Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Lucas sat in front of his laptop, staring at the screen without really seeing it.

The room around him was quiet, but his mind was not.

It had not been quiet in weeks.

Monica sat beside him on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. She had been like that for most of the evening, barely moving, barely speaking, as if any sudden motion might make everything feel more real than she could handle.

They had tried calling.

They had tried texting.

They had even gone to places they thought their mother might appear, waiting at a distance, hoping for a glimpse of her, hoping she would somehow notice them, forgive them, turn back.

None of it worked.

Their mother had disappeared from their lives in a way that felt final.

Not physically gone.

But unreachable.

And that was worse.

“Five years,” Lucas muttered, breaking the silence. His voice sounded tired, stretched thin. “She really meant it.”

Monica nodded slowly without looking at him. “Yeah.”

They both knew what that meant.

No calls.

No messages.

No visits.

No accidental run-ins.

Nothing.

Until Monica turned eighteen.

Until time passed.

Until something changed.

Lucas leaned back slightly and ran his hand through his hair. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

Monica finally looked at him. Her eyes were red, but she wasn’t crying now. She had cried enough already over the past days, the past weeks, the past reality they were now forced to live in.

“What else can we do?” she asked quietly.

Lucas didn’t answer right away.

Because he didn’t know.

They had already done everything they could think of.

And nothing had worked.

୮

Monica shifted slightly, her gaze dropping again, then she spoke in a softer tone, almost like she was afraid the idea itself might break if said too loudly.

“What about Lena?”

Lucas frowned slightly. “Lena?”

“Alexander Kane daughter,” Monica said. “She lives with her now. If we can’t reach Mom directly… maybe we can reach Lena. Maybe she could talk to her. Maybe she could at least tell Mom we want to speak to her.”

Lucas hesitated.

It felt like stepping into unfamiliar territory.

Like involving someone else in something deeply personal.

But at the same time, what choice did they have left?

Chapter 80

“Okay,” lie said after a moment. “We try.”

Monica reached for the laptop, pulling it closer to herself.

Lucas watched her as she opened a browser and began typing.

Lena Kane.

The search results appeared quickly.

Profiles. Articles. Mentions.

They narrowed it down slowly, adding details they knew. New York. Private school. Interests in art and music. Age range.

Eventually, they found an account that matched.

Private profile.

Simple bio.

Nothing flashy.

Just location, interests, and a quiet sense of identity.

Monica stared at it for a moment. “That’s her.”

Lucas nodded. “Probably.”

“Do we follow her?”

Lucas shook his head. “No. She might ignore that. Message her directly.”

Monica opened the message box.

The blank space stared back at her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Because the question was not how to find her.

The question was what to say.

How do you begin a message like this?

How do you explain regret that runs this deep without sounding fake?

How do you admit you destroyed the one person who loved you most?

Monica’s fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Then she started typing.

Stopped.

Deleted it.

Started again.

Lucas watched her, silent, letting her take her time.

She wasn’t trying to sound perfect.

She was trying to sound honest.

After several attempts, she finally stopped.

She didn’t reread it too many times.

Didn’t overthink it.

She just pressed send.

The message was gone.

Out of their hands.

Now all they could do was wait.

The room felt even quieter after that.

Minutes passed.

Then more.

Lucas checked the time.

“Nothing,” he said quietly. “She’s not going to reply.”

୮

Chapter 80

Monica didn’t respond..

She just kept staring at her phone, like if she looked away, she might miss something.

Lucas leaned forward slightly. “Why would she? She probably sees us as the same as Margaret. Or worse.”

Monica’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Just wait.”

And then, finally, her phone buzzed.

Both of them froze.

Monica’s hand trembled as she picked it up.

Her eyes scanned the screen.

And then she inhaled sharply.

“Lucas…”

He leaned in immediately.

“Read it.”

She opened the message.

And they read it together.

The first line hit them harder than they expected.

Lena knew who they were.

Not just names.

Not just strangers.

She knew their history.

She knew what they had done.

She knew about their mother.

Lucas felt his chest tighten as he continued reading.

Lena’s message was direct.

Honest.

Angry.

She didn’t soften her words.

She didn’t pretend.

She said their actions had hurt their mother.

That they had chosen wrong.

That they had been part of her pain.

And she did not hide her anger about that.

But then came something else.

A condition.

A chance.

If they were serious.

If they genuinely understood.

If they weren’t just reacting to their current situation.

She would meet them.

Three hours.

Central Park.

Near Mountain Ville Garden.

Bench by the fountain.

No one else.

No excuses

Chapter 80

No manipulation.

#she sensed anything false, she would walk away immediately.

Lucas lowered the phone slowly.

“She’s giving us a chance, Manica said quietly.

Lucas nodded.

“Then we don’t waste it.”

Three hours later, they stood near the fountain Central Park.

The area was alive with movement.

People walking past.

Laughing.

Talking.

Living their normal lives.

Lucas felt out of place in all of it.

Like he had stepped into a world that continued without him.

Monica stayed close to him as they approached the bench.

And then they saw her.

Lena sat there, calm and composed, her posture straight, her attention already fixed on them before they even reached her.

She wasn’t smiling.

She wasn’t welcoming.

But she was waiting.

They stopped a few feet away.

Lena looked at them carefully, her eyes moving between them, assessing.

“Sit,” she said.

They obeyed.

Lucas sat on one side of her.

Monica on the other.

Lena remained in the middle.

“Talk,” she said. “You’ve got ten minutes. Convince me why I shouldn’t walk away right now.”

Lucas felt his throat tighten.

Monica spoke first.

“We were wrong.”

Her voice was quiet, but steady.

‘We believed our dad. We believed Margaret. We thought our mom was the problem. That she wasn’t enough. That she was boring. That she was the reason everything was the way it was.”

She paused, then continued.

“We said terrible things to her. We rejected her. We chose them over her. And we were completely wrong.”

Lena didn’t interrupt.

Didn’t react.

She just listened.

Then she spoke.

“You destroyed her.”

The words were calm, but firm.

Lucas felt the weight of them immediately.

“We know,” he said quietly.

Chapter 80

“No,” Lenǎ replied. “You’re just starting to understand.”

buruas swallowed

“We understand more than before,” he said. “We see it now. Margaret is… not what we thought. She’s violent. She hurt Monica. She destroyed her art. She creates chaos in the house. And Dad… he does nothing. He just watches.”

Lena’s expression shifted slightly, but her tone remained controlled.

‘And now that your life is uncomfortable, you suddenly remember your mother?”

Monica shook her head quickly.

‘It’s not just that. It’s not because things are bad. It’s because we finally see the truth. We see what we lost.”

Her voice cracked slightly.

‘She was good to us. She loved us. And we threw that away.”

Silence followed.

Then Lena spoke again.

‘She still loves you.”

Monica’s head snapped up.