[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 44: The Sweetest Revenge

~Alistair’s POV~

I let a slow, deliberate smile spread across my face as I stared directly at Alex. Without breaking eye contact with my husband, I reached out and took Andrew’s hand.

The moment our fingers touched, I heard the heavy clack of Alex dropping his golf club onto the grass. His mother looked like she’d been slapped. I didn’t care. I was done being the only one playing by the rules.

Andrew pulled me up with a firm, steady grip, his eyes sparkling with a mix of amusement and genuine intrigue. He didn’t let go of my hand immediately; instead, he led me toward a vacant patch of the green, his touch warm and far more attentive than anything I’d felt from Alex all morning.

"Don’t worry," Andrew whispered, leaning in just enough for the scent of his expensive cologne to hit me. "I’m a very patient teacher. We’ll start with the basics."

I could feel Alex’s gaze burning into the back of my neck. I didn’t need to turn around to know he was fuming. The sound of his mother’s frantic whispering to him was like a buzzing fly I was happy to ignore.

Andrew stood behind me, mirroring the exact position Alex had taken with Sarah only moments ago. His chest pressed against my back as he reached around to help me grip the club. His hands were large and sure, covering mine as he adjusted my fingers.

"Relax your shoulders, Alistair," Andrew murmured into my ear, his breath tickling my skin. "You’re too tense. Just follow my lead."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex take a step toward us, his face a mask of barely contained rage. His father called out to him, trying to bring him back to the game, but Alex wasn’t listening.

He was watching another man’s arms wrap around his husband, and for the first time, the power was entirely in my hands. A slow, satisfying heat spread through me as I let his mother witness it all, just how easily another man could claim what she believed belonged solely to her son. If she thought she had endless options lined up for him, then she should understand something clearly: I had options too—plenty of them.

"Like this?" I asked loudly, tilting my head back slightly so I was nearly brushing Andrew’s jaw. I let out a soft, airy laugh that I knew would drive Alex insane.

"Perfect," Andrew replied, his grip on my waist tightening ever so slightly. "Now, on three, we swing together."

Just as we began to move, I heard the grass crunching under heavy, hurried footsteps.

"Alis! That’s enough," Alex’s voice cracked across the green, sharp and commanding.

I didn’t pull away. Instead, I leaned closer into Andrew, a sharp thrill of cold satisfaction coursing through me as the ball sailed across the grass. I brought my hands together in applause, and Andrew’s laughter rang out beside me, his palms meeting mine in an easy, shared rhythm.

"That was a brilliant shot, Alis! You’re a natural," he praised, his voice warm and loud enough to carry.

As Alex closed the distance, fury carved sharply across his face, and Andrew dipped his head toward mine, his brows knitting together. "Who is that?" he murmured, clearly sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

I offered Andrew a sweet, dismissive smile. "Never mind him. He’s just someone who forgot his place."

"Excuse me," I said to Andrew before stepping away and heading toward Alex, meeting him halfway. He looked ready to explode, his eyes burning with a possessive fire I hadn’t seen in years."

"Why the long face, Alex?" I asked, my voice dripping with mock innocence. "I’m finally learning the game. Isn’t this what you wanted? For everyone to have a little... ’fun’?"

Alex reached out, his fingers twitching as he tried to grab my wrist to pull me away. "Alis, we’re leaving. Now."

I stepped back just out of his reach, my expression turning to ice. "Don’t you dare touch me," I hissed. I leaned in close, my voice a low, lethal whisper meant only for his ears. "Since you clearly don’t understand the value of this marriage anymore, and you can’t seem to distinguish right from wrong, I’ve decided to help you. I’m giving you a taste of your own medicine. I want you to feel exactly what your mother, and your own weakness, have been making me feel."

Alex flinched as if I’d struck him.

