[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 79: A Stranger in My Own Marriage

~Alexander’s POV~

Just like that, the call ended.

The soft beep echoed in my ear. I stayed there in the dark, the phone still pressed to my ear, wondering who had kept him on the line for so long... that he didn’t have five minutes for his husband.

Eventually, exhaustion pulled me under, and I fell into a restless, heavy sleep.

The next morning, the sunlight felt like an intrusion. I woke up with my heart already racing, reaching for my phone before my eyes were even fully open. I dialed Alis immediately.

To my relief, he picked up on the second ring, but his voice was already busy, filled with the rustle of clothes and movement.

"Good morning, baby," I said, my voice still rough. "Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Alex. Yes, I did... what about you?" Alis replied.

"I did," I said softly. "I just missed you..."

There was no real response from him, just the sound of him moving around.

I hesitated for a second, then spoke.

"I was thinking of coming over today to see you."

"Alex..." Alis sighed. "I actually have somewhere to be today. When I’m back, I’ll call you."

My grip tightened on the phone. "Where are you going?"

"I’m meeting up with Andrew," he said casually. "He asked me to come along with him to a friend’s get-together."

"A get-together?" I repeated.

"Yes," Alis replied.

I forced my voice to stay calm. "When are you going to be back?"

"I don’t know exactly, but I’ll definitely be back before late night."

"You’re going out this early... and you’ll be back that late?" I asked.

"Yes," Alis replied. "I have a few other things to take care of too."

There was so much I wanted to say... but I didn’t want to sound like I was questioning him.

"Fine," I said quietly. "Then I’ll come over tomorrow to check on you. I need to see you, Alis."

"No," he said quickly. "Don’t come tomorrow. Let’s just make it the weekend, okay? We can talk properly then."

The rejection stung more than I could handle. The words left my mouth before I could filter them. "So, you don’t have time for me, but you have all the time in the world for your ’friend’s’ get-together?"

There was a sharp silence on the other end. "Alex," Alis said, his voice dropping into a warning tone. "Do not start an argument that isn’t even there. I told you, Andrew is just a friend, and he invited me out. How is that hard for you to understand?"

I closed my eyes, realizing I had to be careful... one wrong word, and I might push him away instead of bringing him closer. I couldn’t afford a fight, not when things were already so fragile between us.

"Okay..." I whispered, forcing myself to calm down. "Fine. The weekend. I’ll see you then."

"Yeah," he replied shortly. "I have to go. I’ll call you later."

The call ended.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my reflection in the mirror, feeling like a stranger in my own life.

After a moment, I stood up, tossed my phone onto the mattress, and stepped out of the room.

I didn’t even bother going to the dining room for breakfast; the thought of food sat heavily in my stomach. I stayed in the living room, staring at nothing, until my parents came down together.

They headed straight for the table, but my mother was already dressed like she was going out.

"Where are you going, Mom?" I asked.

"Meeting a friend," she said shortly, and that was it.

I turned to my father and greeted him. Just as my mother was about to leave, he spoke up.

"Alex, your mother wants to reserve a family dinner this weekend," he said. "A big gathering with the cousins and our closest friends."

Under any other circumstances, I would have agreed... but my mind was somewhere else.

"Dad, I’m sorry," I said right away. "I won’t be able to come. I already made plans to be with my husband this weekend."

My mother rolled her eyes at the mention of my husband... but said nothing.

My father nodded understandingly. "Okay, maybe we should pick another date then."

"No, you should go without me," I insisted, my voice heavy with exhaustion I couldn’t hide. "If I go to see Alis... I don’t know if I’ll be back the next day."

My father looked at me for a moment, then said, "Alex... invite him to the dinner. That way, you can both be together, and I can finally talk to him myself. We need to clear the air as a family."

"Okay, Dad," I murmured, a small spark of hope lighting up in my chest.

But my mother’s cold, sharp voice cut in.

"This get-together is not for outsiders," she snapped, her eyes narrowing as she looked at us.

