Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
“Caden, I don’t want to see you right now.”
He calmly opened the container of food, revealing a bowl of nutritious soup. It was mild in flavor yet surprisingly aromatic.
“You can be upset, but don’t starve yourself,” he said.
Alicia was too drained to argue, so she stayed silent. Caden scooped up a spoonful of soup and held it near her lips.
She frowned, clearly impatient. “I can’t eat. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
She was trying to be polite, not outright stating that she found his presence revolting. However, Caden understood her meaning perfectly. Despite her refusal to eat the day before and her fever the entire night, she still needed something in her system.
“Are you sure you won’t eat?” he asked again. She turned her head away in response.
Without warning, Caden took a spoonful of the soup himself. He grabbed her face and fed her mouth-to-mouth.
Alicia didn’t have the strength to push him away and had no choice but to let him feed her.
With each bite, her face heated up, and a wave of dizziness swept over her. She felt herself getting closer to throwing up.
Unable to bear Caden’s persistent tactics any longer, Alicia finally relented. “I’ll eat by myself later.”
Only then did Caden sit back. He licked the remaining soup from his lips and scooped up another spoonful.
“Get up. I’ll feed you.”
She clenched her teeth in frustration. “I said I’ll eat by myself.”
Caden didn’t listen. He put the spoon in his mouth and seemed ready to feed her the same way again.
Alicia paused for a moment before changing her tone. “Fine. Just feed me,” she muttered, unwilling to prolong the situation.
After that, Caden swallowed the soup and began feeding her, spoonful by spoonful.
As he watched her pale, fragile face, his own expression remained unreadable. “You listen to everyone except me, Alicia. I must’ve owed you a great deal from a past life.”
Alicia’s heart ached at his words. Who really owed whom?
She continued eating quietly, forcing herself to finish. After a moment, he asked, “Why didn’t you fight back when Yolanda did that to you yesterday?”
With her personality, he couldn’t understand how she had let Yolanda walk all over her. It didn’t make sense to him.
After finishing her meal, Alicia pushed his hand away without any emotion.
“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t this what everyone wants?” she said flatly.
The veins in Caden’s forehead pulsed. The memory of that moment still sent his heart racing. If he had been even a little later, she might not have survived.
He had never cared so deeply for a woman since his mother.
For the first time, he relented. His tone softened. “I won’t force you anymore in the future.”
Alicia responded with a sneer.
A future between them? That was laughable.
He ignored him and reached for her phone. Caden handed it over without a word.
“Cade’s condition has improved. I arranged for him to be moved to a specialized veterinary hospital this morning. He’ll recover faster there.”
Alicia was caught off guard by his words.
Caden pursed his lips and added, “You should have told me about it.”
Alicia responded flatly, “What’s there to say? He’s just a dog. How could he ever compare to precious Yolanda?”
Caden felt a sinking feeling in his chest. She was throwing his own words back at him.
“I’ll make sure Yolanda apologizes to you by the end of the day,” he said firmly.
Alicia lifted her head, her eyes filled with mockery. “No need. I wouldn’t want to owe her anything. She left me in the cold for half an hour, and that’s it. It’s not like she tried to strangle me with wire.”
The look on Caden’s face changed. The image of the terrible wound on Alicia’s neck nearly made him feel suffocated.
He spoke coldly, “I won’t let her get away with this.”
After leaving the hospital, Caden went straight to review the surveillance footage from the apartment complex. After watching for some time, he turned to the security guard and asked, “Has any woman requested the surveillance footage recently?”
The security guard felt nervous but answered honestly. “Yes.”
Caden wasn’t surprised. He knew Alicia well. These were tactics he had taught her himself. He had always told her to keep a backup plan in place. It would give her the upper hand.
Without wasting any more time, he headed to the gallery. The moment Alicia’s assistant spotted Caden, she rushed over, looking worried. “Mr. Ward, have you seen Ms. Bennett? She hasn’t returned my calls for a whole day and night. Did something happen to her?”
Caden gave a brief explanation, telling her that Alicia had fallen ill and was in the hospital.
The assistant responded, “I knew this would happen! She’s been running herself into the ground. Yesterday, she looked terrible. I told her to see a doctor, but she refused and kept working. Now look at her-she’s completely worn out!”
Her eyes were filled with tears, clearly upset over Alicia’s condition.
Caden transferred money to her and said, “Get her some food she likes and go see her at the hospital.”
