Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The car pulled into the underground garage. Smooth. Silent. The driver opening doors. Security checking perimeters. Staff waiting.

Lucia stepped out. Still wearing the emerald dress. Still carrying the weight of tonight. Of seeing them. Of saying those words. Of walking away.

Inside the house. Lights on. Warm. Welcoming.

Stella appeared. Taking coats. Offering drinks. Efficient. Professional.

“Champagne,” Alex said. “The good stuff. We’re celebrating.”

They moved to the living room. Sat. Lucia kicked off her heels. Felt the carpet beneath her feet. Soft. Expensive. Real.

Lena curled up beside her. Close. Protective. “That was intense. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I think so.”

Alex returned carrying three glasses. Champagne bubbling. Golden. Cold.

He handed them out. Raised his glass. “To Lucia. Who walked into that gala like a queen. Who faced her past without flinching. Who showed them exactly what they lost.”

“To Mom,” Lena added. Clinking glasses. “Who’s the most badass person I know.”

They drank. The champagne tasted sharp. Clean. Expensive.

Like victory. Like triumph. Like something that should feel better than it did.

Lucia set down her glass. Looked at her hands. Still shaking slightly.

“I saw their faces,” she said quietly. “When I walked in. When you introduced me as Lucia Smith. When they realized. Marco looked destroyed.”

“Good,” Lena said. Fierce. “He deserves it. After what he did. After what they all did.”

“And Ria. And Lucas. They looked hurt. Confused. Lost.”

“Also good. They should feel that. Should know what it’s like to have someone you love become a stranger.” Lucia nodded. But the victory felt hollow. Painful. Wrong.

Yes. She’d shown them. Yes. She’d proven she’d survived. Yes. She’d walked away powerful and untouchable. But they were still her children. Still the babies she’d carried. The toddlers she’d raised. The teenagers she’d lost.

“I thought it would feel better,” Lucia admitted. “Seeing them. Showing them. Proving I’d won. But it just hurts.” Alex sat beside her. Not touching. Just present. “Of course it hurts. They’re your children. That doesn’t stop mattering just because you’re stronger now.”

“But I wanted it to not matter. I wanted to not care. To be past it. Past them. Past the pain.”

“You can’t bypass pain. You can only go through it.”

Lena shifted. Uncomfortable. Quiet. Something brewing.

“What’s wrong?” Lucia asked. Touching her arm. “You’re upset. I can tell.”

“I’m not upset.”

“Lena.”

She sighed. Looked down. “I just. I saw how you looked at them. Your real kids. Ria and Lucas. And I know I’m not. I know I’m just temporary. Just until you get them back. Until they want you. Until you have your real family again.”

Lucia’s heart cracked. “Lena. No. That’s not true.”

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Chapter 36

“Isn’t it? I’m not your daughter. Not really. Not blood. Not permanent. I’m just filling a space. Until they come back. Until you don’t need me anymore.”

“Look at me.” Lucia took Lena’s face in her hands. “Look at me. You are not temporary. You are not a placeholder. You are not replaceable.”

“But they’re your real children.”

“And you’re my real daughter. Do you understand? You chose me. You call me Mom. You saw me broken and chose to love me anyway. That’s real. That’s family.”

Lena’s eyes filled. “But what if they come back? What if Ria and Lucas and Monica. What if they want you? What if they choose you? Where does that leave me?”

“It leaves you exactly where you are. Right here. My daughter. My family. My Lena.” Lucia pulled her close. Held her tight. “Family isn’t just blood. It’s choice. It’s showing up. It’s being there when things are hard. You did that. You chose me when I had nothing. When I was nobody. When I was broken. That matters more than blood ever could.”

Lena cried against Lucia’s shoulder. Quiet. Shaking.

“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’m scared of losing you. Of being replaced. Of not being enough.”

“You’re enough. More than enough. You’re everything, Lena. Don’t you see? You gave me a reason to keep going. To keep fighting. To keep being. Without you. Without you and your dad. I’d still be nothing. Broken. Lost. You saved me.”

“We didn’t save you. You saved yourself.”

“No. I became myself. Because you two saw me. Believed in me. Chose me. That’s what saved me. Not my strength. Not my training. Not my revenge. You. You and your dad. You’re what made me want to survive. To become. To matter.”

Alex cleared his throat. Emotional. Trying to hide it. Failing.

“She’s right,” he said. Voice rough. “You’re family, Lena. No matter what. No matter who comes back. No matter what happens. You’re ours. Both of ours.”

Lena pulled back. Wiped her eyes. “Promise? Promise I’m not just temporary?”

“I promise,” Lucia said. Firm. Certain. “Blood or not. You’re my daughter. That’s not changing. Ever.”

They sat together. Three of them. Holding on. Being family.

Chosen family. Built family. Real family.

After a while. After the tears. After the promises. Alex poured more champagne.

“We should talk about next steps,” he said. “The plan. Marco’s company. The takeover.”

“Now?” Lucia asked. “Tonight?”

“Why not? You just showed him. Showed everyone. That you’re back. That you’re serious. That you’re not going away. Might as well capitalize on it.”

Lucia nodded. Sat up straighter. Back to business. Back to the plan. Back to destroying Marco’s empire. “What’s the timeline?” she asked.

“Fast. Now that you’ve shown yourself. Now that people know Lucia Smith exists. We can move. The shell corporations are ready. The investors contacted. The board primed. We just need to execute.”

“And when he knows? When he realizes? What then?”

“Then you tell him. You walk into his office. You sit in his chair. And you tell him exactly who took his company. Who destroyed his empire. Who won.”

The image was satisfying. Terrifying. Final.

Lucia sitting in Marco’s office. In his chair. Behind his desk

Telling him. His ex–wife. His nothing. His discarded wife.

Chapter 36

Had taken everything. Had become everything. Had destroyed him.

“What about the kids?” Lena asked. Quiet. Careful. “When Marco loses the company. When he loses everything. What happens to them?”

Lucia’s chest tightened. Good question. Painful question.

“They suffer,” Alex said. Blunt. Honest. “When Marco falls. When the money dries up. When the lifestyle ends. They feel it. They pay for his mistakes.”

“Is that fair?” Lena pressed. “They’re kids. They made mistakes. But they’re kids.”

“They’re teenagers,” Alex corrected. “Old enough to know better. Old enough to choose. Old enough to face consequences.”

“But they’re still hers.” Lena looked at Lucia. “Still your kids. Do you want them to suffer?”

Did she? Lucia didn’t know. Couldn’t know.

Part of her. The hurt part. The angry part. The destroyed part.

Yes. That part wanted them to suffer. To feel. To understand. To know what they’d done. What they’d cost her. What they’d thrown away.

But another part. The mother part. The part that still remembered their baby faces. Their first steps. Their everything.

That part ached. Hurt. Wanted to protect them. Even now. Even after everything.

“I don’t know,” Lucia admitted. “I don’t know what I want. I know what I’m doing. Taking the company. Destroying Marco. Showing them all. But I don’t know how I feel about them suffering for it.”

“You don’t have to decide tonight,” Alex said. “Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we plan. The rest we figure out as we go.”

They drank more champagne. Talked more plans. Moved through logistics. Strategies.

But underneath. Always underneath. The question remained.

What about the kids? What about Monica and Lucas and Ria? What about the children Lucia still loved despite everything?

Could she destroy their father and still be their mother? Could she take everything and still want them back? Could she be both? Destroyer and mother? Victor and victim? Chosen family and blood family?

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