---- Chapter 138 Jonathan stared at my wrist for a moment, then said nothing. His dark eyes narrowed slightly before he suddenly grabbed my hand and started pulling me back toward the stage. Before I could even react, he was already holding onto my hand, leading me up there with him. I froze, confused about what he was doing, Instinctively, I tried to pull my hand back, but he just gripped it tighter. "Let go! What the hell are you doing?" He didn't answer me.

Instead, he turned to the crowd and said, "This is my wife, Elise Sawyer." The entire room fell into stunned silence. All heads turned in our direction. Alicia's eyes shot over to us, and her face was completely drained of color as she stood frozen in place. But Jonathan acted like he didn't even see her. He continued addressing the guests, "She's an introvert, not very comfortable speaking in public, so I've never formally introduced her before.

I figured this was a good opportunity." No one dared move. Everyone held their breath. Frederick gave me a long, complicated look. He didn't say anything, just lowered his head and drank in silence. instinctively twisted my wrist, trying to pull free. ---- Jonathan relaxed his grip slightly, but only to intertwine our fingers together instead. Then he looked directly at Alicia in the crowd. "Alicia and I grew up together.

I've always treated her like a little sister." With every word that left his mouth, Alicia's expression grew darker and darker. When he finally said out loud that he only treated her as a sister, I watched her entire face crumble into something close to despair. But my heart felt nothing other than coldness. What was the point of all this? Alicia had always insisted that she and Jonathan were just like siblings. And now, with him publicly confirming it, she couldn't handle it.

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She wasn't as good at playing the long game as I'd thought. Then, suddenly , a sharp ache twisted in my chest. I clutched my heart as my face turned pale. I wasn't sure if it was coming from me or from the 25-year-old version of me that still lingered somewhere inside. She had probably been waiting for this day all along. She wanted Jonathan to acknowledge her as his wife in front of everyone .

She wanted him to say out loud that there was nothing between him and Alicia, that they were just family. That 25-year-old version of me had been so pathetic. Just a few simple things could've made her feel happy. If Jonathan had respected me even alittle, if he'd kept me in his heart, we would never have ended up here. ---- Iclosed my eyes, suddenly overwhelmed by the emptiness of itall. But now, none of it mattered to me anymore. So what if he announced my status in front of everyone?

Did that somehow erase everything he'd done? Of course not. It was laughable. If he really understood what kind of life I'd been living, why hadn't he done something earlier? Why did he wait until the moment I stopped caring? Until I'd completely given up on him? After he made the announcement , the crowd remained silent for a long beat. Then, slowly, a few scattered claps began. Someone took the lead, and soon enough, the room filled with applause.

I didn't even know what they were clapping for. Alicia's face looked worse than ever. She instinctively tried to rush to the stage, but her parents stopped her. It took her a moment to compose herself and force a strained smile before clapping along with the crowd. I gave her a bit more credit for knowing when to fold. Though her emotions were clearly all over the place. But... That wasn't what I came here for.

Iwas just about to reach for the mic to tell everyone that ---- Jonathan and I weren't doing well and were planning to divorce, but before I could take another step, Frederick suddenly walked up onto the stage. His steps were steady, and his eyes locked on mine. It was obvious he was walking up here for me.