Earlier that morning, after some persuasion and threats, Alicia had managed to eat a little of the soup, but it wasn’t nearly enough to provide her with proper nutrition.
If she wouldn’t eat what he brought, maybe she would accept something from someone else.
After the assistant left, Caden headed to Alicia’s office. As expected, the surveillance footage was already pulled up on her computer.
When he turned it on, the screen asked for a password. After entering his birthday, the computer unlocked immediately.
Caden paused, his fingers hovering just above the keyboard for a moment. It felt as though someone had gripped his heart tightly. He opened the video. Due to some editing, Yolanda’s actions were unmistakably clear. Whether by accident or design, the segment where Alicia struck back with a slap remained unedited.
Caden watched the recording twice. Alicia struck Yolanda swiftly and decisively, and seeing it unfold brought him a sense of satisfaction. He grinned, saved a copy of the video, and forwarded it to Dorian under his own name.
Once Dorian saw the video, his face became serious. Regina watched it as well, finding it too disturbing to view a second time. In the video, Yolanda appeared utterly cruel.
“Is this video real?” Regina asked.
Dorian answered gravely, “Do you think Caden would send us something fake?”
Regina’s expression turned stern. So, Yolanda was indeed capable of such actions. “I had no idea Yolanda could be so evil.” A shiver ran down her spine.
Dorian was equally taken aback, yet his immediate concern was Caden’s reaction. Caden’s decision to send the video was a clear warning. “Caden doesn’t target the innocent. He believes the one responsible should fix their own mess. He’s not going to let Yolanda get away with this.”
Regina let out a sigh and shut her eyes, accepting what was coming. Dorian felt compelled to ask, “If he knows everything, why did he insist Alicia apologize? What is he planning?”
Regina responded, “Why do you think he showed up last night? He was there for Alicia, but he didn’t foresee Yolanda’s actions toward her.”
Dorian became quiet, both of them lost in thought. It was clear Yolanda was to blame, and they felt cornered into making concessions.
“I’ll go apologize,” Dorian said.
Regina responded, “That won’t solve anything. Even if Yolanda apologizes, the outcome might still be the same.” Dorian felt the heavy burden of her words.
He said, “I need to apologize regardless of what Caden intends. Alicia is suffering because of my actions. The blame is mine.”
Regina was on the verge of speaking when they heard the doctor’s loud call from upstairs. “Mr. Moss! Mrs. Moss! Miss Moss has locked herself in!” Dorian rushed upstairs quickly.
After his attempts to knock went unanswered, he instructed for the door to be broken open. He and Regina then hurried into the room. Yolanda was holding sleeping pills.
In anger, Dorian slapped the pills from her hand. “What are you thinking? You foolish girl!” Yolanda collapsed into his arms, shaking.
She murmured, “Dad, I’ve made a terrible mistake. I’m sorry… Maybe it would be better if I were gone. I hate putting you in this tough spot.”
Regina observed Yolanda’s distress, but she was aware that Yolanda had not truly grasped the gravity of her error. Yolanda’s tears were just a fa?ade, borne out of fear of Caden’s backlash.
Once Yolanda was admitted to the hospital, Dorian went to apologize to Alicia.
Alicia refused to accept his apology.
Dorian said, “Yolanda acknowledges her fault. Once she recovers, she’ll apologize to you personally, Ms. Bennett. Please, forgive her.”
He approached her humbly, as an elder should. Alicia should have reasonably accepted his apology, but she remained completely unchanged.
Dorian was about to continue when they heard footsteps from outside. “Dorian.”
Caden walked in with long strides, his presence commanding attention.
Perhaps it was guilt, but Dorian couldn’t help feeling uneasy around the younger man.
Caden’s eyes scanned the room filled with gifts. “She doesn’t like these. Get someone to remove them.”
Dorian’s face darkened.
He frowned. “Alright, Caden, let’s not drag this out. I’m here to apologize on Yolanda’s behalf. If Alicia won’t accept it, she can ask for anything else, and I’ll agree.”
Caden responded firmly, “Every debt has its debtor, Dorian. Don’t put me in a tough spot.”
Dorian was about to say more when Ciara walked in. She held the highest standing in the Ward family, belonging to a generation above Dorian.
After a moment of thought, Dorian decided to leave.
Ciara, dignified and poised despite her years, still commanded respect. “Let the young ones handle their issues, Dorian. You ought to know better.”