Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 183

Chapter 183

Margaret heard Marco’s car pull into the driveway around midnight. She’d been sitting in the dark living room for hours, her father’s bruises still throbbing on her arm, her brother’s cruel words still echoing in her head.

The front door opened. Marco stumbled inside, and Margaret could smell the whiskey before she even saw him. He looked worse than he had that morning. His shirt was untucked and stained. His eyes were bloodshot. The bruise on his jaw from fighting with Alexander had turned a sickly yellow-green.

“You’re still up.” Marco didn’t look at her as he headed toward the stairs.

“We need to talk.” Margaret stood, her whole body aching with exhaustion.

“I don’t want to talk. I want to sleep.”

“My family came by today.” The words stopped him on the third step. “They need money.”

Marco turned slowly, his face twisting into something ugly. “Of course they do. What is it this time? Your father gambling again? Your mother wanting a new car?”

“My brother is getting married.” Margaret’s voice came out smaller than she wanted. “They need five million dollars.”

The number hung in the air between them. Marco stared at her for a long moment, then started laughing. It was a harsh, bitter sound that made Margaret flinch.

“Five million? Your parasitic family wants five million dollars?” He came back down the stairs, moving closer. Let me guess. For the wedding? For a house? For whatever else your spoiled brat of a brother thinks he deserves?”

“They said I should ask you.” Margaret hated how weak her voice sounded. “Because you’re rich and you’re family now.”

“Family.” Marco spat the word like it was poison. “Your family? Those parasites who only call when they want something? Those beggars who treat you like garbage unless you’re handing them money?”

“They’re still my family.”

“They’re gold diggers.” Marco’s voice rose. “All of them. Your father who grew up in a trailer and has never made fifty thousand dollars in his entire miserable life. Your mother who’s worked minimum wage jobs her whole existence. Your brother who dropped out of community college and thinks marrying some girl gives him the right to demand millions from me.”

Margaret felt tears burning behind her eyes. “Don’t talk about them like that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth.” Marco moved closer, his face twisted with contempt. “Your whole family was dirt poor before you latched onto me. Living in that disgusting trailer park. Eating off food stamps. And now they think they can demand five million dollars like they’re royalty?”

“We weren’t that poor…”

“You were trash!” Marco’s voice exploded. “You grew up in filth! Your father has never held a real job in his life! Has he? Has your father ever made fifty thousand dollars in a single year? Answer me!”

Margaret’s silence was answer enough.

“Of course not.” Marco’s laugh came harsh and cruel. “Because he’s a loser. And your mother is a loser. And your brother is a loser. And the only reason any of them have anything resembling a decent life now is because of MY money. Money I earned. Money from MY company. Not theirs.”

“You’re being cruel.”

“I’m being honest.” Marco stepped even closer. “Your family has been living off my generosity for months. Every time they needed rent money or car repairs or to pay off their credit card debt, who did they call? You. And who did you beg for the money? Me. I’ve probably given your pathetic family over a two million dollars already and they’ve never once said thank you.”

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Chapter 183

“They appreciate it…”

“They appreciate nothing! They’re users! Manipulators! And you’re so desperate for their approval that you can’ t see it.” Marco’s eyes burned with anger. “Let me guess. They made you feel worthless today. Told you your only value is getting money out of me. Probably threw your dead baby in your face to manipulate you. Am I right?”

Margaret’s tears spilled over.

“Of course I’m right.” Marco’s voice came bitter. “Because that’s all they’ve ever done. Made you feel like you’re not good enough so you’ll do whatever they want. And you fall for it every single time.”

“I need this money, Marco.” Margaret tried to sound firm but her voice shook. “My father said he’d come back if I don’t get it. He threatened me.”

“Good. Let him come. I’ll tell him exactly what I think of his pathetic attempts at intimidation.” Marco turned away from her. “I’m not giving your family five million dollars. I’m not giving them five dollars. They can all go to hell.”

“But Marco…”

“I don’t have the money!” He spun back around, his voice exploding through the house. “Do you understand that? I don’t have five million dollars just lying around to give to your worthless brother!”

“You’re rich! You have a company!”

“A company that’s struggling because I’ve been too distracted with custody battles and legal fees and trying to salvage what’s left of my reputation! A company where I’m not even chairman anymore because Lucia took that from me too!” Marco’s face was red now, veins standing out on his forehead. “Every penny I have is tied up in investments and assets and fighting your battles!”

“My battles?” Margaret’s voice rose to match his. “You pushed me! You killed our baby!”

