The Rejected Son In-law Is A Dragon

A STRAY DOG IN THE FROST HOUSEHOLD

Aidan Drake woke up before the sun, as always. Not because he wanted to—but because if he didn’t, the Frost family would accuse him of “sleeping like a useless parasite again.”

The mansion was quiet at this hour, the kind of quiet that should’ve felt peaceful, but to Aidan, it felt… heavy. Like the walls themselves were waiting to watch him fail at something.

He slipped out of the small guest room—the one they generously called “the servant’s spare room”, even though no servant actually lived there. Only him. The useless, unwanted son-in-law.

He moved silently downstairs, grabbing the broom from the corner. It didn’t matter that the Frosts had professional cleaners who came during the day. His mother-in-law insisted he “should at least do something to earn his meals.”

As he swept the hallway, the cool morning air brushed against the back of his neck. For a moment, he paused, staring out the window at the rising sun.

Inside his chest, he felt it again—that strange throb, like a heartbeat that wasn’t his. Faint. Distant. But real.

What are you? he thought.

That pulse had followed him his entire life. Doctors called it stress. He called it confusion. It felt… alive. Like something was sleeping inside him, but he didn’t know what.

He sighed and continued sweeping.

Footsteps echoed behind him.

He didn’t have to turn to recognize the sound of Liana Frost. She always walked with a controlled, measured pace—fast, but not rushed. Confident without trying. Aidan’s heart beat a little faster.

She was dressed for work already: a black fitted blouse, straight trousers, hair tied into a low ponytail. Beautiful, even when she wasn’t trying. She looked at him, expression unreadable.

“You’re up early,” she said quietly.

“I always am,” he murmured, eyes lowered.

“I know.” She hesitated. “Just… finish quickly. Mom wakes up soon.”

Aidan nodded. “Alright.”

She disappeared into the kitchen without another word.

He wanted to say something more—something human, something that reminded her they were married, or at least connected by something more than humiliation. But three years of marriage had taught him that silence was safer.

Especially now, when her family was breathing down their necks.

Aidan swept the hallway again and tried not to think about how Liana’s mother looked at him—like he was a stain on the marble floor.

As he bent down to pick a fallen leaf from the indoor plant near the stairs, the throb in his chest pulsed again. This time, harder.

Thump.

He clenched his jaw.

Strange warmth spread through him, sharp and quick, like a burst of energy. Then it vanished.

He brushed it off and continued cleaning.

---

By the time the Frost family gathered for breakfast, Aidan was standing by the dining room door like a quiet shadow.

“Bring the dishes,” Liana’s mother snapped the moment he stepped inside. Miranda Frost didn’t even look at him. “And try not to drop anything this time. God forbid you ruin another plate. Those cost more than your life.”

Aidan didn’t respond. He never did. Responding only made things worse.

He carried the food out, placing each dish on the table carefully.

Miranda Frost lifted her cup of tea, pinky raised. “Honestly, Liana, I still can’t believe you’re stuck with this stray dog. What did we do to deserve this shame?”

Aidan paused for half a second.

Liana stiffened. “Mom… please.”

“What? Did I lie?” Miranda scoffed. “Look at him. The Frosts took him in out of pity, and this is how he repays us. Existing uselessly.”

Liana’s grandmother, the old matriarch, let out a cold hum. “Three years. Three years, and he still hasn’t proven any worth. Not a promotion, not a business, not even a friend.”

Aidan placed a final dish on the table.

“Grandma,” he said softly, “if there’s anything else—”

“Don’t speak when your elders are talking!” Miranda snapped.

He lowered his head.

Liana bit her lip, guilt flickering across her face. “Mom, he—”

“Quiet,” the old woman said. “Eat.”

Aidan stepped back and watched them begin their meal. He wasn’t allowed to sit with them. He never had been.

Halfway through breakfast, Liana’s cousin, Derek, arrived—loud, smug, and always ready with a fresh insult.

“Morning!” Derek announced, walking in with the confidence of a man who believed the world should kneel for him. His eyes landed on Aidan. A smirk formed. “Oh look, the Frost family’s pet servant is awake.”

