My Possesive Ex-Husband

Chapter 13

Alex downed the rest of his wine in a single, desperate swallow. Being utterly unable to contact Evelyn, blocked from seeing her, and cornered by demands that fueled his endless frustration had driven him to a state of absolute psychological collapse. His mind was a dead end, Evelyn’s face just spun relentlessly in his head like a broken, haunting tape.

Tomorrow was his wedding day, and that impending reality was violently dismantling the last remaining fragments of his sanity.

"Stop drinking, Alex. You’re already wasted." Cindy aggressively wrenched the wine glass from her future husband's hand.

"Ah! Shut up! You are so damn loud! Did you hear me?! YOU’RE LOUD!" Alex snarled, his voice a gravelly rasp. He glared at Cindy with bloodshot eyes that vibrated with unadulterated hatred.

"I despise your very presence, Cindy."

"And let me remind you again. You don't have the right to pull my strings like a puppet either. My parents are more than enough! You... don't you dare act like you control me!" Alex rambled, his speech slurred but venomous.

Cindy let out a derisive scoff. Rather than shrinking away, she slid onto the sofa, pressing her body right next to him. "A puppet?" She let out a low, deeply manipulative chuckle. She then trailed her fingertips sensually along Alex’s sharp jawline, attempting to stoke the embers of his dark passion.

"Exactly. You are going to be my puppet. So, don't disappoint me."

"I even condescended to take you, after you defiled yourself by marrying that other woman."

Alex violently shoved Cindy away from him. Even though his senses were thoroughly drowned in alcohol, his primitive instincts still violently rejected her presence. He felt a deep, physical revulsion being anywhere near the woman who served as the primary catalyst for his marriage with Evelyn turning to ashes.

"Don't flatter yourself," Alex hissed, leveling her with a look of pure disdain. "You know it yourself... my love belongs strictly to my wife, haha... My only wife is Evelyn. NOT YOU!"

Cindy hissed in sheer annoyance, her jaw locking as she heard that wretched name invoked yet again.

"Ugh, that low-class woman again! Why the hell are you so pathologically obsessed with her?! My pride is completely shattered because you choose to prefer her over me, Alex!"

Cindy bolted to her feet, pacing frantically in front of him as her volatile emotions exploded.

"We’ve been friends since childhood, yet you never even looked at me! And the moment that girl arrives? You instantly turn away and become entirely infatuated! What the hell did she give you to turn you into a pathetic coward like this, huh?!"

Alex merely let out a bitter, tragic laugh. He leaned his head back against the sofa cushions and closed his eyes. In the darkness behind his eyelids, Evelyn’s smile was the only image that materialized. He couldn't care less about Cindy’s wounded pride; to him, the only true dignity he had ever possessed was the period when he was still Evelyn’s husband.

Cindy clenched her fists so fiercely that her manicured nails turned white against her palms, muzzling the roaring fire consuming her chest. Her expression hardened as she stared down at Alex, who lay slumped and intoxicated on the sofa—a man who would legally belong to her tomorrow, yet whose soul remained entirely imprisoned by another woman.

"Just you wait. If that woman dares to disrupt our lives again, I will personally ensure she is permanently erased from existence!" Cindy hissed in a low tone heavy with a lethal promise.

Her eyes glamed with unbridled malice.

For Cindy, this was no longer a mere contract marriage or a clinical corporate alliance between families. This was a war of pride. She refused to let Evelyn claim victory. If Logan Archer proved incapable of making Evelyn vanish permanently, then Cindy herself would ensure there was no place left on earth for Evelyn to return and fracture her world.

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The following day...

Alex stood before the altar, his face a mask of bitter resentment. He didn't even bother to conceal his blatant disgust in front of the hundreds of high-society guests filling the cathedral. The physical toll of last night's binge lingered; his head felt heavy and his eyes were noticeably bloodshot and swollen, yet the constraints of his reality forced him to stand rigid.

He watched Cindy as she slowly glided down the aisle on her father's arm. Instead of being captivated, a thin, ominous smirk carved into Alex’s lips—a grim smile carrying a devastating, dark strategy.

Just you wait. I will make you deeply regret choosing me, Cindy, Alex vowed internally, his heart rotting with vengeance.

Cindy flashed a breathtakingly sweet smile the moment she reached his side, looking as though she had successfully scaled the peak of her ultimate victory.

Meanwhile, Alex’s lips remained a rigid, flat line that could never be mistaken for a smile. His eyes stared blankly straight ahead, looking entirely detached, as if his physical body were merely an empty shell present in the room.

The priest opened the holy text, looking upon the couple with a solemn gravity before initiating the sacrament.

"Before God and the witnesses gathered here today, I ask the groom," the priest intoned, his deep baritone echoing through the vaulted ceilings.

"Alex Archer, do you take Cindy Wilson to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, and remain faithful to her as long as you both shall live?"

Alex fell entirely silent. The heavy quiet that stretched across the cathedral turned suffocatingly pressurized. He cast a fleeting glance toward the front pew, where his father was locking him in a terrifyingly threatening glare. Finally, using a voice that was utterly dry and void of emotion, Alex delivered his answer.

"Yes, I do."

The priest then transitioned to the bride. "Cindy Kirana Maheswara, do you take Alex Archer to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and submit to him, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, and remain faithful to him as long as you both shall live?"

"Yes, I do," Cindy replied instantly, her eyes flashing with a triumphant glow.

"By the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder. You may kiss the bride."

Cindy tilted her face up with mounting anticipation, but Alex merely planted a brief, ice-cold kiss against her forehead—deliberately avoiding her lips entirely.

"You’ve secured the title, Cindy. Now, prepare yourself for hell," Alex whispered in a chillingly low cadence directly into her ear before releasing his cold embrace.

Cindy’s smile faltered slightly, turning tight, though she expertly maintained her regal composure for the flashing camera lenses. For Cindy, the only variable that truly mattered was that her status as the new Mrs. Archer was officially bound by law.

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That evening...

The atmosphere inside the grand ballroom of the five-star hotel was spectacularly lavish. Alex and Cindy stood on the wedding stage, mechanically greeting a relentless stream of elite guests. Alex looked thoroughly drained, his eyes repeatedly shifting toward the grand entrance doors, as if he were waiting for someone he knew would never realistically arrive.

However, the exact second the master of ceremonies stepped up to announce the next high-profile guests, the heavy double doors of the hall were thrown wide open.

The sharp, rhythmic click of Evelyn’s crimson stiletto heels echoed in perfect synchronization with the commanding, powerful strides of Jordan beside her. Her gown, a vibrant, scorching crimson, seemed to instantly set the gaze of everyone in the room ablaze.

Evelyn looked breathtakingly beautiful, her face illuminated by a sleek, sweet smile. She looked profoundly well-matched with Jordan, who escorted her with an unyielding, masculine elegance.

Alex materialized into a block of ice. The air caught violently in his windpipe. He stared down at Evelyn—the wife he had just legally cast out—as she made an incredibly daring appearance. And what felt far more devastating to his psyche: her hand was draped intimately over Jordan’s arm.

"Evelyn..." Alex murmured hoarsely, his fists clenching so fiercely they began to violently tremble.