The Lost Dragon King

Chapter 2

An old ceiling fan was humming softly as Elijah’s heavy eyelids fluttered open. He groaned softly, as sensation returned to his body, so did the pain. 

​It felt as if every single bone in his body was first shattered into tiny pieces, and then loosely put back together. Meanwhile, his head was a different story, throbbing like a hammer was banging against his skull.

​Where was he? Was he dead? Was this heaven... or hell?

​He blinked a few times, trying to clear his blurred vision. The bright sunlight coming through through a thin curtain hurt his eyes. He realized he was lying on a soft mattress inside a modest, small apartment, filled with the smell of strong antiseptic and herbal medicine.

​For five whole days, Elijah Wilson had been trapped in an endless nightmare, swinging in and out of consciousness. He remembered brief flashes of feverish dreams, cold towels on his forehead, and the taste of bitter medicine being poured into his mouth. 

But right now, his mind was finally clearing up properly.

​“You’re awake!”

​A voice echoed from the corner of the room.

​Elijah slowly turned his head, wincing from the sudden strain on his neck. A stern-faced older man in his late fifties was sitting on a wooden chair nearby. The man had sharp gray eyes, and deep wrinkles around his forehead. He looked like someone who was used to giving orders to hundreds of people.

​However, the moment the old man’s eyes fell upon Elijah, his stern demeanor completely vanished! His face instantly cracked into a wide, tearful smile full of pure relief.

​He immediately stood up and rushed to the side of the bed.

​“Careful, please Master! You shouldn’t make any abrupt movements!”

He urged in an extremely respectful and anxious voice as he carefully placed his hands under Elijah’s back to support him while trying to sit up.

​“Your injuries are severe, Master. Please, rest! And once you recover completely, we will go—”

​Elijah was completely disoriented. His brain was spinning with a million questions, and the word 'Master' made no sense to him at all. He pulled away slightly, his voice raspy and broken.

​“Who are you?! Where am I? Why are you calling me that?”

​Before he could respond, the light wooden door of the room creaked open. A young woman walked inside holding a tray with a bowl of warm soup and some bandage rolls. She had sharp, intelligent eyes, dark hair tied in a neat ponytail, and carried herself gracefully.

​Seeing Elijah sitting up, she set the tray down on a side table.

​“You shouldn’t push yourself. We found you lying near the alley behind a chinese restaurant five days ago. You were critically injured and bleeding out, so we brought you here to this apartment near the city centre to treat your wounds.”

​Restaurant... Alley... Beating... Kathy!

​The words triggered a massive explosion of memories inside Elijah’s head.

​The image of Kathy throwing the divorce papers on the table flashed before his eyes. The mocking laughter of Jordan Langford, and the brutal kicks into his ribs. He suddenly remembered the utter disgrace of being fired like a dog!

​The realization hit him like a lightning bolt, snapping him out of his confusion and pain.

​Divorce! Kathy wanted a divorce!

​Panic rushed through his veins, momentarily overcoming the physical pain. His heart pounded wildly against his ribs. No, no, no! He couldn't let his marriage end like this! He had to explain things to her. He had to tell her that he did everything out of love!

​Before either of the two strangers could explain anything further or tell him that he was still far too weak to walk, Elijah wildly threw the blanket aside!

​He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and forced himself to stand up. A wave of dizziness nearly knocked him back down, but he gritted his teeth, holding onto the wall for support.

​“Master, wait! What are you doing?!” 

Without any reply, Elijah pushed past Mia and ran straight out of the apartment. He didn't care that he was wearing a simple hospital gown and the first pair of oversized plastic slippers he could find near the door. 

His knees were trembling, every step felt like walking on broken glass. But the only thing on his mind was Kathy.

Knowing Kathy's habits like the back of his hand, he knew exactly where she would be. Whenever she got upset with him or wanted to throw a tantrum, she always went straight to the Hawkins family residence!

​Half an hour later, Elijah finally arrived at the grand iron gates of the Hawkins family mansion. He was severely out of breath, blood was seeping through the fresh bandages under his clothes, but he limped steadily toward the main entrance.