Aidan tightened his grip on the tray. Derek was the worst of them—entitled, cruel, and obsessed with reminding Aidan he didn’t belong here.

“So, Aidan,” Derek continued, leaning against a chair, “heard the management at the repair shop still won’t hire you permanently. Even they don’t want you?”

He laughed.

The Frosts chuckled.

Aidan’s jaw clenched, but he remained silent.

Liana, unable to take it anymore, pushed her chair back. “That’s enough, Derek.”

“Why? It’s true,” Derek said. “He’s been jobless for years. And still eating food bought with Frost money. Shouldn’t we at least get loyalty points from him or something?”

Miranda snickered. “Loyalty points? From him? He can’t even afford to get loyalty from a stray cat.”

Aidan lowered his eyes.

The throb in his chest pulsed again. Harder this time. Like a warning.

Thump… thump… thump.

His head felt warm. His fingertips tingled.

He inhaled sharply.

Liana noticed. “Aidan? Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Fine.”

Miranda scoffed. “Probably starving. Stray dogs eat scraps, after all.”

Derek burst into laughter.

The humiliation was thick enough to choke on.

Aidan swallowed hard and remained still.

---

After breakfast, the Frosts prepared to leave for the Frost Corporation’s charity gala.

Liana appeared from upstairs, grabbing her handbag. She seemed hesitant, casting a glance at Aidan.

“Will you be okay alone?” she asked.

Her voice was soft—so different from the cold tone she used in front of her family.

Aidan nodded. “Of course.”

“Don’t… take anything mom said too seriously,” she whispered.

He forced a small smile. “I don’t.”

But he did. Every word. Every insult. Every dismissal.

She opened her mouth to say more, but Miranda’s voice echoed from the car outside.

“Liana! Leave the stray and hurry up!”

Liana flinched, sighed, and rushed out the door.

Aidan watched the family leave. The gate closed behind them.

Silence finally filled the mansion.

He leaned against the door, exhaling deeply, trying to push down the ache building inside him.

The humiliation. The exhaustion. The constant throb in his chest that refused to leave him alone.

He pressed a hand to his sternum.

What is wrong with me today?

His pulse hammered unnaturally fast.

The feeling surged again—the strange heartbeat inside him, stronger than ever.

Thump.

Thump.

THUMP.

Heat exploded beneath his skin. His vision blurred.

He stumbled toward the kitchen, grabbing the countertop for support.

“Not… again…”

His hands trembled violently.

A strange image flashed in his mind—golden eyes, scales, wings stretching across a red sky.

He gasped.

Then everything tilted.

His knees buckled. He gripped the counter harder.

It’s happening again. Stronger. Why now?

He shut his eyes, breathing hard. The air felt hot—too hot.

A whisper rippled through his mind.

Ancient. Deep. Inhuman.

“Awaken…”

Aidan froze.

His heart lurched.

“What—?”

The voice echoed again, clearer this time:

“Awaken… my King…”

Aidan collapsed to the floor, a sharp cry tearing from his throat as pain ripped through his chest like a burning chain.

The tiles beneath him glowed faintly—not with light, but with heat radiating from his skin.

He clawed at the ground, breath shaking.

“What’s… happening… to me?”

His vision flickered.

The heartbeat inside him thundered now, so strong it drowned out everything else.

Booom—booom—boooom.

Aidan’s pupils constricted.

His veins glowed faintly gold.

A crackling sound filled the air.

Then—

A HOLLOW, DEEP ROAR SHOOK HIS MIND.

Not human. Not earthly.

A dragon’s roar.

Aidan’s eyes snapped open—glowing golden for a fraction of a second.

Then he slumped forward, unconscious.

---

The mansion was silent again.

But something inside Aidan wasn’t.

On the kitchen floor, his body twitched as faint, shimmering gold scales flickered across his forearms—only for a second before fading

.

The sealed power inside him… had awakened the first spark.

Far away, in a forest deep beyond the city, a massive shadow stirred—opening reptilian eyes of molten gold.

A voice rumbled through the air:

“The Dragon King’s pulse… has returned.”