Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 185

Chapter 185

Ria walked out of the design studio at Riverside Academy, her portfolio under one arm and her phone in the other hand as she checked for messages from her family. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the campus courtyard, and most students had already left for the day. She was heading toward the pickup area when a familiar figure stepped out from behind a large oak tree.

“Ria.”

Her father’s voice made her freeze mid-step. Marco stood about ten feet away, looking thinner than she remembered, his expensive suit wrinkled and his hair uncombed. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his hands shook slightly as he held them out in a gesture that was meant to be welcoming but felt desperate instead.

“What are you doing here?” Ria’s voice came out steady despite her racing heart.

“I needed to see you.” Marco took a cautious step closer. “We need to talk, sweetheart. Just the two of us.”

Ria looked around the nearly empty courtyard, suddenly aware of how isolated they were. Her heart began racing as she remembered Marco’s threats at the mansion gates, his angry words about getting his family back no matter what it took.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She backed toward the main building where there would be teachers and security guards.

“Please, Ria. I’m your father. I just want to talk to my daughter.”

The pain in his voice was real, and for a moment Ria felt a flicker of the old sympathy she used to have for him. But then she remembered Lucas’s bruised face, Monica’s tears, the months of walking on eggshells in his house.

“Five minutes.” Her voice came firm. “We talk here, in the open, and then I’m leaving.”

Marco’s face crumpled with relief. “Thank you. That’s all I need. Just five minutes to explain.”

Ria stayed where she was, maintaining distance between them while Marco gathered his thoughts. He looked older than his forty-three years, worn down by months of legal battles and public humiliation.

“Ria, I know I made mistakes.” His voice came earnest and pleading. “I know I hurt you and your brother and sister. But I was under so much pressure, so much stress. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“You hit Lucas.” Ria spoke quietly. “You put bruises on your own son’s face.”

Marco’s face flushed with shame. “That was one moment of anger. One terrible moment when I lost control. It

doesn’t define who I am as a father.”

“Doesn’t it?” Ria’s voice was stronger now. “Because from where I’m standing, it shows exactly who you became. Someone who hurt children when he was angry.”

“I never meant to hurt anyone. I was trying to hold our family together, to teach you kids respect and discipline.”

“By hitting us?” Ria interrupted. “By letting Margaret treat us like garbage? By choosing your new wife over your own children?”

Marco ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles. “Margaret was trying to help. She was trying to be a mother to you kids, but you never gave her a chance.”

Ria stared at her father in disbelief. “Are you serious? She threw away Monica’s artwork. She called it garbage. She slapped me across the face. She made our little sister feel so worthless that Monica started cutting herself.”

“She was adjusting…”

“She was cruel!” Ria’s voice rose, months of suppressed anger finally breaking free. “She was jealous of children. She competed with teenagers for your attention instead of trying to support us through our parents’ divorce.”

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Marco’s face was getting redder, his breathing becoming more labored as Ria’s words hit home.

“That’s not… you don’t understand what it was like for her. Coming into a house where the children already hated her.”

“We didn’t hate her at first.” Ria spoke firmly. “We were willing to give her a chance. But she made it clear from day one that she wanted to replace Mom, not join our family.”

“Your mother was gone! She left us!”

“You threw her out!” Ria shouted, not caring anymore who might hear them. “You packed her belongings while she was at what she thought was an anniversary dinner! You humiliated her in front of the whole family!”

Marco stepped closer, his eyes blazing with desperation. “I made a mistake leaving your mother. I see that now. But we can fix this, Ria. We can be a family again.”

“How?” Ria demanded. “How exactly do you think we can fix the fact that you chose another woman over your wife and children?”

“By coming home. All of you. You, Lucas, Monica, even your mother. We can start over. Margaret and I are having problems. I want to divorce her. She’s not who I thought she was.”

Ria felt her stomach turn at the casual way he dismissed his current wife. “So when things get difficult with Margaret, you want to go back to Mom? What happens when things get difficult again? Do you find another young woman to run away with?”

“It wouldn’t be like that.”

“It would be exactly like that!” Ria’s voice cracked with emotion. “Because you haven’t changed. You’re still the same person who puts his own needs before everyone else’s.”

Marco’s face was desperate now, tears forming in his eyes. “Ria, please. I’ve lost everything. My business is struggling, my reputation is destroyed, my marriage is falling apart. I need my family back. I need you kids back.”

