Chapter 104 Cold Frontage

Chapter 104 Cold Frontage
The sting of his lie hurt more than any betrayal and rejection I had ever faced in my life.

What should I do now?

What was left in my life? 

I had become completely hollow after knowing it was all a lie he fabricated. Though I still ask– Why? What revenge? 

Vince sat at the head, elegantly cutting his steak. 

The affectionate man had vanished. The cold billionaire everyone feared had returned.

“If you're going to starve yourself to make a point, Alyssa, you're failing,” Vince’s voice came entirely cold, not even looking up from his plate. 

“The kitchen prepares meals at designated times. Eat or don't. It makes no difference to my schedule.”

I flinched, looking up at him in disbelief.

Who was this man? 

I swallowed hard, the icy indifference pierced through my numbness. 

“Is this the real you then? The act is finally over? Was our marriage nothing but a lie?” I asked in a cracked voice. 

“The act was tedious anyway.” 

Vince wiped his mouth with a napkin, his dark eyes locking onto mine with a detachment that hitched my breaths. 

“Act, Vince…?”

“You wanted the truth, you got it. I have a company to run. I don't have time to play nursemaid to your self-pity.” 

He was about to drink water. 

“Don’t sound like Ken, Vince.” 

He froze. 

The glass stopped near his lips. My words left an impact but he had decided to become harsh and closed his eyes briefly.

Hiding the two-seconds hurt, he chugged the water, uncaring if it spilled from the corner of his mouth. 

“I gave you my everything, I gave you my heart, Vince” I whispered, my voice cracking as a single tear escaped my eye.

“I was actually ready to be happy with you. To plan a future. How could you act it doesn’t matter?”

“A naive calculation on your part,” he countered smoothly, tossing the napkin onto the table as he stood up. 

He adjusted his cuffs, looking down at me as if I were a minor inconvenience. 

“You played your part, Arden is broken, and you are still in my house as my wife. The role stays.” 

“What do you want me to do with that role when the emotions aren't the same anymore, asshole!” I snarled, slamming my hand down, on the verge of crying.

“Cry all you want, but do it quietly. It’s becoming a distraction.”

He turned and walked out, leaving me alone in the dark room with a hollowness I never felt before.

My lips quivered but wiping the tear roughly, I angrily tossed the food aside and walked away furiously.

The next morning, I held a cold front too. 

Vince was sitting at the island, a spread of legal documents before him, casually sipping his black coffee. 

“You're tracking dirt into the kitchen, Alyssa,” HHe pointed out casually, not lifting his eyes from the papers.

I stopped, staring at his profile. 

“Is that all you have to say to me?”

“What else is there?” He turned a page of his document, his long fingers precise, just like everything else he did. 

“You’ve made your feelings perfectly clear. I have a company to run. I don't have time to manage your moods anymore.”

A bitter, hollow ache flared in my chest. I stepped closer, my voice trembling. 

“You're just going to pretend? Pretend you didn't completely ruin my ability to trust another human being?”

Vince finally paused. He set his coffee cup down but the coldness remained intact.

"I gave you an empire, Alyssa. I gave you safety, returned your assets, gave you the confidence and love you lost." he stated smoothly, his tall form hovering over me.

“If you choose to agonise and sit depressed all day because the truth isn't as pretty as the lie, that is your choice.”

“You are the one who stole that from me in the first place, asshole!” I grabbed his collar.

He glanced down. No sign of anger or annoyance. He simply removed my hands and moved back.

Vince picked up his pen and went back to writing, leaving me standing there.

Completely discarded by the man who had once claimed I was his entire world.

A few days later, I was on the window sill in the guest room. I refused to even breathe in the same room as him anymore.

“Is this your strike?” He entered, a deep frown plastered on his lips. 

Vince entered, carrying a tray with a bowl of soup. 

He looked exhausted, showing a rare anxiety that came from… distance? Or was he frustrated that I wasn’t in the room?

“Stop it. Come back to the room.” He called, voice strained.

“No.” 

He placed the tray on the nightstand and knelt beside my chair, not daring to touch me.

“You haven't eaten anything, Alyssa," he said, his voice entirely stripped of the coldness for now, “Don’t starve yourself to death.” 

I didn't turn my head. 

“I'm not hungry.”

“You're shrinking away to nothing,” he whispered, “If you hate me, punish me. Scream at me. Do something. Don't do this to yourself.”

“I don't have the energy to hate you, Vince,” I lowered my head, hugging my knees tighter, “I don't have the energy for anything at all.”

"Maybe…” I gulped, “Maybe I wanted the lie,” I whispered, finally cutting my eyes to his. 

“I was finally happy. I finally thought I was allowed to have a life after Ken. And you took that from me, too.”

My eyes gradually hardened.

“You are a monster, Vince Lysander.” 

Vince flinched, closing his eyes tightly against the accusation. But he held onto his cold frontage and swallowed the bitter pill.

“Alyssa…” His voice was a warning that no longer hurt me.

“Don’t be shocked by the truth. This is merely the path you have chosen.” 

He looked away. His mouth opened, for a moment, he wanted to speak but decided to change and whispered.

“At least that won’t get me killed.” 

I glanced in disbelief but that sting just as quickly as it appeared. I also refused to hold faith in his lies and curled my hands in a fist.

“Leave the tray,” I whispered weakly, turning back to the window. “And leave me alone.”