Hearing the words "sister-in-law" come from his lips felt like a knife stabbing into my heart.
He wanted me—his wife—to toast Lilian in front of all his friends?
Did he even see me as his wife?
Or was I nothing more than a passing amusement to him?
I froze.
A chill spread through my body as if I had fallen into an icy abyss.
Alexander adjusted his tie, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's wrong? Don't want to? Or do you refuse to acknowledge your sister-in-law?"
His indifferent tone made my throat tighten with bitterness.
Alexander…
You really know how to hurt someone.
You always know exactly where to drive the knife.
"Alicia, it's just a toast to your sister-in-law. What's the big deal?"
"Miss Summer is so understanding. What's wrong with offering her a toast?"
I forced my expression to remain calm.
Stepping forward, I picked up the glass.
Raising it toward Lilian, I drank the wine in a single gulp.
Then I placed the empty glass down silently.
Just then, my phone rang.
I glanced at the caller ID and answered as I walked out.
"Aiden, I'm already here."
Behind me, I faintly heard Michael chuckle.
"She didn't even call her 'sister-in-law.'"
Someone else added mockingly, "She really thinks she's the heiress of the Blackwood dynasty, throwing a tantrum in front of Alexander."
Their voices faded as I walked farther away.
My heart felt unbearably heavy as I made my way to our private room, but I forced myself to look composed before stepping inside.
We exchanged greetings and began looking through the menus.
Sandra flipped through hers and raised an eyebrow at Aiden.
"Aiden, big star… do you mind if I order whatever I want?"
Aiden smiled.
"Order anything you like. It's not like I can stop you from eating."
Julian slid another menu toward me.
"Alicia, you should order too. Don't be shy."
I picked up the menu and selected a few dishes I liked.
Aiden glanced at my choices before looking up at me.
"That's all? I remember you love the Durian Tart here. Why didn't you order it?"
Without waiting for my response, he added the Durian Tart to the order.
Sandra glanced between the two of us and smiled knowingly.
"Wow, you remember that so clearly. Do you remember what I like to eat too?"
Aiden chuckled helplessly.
"I'll remember next time."
The food soon arrived, served course by course.
During the meal, Aiden excused himself to use the restroom.
The moment he left, Sandra leaned closer to me and whispered,
"Are you two… a thing?"
I shook my head.
"What are you talking about? What makes you think that?"
Sandra rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean which eye? Both of them can see it."
"You're imagining things."
Seeing my firm denial, Sandra didn't push further. Instead, she sighed.
"Vivienne, you still don't have a boyfriend? There must be plenty of guys at your company chasing after you. You don't like any of them? How about I introduce someone to you?"
"I have a boyfriend."
In truth, several men at the company had pursued me.
One of them had even been particularly persistent.
To avoid the trouble, I told everyone that I already had a boyfriend.
Sandra scoffed.
"You might fool others, but you can't fool me. If you really had a boyfriend, why haven't you brought him out for us to meet?"
I lowered my gaze.
"I'm not lying to you. If there's a chance, I'll introduce you to him."
Once, I had imagined revealing my stable relationship with Alexander and slowly telling my friends about our future marriage.
But that dream would never come true now.
Seeing my expression, Sandra became suspicious.
Could it be that I really did have a boyfriend?
At that moment, Aiden returned from the restroom.