[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 81: This Is What Manipulation Looks Like

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: This Is What Manipulation Looks Like

~Alexander’s POV~

"Now," I said, stepping toward the bed, "answer my question. And don’t you dare lie to me again."

The moment I stepped toward the bed, the tension didn’t snap into a fight, it dissolved into chaos.

I was expecting the Alis I knew the sassy, bold, and defiant man who always had a sharp comeback ready to bite. I expected him to challenge me, to sneer at my sudden show of authority. But instead, he totally changed right before my eyes.

Alis burst into tears. It wasn’t a quiet, composed sob; he started wailing like a heartbroken child, throwing his head back in a fit of dramatic agony.

"Oh, God! Why do I have such a bad husband?" he cried out to the ceiling, his voice cracking. "My husband is so weak! He gets angry at the wrong time, he says ’no’ when he should say ’yes,’ and now he looks like he wants to kill me! My husband wants to kill me!"

I froze, completely thrown off balance. The dark, predatory focus I’d felt just seconds ago vanished, replaced by pure confusion. He sat there, crying out to the ceiling, sobbing like I was the villain in a tragedy he didn’t deserve.

Alis cried out, his voice cracking as he buried his face in a pillow, his shoulders shaking violently. "My husband... he locks the door... not to hold me, not to kiss me... but to interrogate me like a criminal! I thought he was the gentlest man in the world, but now he’s a devil!"

"Alis, stop it! I’m not the devil!" I shouted, though my voice trembled. "You told me you cheated! You said Andrew was better! How was I supposed to react?"

"You should have known!" Alis cried, sitting up, his face flushed and tear-streaked. "You should have known I was hurting!"

His voice broke. "I’m alone in this house, Alex... with my mother in my ear, telling me you don’t want me, and then my own husband turns around and accuses me of cheating?"

He shook his head, hurt flashing across his face.

"You really think I’d let another man touch me? Do you really have that little faith in me?"

"But you said..." I stammered. My tongue felt heavy, and I was terrified of saying the wrong thing. "I never accused you, Alis. You’re the one who said those things... You told me..."

Alis slumped back against the headboard, his loud sobs fading into small, broken hiccups.

"And what do you do?" he shot back, his voice sharp despite the tears. "You don’t come to comfort me. You don’t tell me you’ll never let me go."

His chest rose unevenly.

"Instead, you lock the door and look at me like you wanted to break my neck."

His voice cracked. "Is this my life now? Is this what our marriage has become?"

I stood there, frozen. My mind screamed, who comforts their partner after watching another man walk into the house with them and stay for two hours... and then still dare to say they slept together? Who does that?

But looking at him... seeing him so broken, the anger slowly drained out of me.

"I’m sorry," I murmured, "I’m so sorry, Alis. I just... I saw him. I saw you hug him. I thought I’d lost you. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m really sorry."

Alis stared at me for a long time. I couldn’t hold his gaze, my guilt making me look at the floor. Finally, he sighed and told me to sit down. I sat on the edge of the bed next to him, my heart heavy with regret.

Suddenly, Alis reached out and pulled me into a hug. "Baby," he murmured.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Do you know what I just did now?"

"No," I said, confused by the sudden change in tone. "I don’t know."

"What I just did is called manipulation," he said, pulling back to look me in the eye.

I blinked. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it," he said quietly. "Let’s assume for a moment that I actually slept with Andrew... which I didn’t."

He held my gaze.

"I said something that I knew would hurt you. I knew it would trigger you. And it did, you got angry, you reacted."

He paused.

"But then I switched it."

His voice softened, but his eyes didn’t. "I cried. I acted broken. I made it look like I was the one being hurt... and suddenly, you felt guilty."

I couldn’t speak. "You stopped being angry," he continued. "You stopped asking questions. Instead... you started apologizing."

A small, bitter smile touched his lips.

"That’s manipulation, Alex."

Silence filled the room.

"Don’t you see?" he added. "That’s exactly what your mother does to you."

