*Alex, why? Why are you so hell-bent on being this stubborn? Can you just apologize?"


    Sophia demanded, her voice trembling as disappointment flooded her eyes.


    She couldn''t fathom how that once boastful man bad sunk so low raising his hand against Be, locking himself beltind narrow-minded walls, brimming with


    jealousy, and repaying kindness with cruelty,


    Just an apology-how hard can it be?


    Sophia yearned for that g to jolt him awake.


    "Sink into the darkness, Alex. Taste the agony that I''ve endured!" Charles whispered, almost lovingly, as his eyes drank in the chaos with sickening delight.


    There was a twisted satisfaction blooming in his chest-a vile warmth-watching them unravel, watching their faces twist in pain.


    Misery was his yground.


    And seeing others drown in it? That was the only thing that made him feel alive.


    He''d had to bleed a little to make his act convincing, but seeing Sophia strike Alex made triumph coil in his chest.


    "That was a masterpiece of a p! He deserves every bit of it. Go on, throw in a few more for good measure!" Florence chimed in, eyes gleaming with vengeful zeal.


    "Right! If nobody sets him straight, he''ll turn into aplete beast!" Jack hollered, his tone dripping with mockery.


    "Someone has to straighten him out, right?"


    "Why stop at one p when he''s obviously begging for more?"


    Alex exhaled, the soft sound cutting through their taunts like a final, heavy sigh.


    It would be the first and thest time this ever happened.


    "That p,” Alex said softly, his voice barely holding together, "was for every mistake I made... every debt of gratitude I could never repay. From now on... there''s nothing left between us."


    Then he turned and walked away.


    "We''re done."


    There was no fury, noment-just a silent, final severing of the ties that once bound them.


    He refused to speak another word, refused to waste another ounce of breath. It was simply goodbye.


    "Huh?" Sophia breathed, stunned at the sight of his cold stare and defeated silhouette.


    She felt something precious slip through her grasp, and a sudden ache bloomed in her chest.


    "Get the hell out, you pathetic loser," Jack yelled. "You should''ve disappeared a long time ago!"


    A few in the crowd even pped-cheering as if Alex''s exit was some kind of victory, celebrating his abser


    "Knock, knock."


    The unexpected sound at the hospital door drew everyone''s attention.


    Mr. Vet, who had left earlier, now stepped inside again.


    ''ike it was a relief.


    "Miss Sophia, Miss Be asked me to return and smooth over the bad blood


    between the Kane family and you," he said.


    She specifically requested me to bring Miss Sophia a gift of apology."


    "Agift?" The group exchanged wary looks.


    Mr. Vet produced a gleaming golden bracelet.


    "Miss Sophia, this is the bracelet Miss Be instructed ra to ce in your bag-


    an act sparked by Be''s jealousy because you appeared here with Mr. Charles Kingston on her banquet.".


    "Miss Be has now broken off her engagement to Charles for you"


    "What?" Sophia blurted. "Didn''t Be tell ra to nt that bracelet on me to incite Alex''s anger?"


    Mr. Vet''s brow furrowed. "No, this had nothing to do with Master Alex."


    "Be lost control the moment she saw you enter with Charles. He was her fiancé-can you imagine?"


    "It was like a p to her face in front of the entire world, media and all. And when she found out he''d already given you a ne? That was the breaking point. That''s when everything snapped."


    ra turned ghost-white. Charles looked like death had tapped him on the shoulder.


    In that instant, everyone realized-the entire mess started with Charles.


    Vet''s eyes swept the room. "Now, where is Mr. Alex?"


    "Why are you even wasting your time on that nobody?" Florence scoffed, throwing him a contemptuous nce.


    "Regardless," Vet said, "please make sure Mr. Alex hears this Miss Be has given Miss Sophia the bracelets as a gift and an apology. She hopes this puts an end to any lingering hostility between them."


    "You''ve got to be kidding," Jack muttered, her face twisted in disbelief. 1 "Why are you talking like Alex matters? He''s just a useless bottom-feeder."


    “Useless?" Vet let out a sharp, mockingugh. "That so-called loser handled everything none of you could aplish-not even if you were given a hundred years."


    "You''re joking, Mr. Vet," Florence insisted, her voice rising. "You''re telling me he fixed all this?"


    "I''m not here for jokes," Vet replied tly.


    "Mr. Alex met personally with Jericho Kane. Thanks to him, the ban on the Lancaster family has officially been lifted."


    "What?"


    A shocked gasp rippled through the crowd. Their disbelief was thick in the air.


    They hadn''t misheard: the person who had rescued the Lancasters and forced the Kanes into a public apology was Alex-the man they''d mocked and regarded as worthless.


    How could this be?


    "Y-you must be kidding," Florence stammered, eyes wide. "Are you telling us Alex was the one who rescued us?"


    "Who else would it be?" Mr. Vet asked, his tone razor-sharp.


    "No, that can''t be right! It was Charles Kingston who helped us. How could it be


    that piece of trash Alex? his head so wildly he seemed unhinged.


    ''Charles Kingston?" Mr. Vet sneered.


    k shouted, shaking


    “He''s just the instigator who provoked Be to target Miss Sophia. If not for Alex''s request for mercy, the Kanes would have demanded Charles''s head by now."


    "He should be crawling on his knees before Alex for sparing his pathetic life. Otherwise, I''d have seen to his immediate ruin myself."


    He then eyed Charles with cold disdain, walked up to him, and pped him hard across the face.


    "You hear that, Charles Kingston? You''d better kneel to Mister Alex."


    All eyes snapped to Charles, whose cheeks red a furious red. Yet he could only


    stay silent.


    The hush that followed was deafening, and his silence served as proof that Mr. Vet was telling the truth.


    "How did it alle to this?" Sophia murmured, her voice cracking with dawning horror.


    Alex had saved her and her family-he even saved Charles''s life from the Kanes. Yet she''d forced him to apologize to Charles.


    Her heart thundered in her chest.


    Without another word, she sprinted out of the room, chasing the direction Alex had taken.


    Mr. Vet watched her sudden departure with surprise, while Florence and Jack stood there, stunned.


    Charles''s eyes glimmered with a dangerous malice as he slunk away, muttering, "Just you wait. Next time, I won''t miss." When Sophia reached the gate, she spotted Alex about to climb into a waiting taxi.


    She sprinted forward, grasping at his sleeve with shaking fingers.


    "Alex! Please, wait," she gasped, voice raw. "I misunderstood you. I was reckless-


    I never realized all that you''ve done for us, or how much you''ve shouldered alone."


    "Why wouldn''t you tell us you were the one who saved everyone? Why stay silent when you''re the real savior?" Sophia''s lips trembled, her face twisted in grief.