Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 238

Chapter 238: Chapter 238

Elara’s POV

The training dummy cracked under my fist.

Splinters flew sideways, catching the morning light before scattering across the packed dirt floor. My knuckles throbbed—raw, split in two places—but the pain felt good. Familiar. The only thing that still registered.

"Instructor?"

Jessica’s voice came from somewhere behind me. Careful. Tentative. The way everyone spoke to me now.

"Reset the dummy," I said without turning around. "And tell Maya her footwork yesterday was sloppy. I want her running drills before the others arrive."

"Yes, Instructor."

Footsteps retreated. I flexed my fingers, watching blood bead along the knuckle of my right hand. I should wrap it. I didn’t.

Six months.

Six months since I’d moved into that cramped and drafty little manor. Six months of an empty routine between the house and the training grounds, wearing the same black training pants, chest wrap, and loose tunic year-round.

Six months of nothing.

Not nothing, exactly. There was routine. Wake. Dress. Train. Eat something tasteless. Train again. Walk home in the dark. Lie in bed staring at a ceiling I didn’t recognize. Sleep—sometimes. Start over.

I existed. That was the most generous description.

The training grounds filled later. Sophie arrived first, already stretching near the weapons rack. Riley followed, yawning, her practice sword slung over one shoulder. Maya came in last, and I watched her eyes dart to the shattered dummy before quickly looking away.

"Pair up," I called. "Sophie with Riley. Maya, you’re with me."

Maya’s face went pale. Good.

I aggressively trained them. I didn’t go easy on them. Couldn’t. Going easy meant slowing down, and slowing down meant thinking, and thinking meant—

I blocked Maya’s overhead strike, stepped inside her guard, and swept her legs out from under her. She hit the dirt hard enough to drive the air from her lungs.

"Your shoulder dropped before you swung," I said, standing over her. "I saw it coming from across the yard. Again."

She scrambled up. We went again.

And again.

And again.

By the time lunchtime arrived, all three of them were limping. I leaned against a wooden post, barely winded, and watched them huddle near the well. My hands were shaking—not from exertion. From the stillness that crept in whenever I stopped moving. Only hitting the training dummy brought me some fleeting solace.

That was when Kaelen unexpectedly appeared.

He stood at the edge of the training yard. Arms crossed. Dark hair pushed back from his forehead. Those dark gold eyes fixed on me with an expression I refused to read.

I looked away.

He walked over anyway. Of course he did.

"You’re pulling your strikes," he said quietly. "You were holding back when you sparred with Maya."

"I’m training students, not killing them."

I grabbed a cloth and wiped the sweat from my neck. "Is there something you need?"

Silence. The kind that used to make me turn toward him. Now it just made my jaw tighten. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Seraphine is gone," he said.

My hand stilled on the cloth.

"She filed for extended leave," he continued, a genuine bewilderment in his voice. "I’d arranged a severance payment, but she disappeared before it was finalized. No forwarding address. No communication. The Household Department has no record of her current location."

I folded the cloth into a precise square, unsure if this was the absolute truth or just a convenient lie. "And you’re telling me this because?"

"Because I thought you should know."

"Noted." I maintained my guard, letting none of my lingering suspicions show.

Another silence. I could feel him watching me. Waiting for something—a crack, a question, some sign that the wall I’d built had a weak point he could press.

It didn’t.

"The children miss you," he said. Softer now.

That one landed. It always did.

"I see them three times a week."

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