Revenge on My Ex Husband

Chapter 16

Drake’s POV

The mansion had gone quiet by the time I brought Lora back upstairs.

Not truly quiet because this house never was. There were always footsteps somewhere in the distance. The soft clinking of glasses from the lower floor. Doors opening and closing quietly like secrets being passed from one corridor to another.

But up here, the silence felt different.

Lora walked beside me slowly, one hand brushing lightly against the railing as we moved through the hallway. She had barely touched her food downstairs after what happened with Chloe and the tension at the table had lingered long after dinner ended.

I unlocked the bedroom door and pushed it open for her.

“You should sit,” I said calmly.

“I’m not made of glass.”

Her voice carried exhaustion beneath the softness.

Still, she sat at the edge of the bed anyway.

Weirdly, that sight did something strange to me.

Maybe it was because she looked too small against the massive bed behind her. Or maybe it was because this room had started feeling different since she arrived in it.

Somehow, the room had stopped feeling empty since she arrived in it.

I loosened the cuffs of my sleeves before walking toward the cabinet near the fireplace where the first aid supplies had been left earlier.

“You reopened the bruise downstairs,” I said.

“I’m fine.”

“You keep saying that.”

She looked away quietly.

I returned to her side with the antiseptic and fresh bandages. For a moment, she simply watched me like she still had not gotten used to this version of me.

Truthfully, neither had I.

“Drake,” she murmured softly as I sat beside her. “You really do not have to keep doing this yourself.”

“I know.”

The answer came easily. Because that was never the issue.

I reached carefully for the edge of her dress near her side injury. Her breathing slowed slightly the moment my fingers brushed against her skin.

A small, almost invisible reaction, but I noticed it anyway.

Lora always reacted quietly to things. Like she had trained herself not to take up space.

The thought irritated me more than it should have.

“You’re tense again,” I said.

“That usually happens when someone is trying to remove my clothing.”

Despite the exhaustion in her voice, the comment pulled something dangerously close to amusement from me.

“Is that what this is?”

Her cheeks warmed faintly.

The room smelled faintly of rain and lavender from whatever perfume she used.

I lifted the fabric just enough to expose the bandage along her side. I noticed the bruising had darkened slightly.

My jaw tightened.

“She could have seriously injured you,” I said quietly.

Lora’s gaze lowered.

“We do not know for sure that Chloe caused it.” She said.

“She threatened you before it happened.”

“She also enjoys provoking people.”

“That does not make her harmless.” I retorted.

Silence settled briefly between us.

I cleaned the wound carefully while she stared toward the fireplace, avoiding my eyes now.

“You defended me at breakfast,” she said softly after a moment.

The words made my hand pause briefly against her skin.

“She insulted my wife at my table.”

Something unreadable crossed her expression at the word wife, but I couldn’t place what it was.

“You know,” she murmured faintly, “sometimes I forget this marriage is temporary.”

The room became very still after that.

My gaze lifted slowly to hers.

She seemed to realize what she said immediately because her eyes shifted away first.

“I did not mean it like that,” she added quietly.

But I barely heard the explanation. Because the truth was, hearing her say temporary irritated me more every single time.

I secured the fresh bandage before lowering the fabric carefully back into place.

“You should rest,” I said evenly.

“You sound tired.” She replied.

“I am tired.”

A soft smile touched her lips then. Small and fleeting.

“You finally admitted something human.”

Before I could answer, her phone vibrated against the bedside table.

Lora frowned slightly before reaching for it.

The moment she read the message, something in her expression shifted. Unease was evident on her face.

“What is it?” I asked.

She hesitated briefly before looking back at me.

“Vivian wants to see me downstairs.”

My expression darkened immediately.

“For what?”

“She did not say.”

Of course she did not.

I held out my hand. “Give me the phone.”

Lora blinked once. “What?”

“The phone.”

Slowly, she handed it over.

My eyes scanned the message.

Come downstairs for a moment. I would like to speak with you privately.

Nothing threatening or obvious and that was exactly how Vivian operated.

“I’ll go with you,” I said calmly.

“That’s unnecessary.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Lora studied my face carefully then sighed softly like she already knew arguing would change nothing.

“Fine.”

She stood slowly from the bed.

The moment she did, another voice suddenly spoke from the doorway.

“That won’t be necessary.”

Both our heads turned immediately.

Vivian stood near the open door. I had not even heard her enter.

Her eyes moved between us once…..to Lora standing close beside me and to my hand that was still resting lightly against Lora’s waist from where I had helped her up.

Then back to my face.

Her smile remained perfectly composed.

But I knew Vivian too well. And right now, beneath that elegant expression, she was furious.

“I didn’t realize I was interrupting something,” she said softly.

Lora immediately stepped back slightly.

The movement did not escape Vivian’s attention. Neither did my reaction to it.

“I only came because Lora didn’t answer quickly enough,” Vivian continued smoothly. “I thought perhaps she wasn’t anywhere close to her phone.”

“She was resting,” I replied evenly.

Vivian’s gaze lingered on me for a second too long.

Then she smiled again. “That’s sweet.”

The word sounded wrong coming from her mouth.

Lora glanced between us quietly, probably sensing the shift in atmosphere without fully understanding it.

Vivian walked further into the room slowly, graceful as always.

“You seem very attentive lately, Drake.”

I held her gaze calmly. “She’s my wife.”

Something cold flickered behind Vivian’s eyes and it was gone almost instantly but not before I caught it.

“Yes,” she said softly. “I can see that.”

Lora shifted slightly beside me. “You wanted to see me?”

Vivian’s attention returned to her instantly, warmth slipping effortlessly back into her expression.

“I did,” she said gently. “Wait for me downstairs, I won’t be long.”

Lora hesitated briefly before leaving the room quietly behind her.

Vivian’s eyes drifted toward me again, then slowly downward toward the discarded bandages resting beside me on the bed.

Understanding settled quietly across her face.

And suddenly, I knew exactly what she was thinking. The realization irritated me instantly.

Vivian smiled faintly.

“You should be careful, Drake.”

My expression hardened slightly. “About what?”

Her gaze held mine steadily.

“Some habits become dangerous when repeated too often.”

The room fell completely silent after that. Then without another word, Vivian turned and walked toward the door. But right before stepping out, she stopped.

And without looking back, she said quietly,

“You’re starting to look at her the same way your father once looked at your mother.”

Then she walked away, leaving the tension behind her hanging thick enough to suffocate.