THE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND’S RISE TO POWER.

006.

The shock of the table flipping assailed Elena and Marcus so hard that they froze on the spot, both their eyes widening as they took in the scattered mess before them.

Elena’s wine-stained lips parted in a gasp, and Marcus’ face twisted, his arm wrapping around Elena’s waist in a possessive curl that made Alexander’s stomach twist with anger.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Elena finally found her voice, her heart racing so hard in her chest that she had to swallow and regulate her breathing.

“What kind of madness has possessed you?” She spat, her voice slicing through the wreckage like a whip. “Did I ask you for anything more than a simple apology to Marcus? Since when did you become so incredibly unreasonable?”

Her chest heaved with every dragged breath, she still couldn’t believe that Alex was capable of getting so angry that he flipped the table with one single movement.

“Oh my god.” Marcus muttered as he pulled Elena against his chest as if shielding her from some wild animal. “You’ve gone way too far this time, Alex. Look at what you’ve done to her.”

“Wow.” Alex scoffed, rage exploding through him like molten lava burning up his veins. His fists trembled at his sides, knuckles red and throbbing.

His nails dug into his palm until blood trickled between his fingers, and every bruise on his body hurts, but the real agony was deeper than the physical wounds on his body.

It was the hot knife twisting further and further into his chest.

“I went too far?” he roared, his voice cracking like thunder, his heart pounding so loud and hard that it felt as though it was about to tear through his ribs.

Sweat stuck to his forehead, stinging his eyes, mixing with the pungent smell of spilled wine and his shattered pride. “Let me recount this, so we can really analyze how far I went.”

“First, Marcus moves in here with us…. Who am I kidding? He practically moved in with you, and I wasn’t consulted, and then, you both disrespected my presence and stomped on my feelings by getting intimate in the bathroom, and now you’re having a candlelight dinner with your hands all over each other right in front of me!”

“You know what? Fine. Let’s put all those aside for a moment, did you hear everything I said just now?” Alex asked, and the silence made him shake his head as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“I was trying to tell you about a major event that concerns the rest of my life, and telling you this was the main reason I came back to this house, and what did you do?” His voice was getting sharper with each word.

“You chose to give me the silent treatment, caring about nothing except forcing me to apologize to him. Now tell me, Elena, was flipping the table really going too far?” He barked, his voice reverberating through the building.

The room fell into a tense silence, thick and suffocating, broken only by the sound of dripping red wine pooling like blood on the floor as Elena and Marcus stared at him as if he was a foreign entity.

Finally, Elena sneered, her eyes narrowing into slits of contempt that flayed him open. “Trying to save face now, are we?” She said, her voice dropping low.

“The only reason you returned was because I told you that if you really walked away, you’d have to get on your knees to earn my forgiveness. That’s the real reason you came crawling back.” She waved a dismissive hand, rolling her eyes.

“And as for your so-called ‘major event,’ what major business could a stay-at-home husband like you possibly have? You’re probably just complaining again, asking me to keep my distance from him!” The poison in her voice was potent.

Alexander stared at her in sheer disbelief, the woman he’d worshipped for five brutal years had been reduced to this stranger who gutted him without a flicker of remorse.

Seeing his disbelief, Elena resumed her cold, aloof CEO demeanor as she straightened, brushing invisible dust from her elegant dress. “Things have gone too far. I no longer want your apology because you disgust me, and I don’t want to see your face right now.” She declared.

“As punishment, I’m banishing you from the house for a week. During that time, only Marcus and I will live here.” Her voice was firm, loud and clear, and despite what she’d just said, Alexander only stared blankly at her.

“Only after a week, when you kneel in front of the house to apologize to us, will I forgive you and allow you to remain my husband.” Her voice was ice, sharp enough to hurt. “Do you understand me?”

A sorrowful laugh tore from Alexander’s throat, dry and broken, echoing in the dining room. It was the sound of a man watching his entire world crumble.

Alex couldn’t believe this was the final conversation he’d ever have with the woman he’d deeply loved for so many years.

Quietly, he replied, his voice raw and steady despite the storm tearing him apart inside, “There is no need to wait a week. I’ll leave forever and never bother you again.”

Elena flew into another fit of rage, her face flushing with unmeasured fury. “Still consumed by jealousy, I see!” She snapped her fingers toward the doorway. “Security!” She yelled. “Drag him out.”

Alexander smiled, he did not resist the guards when they came for him. What was the point? Fighting them would only cause him needless, futile pain.

In a blink of an eye, the men’s rough hands seized his arms, hauling him toward the door as his feet dragged limply across the threshold of the home. Outside, the night air bit into his skin as he calmly packed his belongings.

He made his way to a motel, and got himself a room. It wasn’t until he stepped into the quiet solitude of the cheap, musty space that his composure completely break.

Alexander sank onto the edge of the lumpy bed, shoulders slumping as great, wracking sobs tore from his chest. There was no point trying to hide the pain he felt anymore, after all, he was alone now.

He couldn’t help but recall the early days, when Elena would come home exhausted from board meetings and collapse into his arms, those moments made him feel needed, appreciated.

He remembered how he would cook her favorite meals, massaging her tense shoulders with oily hands until she melted against him, whispering how he was her safe harbor.

They had delicious nights too, tangled in sheets, her body arching under his touch, soft moans filling the air as he worshipped every part of her skin.

The sound of her laughter when he’d surprise her with flowers after a long day rang unbearably in his ears now. “You’re my everything.” She’d said to him before, but now, he knew those words were never meant for him.

Those moments they had… felt like another lifetime now, a cruel contrast to the disgust he had seen in her eyes tonight.

Picking up his phone, he started drafting a message to her, he needed to tell her everything. He needed to let her know what he knew.

‘The truth, Elena, is that I actually understand German. I knew I was only ever a substitute for Marcus, and my goodness, I have never been more disappointed in you. I can’t believe all those years with you had meant nothing to you, I am disappointed, Elena. Deeply disappointed.’

The words poured out, raw and unfiltered as he told her how he’d sacrificed everything, nearly died for her, only to be discarded like yesterday’s trash.

He wrote about joining the highly dangerous Doctors Without Borders project, the only sanctuary where his battered soul could find any peace. After typing it out, he hesitated to send it.

She hadn’t read his messages in months. Why send it now? She won’t read this either.

Instead, he grabbed a piece of motel stationery and poured his heart onto the paper, the pen scratching furiously as he wrote. Yet, once he finished, staring at the confession on the paper, he realized there was no longer any point.

She wouldn’t care. She never has.

In the end, he simply decided to leave the note behind in the motel room, a final, silent goodbye to the life he’d lost.