Chapter 7 - The House He Thought Was His.
Alexander returned to New York thirty-six hours later.
He did not tell me he was coming.
He simply appeared in the lobby of my apartment building and demanded to be sent upstairs.
Luis called me first.
"Ms. Moreland, Mr. Mercer says he lives here."
I looked across my kitchen at Dana.
"He used to."
That afternoon, I had already changed the digital access codes and placed Alexander's belongings in a secured storage room managed by the building.
The apartment had belonged to me before I met him.
His name had never been on the deed.
I told Luis to send him to the private meeting room downstairs.
Dana came with me again.
Alexander was pacing when we entered.
His navy suit was wrinkled from travel.
His face looked exhausted.
His arrogance did not.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Those were the first words my almost-husband said to me after returning from our honeymoon without me.
I sat down.
"Hello, Alexander."
He stared at Dana.
"Why is she here?"
"Because I invited her."
"This is between my wife and me."
Dana opened a folder.
"That description is currently disputed."
His eyes snapped toward me.
For half a second, I saw panic.
Then he smiled.
"So that is what this is about."
"You say that as if there are several possibilities."
He sat across from me.
"Khloe and I made a mistake in Vegas."
I said nothing.
"We had too much to drink."
"You filed a marriage license while drunk?"
"It was impulsive."
"For seven months?"
His jaw flexed.
"We intended to annul it."
"But you didn't."
"Paperwork got delayed."
Dana's expression remained perfectly neutral.
"There is no annulment petition on file."
Alexander ignored her.
"Sophia, I love you."
I almost admired how smoothly he said it.
"Did you love me when you requested access to my trust documents?"
That stopped him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Blue Laurel Holdings."
His face changed.
"Khloe did that."
There it was.
Exactly as Khloe had predicted.
"She manipulated company forms," he continued.
"I found out in Maui."
"Convenient."
"She has been obsessed with me for years."
"You married her."
"Because she threatened to destroy my career."
Dana glanced at me, but I did not need the warning.
Alexander was building a story in real time.
Every sentence made him the victim.
Every woman around him became unstable, greedy, or confused.
"What about Mercer Strategic Ventures?" I asked.
He went silent.
"Your mother is the registered manager."
"My mother invests in dozens of businesses."
"She also told me Khloe was never supposed to come back from Maui with you."
Alexander's eyes widened.
Then anger replaced surprise.
"You spoke to my mother?"
"She came to me."
He stood.
"You are destroying my family because of a misunderstanding."
I looked at him.
"No, Alexander."
"You built a misunderstanding and called it a marriage."
He leaned across the table.
"Do you know what people will say when this gets out?"
"I am sure you are about to tell me."
"They will say the great Sophia Moreland was so desperate to get married that she never checked whether the groom was available."
There was the cruelty I had never seen during our engagement.
It felt almost freeing.
I took off my wedding ring.
I placed it on the table between us.
"Then they can say it."
He stared at the ring.
"You are making a mistake."
"Possibly."
"You will regret humiliating me."
Dana stood.
"That sounds close enough to a threat that this meeting is over."
Alexander walked toward the door.
Then he turned.
"By tomorrow morning, half your board will know exactly what kind of woman you are."
I smiled.
"Make sure you spell my name correctly."
He left.
Ten minutes later, Martin called.
"Sophia, Alexander just emailed three members of the Moreland board."
"Already?"
"He is claiming you are emotionally unstable and improperly freezing marital assets."
I looked at the ring still sitting on the table.
"Forward me everything."
Martin hesitated.
"There is something attached."
"What?"
"A document with your signature giving Alexander temporary voting authority over your Moreland shares."
I stopped breathing.
"I never signed that."
"I know."
Dana reached for the phone.
May you like
The war had just moved from my marriage into my company.
MY HUSBAND BROUGHT HIS SECRETARY ON OUR HONEYMOON
