Chapter 59

Alexia leaned back, thinking hard. "It would be great if you could catch my live stream tonight!"

That caught Waylon off guard.

Noticing the tension in his eyes, she quietly nibbled on a shrimp. After swallowing, she said, "I really don't need your help this time. I can handle everything myself."

Waylon's stare grew sharper. "If you're pushing me away, who do you expect to rely on?"

In a matter-of-fact tone, Alexia answered, "Nobody. I can manage just fine by myself."

"Don't you think it makes sense to use the help you have around you?" Waylon asked, a flicker of impatience showing.

Alexia paused and stired her soup, her thoughts drifting. Finally, she looked up and said, "What the Jenkins family did still leaves me feeling both ashamed and furious. All these years spent trying to win their approval, it haunts me even now and keeps me awake some nights. I feel like there's a knot | can't untangle.If I look back and count the good memories I have, they happened with you. Even though I was always running after you, always trying to match you and sometimes making you mad, being around you gave me an escape. For a while, it was as if home life, with all its coldness and pressure, faded away."

Waylon looked at her with eyes that held layers of feeling.

Alexia leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. She studied him closely. "Seven years have passed.You've accomplished so much, but I'm not weak either."

She never let anything keep her from pressing onward.

Her determination would never go unnoticed.

Waylon furrowed his brows slightly. "Alexia, I've never seen you as weak."

No one grasped the depths of brilliance quite like another mind cut from the same cloth. When it came to Alexia, he saw what the rest of the world missed-raw, relentless talent. Whatever challenge crossed her path, she handled it fast and finished it flawlessly.

Without all the burdens her family piled on her, all those sacrifices and compromises for her brothers,Alexia's reputation would have soared by now.

Her lips curved into a soft grin. "You just have to believe in me."

Waylon didn't offer a reply.

Once Alexia was gone, Simon noticed Waylon standinng in silence, fixed on the sprawling city through the tall window.

"Sir, she's got a fire in her. You might want to just let her do things her way," said Simon.

Waylon didn't move his gaze. "When have I ever held her back?"

Simon gave a small laugh, more uneasy than amused. "It's not like you stop her. But maybe you guard her too closely sometimes. She might start to think you're doing it out of pity."

Waylon gazed forward with captivating eyes, but an undercurrent of irritation showed clearly in his stare."The world is full of people who suffer. Did you ever see me try to protect anyone other than her? It's because she's Alexia-that's why I'm set on shielding her. I don't need reasons, and nobody can tell me otherwise."

Coming back home, seeing Alexia drenched and alone beneath the pouring rain, he understood that no one had stood up for her all these seven years.

Alexia had fought silently, carrying the burden entirely on her shoulders.

Opinions meant nothing to Waylon. In his eyes, extraordinary individuals deserved to remain untouched,never to fade or lose their brilliance.

"She'll go her way, I'Il go mine. We're each on separate journeys," Waylon said with an indifferent air, clearly unwilling to pursue the conversation.

Simon paused, wrestling with his own unease.

He had hoped Waylon would realize the real issue-their unclear connection was the pressing matter.

Without an official relationship, Waylon kept stepping forward for Alexia, putting them both in an awkward situation.

What would she think of him now? They had once stood on opposite sides, and now they hovered in a space that was neither warm nor hostile. If he stepped in, it would feel out of place and she would undoubtedly wonder why.

For the longest time, Waylon had ruled from a cold height, gripping authority like it was owed to him. The gentle ways of a woman often escaped him, and he found it hard to read what lay beneath softness.

At 8 PM, Alexia launched her stream without delay.

Her livestream was overflowing, and the viewer count shot up like sparks from a flame.

Above the buzz and rising chatter, she finally clicked the camera on.

The moment her face lit up the screen, the chat stalled. Words hung in the air as her beauty pulled them all into silence.

The lens caught her perfectly. Her skin looked soft as silk, her features carved with precision. Loose waves of hair slipped down to her collarbone, the ends grazing her skin with effortless charm.

Then the silence snapped. Comments surged like water breaking a dam.

"Hold on. Is she really not using any filters? How can anyone look like that?"

"She looks absolutely breathtaking!"

"I can't take this. Someone screenshot this for me!"

"How is it possible for someone to be this stunning? If only I couuld have her looks for a day."

"She could outshine any actress on the screen with that face."

Then,amid the endless praise, a jarring message slipped in.

"Doesn't she remind anyone else of Marilee? I wonder if her beauty is all hers, or if she had a little help to look like Marilee."