The Live‑In Son‑In‑Law Who Ruled The World

Chapter 6 — The Black Card

Aurelia was clutching the contract so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“Are you sure this contract is real?”

Alexander sat on the sofa. The light fell on his pale face, illuminating the swelling around his ankle and the dried blood on his palm. He looked at her, his voice heavy.

“It's real.”

Aurelia laughed as if she had just heard a ridiculous joke. The corners of her mouth went cold.

“Alexander, do you have any idea what Harbor International means?”

She slapped the document, making it rustle, her voice growing sharper with every word.“It's the biggest overseas cosmetics distribution company in the world, with annual sales in the tens of billions! Countless established families have tried and failed to get such terms. Even the Virel family might not be able to secure them. What makes you, a live‑in son‑in‑law, qualified?”

The more she spoke, the more absurd it seemed to her. The brief shock she had felt quickly turned into anger.

“Why are you showing me a fake contract like this? Do you want me to take it to meet people tomorrow and become the laughingstock of high society?”

Alexander’s brow twitched violently.

Suppressing his anger, he still tried to speak patiently.“Aurelia, what nonsense are you going on about now? This contract is real. I went through a lot of trouble to get it.”

“Nonsense?”

Aurelia looked as if she had been stung. She stormed up to him, raised her hand, and flung the contract at him.

The pages scattered, hit his chest, and fell to the floor.

“Who are you trying to fool? Who in the world could get an exclusive contract from Harbor International with no restrictions on cooperation terms or duration?”Her eyes were full of contempt and fury.“Who do you think you are? A CEO?”

The air tightened instantly.

Alexander looked down at the contract that had landed beside his leg. Slowly, he bent over and picked it up. The paper edge scraped against the wound on his palm, sending a sharp pain through him. His Adam’s apple moved. His voice came out hoarse.

“This really is a real contract.”

He raised his eyes to her, suppressing a dark fire beneath them.

“If you don’t believe me, you can call their CEO.”

Aurelia laughed in exasperation.

“Do you know how powerful this company is? How could I possibly get in touch with their CEO?”

Alexander did not argue further.

He simply took out his phone and, with his slender fingers, dialed a number. The phone rang only once before it was answered.

The living room was so quiet that only the sound of breathing remained.

Alexander’s tone was almost casual:“Help me explain. My wife doesn’t believe this unrestricted contract is real.”

A respectful male voice immediately came from the other end of the line, clear through the receiver—low and steady, exactly the voice that often appeared in media interviews of the current CEO of Harbor International.

“Madam, this contract is indeed authentic and valid. It is the highest‑priority cooperation agreement of our company—”

Alexander cut him off without letting him continue, handing the phone directly to Aurelia.

“Listen for yourself.”

Aurelia took the phone. Her expression shifted slightly.

She had indeed heard that voice before. Just a few days ago, she had repeatedly watched an interview video of that same CEO, trying to study his negotiation habits. The timbre and the tone were almost exactly the same.

But instead of fading, the doubt in her heart only grew stronger.

She stared at the phone. A few seconds later, she abruptly ended the call and tossed the phone back into Alexander’s lap.

“Technology is so advanced these days. How hard is it to synthesize a voice?”

She looked at him coldly, her disappointment almost tangible.

“Why do you have to resort to such cheap tricks to deceive me? Alexander, I am truly disappointed.”

This sentence pierced Alexander’s ears like a needle.

He stared at her. His chest heaved. The pent‑up frustration from the whole night finally boiled over.

“To get this contract, I spent a lot of money and called in a lot of favors.”His voice sank, each word weighted.“I laid everything I could give you at your feet. Why do you only doubt my sincerity?”

Aurelia’s fingers paused slightly.

His expression was so earnest that it gave her pause. For a moment, she wondered—could she have misunderstood?

But the thought barely surfaced before it was crushed by reason.

This couldn't be right.She looked down at the contract, still finding it utterly absurd. The next second, she picked up her phone and dialed Nahir’s number.

The call connected quickly. Aurelia spoke rapidly:“Nah, my husband gave me an unrestricted contract from Harbor International. Doesn’t your family have business dealings with Harbor International? Could they possibly offer such a contract?”

There was a half‑second of silence on the other end, followed by a scoff.

"Come on, Aura. You really think someone like him could get a real contract from Harbor International? The guy can barely afford rent. He's just a live-in husband in your family. There's no way he'd ever get his hands on something like this. This is a joke."

Aurelia didn't back down."I know what you're thinking. But he seemed really sure about it. What if it's actually real?"

Nahir laughed."Aura, you're being ridiculous. The guy lives off your family's money. But fine. Since you asked, I'll check for you. Don't get your hopes up."

He hung up before she could respond.

A few minutes later, Nahir called Aurelia back.

"I checked. Harbor International hasn't issued any contract like that. And none of their senior executives have been seen at the office recently. They've been keeping a low profile."

“Harbor International has always been strict with its contracts. They would never offer such terms.”

Aurelia pressed:"So no chance at all?"

Nahir paused, then spoke seriously:“Unless the other party is a long‑term core partner of theirs, or a major shareholder with direct influence over the contract terms. Otherwise, no one could get such a contract.”

He seemed to find it somewhat amusing.

“But a contract like that isn’t something Alexander could get. Not even our family could obtain it.”

That sentence fell like the final stone, shattering the last shred of hesitation in Aurelia’s heart.

