Rise of the Formidable Ex-wife (Lucia and Alex) novel Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Marco sat outside Alexander’s brownstone gates, hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. Three days since the engagement announcement. Three days of sleepless fury. The rational voice in his head had been drowned by something

darker.

He pressed the intercom.

“Marco Hart to see Lucia Smith”

A pause. “Ms. Smith is not expecting you, sir.”

“Tell her it’s about our children.”

Muffled conversation, then: “Ms. Smith will see you for five minutes. Drive to the main entrance.”

The gates swung open. Marco drove up the winding driveway, taking in the elegant architecture, the manicured gardens, the old money sophistication he’d chased his whole life but never captured.

A uniformed staff member led him through marble hallways lined with artwork. Every detail screamed wealth.

Lucia waited in a sun-filled study, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, She wore a simple navy dress. The engagement ring caught the afternoon light.

“Marco.” Professional. Wary. “This is unexpected.”

“Tharık you for seeing me.”

“You said this was about the children. What about them?”

Marco moved closer. She tensed. “They’re devastated about your engagement. They feel abandoned.”

“Abandoned?” Her eyebrows rose. “I wasn’t the one who left. I wasn’t the one who chose someone else.”

“But you’re marrying Alexander. Creating a new family while our children watch.”

“Our children made their choice. They chose you and Margaret. They chose comfort over truth. Now they live with those decisions.”

Panic tightened Marco’s throat. No tears. No regret. No sign she still cared.

“You can’t really love him. Not like you loved me. We have history. Children. We built a life.”

“A life you destroyed.”

“I made a mistake!” His voice cracked. “I was confused. But I realize now that you’re the only woman I’ve ever truly loved.”

She looked at him with something like pity. “Marco, we’re divorced. I’m engaged. Whatever we had is over.”

“It doesn’t have to be. Cancel the engagement. Come home. We can rebuild.”

“Go home to what? The house where Margaret threw away my belongings? The bed where you brought your mistress?” “Margaret doesn’t matter. She never mattered. She was a distraction. You’re my real wife. You always have been.”

“I was your wife. Past tense. Now I’m Alexander’s fiancée, and soon I’ll be his wife.”

Each word hit like a blow. He could see the ring glinting, see happiness in her eyes when she spoke Alexander’s name. She really was choosing another man.

“He can’t love you like I do. He doesn’t know you. He doesn’t understand what we built.”

“He loves me better than you ever did. He sees my worth, values my intelligence, respects my choices. All the things you stopped doing years before you left.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? When did you last ask my opinion about something important? When did you thank me for the sacrifices I made? When did you see a partner instead of a convenience?”

Marco couldn’t answer. They both knew the truth.

“I see you now. I see everything I lost. I’ll do better. I’ll appreciate you the way you deserve.”

“Too late.” She stood. “I’ve moved on. I’ve found real love with a man who chose me freely, not because he ran out of options.”

Something snapped in Marco’s chest. Desperation transformed into something dangerous.

“You belong with me. You’re the mother of my children. You’re my wife.”

“I was your wife. Now I belong to myself. And soon I’ll belong with Alexander.”

Chapter 93

“No”!le followed her across the reem. “You don’t understand. I need you. I can’t live without you.”

You!! have to teen. Because I’m never coming back. Never.”

Never The word ricocheted in his skull. She would never come back. She would never be his. She would never choose him over Alexander.

Marco lunged forward, reaching for her arm.

“You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.”

Lucia jerked away. “Don’t you dare touch me!”

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!”

Alexander Kane stood in the doorway, face dark with rage. He crossed the room in powerful strides.

His fist cracked against Marco’s jaw. Pain exploded white-hot through Marco’s skull. The force sent him staggering.

“How dare you come into my house and put your hands on my woman!”

Marco wiped blood from his mouth. “She was mine first! Seventeen years!”

“She stopped being yours the moment you humiliated her at your anniversary party. The moment you brought your whore into her home!”

Alexander’s punch to Marco’s ribs knocked the air from his lungs. He stumbled sideways. A lamp crashed to the floor. Marco swung wild. His fist glanced off Alexander’s shoulder. But Alexander barely flinched. He was taller, broader, stronger. Fighting with protective fury.

Alexander grabbed Marco’s collar and slammed him against the bookshelf. Books rained down. The shelf shook. Marco’s spine protested.

“She told you to leave. She told you it was over. But you couldn’t accept that, could you? You pathetic fool.”

Marco struggled. “She belongs with me! We have children!”

“Watch me.” Alexander drove his fist into Marco’s stomach.

