Revenge on My Ex Husband

Chapter 13

Lora’s POV

The moment Bruno stepped into the room, the air changed. Not loudly, not suddenly but just enough for instinct to notice.

He stood near the doorway in his usual dark suit, composed as ever, a file resting neatly against his palm. The dim light from the fireplace caught briefly against the edges of the black folder before disappearing again.

“Sir,” Bruno said respectfully.

Drake turned slightly from the window.

For some reason, my eyes drifted to the file too. I didn’t know what it was, but something about the way Drake looked at me for a few seconds before looking away unsettled me.

The room had only just settled after the doctor left. The silence between Drake and I had barely softened when Bruno appeared carrying paperwork like it mattered enough to interrupt.

“Here’s the folder sir.” Bruno said to Drake who was now looking at him.

For a second, I assumed they belonged to Mr. Grayson. Or maybe Drake himself. Wealthy families like this always seemed buried beneath confidential files and private doctors.

But then Bruno’s eyes flicked toward me, briefly. But it was enough to stir something in me.

A cold sensation slipped quietly down my spine.

Drake extended his hand calmly and Bruno passed him the folder without another word.

Neither of them looked particularly alarmed. That should have reassured me, instead, it made me more uneasy.

Drake glanced down at the folder once before setting it on the table beside him unopened.

“You can leave,” he said.

Bruno nodded once, but hesitated slightly before stepping back.

“There’s one more thing, sir.”

Drake’s gaze lifted.

Bruno continued carefully. “One of the downstairs maids reported seeing Miss Chloe near the east staircase shortly before Mrs. Grayson’s fall.”

Silence settled instantly.

Drake didn’t move. But something in his face changed so subtly it almost frightened me more because of how controlled it was.

“And?” he asked quietly.

Bruno’s expression remained neutral.

“Part of the hallway security footage was erased approximately twenty minutes before the incident.”

My breath caught.

“What?” The word escaped before I could stop it.

Bruno finally looked directly at me. “The cameras near the staircase stopped recording temporarily.”

I stared at him, stunned.

“No…” I whispered instinctively. “Maybe it malfunctioned.”

Drake’s eyes shifted slowly toward me. The look in them made my chest tighten.

“You think that’s a coincidence?”

I swallowed.

The truth was… I didn’t know what to think.

Ever since I stepped into this house, I had felt it. Something cold beneath the polished floors and expensive smiles. Still, hearing it spoken aloud made everything feel suddenly real.

“I didn’t see anyone push me,” I said quietly.

“No,” Drake replied evenly. “But you also didn’t see what caught your heel.”

The memory flashed violently through my mind.

The sharp tug.

The sudden loss of balance.

The terrifying drop.

My fingers tightened instinctively against the blanket.

Drake noticed immediately.

Of course he did, he always noticed.

“Double the security on this floor,” he told Bruno calmly. “Nobody enters without my approval.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Chloe?”

Drake took a brief pause, and when his spoke, his voice became colder.

“Keep an eye on her.”

Bruno nodded once before leaving the room quietly behind him.

The door clicked shut and silence returned again. Only this time, it felt heavier.

Drake picked up the medical file at last.

I tried not to pay attention, tried not to care. But my eyes kept drifting back toward it anyway.

The sound of paper turning seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet room.

My pulse slowed slightly when I realized his expression wasn’t changing.

There was no shock, no anger, no confrontation.

Which meant—

Relief loosened something tight inside my chest before I could stop it.

And unfortunately, Drake noticed that too.

His eyes lifted from the file slowly.

“What?” I asked carefully.

For a moment, he didn’t answer. Then his gaze lowered briefly toward the folder before returning to me again.

“You look relieved, is there something you want to tell me?”

My throat tightened.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know what’s in what you’re holding.”

“That’s interesting.” His tone remained calm. “I didn’t say it has to do with what I’m holding.”

I looked away first.

The mattress shifted slightly beneath his weight. When I looked back again, he had moved closer.

Not enough to crowd me, just enough to make my breathing feel uneven.

Without saying anything, he reached toward the small tray beside the bed where the ointment and bandages had been left earlier.

“You don’t have to do that,” I murmured softly.

“I know.”

The answer came easily like that wasn’t the point.

His fingers brushed lightly against the edge of my shirt before lifting the fabric carefully just above the bandage.

Heat crawled slowly up my neck. Not because of the exposed skin, but because of how gentle he was being.

It would have been easier if Drake were cold all the time. Easier if he acted like this marriage truly meant nothing.

But moments like this confused everything.

His touch remained steady as he reapplied the ointment carefully along the bruised skin near my waist.

I stared stubbornly toward the fireplace instead.

“You bruise easily,” he said quietly after a moment.

A soft laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “I didn’t realize you were an expert.”

One corner of his mouth moved faintly.

Silence settled again, softer this time.

Outside, rain had started falling lightly against the windows, the sound blending quietly with the crackling fire.

Drake adjusted the fresh bandage carefully before his hand stilled briefly against my side.

Then his eyes lowered, not to the bruise.

Lower.

My heartbeat stumbled.

“You do that a lot,” he said quietly.

I frowned slightly. “Do what?”

His gaze lifted back to mine slowly.

“Protect yourself there first.”

My breath caught. For one terrifying second, I forgot how to speak.

Then I forced a small shrug.

“I fell down a staircase. Instinct exists.”

His eyes stayed on me. Like he was trying to read every thought moving behind my face.

The silence stretched long enough to become dangerous.

“This arrangement shouldn’t concern you this much anyway,” I said softly.

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

The room became very quiet after that.

I immediately regretted saying it. Not because it wasn’t true.

Because something in Drake’s expression changed when he heard it.

He leaned back slightly, one hand resting against his knee as he watched me carefully.

“This arrangement?” he repeated calmly.

I swallowed. “We both know what this marriage is.”

Something unreadable flickered across his face and disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.

Outside, thunder rolled softly through the night.

For several long seconds, he said nothing at all. And somehow, that silence affected me more than anger would have.

Finally, he spoke.

“Temporary things don’t usually keep me awake.”

The words settled heavily into the room.

I looked at him before I could stop myself. I noticed the exhaustion beneath his composure, saw his loosened tie hanging carelessly around his collar.

Something shifted painfully inside my chest.

I looked away immediately. This was exactly what I couldn’t allow.

The room fell silent again after that, but it no longer felt cold.

Hours later, the mansion had gone completely quiet.

I stood alone inside the bathroom, staring at my reflection beneath the soft golden lights.

I looked exhausted, pale and overwhelmed.

Slowly, my hand drifted downward, resting lightly against my stomach.

My eyes closed briefly.

“I don’t know how much longer I can hide you,” I whispered shakily.

The words barely left my mouth before another voice answered behind me.

“Hide who?”