Chapter 455

Everything felt both familiar and strange to Alston. Familiar because the person he loved should be like this, but strange because something just felt off. The dissonance had been there for years, but he had grown accustomed to it, until now. It suddenly hit him that the warm, gentle, and kind-hearted Marian was merely the facade she wanted him to see.

"Marian!"

"Alston, have you fallen out of love with me? Have you fallen for Cecilia?"

Alston hesitated, staring at Marian as she bit her lip, her smile bitter and her heart seemingly shredded by pain. The sadness on her face was heavy, and for a moment, Alston felt a pang of guilt.

"Didn't you say you only loved me? That you wanted to marry me? Alston, you..."

"I want Gladys," Alston interrupted, his face as composed and handsome as ever, though his words were as cold as ice. "Marian, you laid hands on Gladys. She told me herself that you took her away."