Marco doubled over, choking. Alexander hauled him upright, holding him with one hand while drawing back the other.

“Those children? The ones who watched you destroy their mother? They’re ashamed of you.”

The punch snapped Marco’s head sideways. He tasted blood. His eye was swelling.

“You think you can just show up here?” Another punch to the jaw. “Make demands?” A blow to the ribs. “You have no rights to her anymore.”

Alexander released him. Marco stumbled forward. They circled each other, both breathing hard. Marco’s face was bloody and swelling. Alexander had a split knuckle.

“You stole her from me. Manipulated her. Used her pain!”

“I didn’t have to do anything. You destroyed yourself. You destroyed your marriage. Your family. Your company. I just saw her value when you were too blind to appreciate what you had.”

Marco launched himself forward. Alexander sidestepped, grabbed his arm, used his momentum to send him crashing into the desk. Papers scattered. A glass paperweight shattered.

Before Marco could recover, Alexander grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face onto the desk. Once. Twice. The third time, Marco’s nose cracked.

“You want to know your problem?” Alexander hauled him up, spun him around, pinned him against the desk. Blood poured from Marco’s broken nose. “You still think you own her. You think she’s property you can reclaim.”

Alexander’s fist connected with Marco’s jaw. Something loosened in Marco’s mouth. A tooth.

“But she’s not coming back. She’s not your wife. She’s not your property. She’s mine. My partner. My fiancée. Soon my wife. And there’s nothing you can do.”

Marco’s knees buckled. Alexander held him upright.

“You had everything. A woman who loved you unconditionally. Children who adored you. A successful business. Respect. And you threw it all away for what? For a woman already shopping for your replacement? For ego?”

Each word cut deeper than the punches. Because they were true.

“In ten lifetimes, you’ll never deserve her.” Alexander released him.

Marco collapsed to his knees. Blood dripped onto the expensive rug. His ribs screamed. His face felt like raw meat. But

Chapter 93

worse was knowing Alexander was right.

He had destroyed everything. Lucia was never coming back.

“Your family?” Marco gasped through swelling eyes. “She’s not your farmily! Those aren’t your children! You’re living in my

life!”

Alexander looked down with contempt-tinged pity.

“Your life? You threw it away with both hands. I’m not living your life. I’m living the life you could have had if you weren’t such a fool. The difference is, I never take her for granted. I’ll never make her feel worthless. I’ll never choose anyone else. I’ll spend every day proving she made the right choice.”

He crouched to Marco’s level.

“You had seventeen years to appreciate her. Seventeen years to love her right. You wasted every one. So don’t come here talking about your life, your family, your wife. You gave up those rights when yoù served her divorce papers at that anniversary party.”

Marco tried to speak. His jaw wouldn’t cooperate. Blood filled his mouth.

“Yes, it is,” Alexander replied. “It’s been over since the day you humiliated Lucia at your anniversary party. The only difference is that now she’s found someone who deserves her.”

Footsteps echoed. Two security guards burst through the door.

“Mr. Kane, are you alright?” One guard took in the scene. Marco on his knees in pooled blood. Alexander standing over him, knuckles bleeding. Books and broken glass scattered everywhere.

“Fine. Mr. Hart was just leaving.”

The guards hauled Marco to his feet. His legs barely held. Vision swam.

“Can you walk, sir?”

Marco tried pulling away. “Let go.”

“Gladly. Once you’re in your car and off this property.”

Through swelling eyes, Marco saw the wreckage. Blood staining the rug, the desk. His blood. Evidence of complete defeat.

“This isn’t finished,” Marco slurred through his broken nose and damaged jaw. Blood dripped onto his ruined shirt. “I’ll find a way to get her back. I’ll destroy you.”

Alexander stepped closer. The guards tensed. But his voice was calm now, cold and controlled.

“Listen carefully, Marco. If you ever come near Lucia again, if you call, text, email, show up at her office or this house, if you threaten her or even think about her in that sick way you do, I will destroy you. And I have resources you can’t begin to imagine.”

Marco coughed wetly. “Resources? I built Hart Industries from nothing.”

“You built it from nothing. Lucia owns fifty-one percent now. You stole five hundred million from your own company. Federal auditors are examining seven years of transactions. Your mistress is networking with wealthier men. Your children are ashamed. Your reputation is destroyed. And you think you have resources?”

Each statement a surgical strike.

r

“I have connections across three continents. Legal teams that could bury you in litigation for decades. Political allies who could turn every regulatory agency on you. Media contacts who could make your crimes front-page news until you’re behind bars.”

Alexander moved closer.

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