​“Stop right there!” 

The security guard barked, stepping into Elijah’s path. “Who let a beggar like you in here? Get lost before I beat you up!”

​“Please! I am Elijah! I am Kathy’s husband!” Elijah yelled, trying to push past the guard. “Kathy! Kathy, please come out! Let me talk to you! Kathy!!”

​Elijah began to shout at the top of his lungs, as he pounded his fists against the metal bars of the gate.

​“Kathy! Please! Give me one chance to explain! Kathy!!”

​“Shut up, you useless loser!”

​A voice rang out from the grand porch of the house.

​Elijah looked up to see the front doors open, but instead of his loving wife rushing out to see if he was alright, her whole family stepped out onto the porch, greeting Elijah with cold, unfriendly glares. 

​Kathy’s father, Richard Hawkins, stepped forward first. Beside him was Kathy’s mother, and her younger siblings, giving him shocked and disgusted looks on his bruised face and messy attire. 

​Richard marched down the steps, ​“Stop making a scene in front of my house, you worthless dog! Kathy is not here! Stop barking like a stray animal before I call the police and have you thrown into a cell forever!”

​Elijah gripped the iron gate tightly, his voice trembling with desperation.

​“Father-in-law... please! Please just let me meet her once!” Elijah begged, swallowing his pride completely. “She... she said she was divorcing me. Please, just give me five minutes to talk to her! I love her! I did everything for her. You know how hard I worked—”

​“Father-in-law? Who the hell is your father-in-law? Don't you dare insult me with that title!” 

Richard cut him off. ​Instead of showing even a single drop of sympathy for Elijah’s battered state and bloody bandages, the whole family erupted into taunts and insults. 

​Kathy’s mother stepped forward, her hands resting on her hips as she scoffed loudly.

​“Hah! Look at this pathetic beggar! Did you really think our precious Kathy would stay tied to a loser like you for her whole life? We have been praying day and night for our daughter to get some common sense and dump you! We prayed for years for her to leave a useless waiter who couldn't even buy her a decent dress! And thank God, it finally happened now.”

​“You claimed you loved her?” Kathy’s brother joined in. “Your so-called love couldn't even buy her a pair of designer shoes. You ruined her youth, you piece of trash! A parasite like you should be ashamed to even stand in front of our house!”

​Every single word was like a poisoned dagger stabbing straight into Elijah’s heart. He felt his chest burning with shame, but his stubborn heart refused to give up on his love.

​“No... no! You’re wrong!” Elijah shouted back, his tears finally overflowing and rolling down his bruised cheeks. “We love each other! We are legally married! We aren't divorced till now, I didn't sign the papers. Do you hear me?! I DID NOT SIGN THEM!”

​“Oh, really? Is that so?”

​An icy voice suddenly interrupted his desperate shouts. ​Elijah’s heart skipped a beat.

He turned around, and through the gate, Kathy Hawkins stepped in, wearing a stunning red designer dress, her hair beautifully styled, looking like a million bucks. 

She didn't look like a woman whose husband had been missing for five days. If anything, she looked happier and radiant!

​And right next to her, holding her waist tightly, was none other than Jordan Langford!

​Kathy looked at Elijah’s miserable, wounded state with disgust, as if looking at a squashed bug.

​“That’s exactly why I brought the papers with me today, I knew a shameless parasite like you would come looking for me here, crying like a baby.”

​Elijah’s jaw dropped. “Kathy... you...”

Jordan chose that moment to speak, with an arrogant grin plastered on his face.

​“Well, well, well! Look who survived! I am really, really surprised you even recovered from that night, Elijah! I honestly thought they buried your dead body somewhere in the garbage dump. Listen you piece of trash: you’re going to take this pen right now and sign these divorce papers without any delay! Or else...”

​Jordan clenched his fist, making his knuckles crack loudly.

​“Or else, I swear to God… you'll end up in a state ten times worse than that day!”