Revenge on My Ex Husband

Chapter 15

Lora’s POV

Sleep never truly came throughout the night.

Even after the storm faded into silence and the mansion settled into stillness around us, my mind refused to rest. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Chloe’s face again, her smile and those sharp eyes that always seemed to know more than they should.

And then there was Drake.

The way he looked at me inside the bathroom kept replaying itself in my head in ways I did not know how to untangle.

By morning, exhaustion sat heavily beneath my skin.

Soft sunlight spilled across the bedroom curtains when I finally opened my eyes properly. The space beside me was already empty.

I stared at it for a moment longer than necessary.

The faint scent of his cologne still lingered against the sheets.

Something about that realization unsettled me far more than it should have.

I pushed myself upright slowly before reaching for the robe folded neatly at the edge of the bed. The mansion felt strangely quiet again as I stepped into the hallway a short while later.

I had barely reached the staircase when Vivian’s voice floated smoothly through the dining area below.

“There she is.”

My steps slowed instinctively.

Vivian stood near the dining table dressed elegantly in cream silk, a teacup resting lightly between her fingers while two maids moved around quietly behind her. Chloe sat nearby scrolling through her phone without interest.

For some reason, seeing them together always made me feel like I was walking into something dangerous disguised as normalcy.

“Good morning,” I said politely as I approached.

Vivian smiled warmly, beautifully. It still never reached her eyes.

“You should be resting after what happened yesterday,” she said softly.

“I’m alright.”

“Are you?” Chloe asked without looking up. “That fall looked painful.”

The memory flashed unpleasantly through my chest but I ignored it.

Before I could respond, footsteps sounded behind me.

Drake.

I felt his presence before I even turned around. His gaze landed on me almost immediately, calm and unreadable in that way that always made it impossible to know what he was thinking.

“You should’ve eaten before coming downstairs,” he said.

The familiarity in his tone caught me off guard but so did the way Vivian noticed it instantly.

I noticed something faint shift behind her smile before disappearing again.

“I was actually just telling Lora about lunch,” Vivian said smoothly. “Doctor Mark will be joining us today.”

Drake’s expression remained unchanged. “Why?”

Vivian lifted one delicate shoulder lightly. “Your father invited him. Apparently they have things to discuss.”

At the mention of William, my eyes drifted briefly toward the head of the table where he sat quietly reading through documents.

Unlike everyone else in this house, William did not make me feel studied. When he noticed me looking, he gave a small nod.

“Good morning, Lora.”

A strange warmth touched my chest.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Sit,” Drake said calmly, pulling out the chair beside him.

The simple gesture should not have affected me. But somehow it did.

I sat quietly while a maid immediately moved forward to serve breakfast.

The atmosphere around the table remained deceptively calm after that. Soft conversation drifted between Vivian and William while Chloe occasionally responded with bored disinterest.

Yet beneath it all, tension lingered quietly beneath my skin. Like it was waiting for something unpleasant to happen.

And somehow, I was right. It happened halfway through breakfast.

William had just mentioned an upcoming charity gala when Chloe suddenly laughed softly to herself.

The sound immediately drew attention.

“What is it?” Vivian asked lightly.

Chloe lifted her coffee cup carelessly before finally looking at me.

“Nothing serious,” she said. “I was just thinking that Lora adapts quickly.”

The table fell quiet and I felt Drake’s gaze shift slightly beside me.

Chloe smiled.

“For someone who came from nothing, I mean.”

The words landed gently on the surface. But underneath them sat something sharp enough to cut.

Heat rose slowly into my chest. I didn’t feel embarrassed or angry, I just felt exhausted.

Because no matter how calmly she said it, people like Chloe always found ways to remind others where they believed they belonged.

Vivian sighed softly. “Chloe.”

“What?” she asked innocently. “It was a compliment.”

Silence followed. Then Drake placed his utensils down carefully against the table.

The sound was quiet. Still, it somehow felt louder than Chloe’s insult.

“If you’re going to insult my wife,” he said calmly, “at least have the confidence to say it directly.”

The air changed instantly and Chloe’s smile faltered for the first time.

I watched quietly as Vivian looked toward Drake slowly, William lowered the papers in his hands, even the servants seemed to freeze.

Chloe let out a small laugh after a second too long. “You’re overreacting.”

“No,” Drake replied evenly. “You’re being disrespectful.”

Something dangerous settled quietly beneath his voice then.

The kind that made people nervous because it never needed volume to feel threatening.

Chloe stared at him. “You’re defending her?”

Drake did not even hesitate. “She’s my wife.”

Four simple words. Yet the moment they left his mouth, something changed around the entire table.

Vivian’s fingers tightened faintly around her teacup.

I noticed because I had started paying attention to the smallest changes around her.

And for the first time since entering this mansion, the warmth in her expression slipped completely, just for a second.

An uncomfortable silence settled afterward.

Chloe looked away first, clearly irritated now, while Vivian smoothly redirected the conversation toward William as though nothing had happened.

But the atmosphere never recovered.

The rest of breakfast passed carefully after that.

When the meal finally ended, William excused himself first while Chloe disappeared upstairs without another word.

Vivian remained seated, watching like there was something she was hoping to see.

Drake stood beside me, adjusting the sleeve of his watch calmly before his gaze shifted toward me.

“You barely ate again.”

I looked down briefly. “I wasn’t very hungry.”

“You need to stop saying that like it’s convincing.”

Despite myself, I almost smiled.

Then Vivian spoke again. “You’ve become attentive very quickly.”

Her tone sounded light and pleasant but something beneath it made my chest tighten.

Drake’s expression hardened slightly. “Is there a problem with that?”

Vivian held his gaze for a moment too long before smiling again.

“Of course not,” she said softly. “I just think it’s interesting.”

Silence lingered briefly.

Then Drake turned toward me.

“Come upstairs with me.”

I hesitated only for a second before following him away from the dining room.

But even as we walked toward the staircase, I could still feel Vivian watching us.

And somehow, that feeling stayed with me long after we disappeared from sight.

Because when I glanced back once before turning the corner, I realized something that made unease settle heavily inside my chest.

Vivian was no longer smiling, her eyes were following us with a stillness that made my chest tighten.