Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Marco did not sleep. Not at all.

He lay on his back in the dark bedroom, staring at the ceiling. The house was quiet, but his mind screamed. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same moment over and over again.

Lucia. Standing there in her black dress. Calm. Unbothered. Holding the paddle. Raising it with that slow, deliberate precision.

“Twenty–five million.”

The entire room had turned to look at him. His chest had tightened. His palms had sweated. His stomach had twisted. And now, hours later, that image was burned into his mind like fire on his retina.

He tried to shut it out. Tried to bury it. Tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter. That it was just a watch. That it was just a game. But his body refused. Every muscle remembered. Every nerve remembered. The phone on the nightstand buzzed again.

He groaned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. He did not want to look. He already knew. The world had seen. The news had spread. Everyone had seen.

He turned onto his side and reached for the device. The screen lit up with a flood of notifications. News articles. Videos. Social media posts. Messages from people he had not heard from in years. Each one stabbing, each one laughing, each one confirming what he had already known.

He opened an article. The headline glared at him:

“From Discarded Wife to Billionaire’s Partner: Lucia Rivera Shocks Auction Crowd With 25 Million Dollar Bid.”

His jaw tightened.

Photos. Video frames. The same moments repeated. Lucia standing beside Alexander. Lucia raising the paddle. Lucia calm, composed, untouchable. Margaret in the background, face red, hands flailing, fury spilling from every pore. Marco himself barely in the frame, mouth open, expression frozen in helplessness.

He scrolled down. The article described everything. The divorce. The rumors. The engagement. The betrayal. The bidding war. Every humiliating detail captured with precision. Every word another weight pressing down on his chest.

Then he scrolled to the comments. Thousands of them. Words like daggers.

“The ex–wife really said watch this.”

“She didn’t just win the auction. She destroyed them.”

“Imagine cheating on your wife then watching her become richer and happier without you.”

“Margaret thought she replaced Lucia. Turns out Lucia upgraded.”

“Twenty–five million just to prove a point. That’s power.”

He stopped scrolling. His throat felt dry. His hands trembled. He could feel the heat of humiliation burning up from his stomach to his face. He threw the phone back onto the nightstand. The screen cracked slightly. He didn’t care.

The house was quieter than usual. Too quiet. Too heavy. Every creak of the floorboards sounded like a hammer hitting him over and over again.

He rubbed his face with both hands. This wasn’t just a financial disaster. Not just a social one. This was personal. Every mistake he had made, every arrogance he had carried, every underestimation of Lucia had led to this.

He sat up slowly. The digital clock glowed 3:47 AM. Not a single second of sleep. Not a single moment of

peace.

From downstairs came a loud crash. Glass shattering. He flinched. His stomach twisted. He knew

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Chapter 49.

immediately who it was.

Margaret.

He rubbed his forehead and rose, feeling the cold floor press into his bare feet as he descended the stairs. Another loud crash echoed. Something heavy hitting the floor. Then her voice. Full of fury.

“Unbelievable!”

Marco sighed quietly and stepped into the kitchen.

The scene in front of him looked like a storm had passed.

Broken mugs. Shattered plates. Coffee spilled across the floor. Margins of ceramic embedded into the hardwood. Margaret stood in the middle of the chaos. Hair, messy. Makeup smeared under her eyes. Phone in hand, scrolling. Rage radiating from her in waves.

“You should calm down,” Marco said quietly, leaning against the doorway.

She whipped around, eyes red, face flushed. “Calm down? CALM DOWN?”

She shoved the phone in his face. “Did you see this?”

Marco looked. Video of the auction played. Lucia raising the paddle. The crowd gasping. Margaret twisting in anger. The moment repeated over and over.

“I saw it,” Marco said quietly. His voice flat. Empty.

Margaret laughed, bitter and sharp. “You saw it? The whole world saw it!” She began pacing. “They’re laughing at us, Marco! The articles, the videos! Everywhere! Everyone knows! Everyone!”

She slammed the phone onto the counter. Marco flinched.

“She humiliated us,” she hissed, her voice dropping into something dangerous. “She planned this. She knew we would be there.”

Marco rubbed his temples. “Of course she knew.”

Margaret’s eyes narrowed. “So you’re defending her now?”

“I’m not defending anyone,” Marco said slowly. “I’m stating facts. She didn’t do it for us. She didn’t even look at you.”

Margaret froze. “What?”

“She raised the paddle. Calm. Confident. Like none of this mattered.”

Her face twisted. “You think that makes it better?”

“No,” Marco said. “It makes it worse. Because she’s untouchable. Because we can’t reach her. Because we are small in her world. And we built the world she’s beating us at.”

Margaret’s lips trembled. Her face hardened. “This… this is your fault.”

Marco blinked. “My fault?”

“Yes. If you hadn’t destroyed her, hadn’t left her, she wouldn’t have done this. You created this woman, Marco. You created her. You handed her the chance to rise while we… we… we’re left here like fools.”

Marco’s hands fell to his knees. He stared at the floor. He had no answers. She was right. He had failed. He had underestimated her. He had pushed her away and thought she’d stay broken.

He tried to speak, but Margaret continued, pacing the kitchen like a predator. “And you! You just sit there! No fight! No plan! No… nothing!”

Marco swallowed. “We have no fight left. Not for this. Not for her. Not for what she’s become.”

Margaret spun, fury exploding. “Then what? Then what are we supposed to do? Watch her take everything we ever dreamed of and leave us with nothing?”

Silence fell for a heartbeat. Marco’s chest rose and fell slowly. He could feel the weight of defeat pressing him down.

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Chapter 49

From the hallway, footsteps echoed. Lucas and Monica appeared. Lucas in a hoodie and sweatpants, Monica wrapped in a blanket. Their faces pale from sleep, eyes wide with the tension in the room.

Margaret pointed at them. “The audience has arrived.”

Lucas frowned, not understanding. Monica peeked around his side, her own expression uneasy.

Margaret thrust the phone toward Lucas. The video played again. Auction, paddle, final bid. He watched quietly, expression shifting. He did not speak, only absorbing what had happened. Monica did the same. Margaret noticed. Her mouth fell open. “You think she’s impressive?”

Lucas shrugged slightly. “I… I mean… yeah. She knew what she was doing.”

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