My father didn’t even flinch. His voice dropped, firm and leaving no room for argument. "Alis is not an outsider. He’s family. He’s my son’s husband, and that’s not up for debate."

"I don’t want him there," she hissed, her face twisting with bitterness.

"If you don’t want him there, then I’m not coming either," my father said, his disappointment clear in his voice. "Because I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Martha. I don’t recognize the woman you’ve become."

My mother looked at me, then back at my father, her chest heaving with unspoken rage. Without saying another word, she turned on her heel and walked straight toward the front door, slamming it behind her as she left the house.

The rest of the day felt like torture. I stayed glued to my phone, texting Alis over and over. He replied, but his messages were short and distant. And every time I tried to call, he didn’t pick up.

Alex: Babe, how is the party going?

Alis: It’s fine.

Alex: When are you going home?

Alis: Soon.

But "soon" never came.

I waited deep into the night, my eyes burning as I stared at the ceiling, hoping for a call that never came. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up my phone... and dialed his number.

One ring. Two rings. Three. Nothing.

I called fifteen times. Fifteen missed calls, and he didn’t pick up once. I sent a text, but it sat there unread. I thought maybe he’d just gotten home and slept off, but the anxiety was clawing at my chest. I wanted to call his mother, but it was too late to disturb her.

The next day was a repeat of the torture. I waited until noon, expecting a "sorry I missed your calls" text. Nothing. When I finally called him, he let it ring out. Then, a text popped up: Oh, I’m sorry, I’m busy. I have things I’m doing. Once I’m done, I’ll officially call you. I saw your calls.

"Officially call me?" I whispered to the empty room. He was acting like I was a stranger, a business associate he was trying to put off. I’m still your husband, I wanted to scream into the screen.

The silence carried into the second day, and it felt like I was suffocating. I hadn’t even had the chance to tell him about the family dinner, he hadn’t given me a single chance.

By evening, the desperation got to me.

I sent him a message, telling him I was coming over... that I’d wait for him until he got back.

Alis replied coldly, telling me not to bother, that I should just wait until the weekend.

But I couldn’t take it anymore.

The walls of my own home felt like they were closing in on me.

I got dressed quickly, grabbed my keys, and headed straight for his mother’s place.

When I got there, I parked a few houses away, keeping my distance. I didn’t want him to come back and see my car outside after he had already warned me not to come.

I stayed there in the dim light of the streetlights, the engine off, my eyes fixed on the entrance to his mother’s house, waiting... like a stranger in my own marriage.

I waited for hours. 7:30 PM turned into 8:00 PM, then 9:00 PM. My eyes were strained from watching the door. Then, suddenly, the front light flickered on and the door opened.

My heart skipped, until I saw my husband step outside.

I froze, confusion washing over me. He had told me all day he wasn’t home... that he was busy somewhere else. Yet here he was, stepping out of his mother’s house. He had lied to me.

I gripped the steering wheel, ready to start the engine and confront him right there on the pavement. But before I could move, a sleek car pulled up and stopped right in front of the house. I froze, watching as Alis walked straight toward it, my eyes fixed on what was about to happen.

When the driver’s side door opened and the figure stepped into the light, my blood turned to ice.

It was Andrew.

My heart stopped as Andrew stepped out from the car. From where I sat, the vehicle blocked part of my view, but I saw them close the distance between each other. It looked like they hugged, a long, familiar embrace that shattered whatever composure I had left.

My husband was holding someone else.

I thought I had seen the worst of it, but then they turned toward the house, walking side-by-side. They were talking and smiling, the kind of easy, intimate smiles that used to belong only to us. Together, they walked back inside my mother-in-law’s house, the door clicking shut behind them.

I stared at the closed door, my breath coming in jagged gasps. He had rejected me... for Andrew. Had I already become an ex-husband without knowing it? Had he replaced me in the very home where I was once welcomed?

"Alex..." I murmured to myself. "Is this... really the end?"