Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Margaret’s footsteps echoed through the hallway like gunshots. Her hands were still shaking from the phone call with Ria, from watching that video from reading those comments that kept flooding in by the thousands. She’d tried calling Marco three times. Each call went straight to voicemail.

She knew where he was. Hiding in his office like a coward. Drinking himself stupid while their lives burned down around them.

The door to his study stood slightly open. She could see the glow of his laptop screen, could smell the whiskey from ten feet away. Her band hit the door hard enough to make it slam against the wall.

Marco sat

whiskey

“Get

Ma

d in his chair, staring at a broken laptop on the floor. Shattered glass spread across the carpet. An empty on its side on the desk.

came rough. Raw.

inside and closed the door behind her. “We need to talk.”

alk to you.”

moved closer, her arms crossed tight across her chest. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

came bitter. Broken. “What I’ve done? That’s rich coming from you.”

to the media.” Margaret’s voice rose. “You lied to reporters about being a devastated father. You created this

ss.”

ying to get my children back.”

ng? By making up stories? By painting yourself as some kind of victim?” Her hands uncrossed, fingers curling into

at her sides. “You made this public, Marco. You started this war

津

rco finally looked at her. His eyes were bloodshot, his face blotchy from crying or drinking or both. “If you hadn’t made eir lives hell, there wouldn’t have been a war to start.”

Margaret’s jaw dropped. “Are you seriously blaming me right now?”

“You drove them away.” Marco stood up so fast his chair toppled backward. “You with your jealousy and your cruelty and your constant need to compete with a woman who wasn’t even there anymore.”

“I tried to be a mother to them!”

“You tried to erase their mother!” Marco’s voice cracked. “You tried to replace her instead of just being yourself. You hated them because they reminded you that I had a life before you.”

“They hated me first!” Margaret screamed back. “From the very first day, they compared me to her. Made it clear I would never measure up. Never be good enough.”

“Because you weren’t!” The words exploded from Marco’s mouth like he’d been holding them back for years. “You were never her. You were never going to be her. You were just someone I settled for when I was stupid and angry.”

The words hit Margaret like a physical blow. She staggered back a step, her hand moving instinctively to her stomach where their baby grew.

“Settled for?” Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

aid. His face paled. “Margaret, I didn’t mean…”

Marco seem

“Yes, y

chea

refused to let them fall. “You absolutely meant it. I was just a replacement. A

d.”

you know what the worst part is? I knew it. I always knew it. But I loved utation, everything, because I loved you.”

clenched at his sides. “You destroyed my children’s lives. That’s what you did.”

aughed but it came out harsh and ugly. “Your spoiled, entitled brats who threw tantrums when ay? Who made my life miserable every single day?”

n! You were the adult! You should have heen better than them!”

et was crying now, angry tears s

Successfully unlocked! ied so hard to make them love me. To make

family. But they never gave me a chance.

ou slapped Ria. Because you destroyed Monica’s art. Because you made Lucas feel unwelcome in his own

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home.” Marco’s voice grew louder with each accusation. “You didn’t try to be a mother. You tried to be a dictator.”

they needed discipline!”

“They needed love!” Marco picked up the empty whiskey bottle and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall, glass raining down onto the carpet. “They needed someone to actually care about them instead of seeing them as competition!”

Margaret flinched at the sound of breaking glass. “I cared about them.”

“You cared about yourself. About your place in my life. About making sure they didn’t come between us.” Marco was pacing now, his movements jerky and aggressive. “You saw them as threats instead of children who were already hurting.” “Because they were trying to push me out!”

“They were trying to survive!” Marco whirled to face her. “They were trying to hold onto some piece of their mother in a house where you were trying to erase every trace of her.”

“I wasn’t trying to erase her. I was trying to build something new.”

“By tearing down everything they had left.” Marco’s voice dropped to something cold and deadly. “By making them choose between their memories and their home. By punishing them for loving someone other than you.”

Margaret’s hands were shaking again. “You’re acting like I’m the only one who made mistakes. What about you, Marco? What about the fact that you hit Lucas?”

Marco’s face went white. “That was one time.”

“Once was enough!” Margaret shot back. “Once was enough to leave bruises. Once was enough to terrify your son. Once was enough to drive him away forever.”

“He was being disrespectful.”

“He was being seventeen!” Margaret moved closer, her fear giving way to fury. “He was a boy trying to protect his sisters from a woman who hated them. And you hit him for it.”

Marco’s hands curled into fists. “Don’t lecture me about my

son.”

“Why not? Someone needs to. Because you clearly don’t see what you did wrong.”

“What I did wrong?” Marco’s voice rose to a roar. “I gave them everything! I worked myself to exhaustion providing for them! I tried to give them a good life!”

“You gave them money and things. You never gave them what they actually needed.”

“And what was that?”

“A father who put them first!” Margaret’s voice cracked. “A father who chose their wellbeing over his own ego. A father who didn’t replace their mother with someone who resented their existence.”

Marco took a step toward her. Then another. His face was purple with rage, veins standing out in his neck. “You have no right to talk about being a parent. You’re not even a mother yet.”

“I will be in six months.” Margaret’s hand moved protectively to her stomach. “And I will be better than you. I will never make

Γ my child feel unwanted or unloved or scared in their own home,”

“Really?” Marco’s laugh came ugly and mean. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re going to be exactly like you were with my other children. Jealous and cruel and petty.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is true. You couldn’t handle three kids who weren’t yours. What makes you think you can handle one that is?”

The words cut deeper than Margaret expected. “I’ll be different with my own baby.”

“No, you won’t.” Marco was close enough now that she could smell the whiskey on his breath. “You’ll be the same jealous insecure woman you’ve always been. And you’ll blame the baby for every problem in your life, just like you blamed my other children.”

“Stop calling them your children!” Margaret screamed. “They’re not your children anymore! They made that very clear in their little video!”

“They’re still my blood!”

“Blood doesn’t make you a father! Love makes you a father! And you didn’t love them enough to be better for them!” Marco’s hand shot out before either of them realized what was happening. He shoved her. Hard. With all the rage and frustration and heartbreak that had been building for months.

Margaret stumbled backward, her feet tangling in the edge of the carpet. She tried to catch herself, hands reaching for the

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desk, the chair, anything. But her pregnant belly threw off her balance.

he hit the floor hard. The marble floor of the office, unforgiving and cold. Her hands moved instinctively to protect her stomach, but the impact jarred through her entire body.

For a moment, everything was silent except for the sound of her labored breathing.

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