Infidelity - Chapter 3

Lavina – POV

I took a few deep breaths. The door to my cabin creaked open, revealing Nancy. She ushered in my ex-husband, Keenan, who was beaming. Every fiber of my being wanted to cringe at the sight of him; the pain and bitterness he left me with still felt fresh. As soon as he entered, Nancy quietly exited the room. Keenan took a seat across from me.

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"How have you been?" Keenan responded.

"Does it matter?" I asked, holding his gaze. His displeasure was evident, but the coldness in his attitude didn't bother me as much anymore. I reminded myself that while I once cared deeply when we were together, those feelings were now in the past.

"I came to give you this," Keenan said, handing me an envelope. Hesitantly, I opened it and found a wedding invitation. To my shock, it announced Keenan's upcoming marriage to Veronica.

"Did you come to gauge my reaction?" I asked icily. "Or are you so thoughtless as to invite your ex-wife to your wedding? Do you want to put your new bride in an awkward position?"

Keenan looked taken aback, probably expecting tears or an emotional outburst from me. But I had always suspected something was between him and Veronica, his once-secretary. This invitation-only confirmed my suspicions.

"Veronica is fine with you attending the wedding. Despite how our relationship ended, I want us to be on speaking terms," Keenan began. He handed me a set of keys and some papers. "This is your portion of the alimony you requested. I had initially resisted, but I've since transferred the property to your name."

"So, is this your way of buying my silence? Are you worried the Dragon higher-ups will question whether you were unfaithful during our marriage? After all, you're marrying Veronica just a month after we broke our bond," I said, a hint of mockery in my tone.

Keenan's face tightened. "I don't have hidden agendas. I want us to be on good terms. That property was your favorite, and although I was against giving it to you during our divorce proceedings, I thought it might serve as a gesture of peace between us." His voice was calm, but I detected the undercurrent of annoyance.

"Take your 'peace offering' and leave. I have plenty of properties. I only wanted that mansion because it held special memories for us, but not anymore. Now, it would just be a place filled with bad memories for me," I said, my voice dripping with coldness. Keenan sighed, clearly frustrated.

"I should go. Conversations with you always end this way. You're just as stubborn as ever," Keenan remarked.

"Don't you dare blame me, Keenan. You were committed until you found out I couldn't bear children. After that, you started distancing yourself, spending more time with Veronica. Maybe you even shared a bed with her. I don't have evidence, but you've always been such a jerk," I fired back.

"At least she's pregnant with my child, unlike you," he spat out disdainfully. He stormed out, and before I could react, fury took over. In anger, I smashed the table and hurled objects around the room.

"Damn him," I muttered through gritted teeth, tears streaming down my face. Just then, Nancy rushed in, wrapping her arms around me to offer comfort.

"Lavina, try to calm down," she whispered. "I've called Alice. She's on her way to take you home." Nancy had always been there for me. Being Dragon shifters living in the human realm, both of us created a unique bond. She was also close friends with Alice, which came in handy at times like these.

"Lavina, you're injured, you're bleeding!" Nancy exclaimed, examining my hand. "Can you use your healing magic to seal it up?" I nodded, channeling the magic to mend the cut, even though the innate dragon healing process could be slow.

"What on earth happened here?" Alice entered and was taken aback by the state of my office.

"Lavina, we need to get you home," Alice urged, trying to coax me. "The staff outside are alarmed. They're anxious to know what's going on here." Her gaze swept over the disarray, clearly understanding that the commotion must have startled everyone in the office.

"Keenan cheated on me, Alice. I always had my suspicions but never had proof until today. He came here with a wedding invitation," I said bitterly. "His secretary, Veronica, is pregnant with his child, and he's marrying her." Both Nancy and Alice looked stunned.

"That piece of crap," Alice fumed. "I'll make sure the Dragon Court hears about this. They might penalize him for betraying you."

"He came to transfer a property to my name. But there's no concrete evidence. And even if I go to the Dragon Court, it's pointless. Their laws permit a dragon to mate with another if their partner can't bear children," I replied, anger evident in my voice. "I don't want anything to do with him anymore."

"Let me take you home," Alice offered softly.

"Drive me to my penthouse. I can handle being by myself," I asserted.

"I should stay with you for a while," Alice insisted.

"Alice, please understand, I need some solitude right now," I replied. Though Alice looked concerned, she drove me to my apartment. I settled onto my couch, and while Alice lingered for a few more hours, I eventually persuaded her to leave. Once alone, I changed into more comfortable attire and drowned my sorrows in ice cream, binge-watching crime series. Thoughts of revenge on Keenan, even fantasies of hurting him, crossed my mind. However, I knew I couldn't act on those impulses without breaking the law.

The doorbell rang unexpectedly. Glancing at the clock, I realized how late it was. I opened the door to find a man in a hoodie. Before I could react, his hand glowed with magic, and he moved with inhuman speed, choking me. I desperately tried to counteract with my magic but to no avail.

"Lavi!" A familiar voice cried out. In an instant, the assailant in the black hoodie vanished from my sight, and I could finally breathe again, gasping and coughing. The hooded man quickly activated some sort of teleportation and vanished. I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder and turned to find...