"Go back, Alex," I said, my gaze locking onto his with a chilling steadiness. "Go back and enjoy your little ’lessons’ with Sarah. Don’t ruin my game here. When it’s finally time to leave, I’ll meet you at the car."

Alex’s voice dropped, taking on a low, dangerous tone. "Are you forgetting that you’re a married man, Alis? Look at yourself, look at how you’re letting a complete stranger put his hands on you in public."

I let out a sharp, mocking laugh that felt like a blade. "Oh, Alexander... thank you for finally reminding yourself that you’re married. Because you’ve clearly been suffering from amnesia all morning. If you hadn’t forgotten, you wouldn’t have been pressed up behind Sarah on that green. So, let me ask you: are you forgetting you’re married while you’re touching the woman your mother hand-picked to replace me?"

"Alis!" He shouted, his voice cracking with a mixture of fury and wounded pride, his face flushing a deep, humiliated red.

"Enough," I snapped, cutting him off before he could even start another excuse. "Get out of my sight. Now."

Alex opened his mouth to protest, his eyes wide with a mix of shock and desperation, but I didn’t give him the chance to speak. I turned my back on him with deliberate slowness and walked straight back to Andrew, who was waiting with a curious smirk.

"Where were we?" I asked Andrew, my voice loud and cheerful once more.

Alex lingered for a long time, forced to watch as Andrew’s hands guided mine with a gentle patience he had failed to show me. I caught a glimpse of my mother-in-law’s face; she looked ready to start a war right there on the grassland. I knew there would be hell to pay once we were behind closed doors, but for the first time in months, I didn’t care. I deserved to feel wanted. I deserved to show them that I wasn’t just a shadow waiting for Alex to remember I existed.

Andrew, ever the gentleman, didn’t pry. He kept his focus on the game until the afternoon light began to fade and a message buzzed in my pocket.

Hubby: It’s time to go home.

I took my sweet time saying goodbye. Under the watchful, fuming eyes of my husband and his mother, I exchanged numbers and social media handles with Andrew. I wanted them to see every second of it.

Alex opened the car door for me, and I slid in without a word. Once we were on the road, the silence between us became suffocating. I didn’t look at him; he didn’t speak. Instead, I buried myself in my phone, texting Andrew and letting out sharp, loud laughs at his messages, each one a deliberate sting aimed straight at Alex.

The moment we got home, the house felt like a pressure cooker. I went straight to our room and into the shower. When I stepped out, Alex took his turn. By the time he emerged, dripping wet with only a towel slung low on his hips, I was already mid-conversation on the phone.

"Andrew, you’re too much," I teased, leaning back on the bed. I didn’t flinch when I saw Alex freeze. "Tonight? No, I’m exhausted. But tomorrow night? That sounds perfect. See you then, Andrew."

I hung up, and the air in the room turned frigid. Alex marched toward me, his eyes burning with a raw, ugly jealousy.

"Alistair Montclair Lawrence."

Hearing my full name on his lips sent a shiver straight through me. I stood up, pushing him back slightly so I could meet him eye to eye. I forced myself to stay still, hands steady, and met his gaze with a neutral expression. "What?"

"Who the hell was that on the phone?"

"Who does it sound like?" I countered.

Alex let out a dark, jagged chuckle. "You let a stranger put his hands on you in public... and now you’ve got his number for what? So he can meet you and take you as rough, as dirty, as you’ve always wanted?"

I gasped, the crudeness of his words hitting me like a physical blow. Alex was many things, but he was never this vile.

"I thought you were something precious, Alis," he sneered, his face inches from mine. "I never knew you were this cheap."

The word snapped the last thread of my restraint. SLAP.

The sound of my palm hitting his cheek was like a gunshot in the quiet room. Alex’s head snapped to the side, and he went deathly still. He reached up to touch his face, and I saw a tear track through the moisture on his skin.

"You hit me," he murmured, his voice cracking. "You actually hit my face."

"You called me names!" I screamed, my own voice breaking.