to, I raised my voice.

Only then did Alexander slowly lift his eyes.

"We're going home first."

I blurted out, "I don't want to go back to the Bennett house."

He paused for a second, then quickly said, "We're going to my place. Emmy, don't be scared."

Maybe I'd been dead too long. Maybe all the old distance and hatred had faded.

For once, he called me by my nickname. It almost sounded like he was trying to comfort me.

Something occurred to me, and I asked, "Are you married now?"

"Is your wife... Sophie Grant?"

His face darkened at once.

I shut up immediately.

I figured Mrs. Bennett must never have accepted Sophie, and in the end, he hadn't gotten what he wanted.

I didn't say another word.

Alexander took me back to his place. It was an old building far from downtown, way out in the middle of nowhere.

There wasn't even an elevator.

His apartment was on the top floor. By the time I climbed up there, panting, I realized there wasn't even a fingerprint lock.

I stood in the dim hallway, completely baffled.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I still couldn't help asking, "Alexander, did you go broke?"

He pulled out his key and suddenly smiled. "No."

The door opened. The place inside looked plain and ordinary.

There were drops of blood on the floor, trailing all the way to the bathroom.

I walked into the bathroom and saw the tub water stained red with blood. A bloody razor blade was lying on the floor.

My mind went blank.

Alexander wasn't hurt. He'd been trying to kill himself.

I couldn't help thinking back to that heavy breathing I'd heard when I called him.

At the time, Alexander had been lying in the bathtub with his eyes closed.

The razor had just barely cut his skin when his phone suddenly rang.

The blade slipped from his hand, and he hesitated, not answering right away.

The caller ID read:

Emily Bennett.

Emily Bennett, dead for ten years.

The only number still saved in that phone.

The blade slipped from his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, he answered.

Then he heard that familiar voice, timid as ever. "Alexander..."

I closed my eyes. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

Why would twenty-eight-year-old Alexander Bennett, the Bennetts' only heir, the golden child everyone envied, choose suicide?

"Emmy, sleep in my room tonight."

At the same time Alexander spoke, I heard the guest bedroom door click locked.

I finally snapped out of my shock.

I turned around and stared at him without a word.

"Were you trying to kill yourself just now?"

"Why?"

I tried to stay calm, but my voice still shook.

Alexander had already treated the wound. There was medicine on his wrist now, wrapped up in fresh white gauze.

His tone softened a little. "Did I scare you?"

Was that seriously the issue here?

I kept staring at him in disbelief.

"Right, I almost forgot. You're still just an eighteen-year-old girl."

He gave a self-mocking smile. "Emily Bennett, it's fine."

"I didn't cut an artery. It just looks scary because there's a lot of blood. I'll go clean up the bathroom now."

"You should go get some sleep."

He pushed me toward the room.

"Alexander, throw the blade away."

I was practically begging him.

He smiled and patted my head, his fingers lingering in my hair for a moment.

"Okay."

The bedroom door closed.

This was the second time I'd ever been in Alexander's room.

The first time was when I was trying to carry out Mrs. Bennett's order and get pregnant.

Back then, I had slipped in while he was showering.

Alexander came out of the bathroom with wet hair and a towel wrapped around his waist.

Then he saw me lying on his bed.

His eyes were full of open disgust.

Later, he had the staff throw out everything I'd touched. They even scrubbed the floor several times.

I didn't dare sleep in Alexander's bed.

I set my backpack on the floor to sit on, then took out my phone and started searching for news about him.

[Alexander Bennett's Company Swallows Bennett Holdings as It Enters Bankruptcy Liquidation]

The very first headline stunned me.

He hadn't inherited Bennett Holdings. He'd actually destroyed it?

[Tech Mogul Alexander Bennett Still Unmarried, Rumored to Be Hung Up on an Old Love]

I tapped it open, and the photo was actually Alexander visiting my grave.

I'd sooner believe he wanted to dig up my grave.

No way was this about some unforgettable old love.

[Alexander Bennett Exposed for Messy Love Life, Secret Daughter Already in Elite Elementary School]

The photo showed the little girl's face clearly.

I froze.

That kid didn't look anything like Alexander.

This had to be fake news.

My finger kept scrolling over the screen.

Then Alexander suddenly walked in.

I immediately stood up awkwardly and explained, "I didn't touch any of your stuff."

"And I didn't dirty the floor either."

His gaze darkened a little as he handed me a set of men's pajamas.

"Emmy, get some sleep first."