Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Alex knocked on Lucia’s door late in the evening.

She’d been reading. Financial journals. Market analysis. Anything to keep her mind busy.

“Come in.”

He entered. Holding his tablet. Face careful. Controlled.

“What’s wrong?” Lucia asked.

“There’s something you need to see.” He sat beside her. “It happened today. I debated showing you. But. You deserve to

know.”

“Know what?”

Alex turned the tablet toward her. Pressed play.

“This was posted an hour ago. Live from the wedding.”

The wedding.

Marco’s wedding.

Lucia’s breath caught.

The screen showed a ballroom. White roses. Crystal chandeliers. Silk everywhere.

The camera panned. Showed guests in expensive clothes. Tables set with china. Centerpieces taller than people.

Then. The bride appeared.

Margaret. In a white dress covered in crystals. Train stretching behind her. Walking down an aisle lined with flowers.

Lucia’s hands started shaking.

“I can turn it off,” Alex said quietly.

“No.” Her voice came out hoarse. “Keep playing.”

The camera zoomed in on Margaret’s face. Smiling. Radiant. Victorious.

Then. The tiara.

Lucia’s grandmother’s tiara. Diamonds and sapphires. Passed down through four generations. Worn by Lucia on her wedding day. By her mother. By her grandmother.

Now on Margaret’s head.

“She’s wearing my tiara,” Lucia whispered.

“I know.”

The camera moved to show the wedding party. And Lucia’s heart stopped.

Ria. Standing beside Margaret. Blue dress. Hair styled. Holding flowers,

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Chapter 18

Maid of honor.

Her daughter. Standing with the woman who’d destroyed their family.

The ceremony blurred. Words spoken. Rings exchanged. But Lucia couldn’t look away.

Then came the reception. The speeches.

Ria stood first. Microphone in hand. Confident. Smiling.

“I want to thank Margaret for bringing joy back to our family. For showing us what real happiness looks like. For being the mother figure we actually needed.”

Mother figure we needed.

Lucia felt something crack in her chest.

Alex reached for the tablet. “That’s enough.”

“No.” Lucia grabbed his wrist. “Keep playing.”

Monica appeared next. White dress with pink sash. Throwing flower petals. Laughing. Happy.

Flower girl.

Her middle child. Looking thrilled to be part of this. Part of erasing her mother.

Then Lucas stood. Uncomfortable. Reading from a card.

“To my father and Margaret. May you have a long and happy marriage. Congratulations.”

Short. Flat. But he said it. He gave the toast. He participated.

All three of them. All three of her children.

Helping their father marry another woman. Today. Right now. While Lucia sat/here thousands of miles away.

Marco’s speech came next.

“My first marriage was a mistake,” he said. Clear. Loud. Proud. “I married someone who didn’t understand ambition. Who was content being ordinary. Being a housewife. Being nothing.”

Nothing.

He called her nothing. In front of two hundred people. In front of their children.

“I wasted seventeen years on someone who couldn’t grow. Who held me back from my potential.”

Wasted. Held back.

Seventeen years. Three children. A life built together.

Wasted.

“But Margaret is everything I needed. She’s ambitious. Driven. She pushed me to leave behind dead weight.”

Dead weight.

That’s what she was to him. Dead weight.

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Chapter 18

“To Margaret. The woman who saved me from a life of mediocrity.”

The room erupted in applause. Glasses raised. Celebration.

Marco kissed Margaret. Long. Deep. Claiming her.

The video ended.

Silence filled the room.

Lucia stared at the blank screen. Her hands still shaking. Her breath coming in short gasps.

“Lucia, Alex said gently.

“It’s happening right now.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Right now. They’re celebrating. Dancing. Eating cake. And I’m here.”

“I’m sorry.

“They erased me. Completely. Like I never existed.” She looked at Alex. “It’s been what. Six weeks? And Ria is calling Margaret her mother figure. Monica is throwing flowers. Lucas is giving toasts.”

“They’re young. They don’t understand.”

“Don’t they?” Lucia’s voice hardened. “Ria is sixteen. Old enough to know what she’s doing. Lucas is fifteen. Monica is thirteen. They all know. They all chose this.”

“They’re confused.”

“She wore my grandmother’s tiara.” Lucia’s voice broke. “Margaret wore my grandmother’s tiara. The one my mother gave me. The one I was supposed to pass to Ria someday. And she. She just. She wore it like it was hers.”