“And what about what we need?” Ria asked quietly. “What about our need to feel safe? Our need to be loved unconditionally? Our need to have parents who put our wellbeing before their own drama?”

“I can give you that.”

“No, you can’t.” Ria spoke with absolute certainty. “Because you don’t know how. You think love is about control and possession. But real love is about sacrifice and support and putting other people’s happiness before your own.”

Marco stared at his daughter, seeing the woman she was becoming and recognizing that she was wiser than he had ever been.

“Alexander taught you that, didn’t he?” Marco’s voice turned bitter. “Your new father figure with all his money and wisdom.”

“Yes, he did.” Ria spoke proudly. “Alexander shows us every day what real fatherhood looks like. He protects us without controlling us. He supports our dreams without demanding credit. He loves us without expecting anything in return.”

“I love you.”

“You love the idea of us.” Ria corrected. “You love having children who make you look good, who obey your rules, who don’t challenge your authority. But Alexander loves who we actually are, not who he wants us to be.”

Marco’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “He stole you from me. He manipulated you into believing I was a bad father.”

“You showed us you were a bad father.” Ria’s words came blunt. “Alexander just showed us what a good one looks like.”

The comparison was devastating, and Marco felt his last hope crumbling as his daughter spoke with such conviction about another man.

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“Ria, I’m begging you. Give me another chance. Come home where you belong.”

“I am home.” Ria interrupted. “I’m home with people who love me, support me, and would never hurt me. I’m home with a father who comes to my fashion shows and a mother who fought the legal system to keep me safe.”

“I’m your real father!”

“Biology doesn’t make you a father.” Ria spoke quietly. “Love does. Sacrifice does. Putting your children’s needs before your own does. And Alexander does all of those things better than you ever did.”

Marco felt rage building in his chest, the same red-hot anger that had led to so many of his mistakes.

“This is insane.” His voice rose. “You’re choosing strangers over your own flesh and blood because they have money.”

“I’m choosing safety over chaos.” Ria stood firm. “I’m choosing love over fear. I’m choosing a father who would never hit his children over one who already has.”

“I told you, that was one mistake.”

“And Margaret losing her baby was another mistake? And going to the media with lies was another mistake? How many mistakes do you get to make before we’re allowed to protect ourselves?”

Marco stared at his daughter, seeing the strength and clarity in her eyes, and realized that she was never coming back to him. None of them were. They had found something better, something he could never provide.

“Dad.” Ria’s voice softened, seeing the pain in his face. “You need help. Professional help. You need to talk to someone about your anger, your need to control people, your inability to take responsibility for your actions.”

“I don’t need help.”

“Yes, you do.” Ria spoke firmly. “If you really love us, if you really want what’s best for us, then you’ll get the help you need to become the father we deserve.”

Marco felt his control slipping away as his daughter’s reasonable words destroyed his last fantasies about

reconciliation.

“I don’t need some therapist telling me how to be a father.” He snarled. “I need my family back where they belong!”

“We belong where we’re safe and loved.” Ria pulled out her phone. “And that’s not with you. Not anymore.”

“Ria, wait.”

“I’m calling Dad to pick me up.” She dialed quickly. “This conversation is over.”

Marco watched his eldest daughter turn away from him, literally and figuratively, as she spoke quietly into her phone. He could hear her saying “Dad? Can you come get me? My biological father is here and I need to leave.”

The casual way she called Alexander “Dad” while referring to Marco as “my biological father” was the final

straw.

“This isn’t over.” Marco’s voice came low and dangerous. “You think you can just walk away from your family? You think you can replace me with some billionaire and everything will be perfect?”

Ria looked back at him, phone still pressed to her ear, and Marco saw something in her expression that chilled him. Not fear, but pity.

“It already is perfect.” Her voice came quiet. “We already have everything we need.”

“I will do anything to make our family whole again.” Marco’s voice rose as desperation turned to fury.” Anything, Ria. I will not let Alexander Kane destroy what belongs to me.”

“We don’t belong to you.” Ria spoke firmly. “We never did. People aren’t possessions. Love isn’t ownership.”

Marco felt his world tilt as his daughter spoke with such conviction about concepts he had never understood. In the distance, he could see a black SUV approaching. Alexander coming to rescue his daughter from her biological father.

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