I sat there, stunned, as he went on. "She knows you’re her son. She knows you feel like you have to listen to her... so she uses that. She twists things until you start questioning yourself, whether you’re enough, whether you’re a good son."

He looked at me carefully.

"I’m not asking you to disrespect your mom," Alis said more softly. "I just want you to see the truth... to recognize when she’s manipulating you."

His voice dropped slightly. "Especially when she cries... when she acts hurt."

He held my gaze.

"Just like I did now."

He exhaled slowly. "And the truth is... I was hurting," he admitted, his voice dropping. "I was here, crying my eyes out because I felt abandoned. You promised you would come."

His eyes flickered. "I waited. I thought maybe the second day... or the third... But you didn’t come."

His voice softened even more. "You kept calling, and yes... I answered. But I didn’t want your voice, Alex. I wanted you here."

"But you told me not to come," I said quietly.

"I said that because I wanted you to show up anyway," Alis replied, his eyes fixed on mine. "I wanted you to surprise me... to show me how much I mean to you."

His voice dropped. "Not just ask, Alex. I wanted to see it. I wanted action."

I looked at him, my chest tightening.

He took a shaky breath. "I talked to Andrew about our marriage," he admitted. "I opened up to him because I couldn’t stay alone with my thoughts anymore. He spoke to me like a friend. He told me my first mistake was choosing not to work just because you said you’d handle everything."

He glanced away briefly. "He made me see things from your mother’s perspective... that to her, I’m not giving anything. I’m not ’useful.’ She probably thinks I’m just here because of your money. If I were a woman, she’d expect a child... something to show for it. But I’m not. So to her, there’s no reason to accept me."

A small pause. "And Andrew told me I need to build something for myself... to be useful on my own. So he’s been helping me figure things out... helping me start something of my own. I want to build my own company... something that’s mine."

I looked at him, my brows pulling together. "Do you really have to stress yourself like that? I’m willing to work for both of us."

"No, babe," Alis said gently, shaking his head. "I want to do this. I want your mom to see that I’m not with her son for his money."

His voice softened. "I may not be able to give her a child... but if she’s willing to accept me, then I’m willing to do whatever it takes. We can go through a surrogate... anything, as long as she sees that I love you for you... not because of anything else."

"Baby..." I murmured, looking at him. "You don’t have to go that far... You don’t have to prove anything to my mother."

Alis held my gaze. "I’ll do anything it takes to keep my husband."

Something twisted painfully in my chest. "Thank you, baby," I said softly, a tear slipping down my cheek. "And... I’m sorry. I’m sorry I haven’t been the man you needed."

I swallowed hard. "I grew up getting everything I wanted," I admitted. "My father never really told me no... so I never learned when to say yes or no properly. I let silence and obedience become my default because I didn’t know how to fight. I’m really sorry."

Alis looked at me, his expression softening. He shook his head gently, reaching out to cup my face.

"You don’t have to apologize," he said. "I know you better than anyone. I know the heart inside that chest, Alex."

I looked at him, a faint smile forming on my lips.

Then he leaned in, gently wiping away my tears before pressing a soft kiss to my lips, his arms wrapping around my waist.

He paused, looking at me with a sad smile.

"And Alex... do you even know our phones share location? I set it up myself."

His voice softened. "When you got here this evening, I saw it. I knew you were outside. I thought you’d come in... I kept waiting for you to walk through that door and come to me."

His eyes dimmed slightly. "But you didn’t. You stayed out there for hours... just because I told you not to come."

"Baby... we can’t keep living like this. I miss you."

He exhaled softly, his voice lowering. "Even when I tell you not to come, you should know when to ignore me... when to break the rules for me. You’re too gentle, too careful, always respecting boundaries, always stepping back."

"It’s because I love you so much, Alis. I didn’t want to offend you... But I miss you just as much as you miss me."

A small smile tugged at his lips.

"Then come and play with me."

I raised a brow, a hint of curiosity in my voice. "Play? What kind of play?"

Alis leaned closer, his voice dropping to a soft whisper.

"Adult play... I’ll be quiet."

I looked at him for a moment, then smiled.