[BL] A Marriage Ruled by Family, Saved by Desire-Chapter 35: Bound by Anger, Tempted by Desire

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Bound by Anger, Tempted by Desire

~Alistair’s POV~

The past few days of silence had worn him down, leaving dark shadows beneath his eyes and sharp lines of exhaustion across his face. It was obvious he hadn’t been sleeping.

"Sit down," I commanded, gesturing to the chair across from me.

He sat immediately, his eyes searching mine for any hint of warmth. He found none.

"I don’t pity you, Alex," I said, my voice steady and cold. "So don’t look at me like that. This is the consequence of your choices. You decided to lie. You decided to let your mother’s poison seep back into our lives. In seven years, we have never gone this long without speaking, and that distance is on you."

Alex lowered his head, his words barely more than a shattered whisper. "I know. I deserve this, Alis. I’m so sorry. If I could undo it all, I would."

"Your apologies mean nothing to me right now," I said sharply, cutting him off. "They don’t change the fact that every time I look at you, I see her. So stop. And listen to what I have to say."

Alex went still, his hands clenching in his lap. "Okay, babe. Anything."

I took a final sip of my drink and set the glass down with a definitive clack.

"Tomorrow, we’re going to your mother’s place. Together."

Alex opened his mouth to argue, but I lifted my hand, stopping him. "Let me finish."

He fell silent.

"You don’t get to say no. Tomorrow, we’re going. And by the time we walk out of that house, I want the absolute truth... or I’m done. So you better be ready to do whatever it takes to get those answers."

Without waiting for his reply or giving him the chance to argue, I rose from my seat and walked back into the bedroom, leaving him alone with the weight of my words.

I had just reached the nightstand to set my phone down when I sensed him behind me. Before I could step away, Alex’s arms locked around my waist, dragging me back against his chest in a hold so tight it felt desperate.

I tried to pull his hands loose, but he wouldn’t let go. He pressed his face into the curve of my neck, and seconds later, I felt the heat of his tears against my skin.

The warmth of his grief softened the edges of my anger, just a little.

"What would I do without you?" Alex choked, his voice breaking against my shoulder. "If you don’t stand with me, Alis, how am I supposed to find the truth? If you walk away, where do I begin? I know I was wrong... God, I know that, but I can’t do this without my husband. You’ve always been my anchor, my direction. The moment I tried to handle it on my own, I ruined everything. Please... don’t make me face this alone."

Tears pricked my eyes as I spoke, my voice shaking. "And why not?" I asked. "You seemed perfectly capable of making decisions when you were packing your bags for Singapore."

Alex’s sobs shook his frame as he sank to his knees, clutching my waist like I was his lifeline. "I’m sorry, babe. I was wrong," he murmured, his voice breaking. "Please, Alis... help me."

I stood there for a long time, feeling him tremble against my back. I could feel the weight of his grief pressing into me. Slowly, I wiped my eyes and turned around in his embrace, finally facing him.

"What do you want me to do, Alex?" I asked quietly.

"I need your support," he whispered, his eyes swollen and pleading. "I can’t face them alone. Please, Alis... remember everything we’ve built, where we started, and how far we’ve come. Our anniversary is next weekend, and I don’t want that to be the day everything falls apart. I’m so sorry. Just... let me fix this, with you by my side."

The mention of our anniversary sent a sharp pang through my heart. I reached down, slowly removing his hands from my waist, and sat on the edge of the bed. I rubbed my face, trying to clear the exhaustion from my mind, staring at him in the dim light.

Finally, I leaned forward, beckoning him closer. "This is what we are going to do," I whispered into his ear, my voice low and cold.

Alex listened, his eyes widening slightly as I spoke. When I pulled back, he nodded slowly. "Will that... will that really work?"

"If you follow the plan exactly, it will," I said calmly. "But you have to be strong, Alex. No more wavering. I hope you’re ready to follow through."