She hung up, turned around, and the fury in her eyes erupted.

“Did you hear that?”

She slammed her phone down on the table, her voice trembling.

“Why can’t you just take good care of the home? Why do you have to find a fake contract to lie to me? If you can’t make money, fine, but for an anniversary gift, you have to pull something like this to save face?”

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became. Her chest heaved violently.

“Have you ever thought about how humiliated I would be if I took this contract to meet Harbor International’s CEO next Wednesday? Tell me, would he treat me like a clown?”

Alexander stood there, as if nailed to the spot.

The thing he had gone to such lengths to obtain had been undone by Nahir’s casual“Impossible.”

Aurelia would always stand on Nahir’s side, unwilling to give Alexander even a shred of trust.

The wound on his arm still ached dully, but that pain was nothing compared to the suffocating misery churning in his chest. After a moment, he only managed to speak, his voice hoarse.

“I’ve said everything I need to say.”

He looked at her. The last struggle in his eyes slowly sank away.

“This contract is real. If you don’t believe me, fine.”

Aurelia was set off by his attitude.

“Still being stubborn?”

She grabbed the contract and ripped it in half.

Then she ripped it again. And again.

The white paper with black ink was reduced to countless pieces in an instant, like snow scattered across the floor.

“Don’t go fooling anyone else with this fake contract!”

The shreds fell at Alexander’s feet. He stood completely frozen.

But Aurelia did not stop.

She picked up the velvet box on the table and opened it. Inside, the pink diamond gleamed dazzlingly under the light. But her eyes held only coldness.

“The contract was fake, so these two must be fake too.”

She threw the box to the floor, along with the accompanying card.

The velvet box hit the tiles with a dull thud. The pink diamond rolled out, bumped against a table leg, and flashed with a blinding sparkle.

“There’s no need to play the big shot for the sake of face.”Aurelia stared at him, her words stabbing into his heart like knives.“I don’t need this kind of cheap love from you.”

With that, she turned and left.

Her high heels clicked on the floor, sharp and piercing.

Alexander slowly crouched down.

He reached out to pick up the shredded pieces, moving very slowly. The wound on his palm reopened, tiny drops of blood seeping out and staining the edges of the white paper.

It was only paper that had been torn.

But he felt as if it were himself that was breaking.

Piece by piece, scattered all over the floor, never to be restored to what it once was.

Aurelia reached the doorway, then suddenly stopped. She turned her head and looked at the man crouched on the floor. There was no softness on her face, only impatience and hardness.

“Tomorrow morning, I’m taking you to see Nah.”

Alexander’s movements paused.

Aurelia enunciated each word:“You will apologize to him. He has already chosen the place—Kairo Coffee, the one downstairs from the company.”

Her gaze was cold, devoid of warmth.

“He worked so hard to come back home. Your behavior tonight was extremely rude. Showing up in front of a guest dressed like a waiter and speaking disrespectfully to him—I am so disappointed in you.”

The living room was terrifyingly quiet.

Alexander clenched the shreds of paper in his hand, his knuckles tightening one by one, his voice low as if suppressing a beast about to bite.

“Why should I apologize?”

He slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.

“Aurelia, do you still remember whose wife you are? Hugging and cuddling with him in the banquet hall, with no regard for my dignity. If it were somewhere private, would you two end up in bed together?”

“Alexander!”

Aurelia suddenly shrieked, her face turning ashen in an instant.

“What did you just say?”

She walked back a few steps, her chest heaving violently, her eyes full of offended fury.

“How many times have I told you? Nah and I are just colleagues! Don’t let me hear such words from your mouth again!”

She stumbled over her words, blurting out reflexively:“Or else I won’t give you any more money to spend—”

The sentence stopped abruptly.

An awkward dead silence fell over the room.

Even she was stunned.

Because she suddenly realized that since they had gotten married, she had not spent a single cent on Alexander. This man had stepped back from the spotlight to take care of her. Everything at home, the initial start‑up of the company, even the smooth journey she had taken to get to where she was today—he had been behind all of it.

The threat was laughably empty.

Aurelia’s face stiffened, then she raised her chin even more coldly.

“Or else, you can move out of my house.”

Alexander looked as if he had been struck by that sentence. His gaze froze.

“Have you been bewitched by Nahir?”He stood up, his chest heaving violently.“What’s so good about him? Haven’t I been good enough to you?”

Aurelia looked at him. A nearly cruel sneer curled at the corners of her lips.

“What good does your goodness do me?”

“He has power and influence. He’s the one who can truly help me.”

Every word she spoke felt like trampling Alexander’s three years of devotion into the mud.

“Tomorrow, I will take you to the company to apologize to him.”

“You'd better think it over.”

With that, she turned and pulled the door open, leaving in her high heels without looking back.

The door slammed shut.

The entire villa fell silent again.

On the floor lay the torn contract, the pink diamond that had rolled away, the broken jewelry box, and a card

Alexander stood there, unmoving for a long time.

The night outside the window was as dark as ink. The hands of the clock ticked forward little by little. He bent down and gathered the shredded papers into his palms, not missing a single piece.

But some things, after all, could not be picked back up.

He did not sleep that night.

When dawn gradually broke, he was still lying on that overly soft bed, eyes open, a faint redness in them. The shirt on the chair still bore its torn edges and dried bloodstains, as if reminding him that none of last night had been a dream.

And outside the door, the urgent, crisp sound of high heels soon approached.