My Possesive Ex-Husband

Chapter 7

CLICK! CLICK!

From behind the tinted glass of a car parked nearby, a man dressed in all black was busy aiming his camera lens. He successfully captured Alex as he stepped out of Evelyn’s boutique, his face wearing an unreadable, complex expression.

The man moved with practiced speed. He reached for his phone and immediately contacted his employer—the person paying him a fortune to monitor every single movement of the Archer heir.

"Well? Is he still meeting with that woman?" asked a heavy, booming voice on the other end. It was the voice of Mr. Logan Archer, Alex’s father, whose intimidating authority was palpable even through a phone line.

"Not just meeting her, Sir. It’s far more than that," the spy replied, his eyes scanning his tablet screen. He re-checked the boutique’s live CCTV feed that he had successfully hacked, displaying the recording of the heated kiss shared between Alex and Evelyn just minutes ago.

A suffocating silence followed before a low, menacing growl echoed from the receiver.

"Damn it. What a useless son!" Logan cursed. "Fine. Keep your eyes on him. Do not let him cross the line again. The engagement between him and Mr. Gama’s daughter is approaching. I won't allow everything to be ruined

because of that woman."

"Understood, Sir."

"Make sure there are no traces left behind. If things get further out of control, you know exactly what to do to that woman without involving Alex," Logan added in a chillingly flat tone before abruptly cutting the connection.

On the other side of the city, inside his luxurious, sprawling study, Logan leaned back in his leather chair. To him, Evelyn was no longer just an ex-daughter-in-law who had failed to provide an heir; she had mutated into a dangerous pest threatening the stability of his business empires and the political alliances staked on Alex and Cindy's union.

If Alex could not be tamed with mere words, Logan would not hesitate to eliminate the distraction permanently.

.

.

"The luxury hotel construction project in Hawai is confirmed to be completed by the end of the year... Because of our strategic collaboration with Mr. Gama’s family, everything will run seamlessly. Mr. Gama’s corporation has been highly instrumental in..."

The drone of the presentation inside the ice-cold boardroom felt like a distant, meaningless hum in Alex’s ears. He sat directly to the right of his father, who presided over the long mahogany table. However, his focus had been completely shattered from the start. His mind was left entirely behind at that boutique, trapped on Evelyn’s lips and caught in the agonizing jealousy burning through his chest.

Evelyn had not replied to his text messages. Worse, he had just received a quiet report from his own henchman stating that she was currently in the company of Jovan.

Alex typed a message, his thumbs trembling with raw emotion against the glowing screen.

[Evelyn, do not go with Jovan!

Don't you dare go out with another man!

You are mine! Remember that!

You were even moaning in pleasure when I kissed you earlier? Did you forget?

Evelyn, answer me!]

Alex let out a low groan of utter frustration, nearly slamming his phone onto the polished mahogany surface if he hadn't suddenly remembered exactly where he was sitting.

"ALEX ARCHER!"

The sharp snap of his name caused Alex to jerk in surprise. He snapped his head up to find his father’s furious, unyielding gaze locked onto him. Around the table, the entire board of executives fell dead silent, creating a suffocating, pressurized tension.

Logan wore a crooked smile, but his eyes radiated a lethal disappointment. He knew exactly what was occupying his son's phone. His son was truly too infatuated with that woman to the point of discarding his own dignity in public.

"You—what do you think about our new corporate project?" Logan asked in a demanding, heavy tone. "I entrusted this venture to you. Yet you haven't even been following this meeting properly."

The executives stared at Alex with heavily judging eyes. Alex took a deep breath, his fingers instinctively moving to loosen his tie, which suddenly felt like a noose tightening around his neck—a nervous habit he fell into whenever he felt entirely cornered.

"Act professionally. Are you really that busy?!" Logan barked again.

Alex winced, gripping his phone with white knuckles. Suddenly, painful flashes from the past flooded his mind. Bitter memories of how his father had been incredibly harsh and merciless toward him since his childhood came crashing back.

"Are you really that stupid?!"

"Why can't you be competent like your cousin?!"

"Make Papa proud, only then can you dream of a vacation!"

Those phantom voices echoed violently in his head. Alex swallowed hard, trying to fight off the suffocating shadows haunting him. To the outside world, he might be a ruthless dictator and a tyrant to Evelyn, but those traits were merely a bitter inheritance from his father. As an only son, he had been meticulously molded to be a machine of success, not a human with actual feelings.

"I—I'm sorry, Papa. Forgive my lack of professionalism," Alex said in a lowered, defeated voice, bowing his head submissively before the board of directors.

Logan only gave a cold, dismissive snort. "Put your phone away. If I catch you touching it again before this meeting concludes, I will personally destroy that device—along with the very reason why you keep holding onto it so desperately."

The threat was clearly not intended for the phone, but for Evelyn. Alex clenched his fists beneath the desk, feeling utterly trapped between his wild obsession with Evelyn and his paralyzing, deep-rooted fear of his father.

.

.

CRASH!

Logan hurled a heavy crystal ornament right onto the floor at Alex’s feet, sending sharp shards flying wildly across the room. He glared at his only son with a flash of rage that could freeze anyone’s blood. They were currently inside Logan’s private office at the corporate building, a room that had always felt like an inescapable prison to Alex.

"Do you realize your mistake, hah?!" Logan bellowed, his voice thundering against the walls. "That was an incredibly vital meeting! The directors and top officials of our entire firm were all present. And you? You were completely fixated on your phone?! Where is your brain, hah?!"

Alex remained silent, his head bowed low. He didn't dare meet his father’s eyes, not out of respect, but because the childhood trauma resurfaced violently every time his father exploded.

"And can you stop playing around with your pathetic ex-wife?!" Logan stepped closer, his aura suffocatingly intimidating. "If Cindy’s family catches wind of this, it won't just be you who faces ruin. That woman will be destroyed too!"

Hearing Evelyn’s name mentioned in such a dangerous tone, Alex looked up, his face draining of all color.

"PAPA! Please, do not involve Evelyn. Whatever happens, do not touch her," Alex pleaded, his voice trembling weakly.

Logan laughed cynically. It was a dry, hollow laugh that contained no trace of joy.

"Ha, haha..." Logan stepped forward and roughly jabbed Alex’s temple several times with his finger, forcefully snapping Alex’s head to the side. "You’ve known since the very beginning that woman was a parasite and a nuisance, haven't you? Now that you’ve managed to shake her off, do not look back. Or I will show her absolutely no mercy."

Logan leaned his face close to Alex’s ear, whispering in a chillingly flat cadence. "You know yourself, Papa can do truly terrifying things. Especially to a useless woman like her."

"Please... don't touch Evelyn," Alex whispered again. He felt entirely powerless. He could dominate and control Evelyn, but in front of his father, he was nothing more than a pathetic loser.

Logan chuckled, a gruesome, unsettling sound. He then gripped Alex’s shoulder so tightly his nails seemed to pierce straight through the fabric of his son’s expensive suit jacket.

"Then execute your duties properly! And stop playing these childish games. Your marriage to Cindy involves two massive corporations that will unite and become global giants. Do you understand?!"

Alex could only nod slowly, his jaw locked tight. Inside his head, however, he began to craft a desperate, crazed plan. If he couldn't protect Evelyn by remaining a "good son" to his father, then he would have to take Evelyn away to a place where his father’s reaches could never touch them—even if it meant he had to lock Evelyn away from the world forever.