[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 87: She’s Made Her Decision

~Alistair’s POV~

Before Alex could even speak, a voice called out from the hallway.

"Alexander? Please come out for a moment."

It was her.

My heart started racing, a cold knot forming in my stomach.

What is she going to tell him?

Alex frowned slightly.

"I’ll be back," he said, brushing his fingers gently over my hair before sliding off the bed.

I caught his wrist before he could move too far.

"Alex..."

He turned back to me. "Hmm?"

I hesitated for a second, then forced a small smile.

"It’s nothing," I said softly. "Just... don’t take too long."

He studied my face for a moment, like he could tell something was off, but he didn’t push.

"Okay, babe," he said.

He walked to the door and opened it.

I watched as he stepped out into the hallway.

The door closed behind him.

The room suddenly felt too quiet.

I sat up slowly, my fingers tightening against the sheets.

My mind wouldn’t stop racing.

What is she going to say to him?

I let out a slow breath, trying to steady myself.

No matter what she said...

I had already made up my mind.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

I waited. One minute turned into five, then ten. Every second felt like an hour as my mind raced through every possible disaster. Had she told him I was disrespectful? Was she using my words as a weapon to finally force the divorce?

When the handle finally turned and Alex stepped back into the room, my heart nearly stopped. He looked... different. His face seemed older, shadowed by a sudden, heavy exhaustion. He didn’t look at me immediately; he just walked over to the bed and sank onto the mattress, staring at nothing.

I scrambled toward him. "Babe? Hey... is everything okay? What did she say to you?"

He let out a long, slow breath, finally meeting my eyes. "Everything is fine, Alis. It was just... strange."

"Strange how? What do you mean?" I pressed, my hand finding his.

"She asked about my sister," he murmured, sounding genuinely baffled. "She suddenly wanted to know if I still reach out to her. I told her the truth... that we talk all the time."

I paused, listening to him.

Alex let out a quiet breath.

"Ever since she drove my sister away for choosing love over status... her name hasn’t been spoken in this house," he said. "It’s like she erased her."

He shook his head slightly.

"For her to suddenly bring it up now... it feels strange. Like something has shifted."

A wave of relief washed over me.

She hadn’t told him about me.

She hadn’t twisted anything to turn him against me.

As I sat there, watching the confusion on Alex’s face, a quiet thought began to settle in my mind.

Maybe what I said downstairs hadn’t just angered her.

Maybe... it reached her.

Bringing up the daughter she pushed away, it felt like something had shifted.

Like, for the first time, she was starting to see the damage she had caused.

"That is strange," I whispered, resting my head against his shoulder.

"She didn’t get angry when I said we still talk," Alex added, a hint of surprise in his voice. "She just nodded. I don’t know what’s going on with her today."

I closed my eyes, hiding the small smile that tugged at my lips. I knew exactly what was going on.

Maybe now... she wasn’t just trying to control everything. She was thinking like a mother.

"Maybe she’s starting to miss her," I said softly, squeezing his hand. "Let’s just enjoy the peace while it lasts."

The rest of the day was unsettlingly quiet.

I kept waiting for something to happen. For the silence to break. But it never did.

My mother-in-law said nothing.

When it was time for dinner, Alex and I got ready in our room.

We helped each other dress, sharing a quiet, gentle moment before stepping out, both of us expecting something we couldn’t quite name.

We drove to the venue in separate cars. Alex and I were in one, while his mother was in the other.

I braced myself for a crowd. I expected her to invite half the city, along with several so-called eligible daughters of her friends, just to humiliate me.

But when we arrived, the grand table was nearly empty.

There were only a few cousins, the ones who always showed up to family events, and us.

No strangers. No so-called accidental guests.

Alex and I took our seats.

Not long after, his father arrived.

The food was brought out to the large table, even though only a few of us were sitting there.

As we began to eat, one of the cousins spoke.

"Auntie," he said, looking around the hall. "I heard you told the other guests not to come. You said it wasn’t necessary?"

Alex’s father looked even more confused.

"My friends called me too," he said. "They said you told them not to come. I thought this was a family and friends dinner. Why the change?"

