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Lusi also handed everything over to Nicholas and was ready to accept Handoko's decision to divorce her. There was no point in preserving a marriage that had long lost its health.

While Handoko still loved her deeply and could share fairly with Mariana, living a life filled with lies was not good for Lusi's mental and emotional well-being.

Before Aditama passed away, he entrusted Alesya to Lusi, not to anyone else. And the reason Aditama did that was because Lusi was good at acting, hiding her true self, and concealing Handoko's wickedness.

"So, Daddy did it willingly?" The grip of Alesya's hand on Nicholas's tightened. Lusi nodded slowly. "So there were no traps or anything like that? Daddy really did it willingly?"

Once again, Alesya sought clarity so that she would understand the depth of pain her mother had felt when betrayed by the man she loved dearly. Alesya knew just how much her mother had loved Aditama, a gentle and caring man when it came to their family. She had never suspected the existence of Lusi in their lives.

"So, that's why Mom became so sick that she passed away?" Lusi nodded once again because that was all she could do. Her chest ached, and her tongue felt heavy as she had to reveal everything to Alesya. It was painful, but she felt a sense of responsibility to explain the truth.

"But I can't believe that Daddy was capable of doing that." Alesya's voice started to sound hoarse as she grappled with the immense pain she was feeling now, facing the woman who had taken away her happiness.

She had lost the affection of both her parents, which had been her reason for living. Nicholas, realizing that Alesya was beginning to weaken, immediately pulled her into his arms, providing her with strength and comfort to help her cope with this painful revelation.

"It's understandable that Aditama acted that way," Nicholas interjected. Both Lusi and Alesya turned their heads toward the source of the voice. Nicholas raised an eyebrow as he looked at his mother, who had arrived at an inopportune moment.

Mariana gave a thin smile. "Of course, Aditama was infatuated with this woman; she could provide him with what your mother couldn't."

Alesya was still reeling from the shock of all the facts, and now Mariana had interjected, making her believe there was more bad news to come.

"This woman not only seduced my husband but also Aditama. She had been getting close to your father for a long time, to the point where they were caught together at a hotel. I don't know what kind of poison this woman gave your father that made him betray the purity of the love your mother offered."

It was true. Mariana was casually revealing everything, even though their relationship with Lusi had been fine until now.

"Is that true?" Two words that had been lingering on the tip of Alesya's tongue finally found their way out. They were the only words she could utter in response to the shocking revelation. She was fortunate that Nicholas was with her at this moment. Without him, she didn't know how she would have coped.

"Let me give you a brief summary," Mariana raised her hand to silence Lusi, preventing her from moving or speaking. She would take over the conversation at this point.

"She has been getting close to your father for a long time. Precisely one year before your mother passed away. She had already begun playing with fire with Aditama because your mother couldn't be too extreme in serving your father in bed. Aditama, on the other hand, got it from this devilish woman."

"But she's 's wife, Ma. Then..."

"That's your father for you, willing to sell his own wife to his friend. I was asked to do the same, but I still had my sanity intact, so I refused even though I was offered a considerable sum. But he, he went ahead and did it. I don't know if he was foolish or what, Nick," Mariana dissected each issue from the past without holding anything back.

Alesya's body was growing weaker as she listened to Mariana's words. One year before her mother's death meant that her father had been unfaithful to her mother with this doctor for a long time.

"So, that's why you lied and said I was still a virgin during the recent examination," Alesya stared sharply at Lusi, who could only bow her head in shame. Just as before, Lusi could only nod, answering Alesya's question.

"So, what else do you have planned for me? Haven't you taken enough of my happiness? Now you're lying. I don't understand what my mother did to you to destroy us to this extent."

Alesya's chest felt tight at this moment. Among Handoko's many friends and business associates, it was unimaginable that her father would be the victim of such brutality.

"Believe me, this has been heavy, and if it weren't for Nicholas in my life, I can assure you I would have taken my own life long ago, joining my parents so I wouldn't be alone in this world. That's how deep the wounds you've inflicted are." Alesya sobbed, her world crumbling due to Lusi's actions in the past.

It was unbelievable that she had followed Handoko's desires to ruin his own friend's marriage just to seize the assets that Aditama had painstakingly accumulated. She was even willing to be separated from her child and husband for a better future.

In reality, all of that was shattered in an instant when Handoko introduced Lusi into Aditama's marriage.

