[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 74: One Month to Save Our Marriage

~Alistair’s POV~

Even if it was just for a night... I needed to be with my husband.

God... I missed him already.

My phone buzzed almost immediately. It was Alex.

"I’m already in the car, baby. I’m ten minutes away from your mom’s place. Be ready."

"Alex, wait," I said, my voice small. "Don’t come to the house. Meet me at the hotel. I just sent you the address."

Silence stretched over the line, heavy and uneasy.

"The hotel?" Alex repeated, his voice dropping. "What are you talking about, Alis? Why would we go to a hotel when we have a home to go back to?"

"I just... I want us to spend some time there. Just the two of us. We can have fun, order room service..." I trailed off, trying to sound normal, but even I could hear the strain in my voice.

"Don’t give me that," Alex snapped, his tone sharp, laced with suspicion. "Go to a hotel to ’have fun’? What happened to our house? What happened to our bed? Why can’t we just go home?"

"Alex, please, just listen first—"

"No," he cut in, his voice hard. "I’ve noticed it since the day I dropped you off. You’ve been making excuses, avoiding my calls, acting different."

My breath caught.

"I need to know what the hell is going on," he said, his voice low and intense. "And I’m not going to some random hotel. I’m coming to your mother’s house to pick up my husband. Now."

"Babe, please," I pleaded, glancing nervously toward the door, terrified my mother would hear. "We just have to talk first. Just come to the hotel so we can talk."

"Talk about what, Alis? Talk about you leaving me?" His voice broke then, sounding raw and terrified. "You know what? I have nothing to say to you at a hotel. I’m already on my way to your house. We’re going home."

Before I could say another word, the line went dead. He hung up, and my heart sank deep into my stomach.

I didn’t waste a second.

I rushed out of my room and went straight to the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch, watching TV like everything was normal.

I walked up to her quickly and sat down.

"Mom... please," I said, my voice tight. "I need to talk to you before Alex gets here."

She turned to look at me, already sensing the urgency in my tone.

"He refused to meet me at the hotel," I said. "He’s coming here to pick me up. Please... when he gets here, just be gentle with him. Let me talk to him first. Let me explain things before anything else."

My mother sighed, her expression softening.

"I’m not that cruel, Alis," she said quietly. "I can already see how much he’s hurting... from the way you’ve been avoiding him."

She gave a small nod.

"When he comes, I’ll speak to him calmly... as my son."

I nodded quietly. "Thank you, Mom." My heart was still racing.

It wasn’t long before I heard the familiar sound of Alex’s car pulling into the driveway.

My heart started pounding harder.

I waited for the knock.

When it finally came, I walked to the door and opened it.

Alex stepped inside, his face tight, his expression strained, like he was holding everything in.

We stepped into the living room. My mother was seated, and to my relief, she welcomed him warmly.

"Hey, son," she said, her tone calm and welcoming, like nothing was wrong, like the word divorce hadn’t been hanging over this house all morning.

"Babe... come with me," I murmured, glancing toward my room.

The second the bedroom door closed, Alex’s eyes moved around the room.

My dresser. My closet.

Nothing was packed.

No suitcase. No sign I was leaving.

"What is going on?" he asked, his voice shaking. "You’re not even ready to go. Alis... talk to me."

I couldn’t find the words. Instead of speaking, I stepped into his space and wrapped my arms around him. I hugged him so tight I could feel his heart racing against mine. When he tried to pull back to look at me, I tightened my grip. "Can I just have a second?" I murmured. "Please... just let us be like this for a while."

We stayed like that until the frantic energy in his body slowly faded into a heavy, quiet calm.

We sat down on the edge of the bed together.

I reached out and cupped his face in my hands, my thumbs tracing his features... memorizing him.

Alex couldn’t look at me.

But when he finally did, he held my gaze for a moment, then tears slipped down his face.

"Can you just tell me what’s going on?" he asked, his voice breaking.

I didn’t answer right away.

Instead, I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

Then, gently... I started to speak.

"My husband is such a good man," I whispered, my eyes locked on his. "I love you so much, Alexander. You’ve been everything to me."

