No no no.. it's not about the pleasure he gets, or getting an apology (you never will. Or acknowledgement. Ever)
Let's say you're taking your dog to the vet. Do you expect it to drive the car? Or tell the vet what the matter is? Why not? because dogs can't drive or talk
It's the same here. You are looking for something that doesn't exist. He can't. He's not a person like you or I. He's like a kind of half person. Clever and manipulative but deeply stunted. All the love and sympathy and understanding in the world won't change that.
Please internalise this. You can not expect normal human behaviour. You can not understand the why's because they don't really exist. The only way you will ever break through is to have complete control over him. For him to be very scared of the consequences of not doing what you want and for his behaviour to be HIGHLY visible. They hate being outed.
The only exception is in front of people they don't fear/don't need. So they might be very nasty in front of witnesses as a way to show them that he is the boss and to watch their step. And to set a precedent that they shouldnt respect or value you either.
Mostly they will try to make sure you have no one on your side. They might tell you no one likes you, or person x doesn't like you. The more you concede the worse they will get. The more they succeed the worse they will get.
There isn't a way to manage them - the only way is to get out. But equally you can use the law, their arrogance and their bad behaviour against them to get out without being completely screwed over.