Her wife had passed away due to the emotional turmoil of seeing her husband with another woman in a hotel. This had been her suspicion for the past few months because Aditama had been coming home less frequently. He often contacted someone over the phone, but he avoided doing it near Liliana.

And everything fell apart when Liliana could see the facts with her own two eyes and her mind. What wife wouldn't be shattered seeing her husband in a hotel, in the same room with a woman who was completely naked? No matter how foolish a person was, they would certainly understand what two different individuals were doing without any clothes on in a closed room with no one else around.

Liliana felt her world crumble and collapse but tried to hide it for the sake of a child who knew nothing. Aditama returned and explained, pleading not to be divorced, admitting his mistake but not knowing how many times he had used Lusi's body to satisfy his desires.

All of this was vividly spinning in Lusi's mind, how she had also enjoyed the affair scenario because Aditama was indeed very different from Handoko. He was warm and attentive, unlike her husband, who was always busy working at the office.

She had even developed feelings for Aditama, but unfortunately, he was already married at that time. Specifically, Alesya was just a year old.

Initially, Handoko had offered Mariana to get close to Aditama because she was more beautiful and attractive than Lusi. However, Mariana vehemently refused because it didn't align with her principles in life.

On the other hand, Lusi, although initially reluctant, eventually agreed because she genuinely believed Aditama was a good man. She deviated from Handoko's plan. Lusi not only got close to Aditama but also engaged in a physical relationship with him without Handoko's knowledge, of course.

The climax was the hotel room raid. Initially, Handoko only wanted Lusi to be caught in the act when it had just begun, thinking that everything was going according to his plan. However, Mariana knew more than that because she had been secretly monitoring her husband's mistress's movements to prevent Lusi from getting her hands on Handoko's inheritance.

Mariana's cunning ways to remove Lusi from the picture were quite clever, but she didn't realize that she had been the second wife all along.

"I and Alesya are leaving now," Nicholas led Alesya to stand up. He couldn't bear to see his woman being crushed by the ambitions of these adults.

"Wait, Nicholas!" Lusi rose from her seat, stopping Nicholas from taking Alesya away. "I haven't finished explaining. I haven't explained why I told you that Alesya was still a virgin when she had slept with you during the examination yesterday, right? Everything I did wasn't to support Handoko but to save Alesya!" She quickly clarified.

"Save me? From what? When you've been slowly killing me since you entered a relationship with my dad," Alesya cut in before Nicholas had a chance to speak. "If you really wanted to help me, you should have stopped sleeping with my dad a long time ago, right? So don't act like I care about any of you anymore." She pointed at Mariana and Lusi alternately. "I really don't care. Whether you want to take over my parents' estate, bankrupt the company, or even kill me. I don't care anymore.

I've given up on life since all of you took away my happiness. The remaining shreds of my life, I now entrust to Nicholas. If he leaves and disappoints me, then that's where my path to death lies." Desperate, Alesya poured out her heart.

Let Nicholas feel proud, because he was indeed the only reason she had left to live. This was too horrifying for a young woman like her.

While women her age were busy pursuing careers with their parents' support, Alesya was tossed around. She had no direction or purpose, and she was fortunate to meet Nicholas. Otherwise?

"No, I did it because I wanted to help you escape from Handoko. With you being a virgin, Handoko assumed you couldn't provide him with grandchildren yet, so he kept delaying...," Lusi tried to convince her.

"Shut up. I don't need any more explanations from you because I'm sure after this, you're going to say that my dad entrusted me to you so you could take care of me and the remaining assets, right?" Alesya guessed. She was spot on.

However, it no longer meant anything to her.

"B-but... Al, that's what Aditama wanted," Lusi tried to reassure her.

"I refuse to accept help from a cheap woman like you!" Alesya hid her face in Nicholas's chest as she cried there, showing him how fragile and shattered she was right now.

Lusi might claim she wanted to save her, but in reality, she had been breaking her into pieces for a long time, even until Alesya's mother's death and her father's subsequent accident.

According to Aditama, the accident happened because of the heavy burden of losing the woman he loved. But no one knew that it was all part of Handoko's grand scheme.

"At least let me help you uncover the cause of your father's accident," Lusi called out before Alesya completely left her. However, it was in vain because Alesya no longer cared about anything Lusi had to say.

On one side, Mariana was frantic to hear that Lusi wanted to help uncover the cause of Aditama's accident because she was involved in that part.