She didn’t look at him.

Her gaze stayed on her plate, her voice calm and steady.

"I felt it should just be family tonight. We don’t need outsiders."

My heart skipped a beat.

Only the family.

Did that include me... or was she just saying it to please her husband? Alex and I glanced at each other, but neither of us said anything.

The dinner went on quietly.

Soft music played in the background. The conversation stayed light.

There was no tension. No drama.

Even Alex’s father looked confused, his eyes moving between his wife and me, like he was trying to understand what was going on.

When the dinner ended, we all returned home.

My mother in law was quiet the whole time. Even after we got home, she didn’t say anything.

Usually, she would call Alex aside to complain.

But this time, she just went straight to her room with her husband.

Alex and I went to our room.

"Did you see that?" Alex asked as we closed the bedroom door. "Something is wrong. She feels... odd."

"Maybe she’s just tired, Alex," I said.

"But Alis... she said ’family’ at the table. Did you hear that?" Alex asked, his eyes wide.

"I heard it too," I replied.

We got undressed and took a quick shower, then changed for the night.

Alex lay down on the bed, and I climbed in beside him, resting my head on his chest.

The room was quiet.

After a moment, Alex spoke again.

"I just hope she’s not planning anything," he said softly. "I’ve never seen her like this before."

I lifted my head slightly and looked at him.

"Don’t worry," I said. "Whatever it is... We’ll face it together."

The next morning at breakfast, the calm continued.

I greeted her, and she replied. Alex greeted her, and she replied.

It was the first time she hadn’t treated my voice like static noise since I met her.

It felt... different.

And honestly, a little scary.

That evening, Alex’s father called us into the living room.

Alex and I stepped out of our room and walked downstairs.

My mother in law, my father in law, Alex, and I all sat down together.

It was time to talk about the divorce.

"I’ll go first," Alex’s father said, leaning forward.

"I have no problem with your marriage. None at all. What I want is for this marriage to work and for your love to grow stronger without either of you getting tired of each other."

He looked at both of us.

"I want to find a way to fix this and put an end to all this divorce talk."

He turned to his wife and asked, "What about you, honey?" I was already bracing myself, expecting her usual reaction, but she stayed quiet for a long moment, and the silence in the room started to feel heavy.

When she finally spoke, her voice was calm, not sharp like before.

"I need time. I can’t make a decision yet. Alis should go back to his mother’s house as planned, and when I’ve made up my mind, I’ll call his mother and let her know what I’ve decided."

She paused briefly before continuing, "For now, the divorce should be on hold. Tell your mother not to file the papers yet. Just... give me time."

Alex gasped. "Mom? You mean..."

"I mean I need time, Alexander," she repeated, standing up and leaving the room before anyone could press her further.

Back in our room, Alex was vibrating with excitement. "Alis! It’s happening! She’s going to let us be!"

"Don’t rejoice too fast, love," I warned, though I was struggling to keep my own heart from leaping. "Wait for the final judgment."

The next morning, Alex drove me back to my mother’s house. As we pulled into the driveway, he leaned over and kissed me deeply, his hand resting gently on my cheek.

"I know that very soon, when I come back here, it won’t be for a visit," he said softly. "I’ll be coming to take you home... as my husband, for good."

I smiled as we stepped out of the car. He came inside to greet my mother and let her know he had brought me back safely, and after staying for a while, he stood up to leave.

I followed him outside as he got into his car. He waved at me, and I stood there watching him drive away, a small flicker of hope rising in my chest.

As I focused on my work, I also found myself counting the days. One day passed, then two, then three, and every time Alex and I spoke, I asked the same question, hoping for a different answer, but it was always the same. Nothing.

The silence stretched on until we were down to the final week of the one month deadline. During that time, I set up my business, making sure it was close to Alex’s house because I still believed I would be going back home. Some days I went to work from my mother’s place, sometimes I met up with Alex, and other times I just returned home and waited.

Then, when there was only one day left, early in the morning, my phone buzzed. It was Alex.

His voice was heavy with emotion.

"Alis... she’s made her decision," Alex said.