The Underdog Son-in-law

003

He didn't stop. Eyes popped out from sockets as he easily swept slaps into Hen's face until he was completely blooded and almost unrecognizable.

Everyone could not believe their sight, they blinke violently, thinking that it would go away, but instead it remained.

“Is that really Caelen?” They wrt still lost in their vines as they spoke.

The sight was there, and it was true and the useless son-in-law looked completely different like a monster who should not be messed with.

Some were already shrugging away afraid to be caught in the cross fire. Especially for those that had insulted him before.

When Caelen had calmed his rage, he threw him off through the place.

He could barely stand, his bones cracking.

“You cannot let him go scout free, you have to make him pay!” He muttered to the rest of the gang.

At first they were scared but seeing their boss un so much pain, they could not bare the shame.

Even if Caelen could withstand a man that didn't mean he could do the same when multiple ones were fkung at him.

Thet surrounded Caelen from all sides, ready to rip him apart and just then, a car pulled into the place, sleek an edged with grace.

It was black, long-bodied, the kind of vehicle that didn’t announce wealth so much as assume it would be recognized. The engine purred softly, restrained power barely leashed. No plates visible from the front.

The passenger door opened.

A woman stepped out.

She moved without hurry, heels touching the pavement with unforced confidence. The light caught her hair first—dark, smooth, falling neatly over one shoulder. Her coat was simple, tailored perfectly, the fabric expensive enough that it didn’t need branding.

She looked at Caelen as if she had been certain he would still be there.

“Mr. Virex,” she said.

Her voice was calm, measured.

“Seems you have a little discomfort!” He turned to the guards, everyone recognized her.

Just a word and their generation would be wiped out. And how Caalen got to know her was a mystery they could not afford to risk.

They began to step backwards. Hens face reddened….

“What are you all doing, you cannot leave me unavenged!” He cried.

But their life was more valuable. “Sorry boss!” With those words, they ran.

Seraphine tugged a quiet smile, “We should go now!” She muttered

Caelen studied her for a second longer than politeness required as they walked.

“I don’t recall giving out my location,” he replied.

A faint curve touched her lips, he has always been this expressionless so it wasn't a surprise. “You didn’t.”

“My name is Seraphine Vale,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Caelen nodded once. “You’ve found me.” Caelen said flatly.

She glanced briefly toward the building behind him, where the lights still burned bright on the executive floor. Then her attention returned to him.

“I wanted to thank you,” Seraphine said.

“For what?” Caelen asked.

“For saving my father.”

The words landed softly, but they carried weight. Memories flooded into his mind, he had helped so many people in the past before her father, he hardly kept count.

He had fallen sick to the boss and when he was declared dead, through the medicine he learned as one of the five cardinal skills for survival, he easily regenerated the old man.

Caelen’s brow lifted a fraction almost unnoticeable. “That was years ago.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “You disappeared immediately afterward.”

“I didn’t want anything.”

“My father will not rest until I find you and my family isn't one to owe debts! Please accept this!" She nudged and Caelen finally nodded in agreement.

Seraphine reached into the car and retrieved a slender case, dark wood polished to a soft sheen. She opened it carefully, revealing two sealed bottles nestled inside.

“Pre-war Celestine,” she said. “They’re never sold. Only transferred and if they are tk be, they would cost over a billion." 

Caelen accepted the gifts as though it meant nothing. 

Seraphine paused.

"You just got divorced. Sorry about that but there are many fishes in the river I'm sure you can easily get one!" The words slipped.

After he had helped her father that night, Seraphine's curiosity switch had flipped. The man's calm and the way he worked with so much confidence.

She fell in love with him instantly and made her research only to find out he's married. It hurt and she could only handle him, becoming trade partners and mortal Enemies with Lyra over time who knew nothing about the source of the actual contempt.

Caelen's eyes instantly flinched.

"It's on the news! One of the ways I got a hold of you!" She added an Caelen expression eased with something underlying beneath it.

"I'm sure you need somewhere to stay, you could always come over to mine!"

Before Lyra met with Caelen, she was beneath the food chain. The sudden rise, consistent protection, it wasn't her hand work and the only mysterious person by her side was Caelen.

Seraphine tugged her lips. Lyra was indeed stupid to have divorced him and not notice his true potential and this was her chance.

Caelen didn’t answer immediately.

"I will think about the offer and get over to you!" They exchanged contacts and Seraphine was over the moon, even though she expressed calm on the outside.

"Sure, I would be expecting a soonest reply from you!" She seemed to let out an invisible wink and flashed a warm seductive smile that increased the temperature.

His phone vibrated again and Caelen's mood twisted into something grim immediately he saw the caller.

Lyra.

He stared at the screen as it buzzed, once, twice.

Caelen let it ring.

Then, after a moment, he answered.

“What?” he said flatly, his voice stripped of every emotion, almost called.

Lyra paused, he has never answered her call in such a manner before. But she quickly brushed past it, it didn't matter.

Lyra’s voice came sharp and clipped through the line. “Where are you?”

"I'm not under any obligation to tell you that?" Caelen responded flatly.

“That’s not an answer,” she snapped. “You need to be at the family banquet tomorrow night.”

Caelen leaned back slightly against the cold stone wall. 

"I'm not available Lyra, call you boyfriend instead!" He ended the call.