“Don’t!” Marco’s finger jabbed toward her face. “Don’t you dare put that on me when you know damn well you’re just as responsible! You created the fight! You started it!”

“Because you wouldn’t stop talking about Lucia! About how she looked at the fashion show! About how happy she seemed!”

“I was just making an observation!”

“You were pining for her!” Margaret screamed. “You were standing there wishing you still had her instead of me!”

“Maybe I was!” The words exploded out of Marco before he could stop them. “Maybe I was thinking about how Lucia never demanded money for her parasitic family! How she never made every conversation about what I could give her! How she actually loved me instead of just loving what I could provide!”

The silence that followed was deafening. Margaret felt like he’d punched her in the stomach.

“You’re comparing me to her.” Her voice came out broken. “Again. You’re always comparing me to her.”

“Because there is no comparison!” Marco’s arms spread wide. “Lucia was beautiful and kind and supportive! She put our family first! She sacrificed her career to help me build the company! And what have you done? You’ ve alienated my children! You’ve made my life miserable! You’ve turned me into someone I don’t even recognize!”

“I loved you!” Tears streamed down Margaret’s face. “I gave up everything for you!”

“You gave up nothing! You walked away from a boyfriend who was going nowhere to latch onto a married man with money! You traded up for wealth and status and the thrill of stealing someone else’s husband!”

“That’s not true!”

“Isn’t it?” Marco stepped closer, his face inches from hers. “Be honest for once in your pathetic life, Margaret. You never loved me. You loved the idea of winning. You loved taking something that belonged to Lucia. You loved playing the victim while you destroyed an entire family.”

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Chapter 183

“I am the victim! Everyone treats me like I’m nothing!”

“Because you are nothing!” Marco’s voice came cruel and cold. “You’re a pathetic, jealous woman who couldn’t handle that my children loved their mother more than they could ever love you! You’re a loser who needs my money to buy her family’s affection because you have nothing else to offer!”

Margaret slapped him. Her hand connected with his face hard enough to snap his head to the side. The crack echoed through the room.

Marco touched his cheek slowly, his eyes going dark. “I want a divorce.”

The words hit Margaret like ice water. “What?”

“You heard me. I want a divorce. I’m done with this. Done with you. Done with your family. Done with all of it.”

“No.” Margaret shook her head. “No, you don’t mean that.”

“I’ve never meant anything more in my life.” Marco’s voice came deadly calm now. “I’m calling my lawyer tomorrow. We’re getting divorced.”

“You can’t divorce me!” Margaret grabbed his arm. “We’re married! We made vows!”

“Vows you broke the second you started demanding things from me! Vows that mean nothing when we hate each other this much!”

“I don’t hate you!” Margaret’s voice rose to a shriek. “I love you! I’ve always loved you!”

“You love my bank account. There’s a difference.”

“That’s not fair!”

“Fair?” Marco laughed that harsh, bitter laugh again. “You want to talk about fair? Was it fair that you helped me cheat on my wife? Was it fair that you treated my children like they were obstacles to get rid of? Was it fair that you blamed everyone else when our baby died instead of looking at your own role in creating the situation?”

“This is Lucia’s fault!” Margaret screamed. “All of it! If she hadn’t stolen your children…”

“She didn’t steal them! They ran from us! From the toxic hell we created together!”

“We could have been happy!”

“We were never happy!” Marco grabbed Margaret by the shoulders, shaking her. “We were never anything but a mistake! A stupid, selfish mistake that destroyed two families and left everyone miserable!”

Margaret twisted out of his grip. “I will never divorce you. Do you hear me? Never. We are stuck together whether you like it or not.”

“The court will grant the divorce whether you agree or not.”

“On what grounds? You pushed me! You killed our baby! No judge will side with you!”

“Then we’ll live separately under the same roof. I’ll sleep in the guest room. You can have the master bedroom. But I’m done pretending this marriage was ever real.”

“You can’t just stop being my husband!”

“Watch me.” Marco headed for the stairs again. “I’m sleeping in the guest room from now on. And I’m calling my lawyer tomorrow to start divorce proceedings whether you agree or not.”

“Marco, please!” Margaret followed him up the stairs. “Please don’t do this! We can work it out! We can fix this!”

“There’s nothing to fix.” He stopped at the top of the stairs, his back to her. “You want to know the truth, Margaret? The real truth?”

“What?” Her voice came small and scared.

“I never loved you. Not really. You were an escape. A distraction from a marriage that was struggling. And

when the excitement wore off, all that was left was regret.” He turned to look at her one last time. “I regret you.

I regret us. I regret every choice I made that led me to this moment.”

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