Chapter: 79

"Do you know who I am?" he asked coldly.

Alicia didn't answer.

Caden suddenly felt a wetness against his throat. Warm tears were trickling down his collar and disappearing into his shirt.

He found himself holding Alicia flush against his chest.

This was the second time she cried today. How unusual.

Alicia continued to weep silently for a few minutes before she slowly lifted her head.

Caden had set her phone on the coffee table, and the light coming from it cast a large shadow over his handsome face.

Alicia cupped his face with both hands and stared up at him in a daze. Her wide, watery eyes were like twin pools, beckoning him closer.

“\ihy?" she rasped. “What did I ever do to you? Why do you treat me like this?"

Caden remained calm. "Alicia, take a proper look at me. I am Caden, not Joshua."

Alicia leaned against him with a broken sigh.

Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks as she touched her forehead against his.

Caden frowned. He had never Liked getting involved with women, and he especially hated having to deal with them when they were emotional, but something in Alicia's eyes had him rooted to the spot.

"Two years ago," Alicia began, her voice achingly soft. "Why did you cheat? The first place was supposed to be mine, everybody knew it."

Caden's breath caught in his throat.

Alicia hadn't mistaken him.

Caden's gaze bore into her face. "Who told you I cheated? It was Joshua, wasn't it?"

Alicia's lips curled into a self-derisive smile.

She had performed exceptionally well in that competition two years ago. She had been slated to win first place, but the judges changed their decision at the last second, and gave the award to Caden instead.

Joshua had told her all about it. He had looked into the matter, and discovered that Caden had orchestrated the whole thing.

If he hadn't snatched the first place from her, her parents would have returned early that day. Perhaps they wouldn't have died.

Her silence was all the confirmation Caden needed. He sneered and said, "Of course it's him. Whatever Joshua says is the truth, right? You believe everything that comes out of his mouth."

Alicia shut her eyes as tears streamed down her face. "Yeah. Am I really that foolish?"

"Yes, extremely foolish," said Caden.

Alicia struggled to get her words out. "You must think I'm jealous of Lilliana, don't you?"

Caden probably assumed she wanted that expensive diamond ring.

But that wasn't it at all.

What truly shattered Alicia was the sight of Joshua's hands.

The year her parents died in the plane crash, their bodies were trapped beneath the wreckage. Joshua had risked the threat of a second explosion and spent three days and nights digging through the debris.

By the time he retrieved their remains, his hands were so damaged they were nearly unrecognizable.