The Dragon Lord's Unwanted Doctor Wife

Florence POV:

"I said," I spat, my voice ringing clear and defiant across the silent courtyard, "if you dare touch my son again, you will regret it. Every. Single. Word."

Caelus let out a harsh, grating laugh, releasing my chin to loom over me. "Regret it? You? A magicless whore who can't even protect her own pathetic hide? What will you do, bleed on me?"

Aethan trembled in my arms, but his little voice pierced the tension. "Leave my mommy alone! You're a monster!"

"Shut your mouth, you little bastard!" Caelus snatched the dragon-hide whip from the nearest guard. "It seems ten lashes aren't enough. I'll flay you both alive and see if you still have a tongue to threaten me with!"

Catharine stepped forward, a soft, malicious coo in her voice. "Caelus, darling, please. The woman is clearly delirious from her sins. Don't let this trash ruin your mood. Just let the guards finish them off."

"No. No one will stop me today," Caelus snapped, waving her away. "I will teach this bitch and her spawn exactly who is the master here. Watch closely, Catharine. This is how you discipline rabid dogs!"

He raised the whip high, and it whistled mercilessly through the air.

But I didn't flinch. I shot my hand out with shocking speed and caught the end of the whip mid-air, stopping it less than an inch from Aethan's face.

"I told you," I hissed, ignoring the rough hide tearing the flesh of my palm. I slowly rose to my feet, glaring right into his shocked eyes. "Do. Not. Touch. My. Son."

"Let go! You dare touch my weapon with your filthy hands?!" Caelus roared, his disbelief hardening into raw humiliation as he tried to yank the whip back.

"Caelus Alvarez, I am not your property, and my son is not your punching bag!" I shouted back, using his momentum to hold the whip steady. "You flog me for adultery? Where is your proof? Produce the man! Produce the evidence!"

"Proof? Your very existence is a stain!" he bellowed, his face twisting in rage. "Your low breeding is all the proof I need!"

"Is it?" I laughed coldly, casting a lethal glare at the pale woman beside him. "Or is it just because your precious, scheming concubine whispered a convenient lie into your ear? Is the great Dragon Lord so easily manipulated by a woman's crocodile tears?"

"How dare you! Caelus, I would never..." Catharine cried out, feigning utter devastation. "I only told you what I saw! Why is she slandering me?"

"Silence! If you speak ill of Catharine again, I will tear your throat out!" Caelus roared, jerking hard on the whip with all his might.

I suddenly let go.

Staggering backward, Caelus stumbled several steps, looking utterly undignified as he fought to keep his balance.

I hid my bleeding palm behind my back, my voice dripping with pure disdain. "A Dragon Lord who lacks basic judgment, led around by a concubine like a pet on a leash. How utterly pathetic."

Caelus growled, his golden eyes blazing with murderous intent as his uncontrolled dragon power caused the stone tiles beneath us to vibrate.

"You are asking to die!"