Chapter 204 Sad at goodbyes

Chapter 204 Sad at goodbyes
Chapter 204: Sad at goodbyes

That evening, Alex sat quietly on the edge of the kitchen counter while Varney searched for something inside the fridge.

Alex watched him carefully. “When last did you look at me properly?”

Varney paused slightly. "What?"

“You heard me.”

He shut the fridge slowly. "Alex…"

“I feel like I’m forcing you to love me lately.”

Varney stared at her. Alex laughed weakly to hide how much the confession embarrassed her.

“I keep trying to convince myself it's stress. Wedding pressure. Work pressure. Golden's issues.”

Varney walked toward her slowly. "But?"

Alex looked at him carefully. “But I don't think you're here anymore.”

Varney opened his mouth. Then closed it. Alex nodded slowly like she expected it anyway.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Alex…”

“No,” she interrupted softly. “Don't say things because you feel guilty.”

Varney looked exhausted suddenly.

Alex jumped down from the counter. “I love you,” she said honestly. “I think I always will.”

That nearly broke him.

“But I’m tired of feeling unwanted.”

Varney looked away and he didn't fight hard enough. That hurt her more than anything else.

Alex picked up her phone quietly. "I think we should cancel the wedding."

Varney stayed silent. A tear rolled down Alex's face immediately, because silence was still an answer. She nodded once. Then walked away slowly toward the bedroom.

Varney remained standing alone in the kitchen long after she left.



Hannah opened the door smiling before the expression vanished immediately. Xander shoved past her into the mansion.

His face looked terrifying. "What did you do?"

Hannah blinked. "Excuse me?"

“The videos. I'm sure Allan hired you.”

She swallowed slightly.

Xander turned toward her sharply. "I thought you got rid of the videos!"

Hannah crossed her arms defensively. "She deserved to know who you really are."

Xander laughed bitterly. "You’re unbelievable and unchanging."

Hannah's expression hardened. "You think therapy erased what you did?"

“No,” Xander snapped immediately. “It didn’t.”

Silence filled the room. For the first time, he looked directly at his past instead of avoiding it.

“Yes,” he admitted roughly. “I was toxic.”

Hannah looked shocked by the honesty.

“I was angry all the time. I was controlling. I hurt people.”

His jaw tightened harder. "And I hated myself for it."

Hannah’s eyes softened slightly. "But I changed."

She scoffed weakly. "Really?"

“I did.”

The conviction in his voice shook her.

Xander stepped closer. "I went to therapy because I hated the man I used to be."

Hannah stared at him silently.

“Golden changed me too,” he added quietly. “She made me want to become better.”

That hurt Hannah visibly. Because she realized then that Golden received the version of Xander she begged for years ago.

Tears filled Hannah's eyes slowly. "You never changed if after all these Golden is what changed you."

“I love Golden.” The response came without hesitation.

Hannah laughed shakily. "Well your love is unhealthy for anyone...just loving someone is never enough."

“I love her.”

Her face crumbled slightly.

Xander's voice turned cold again. “You need help, Hannah.”

That angered her instantly. "You think I'm crazy because I loved you?”

“No,” Xander replied sharply. “You became obsessed.”

The word hit hard. Hannah looked genuinely wounded now.

“You followed me from Northbridge to Florida. You manipulated situations. You released private videos.”

Tears slid down her cheeks now.

“I was trying to protect you from her.”

“No,” Xander corrected coldly. “You were trying to destroy my marriage.”

Hannah stared at him desperately.

“I still love you.”

Xander's expression never softened. "You will never have me again. Stop stalking me or i will press charges."

That finally broke her completely. She turned away crying quietly into her hands while Xander walked out without another word.



The boardroom meeting later that afternoon felt painfully uncomfortable. Golden sat quietly near the far end of the table pretending to focus on reports but she could feel the tension around her.

People thought she couldn't hear the whispers. She heard everything.

“All this scandal and she still got promoted.”

“Maybe Allan promoted her for personal reasons.”

“She shouldn’t even still be here.”

Golden’s fingers tightened around her pen. Across the room, Allan sat reviewing documents silently.

Then suddenly he closed the file in front of him. The sound alone silenced the room. He looked up calmly.

“If anyone here has concerns regarding Dr. Nixon's qualifications,” he said evenly, “you're welcome to submit your resignation.”

Nobody spoke.

Allan continued calmly.

“She earned her position through competence. Not gossip.”

The room stayed painfully quiet. One of the older board members cleared his throat awkwardly.

“We didn’t mean anything inappropriate.”

Allan’s eyes moved toward him slowly.

“Then don’t speak inappropriately.”

Golden stared at Allan quietly. There was no flirting in his tone, performance or attempt to impress her. He was simply defending her because he wanted to and somehow that affected her more than everything else he had done lately.

Allan finally looked toward her briefly. Their eyes met for one quiet second. Then he returned to his documents like nothing happened.

But Golden's chest tightened unexpectedly. She felt protected.