My Cheating Wife Never Saw My Rise Coming

Chapter 002

When Demontae strode back into the villa bedroom, Naviya fixed him with a sharp look. "Tell me you didn't off that good-for-nothing. His death would stir up unnecessary trouble."

Demontae waved a dismissive hand. "Dead men tell no tales. What's there to worry about? Even if he's gone, I'd make it disappear without a trace."

Naviya gave a curt nod. She knew it was true—with the Connors' iron grip on Herbshire's underworld, one more corpse meant nothing.

……

Outside the Logan Family villa, Eldric lay motionless on the pavement. Suddenly, a sleek blacked-out RV sporting Aetherdale's elite license plates pulled up to the entrance.

The doors hissed open, revealing a breathtaking young woman flanked by stone-faced bodyguards and a fidgeting assistant. Her radiance was so dazzling that even Herbshire's famed beauty Naviya would seem plain in comparison.

This was Lirael of the Veyra Family—scion of Herbaea's most powerful clan. She'd come to Herbshire with dual purposes: business negotiations... and tracking down Eldric.

"Miss, we've located Eldric," her assistant Nechemya announced as they gathered around the unconscious man.

Lirael's nose wrinkled as she took in Eldric's battered form. *Is Grandpa out of his damn mind?* she thought, staring at the man who looked nothing like the prodigy she'd been promised. *This is who he wants me to marry?*

Still, family debts demanded repayment. "Get him in the RV," she snapped. "We're taking him to the hospital."

Two bodyguards muscled Eldric's limp body toward the vehicle when Nechemya blurted, "Miss, this waste of space isn't worth your time—let alone a hospital visit!"

Lirael's lips curled in frosty disdain. "Since when do you question my orders?"

The assistant blanched. "My deepest apologies, Miss! I overstepped."

With a dismissive flick of her wrist, Lirael boarded the RV. Once inside, she turned to Nechemya. "What's on today's agenda?"

"The Herbshire governor and several high-society patriarchs requested an audience tonight. Should I accept their dinner invitation?"

"Push it to tomorrow morning. I've got more pressing matters."

"Understood, I'll inform them immediately."

After giving her instructions, Lirael studied Eldric and found herself drawn into deep contemplation.

This trip to Herbshire had dual objectives—negotiating business deals on Old Man Veyra's orders, and locating Eldric to bring him back home.

Eldric's father had once saved the Veyra Family, but circumstances forced him to abandon his son. Left to fend for himself, Eldric grew up as a homeless child. When Old Man Veyra learned of this, he vowed to become the young man's guardian—even proposing marriage between him and Lirael.

Investigations revealed Eldric had married into the Logan Family, where only Old Man Logan treated him with basic decency. Worse, Naviya was already filing divorce papers.

So the patriarch decided his granddaughter would wed Eldric instead. True, the man seemed worthless now, but Old Man Veyra knew bloodlines didn't lie.

After all, Eldric's father had been legendary—like father, like son. The old man was certain greatness simmered beneath Eldric's surface.

For weeks, he'd built Eldric up as an exceptional talent unlike any other. Before Lirael's departure, he'd hammered the point home: *Protect him. Bring him to me.*

But the beaten, disheveled wreck before her? This shattered her grandfather's glorious predictions.

——

Eldric floated in a dreamlike state.

His father's apparition spoke of a legacy—forbidden medical arts, cultivation secrets. *Master these,* the vision commanded. *Heal the world. We'll reunite.*

Waking, he understood.

His consciousness now overflowed with arcane wisdom. The agony from Demontae's beating had vanished, replaced by energy pulsing like a coiled serpent in his Dantian.

*Real. All real. Father never left me.*

The truth crashed over him like a storm surge. Hot tears spilled freely down his cheeks.

A lifetime of struggle had taught him he was unwanted. He'd hungered for a mother's embrace, a father's guidance—only to now hold gifts surpassing mortal limits.

This power would rewrite his destiny. And Demontae and Naviya? That backstabbing duo would get what was coming to them.

"You're awake?"Just then, a gentle voice reached Eldric's ears. Turning toward the sound, he found himself staring at a face that could stop hearts—a woman whose beauty made Naviya look plain in comparison. For a moment, he was transfixed by her delicate features, so close he could see the gold flecks in her eyes. It took him several heartbeats to regain his composure.

"Wh-who are you?" he stammered, blinking in confusion. "Where am I?"

She pursed her lips before answering, cocking her head like a curious sparrow. "We found you unconscious by the roadside and brought you here. The strange thing is—" Her brow furrowed. "The doctors say you're perfectly healthy. Yet you're covered in blood. How is that possible?"

Try as she might, Lirael couldn't make sense of it. The discrepancy nagged at her—how could someone with crusted blood still painting his face show no injuries? The whole situation defied logic!