Alex said nothing. What could he say?

“How did you get this?” Lucia asked.

“One of the guests is livestreaming. Public. On social media. Anyone can watch.”

“They made it public. They wanted people to see. Wanted the world to know Marco had upgraded.”

“That’s not what you are.”

“That’s what he thinks I am. What they all think.” Lucia stood. Paced the room. “Dead weight. Mediocrity. Nothing. That’s what he called me. Today. In front of everyone. While our children stood there and smiled.”

“He’s wrong.”

“Is he? Because from where I’m sitting. I was nothing. I was a housewife who cooked and cleaned and raised his children. And the second I was gone. They replaced me. In six weeks.”

“You weren’t nothing. You gave them everything.”

“And they threw it away.” Lucia’s hands clenched into fists. “They threw me away like garbage. And then they celebrated. Today. Right now. They’re having a three hundred thousand dollar wedding and celebrating getting rid of me.”

Her voice was rising. Getting louder. Angrier.

“Six weeks, Alex. Six weeks since I signed the divorce papers and he threw me out like trash. And they’re married. Happy.

Better

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“They’re not better. They’re pretending.”

“Are they? Because Ria looked pretty happy calling Margaret her mother figure. Monica looked thrilled throwing flowers. Even Lucas. Even Lucas gave a toast.”

“Lucas looked miserable in that video.”

“But he did it. He stood up and he said congratulations. He participated.” Lucia pressed her hands to her face. They all did. All three of my children helped their father marry another woman. Today.”

“What do you want to do?” Alex asked quietly,

Lucia dropped her hands. Looked at him. “I want to destroy them.”

“Lucia.”

“I want to take everything. The way they took everything from me. I want them to feel what I felt. Watching that video. Seeing my children. My babies. Celebrating my replacement.”

“Revenge won’t heal you.”

“Maybe not. But it’ll feel good.” She walked to the window. Looked out at the dark lake. “I want my children back. I want my dignity back. I want my place in the world back.”

“Then we’ll get it.”

“How? They’ve erased me. Rewritten history. I’m the villain in their story now. The dead weight. The mediocrity.”

“Then we change the story.” Alex stood. Came to stand beside her. “We make them see the truth.”

“What truth? That I loved them? They don’t care. That I sacrificed for them? They don’t remember.”

“The truth about Margaret.” Alex pulled out his phone. “You said you suspected inconsistencies in her story. Let’s investigate. Let’s find out who she really is.”

Lucia turned to him. “You think there’s something?”

“Vision boards since age twelve? Calculated plan to marry wealth? Working as Marco’s secretary for two years before making her move?” Alex nodded. “Yes. I think there’s something. People like that. They leave trails. Lies. Mistakes.”

“And if we find something?”

“We use it. We show Marco who he really married. We show your children who their new mother figure really is.”

Hope flickered in Lucia’s chest. Small. Fragile. But real.

“How long would it take? To investigate?”

“A few weeks. Maybe a month. I have people who specialize in this.”

“Do it.” Lucia’s voice hardened. “Find everything. Every lie. Every secret. Every truth she’s hiding.”

“I will”

“And Alex” She looked at him. “I want to accelerate my training. Everything. Finance. Business. Physical. All of it. I want to be ready.”

“Ready for what?”

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“To go back. To face them. To take back what’s mine.”

“When?”

“Two months.” Lucia’s jaw set. “In two months. I’ll be ready. We’ll have information on Margaret. I’ll be strong enough. Smart enough. Prepared enough.”

“Two months isn’t long”

“It’s long enough. It has to be.” She turned back to the window. “Right now. Right this second. They’re dancing at that wedding. Celebrating. Erasing me.”

Her voice went quiet. Deadly.

“In two months. I’ll make sure they never forget me again.”

“What are you going to be?” Alex asked.

Lucia smiled. Sharp. Cold.

“A problem they can’t solve. A threat they can’t dismiss. A woman they can’t forget.”

Alex studied her. “You’ve changed.”

“Good. The old Lucia got thrown away. This one. This one fights back.”

“Just don’t lose yourself in the fight.”

“I already lost myself. In that marriage. In that house. In seventeen years of being what they wanted.” She met his eyes. “Now I’m going to find out who I am. Who I can be. Without them.”

“And if your children don’t want you back?”