Expectations. I've learnt to be wary of those.
I would suggest that you accept (even if he can't) that he is an alcoholic, and this means that he cannot drink like a normal person. Attempts to moderate will never gave any long term success. And moderated drinking will not give him what he wants anyway, ('a couple' isnt what any alcoholoc wants, even if they kid themselves that this is the case)so that kind of drinking is likely to be topped up on secretly, or to make him very cranky.
If he were to choose sobriety and recovery, then in the long term this might save your relationship.
Thing is, many alcoholics do chose booze over loved ones. Of course,we lie to ourselves and say those people deserted us, that they were too rigid and didn't understand what it's like for us. We forget that actually, that person has their own life, their own feelings, and that relationships need to be a two way thing. Many alcoholics have said theyre getting sober, just to get people off their backs, with every intention of continuing to drink, often secretly. Trying to get rid of the consequences of booze, without getting rid of the booze itself. Sometimes this works for a while, but people tend to know really, and alcohol just becomes the elephant in the room that no-one talks about. What's the point of trying to talk when it will just be met with defensiveness and possibly anger and rage, and days of sulking. This can go on for years. We hear about it a lot on this forum, here in Newcomers and more so in Friends and Family. And of course, once there are financial and legal entanglements, or children (maybe people think / hope that children being in the balance will sway their alcoholic to want recovery) it becomes even harder to make the decision to walk away.
I'd suggest that you forget about expectations. Instead focus on your own boundaries. And what you will do if they are crossed. You cannot make him want to get better. You cannot force him to get better. But you can look after yourself and your future if you out some healthy boundaries in place and stick to them.
BB