"I’ll do anything," Alex promised, his voice regaining a shred of resolve. "As long as I have you, I’ll do anything."

I didn’t offer him a smile or a comforting touch. I simply turned away, climbed into bed, and placed the pillow firmly in the middle of the mattress. The boundary was still there, and it wasn’t going anywhere until the truth was out.

Just as the pull of sleep began to take me, I felt the pillow being carefully, cautiously pulled away. Alex edged closer, his cock pressing against my back, and then his arms wrapped around me in a firm, possessive embrace. I tensed at first, but when he pressed nearer, I felt it, the undeniable hardness of him against me.

Instantly, my body betrayed me. Despite the anger, the lies, and the cold war of the last few days, my skin hummed at his touch. My mind was screaming no, but my pulse was racing yes.

Alex, however, seemed determined to respect the line I had drawn. He held me, but he didn’t move. He didn’t stroke my skin or whisper the pleas I was suddenly dying to hear. The tension was agonizing. Frustrated by his sudden saint-like restraint, I shifted, pretending to settle into a deeper sleep while gently pushing my glutes back, and let my body rub against his hardness.

Still, Alex didn’t budge. He just breathed against my neck, his self-control infuriating me.

I decided to play a dangerous game. Slowly, restlessly, I loosened the silk belt of my robe, letting it fall open just enough to reveal the curve of my shoulder and a teasing glimpse of my chest. I held still, my breath caught, daring him to finally give in, to take what he wanted... what I wanted.

But the move I expected never came. Instead, I felt Alex slowly withdraw his hand, the warmth of his embrace vanishing as he turned his back to me. My heart sank, a cold wave of rejection washing over me, but then the silence of the room was punctured by a new sound. It was the frantic, rhythmic friction of skin against skin, accompanied by the stifled, shaky hitch of his breath.

He was stroking himself.

I lay there, frozen, my own body aching and painfully hard. I could hear the wet, sliding sound of his palm moving rapidly over his cock, the friction intensifying as he worked himself toward a desperate release. Every muffled, guttural groan that escaped his throat vibrated through the mattress and straight into my core. I wanted to roll over, to shove his hand away and replace it with my mouth or my own tight grip, but my pride was a jagged wall.

I was supposed to be the angry husband. If I joined him now, I would be admitting that my desire for him was stronger than my hurt over his lies.

I listened as the pace of his breathing turned into a series of jagged gasps. He was close. I could almost feel the heat radiating from him as his hand moved faster, the sound of his self-pleasure becoming the only thing I could hear. I wanted to reach back and touch myself too, my own length was throbbing, weeping with a need that was becoming unbearable, but if I started to jerk off now, he’d know I’d been awake and watching. I was too stubborn to let him see me that vulnerable.

Unable to endure the sound of him finding pleasure without me a second longer, I shifted abruptly, making the bed frame creak loudly. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The rhythmic sound from his side stopped instantly. The silence that followed was heavy and deafening.

I sat up, the covers falling away from my chest. Alex scrambled, his movements panicked as he pulled the duvet over his lap to hide his half-finished business and his spent, messy state. He looked up at me, his eyes dark with lust and his face flushed a deep crimson in the moonlight.

"Babe? You’re awake?" he croaked, his voice thick and rough.

"I... my stomach is cramping," I lied, my voice a bit higher than usual, my eyes darting away from the bulge under his covers. "I need to use the restroom."

Alex sat up fully, still carefully keeping the duvet draped over his lower half. "I’m sorry, babe. Is it bad?" His eyes were full of genuine concern, even through the haze of his own interrupted climax. "Should I get you some herbal tea? Some water? Maybe some medicine?"

He paused, his voice dropping a notch. "Or... do you want me to rub your stomach for you?"

The second he said it, my resolve crumbled. "Yes," I said, perhaps too quickly. "Rub my stomach."

He looked up at me, our eyes locking.