"Babe, stop scaring me," he rasped, leaning into my touch. "Just tell me exactly what is going on."

I took a shaky breath.

"Alex... I know you love me. And I know you’ve been trying. You’re the best person I’ve ever known."

My voice trembled.

"But... with everything that’s happening... I don’t know if we can keep going like this."

I swallowed hard.

"I think... maybe the only way forward..."

My chest tightened.

"...is for us to get a divorce."

Alex let out a hollow, shocked laugh. "Divorce? What are you saying? Where is this even coming from?"

Alex let out a hollow laugh, the sound breaking halfway through.

"Divorce?" he repeated, shaking his head like he hadn’t heard me right. "What are you saying, Alis? Where is this coming from?"

Tears blurred my vision.

"Things haven’t been the same since we came back," I said softly, my voice shaking. "And I know you’ve been trying... I see it. I see every effort you make to fix things."

My fingers tightened in my lap.

"But it’s still not changing anything, Alex."

I looked at him, my eyes burning.

"Every time your mother comes around... no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try... I still end up hurt. I still end up sad."

My voice broke.

"It’s like everything she does is meant to push me away from you... to take you from me."

I shook my head slowly.

"I keep asking myself... how long can I live like this? How many years am I supposed to keep feeling this way?"

A tear slipped down my cheek.

"Is this what our life is going to be? Me... always hurting whenever she’s around? I don’t want that for us, Alex. I don’t want us to keep living in pain like this."

My voice dropped to a whisper. "So maybe... the only way to protect what we have left... our peace..."

I hesitated, my chest tightening.

"...is to let each other go."

"No...no, baby please, I understand everything!" he said, his voice rising in panic. "And I’m working on it! I’m trying to make everything okay. Please, don’t leave me, Alis. I’ll fix it!"

"There’s no time left for that, Alex," I whispered. "My mother... she won’t let me go back with you. She’s the one who suggested the divorce after what happened with your mother. She already spoke to a lawyer."

"I apologized for what my mother said to you!" Alex said, pushing to his feet and pacing the room. "I know she was wrong, I know that!"

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration and panic bleeding into his voice.

"But what about me, Alis? Have you thought about me at all?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He turned to face me, his eyes red.

"You’re walking out of my life," he said, his voice breaking. "How does that make any sense? How is this supposed to help us?"

"I’m doing this because I love you!" I cried, my voice breaking.

"No," Alex said immediately, his expression hardening. "No, I’m not doing this."

He shook his head, like refusing to even accept the idea.

"I’m not getting a divorce," he said, his voice trembling underneath. "I’m never leaving you."

His eyes locked onto mine.

"You love me, right?" he asked.

I nodded, "I love you but..."

"Then stay," he cut in. "We’ll fix this together. Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. You’re not walking away from me, Alis."

"No, Alex... don’t you understand?" I tried to explain, but he kept refusing to listen.

Our voices rose, clashing against each other.

The air between us turned heavy, sharp with emotion.

until a sudden knock cut through everything.

"Alex, Alis. Both of you, come out," my mother called from the hallway. "I want to see you in the living room."

We walked out, both of us flushed and breathing hard. As we sat down, Alex was the first to speak. He didn’t wait for her to scold him; he launched into a desperate apology, begging my mother for another chance. He spoke about his mother’s behavior, his own efforts to protect me, and his absolute refusal to let our marriage end.

"Please," Alex pleaded, his eyes fixed on my mother. "I’m doing my best for your son. Don’t let it end like this. I love him too much."

My mother watched him for a long moment. She saw the desperation, the sincerity, the way his voice trembled. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh.

"Fine," she said.

Both of us froze.

"We’ll do it this way. You are not getting divorced today. But, Alistair is not going back with you yet. I am giving you one month, Alex. One month to handle your mother. If she doesn’t willingly come to this house and ask for my son’s hand, if she doesn’t prove she accepts this marriage, then Alis will serve those papers for real."

Alex looked stunned. "One month? To convince her? How am I supposed to—"