[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 30: Secrets Between Us

~Alistair’s POV~

Alex closed the distance between us, his gaze fierce and unyielding. "We are not going anywhere, Alis. I’m your husband, and you will listen to me. You married me, not her. I said no."

I snapped, my words cutting through the heavy kitchen air. "Alex, what exactly is going on? Why are you acting like this?"

He looked at me and let out a long, ragged sigh. For a moment, his fire seemed to burn out, leaving him looking smaller. "Nothing is going on," he said, his voice dropping to a low, weary whisper. "I just want us to be alone for a while. Away from her. Away from everyone. Please, babe... just listen to me on this."

He stepped closer, before I could speak, or press him for the truth, he claimed my mouth in a kiss that was raw and clinging, filled with urgency. I kissed him back, my breath catching at the desperation trembling through his touch."

When he pulled back, I caught the glint of a tear slipping down his cheek. He wiped it off instantly, but the pain in his eyes was impossible to miss.

"Alex, look at me," I said softly, reaching up to cup his face. "I know how much you care about this marriage. I know you love me. But I also know you’re hiding something. It’s better if you tell me yourself, Alex. If I find out from somewhere else, it’s only going to make everything worse."

He flinched as if I’d struck him. "Baby, trust me," he said quickly, his voice rising in pitch. "I’m not hiding anything. I swear."

I looked at him for a long beat, the silence stretching between us until it felt like it would snap. "If you aren’t hiding anything," I said, my voice eerily calm, "then tell me why you changed the password on your phone."

Alex froze. Shock flickered across his face as his hands, resting at my waist, began to tremble before he slowly pulled them away. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped, his gaze slipping toward the hallway.

"I... I didn’t think..." he stuttered, searching for a lie that wouldn’t come. "I just wanted more privacy. With everything going on with the—"

"For seven years, you never needed that kind of privacy from me," I interrupted.

He kept denying it, shaking his head and insisting that nothing had happened in Singapore, that the password was just a security measure, that I was overthinking things. I watched him struggle, watched the man I loved stumble over his own words to keep a secret that was clearly eating him alive.

A heavy tiredness settled over me. I knew I wasn’t getting the truth today, and watching him hide it hurt more than whatever secret he was keeping.

"Alright," I said, cutting him off with a tired smile. I reached for the coffee pot, my movements slow and heavy. "Let’s just eat. I believe you, Alex."

Relief crossed his face, but the tension stayed in his shoulders. I turned away to plate the food, hiding the slight shake in my hands. I’d told him I believed him, but as I sat down at the table, one thing was clear in my mind: He was hiding something from me.

After breakfast, the maid cleared the table while Alex tugged me toward the living room. "Come on, babe," he murmured, fingers intertwining with mine. "Let’s relax... watch a movie, forget the world for a while."

I followed him to the sofa, pressing close against his side, though calm felt miles away. As the movie began, his phone buzzed relentlessly against his thigh, a sharp, insistent intrusion. I stayed silent, eyes glued to the screen, but I could feel him stiffen beside me.

Suddenly, Alex cleared his throat. "Babe, I need to go upstairs and grab my laptop. I have some work I need to finish up."

I didn’t move my head from his chest. "Why not just send the maid to get it for you?"

"No," he said abruptly, a hint of urgency in his voice. "I need to use the restroom. I won’t stay long, I promise."

"Okay, baby," I said, finally lifting my head. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek before grabbing his phone and hurrying upstairs. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I sat in the quiet of the living room, the movie playing to an empty house. My mind raced, trying to piece together the puzzle, but the fragments refused to fit. Going to his mother’s house would reveal the truth, I knew that, but for the first time, a chill of fear ran through me. If Alex, the man I shared my life with, was working this hard to hide something, was I really ready to face it?

Thirty minutes slipped by, and the "quick trip" was stretching into eternity. My pulse quickened as I rose and headed up the stairs. When I reached our bedroom door, a sound from within froze me in place.

Alex was crying. It wasn’t a quiet sob; it was the sound of a man who was breaking apart.

I leaned closer to the door, my heart in my throat, listening to his hushed, jagged voice. He was on the phone.

"Dad, please," Alex choked out. "Tell your wife to stay away from my marriage. She’s already done enough. She’s hurt us enough. She should be satisfied by now."

There was a pause, his breathing uneven.

"Tell her to stay away from my home," he went on, steel creeping into his voice. "If she ever calls Alis again, I’m done. I’ll cut her off for good. I mean it."

I couldn’t hear his father’s response, only the low murmur of a voice on the other end. After a long pause, Alex spoke again, his voice sounding hollow and defeated. "Okay, Father... that’s all. I’d appreciate that."

Silence fell. Sensing he was about to step out, I turned quickly and hurried back toward the top of the stairs, forcing myself to look as if I had just arrived. I leaned against the railing, steadying my breath, just as the door behind me opened.

Alex stepped out, looking startled to see me. I forced a look of innocent confusion. "Babe? What’s taking you so long? I was starting to think you fell in."

He walked toward me, his movements stiff. "Just... the restroom," he said, avoiding my gaze.

"Alex," I said, reaching out to touch his face. "What happened? Why are your eyes so red?"

He flinched slightly but stayed still. "Nothing, babe. I think I just got some soap in them, or maybe it was the towel I used to dry my face. It’s nothing."

"Okay, baby," I murmured. I could see the lie written in the puffiness of his eyes and the way he couldn’t look me in the eye, but I played the part. I didn’t push.

Alex took my hand, his grip firm, and led me downstairs. Each step felt heavy, like he was carrying the weight of the world, still struggling to keep the truth buried where he thought I couldn’t reach it.

Once we were back on the sofa, Alex opened his laptop, pretending to focus on work. I stretched out, resting my legs across his thighs. His hands moved to my feet, his thumbs tracing gentle circles over the soles of my feet. Normally, it would soothe me, but today, I could feel the tension trembling beneath his touch.

As he "worked," it was clear his mind wasn’t there. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but he wasn’t typing, he was staring at the screen, blinking rapidly as if trying to shake off a haze. Every few seconds, I’d catch him stealing a glance at me, his expression full of a strange, haunting guilt.

The weight of his stare began to unsettle me. I scooted a little closer, nudging him gently. "Babe... could you order some pizza?"

"Of course," he said, sounding relieved for the distraction. "I’ll do that right away."

He placed the order quickly and I turned my focus back to the TV, though I didn’t hear a word of the dialogue. When the pizza arrived, the maid received it at the door and brought it in. As she served us, the tension seemed to melt away for a moment. Alex finally closed his laptop, setting it aside.

For an hour, it was just the two of us. We lounged on the sofa, sharing pizza and tossing playful jabs. We teased each other about who could eat the most, laughing so hard my sides hurt. For a fleeting moment, I let myself believe that the morning’s tension had never happened.

Then, the vibration returned.

Alex’s phone, sitting face-up on the table, buzzed with a new message. He glanced at the screen, and I watched his entire face go cold. The light in his eyes vanished, replaced by a dark, brooding cloud. His mood didn’t just shift; it crashed.

"Babe?" I asked, setting my crust down. "What happened?"

"Nothing," he said, his voice flat. "Everything is fine."

He was still trying to convince me that he was fine when my phone suddenly blared a sharp, urgent ring. I lunged for it, my heart racing, but Alex was quicker.

He lunged across the table, his hand clamping down on my phone before I could even see the screen.

I blinked, startled by his sudden aggression. "Alex? Who is it?"