CHAPTER 18%
The first one to lose his composure was Marcus.
For weeks, he had watched Alexander lurk around the estate like a shadow. Marcus had been patient and he knew I needed time to heal from my marriage, and he was willing to wait as long as it took.
But everyone has a breaking point.
That night, we had just returned from a dinner party in town. It had been a lovely evening–I wore the blue dress Marcus had bought me, and we danced to old jazz music while other couples smiled at how happy we looked together.
From a distance, as we pulled up to the estate, we saw Alexander standing under a streetlamp, once again holding his signature bouquet of white roses. He had been there when we left three hours earlier, and he was still there when we returned.}
“This is insane,” Marcus muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “He can’t keep doing this.“>
As soon as I stepped out of the car, the sky behind me suddenly exploded with tens of thousands of rainbow–colored fireworks.
I froze, my heart skipping a beat. The colors reflected in my eyes as memories I had tried to bury came flooding back.
Marcus had watched the video of Alexander’s proposal to me more times than he’d ever admit–like some form of twisted self–punishment. He knew the story because I had told him during one of our late–night conversations when I was trying to explain how I had fallen for Alexander in the first place.
He knew that my younger, naive self had been swept away by those very same fireworks, overwhelmed with joy, and had said yes to Alexander’s proposal without hesitation all those years ago.
So when he saw me momentarily distracted by the display, something snapped in him.
Alexander stood there with his roses, silhouetted against the explosion of lights, looking exactly like the man who had stolen my heart nine years ago. For just a moment, I wasn’t the strong woman who had walked away from a toxic marriage. I was twenty–two again, believing in fairy tales and happy endings.
Lacking the security and confidence he longed for, Marcus stormed up to Alexander and launched himself into a full–on brawl.}]
“Alexander! You shameless bastard!” Marcus shouted, grabbing Alexander by the shirt. “All you do is try to catch a glimpse of my fiancée like some sick, lovesick mutt. I’ve never seen anyone as clingy and pathetic as you in my entire damn life!“}
Alexander stumbled backward but quickly recovered, his own anger flaring. “Get your hands off me!“}
“You want to fight?” Marcus snarled. “Fine. Let’s settle this once and for all.“}]
Alexander shot back with venom, his voice cold and calculating. “If I’m pathetic, then what does that make you? Lauren and I were together for nine years. If it weren’t for her accident that she hadn’t lost her ability to have children, I never would’ve agreed to let Victoria keep the baby.“}
The words hit me like a physical blow. I had never told Marcus about the accident, about losing our baby, about how Alexander had blamed me for not being able to give him children afterward.
Alexander turned to me, his voice rising with desperate conviction. “She just misunderstood me. She thinks I cheated and stopped loving her. That’s the only reason she settled for you, Marcus–a goddamn second option.“}
*But once I clear things up, once I calm her down, she’ll break off that engagement and come right back to me where she belongs.“}
That was the final straw.
Marcus let out a cold, furious laugh and punched Alexander so hard he collapsed onto the ground, blood streaming from his nose. “You want to know where you were when Lauren lost your baby?” Marcus shouted, standing over Alexander’s crumpled form. “You want to know what really happened?”
When I lost our child in the car accident, it was Marcus who dropped everything–his career, his obligations–and flew to my side. He stayed with me, day and night, until I was strong enough to leave the hospital.
And where was Alexander?}
He claimed he was too busy with work. But in truth, he had booked two plane tickets to Prague and spent that time vacationing with Victoria drinking, dining, sightseeing, living his best life while I bled alone in a hospital bed.”
“She called you,” Marcus continued, his voice breaking with emotion. “She begged you to come home. She needed you. And you chose to go on vacation with your mistress instead.“@
Alexander tried to get up, wiping blood from his face. “That’s not how it happened“}]
“Don’t you dare lie!” Marcus grabbed him again. “I have the hospital records. I have the phone logs. I know exactly what kind of man you
are.“@
They grappled with each other, throwing punches and insults. Alexander managed to land a hit on Marcus’s jaw, sending him staggering backward.
“I tried to stop the fight,” I called out desperately. “Please, both of you, stop this!”
But they wouldn’t listen. They were too far gone, too angry, too hurt.”
Just then, a police car rolled by. Two officers stepped out, one of them immediately recognizing the situation and quickly intervening. ‘Break it up! Break it up right now!” the first officer shouted, pulling Marcus away from Alexander.
The second officer helped Alexander to his feet, both men breathing heavily and covered in blood and dirt.
“We’re taking all three of you in for questioning,” the first officer announced. “And you two need medical attention.”
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Without giving any of us a choice, they loaded us into separate police cars and took us to the nearest hospital to get checked for injuries.
The ride felt endless. I kept looking back at the car carrying Marcus, worried about the cut on his forehead and the way he was holding his ribs.
At the hospital, everything was chaos. Nurses rushed around, trying to treat both men while police officers took statements and filled out paperwork.
And despite being worried about Marcus’s injuries the whole ride there, somehow, I ended up being placed in Alexander’s room.§
CHAPTER 18
